When you expect severe wind, rain, or cold in your area, we recommend taking the following steps to secure and protect your Farmstand.
Wind and Rain
- Secure or move your Farmstand using a dolly, if possible. Please use extreme caution when attempting to move your unit as it is very HEAVY. Check out this FAQ for help emptying your Farmstand tank if you don't already own a dolly or need to move your Farmstand up or downstairs.
- Optional - protect your plants with a tarp that covers the Farmstand, just take extra care not to disturb or crush any leaves or stems in the process. You can also place a sandbag on the top of your Farmstand to keep it weighed down.
- If your power goes out, you can keep your seedlings hydrated by taking the lid off of your Farmstand and manually pouring water down your Farmstand. Make sure you pour water down each side of the Farmstand to ensure all seedlings get watered. You can also remove all plants from the Farmstand and keep them in a tray or bucket with some water. Just make sure to keep their roots fully submerged.
- Optional - harvest large plants on your Farmstand and keep them in your fridge. This way they will not go bad if you lose power and they will not be damaged by the storm.
- Get a battery-powered outlet. This can serve as a backup to power your Farmstand if you lose power for a bit.
- Check your Farmstand after a storm. Any dislodged growing levels can be snapped back into place once the storm is over.
If your Farmstand is on a balcony or roof deck more than 10 floors above street level and you can't move it inside, we highly recommend removing the top levels to prevent them from falling off the balcony*. Once the levels have been disassembled from the Farmstand, you can then remove the plants and keep them in a tray or bucket with some water. Just make sure to keep their roots fully submerged.
*This does not apply to typical rainstorms, only severe weather events.
Severe Cold
If there is going to be a cold front in your area that drops temperatures below 25℉, then we recommend either harvesting all of your seedlings or bringing your Farmstand inside as your seedlings will not withstand temperatures that low. If you’re experiencing extreme cold, we recommend these options:
- Move your Farmstand using a plant caddy, if possible. Please use extreme caution when attempting to move your unit as it is very HEAVY. Check out this FAQ for help emptying your tank if you don't already own a plant caddy or need to move your Farmstand up or downstairs.
- You can keep your plants alive by placing your Farmstand growing levels in a bathtub or large container and water them from the top twice a day until temperatures return to normal.
Note: We recommend using water heaters once average nighttime temperatures dip below 45℉ and moving your Farmstand indoors once daytime temperatures drop below 40℉.