How to plant a windbreak?

Would someone with a windbreak please give me some advice?

I need to build a windbreak (or shelterbelt - not sure of the difference). I have 30 years of gardening experience, but all of it was on urban/suburban lots. My biggest problem has always been getting plants that would stay small enough to not overwhelm the lot/yard. Now I have the opposite problem. We now have 4 acres (290' wide x 600' deep - and wouldn't you know it, the windbreaks are needed most on the 600' sides!). It is bare prairie and there is almost always a wind of 10 -15 mph, and when fronts blow through, gusts of 30 - 40 are very common.

I've read that the best windbreak is about 30' wide - a row of shrubs (sp 4-5'), then a row of trees 10' (sp 10' apart) from that, and then another row of shrubs 10' from the trees. This may be a good "rule of thumb" but I don't trust it (things seem to grow bigger here in Texas?!?! - I usually have to plant further apart than "recommended"). I also like a more natural look so I don't want it to look contrived (soldiers in a row). Also, if it is too dense, I know that it can actually make the wind on the leeward side more turbulent. But, if it's not dense enough, it won't be effective. I've looked locally, but can't find any good examples to work from. The pictures I've managed to find in books or on the net really don't fit what I'm wanting to do (soldiers in a row) and they don't give enough perspective for judging planting distance.

I do/will have a mixed bag of shrubs, and I have already bought 50 slash pine, 10 Eastern Red Cedar, and 5 Bald Cypress (all 18" - 36") to get me started (not much of a budget, so I'm starting a bunch from seeds). I would also like to mix in a few loblolly pine, deodar cedar, sweet bay magnolia, red maple, sweetgum, vitex, and a few mexican plum, native azaleas, and redbuds for understory (remember, I've got almost 1500 linear feet to eventually fill). Since spacing/density seems to be so important, I find that I'm really anxious about it. Also, because most of it is pasture, I'd like to narrow it down in the areas that are just pasture.

So, my biggest questions are: How do I determine spacing (a % of recommended?), and how many deciduous trees can I mix in without reducing effectiveness (3:1?, 5:1?, or should I put all evergreens in the most crucial areas and only use the deciduous trees in the pasture areas?).

Can anyone help...please? JoanJ, any advice? Do you have pictures of your windbreak?

Thanks in advance,
Martha

bettabug, Did you ever come up with a plan?

Just curious.

Shoe

As a boy in N. MN, I saw several designs for wind and "snow" breaks from some 4-H club members. If you have an active 4-H club near you, ask them.

are there any nurseries around you? they have to use windbreaks a lot to protect baby plants, maybe they would share their experience

I'm sorry bettabug, I just saw this thread.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of my windbreaks, and right now they are all dormant. I'll try to get some photos this summer. Only the ones to the West and South are mature. The ones to the North and East have only been planted within the last 6 years, and are still very much in the baby stages of growth.

As far as spacing for what you have already purchased, I would do some research on each one and see what the recommended spacing is for them. I'm not familiar with those you listed, most likely because our climates are pretty much opposites. I'll do some checking and see if I can come up with any information on them though.

and this question you asked:

Are you planning on mixing the deciduous trees and evergreens in the same shelterbelt row, or in different rows? All of our shelterbelts in this area consist of several rows of trees. Usually an evergreen row, and at least one row of deciduous trees, then another row or two of taller shrubs like caragana or lilac. After the first row, the next row, and subsequent rows are planted so the trees/shrubs are spaced in between two trees from the previous row, thus filling in the windgap from the previous row. All the rows work together to shelter you from the wind, somewhat.

Shelterbelts are also great for catching and holding snow.

Thanks to all for the replies! Had to pot up most of the trees - rains just kept the ground unworkable, and 4.5" in 3 days also showed me that I needed to raise the ground a bit more. I finally did get over being intimidated by the idea that I had to live with what I planted "forever". All of the trees are good for wood production, so I have decided to plant thickly and then thin out later. If they aren't "lumber size", they'll make good stakes or fence posts or badly needed mulch and compost material. Also, when I finally got over being obsessed with perfection, I sat down with the graph paper and let my intuition suggest a plan. I think it'll work nicely - 3 rows, shrubs - trees -shrubs. Each row 10' wide with 6' between rows (width of my tractor and implements). The plants within each row will be staggered both in distance and width, and planted mostly in groups of 3 to 5. The ratio of evergreen to deciduous will be 5:1 in the middle (where I need the most protection) and 3:1 on the ends. I plan on staggering the decidous plants within the rows so that if row 1 has a deciduous shrub, the tree(s) and leeward shrub row will be evergreen, etc.

Due to lack of money and very unfavorable spring weather, it's impossible to get it all done in one planting. And that may actually be a blessing. I pulled some of my pictures of landscaping I'd done "by the seat of my pants" (no plan, just gardeners intuition and experience) and realized I needed to quit thinking so hard and trust what I know.

Sound familiar to anyone????

Thanks to all for the replies! Had to pot up most of the trees - unusually strong winds (daily with no let up), twice weekly (or more) rains that just kept the ground unworkable, and 4.5" in 3 days showed me that I needed to raise the ground a bit more.
I finally did get over being intimidated by the idea that I had to live with what I planted "forever". All of the trees are good for wood production, so I have decided to plant thickly and then thin out later. If they aren't "lumber size", they'll make good stakes or fence posts or badly needed mulch and compost material. Also, when I finally got over being obsessed with perfection, I sat down with the graph paper and let my intuition suggest a plan. I think it'll work nicely - 3 rows, shrubs - trees -shrubs. Each row 10' wide with 6' between rows (width of my tractor and implements). The plants within each row will be staggered both in distance and width, and planted mostly in groups of 3 to 5. The ratio of evergreen to deciduous will be 5:1 in the middle (where I need the most protection) and 3:1 on the ends. I plan on staggering the decidous plants within the rows so that if row 1 has a deciduous shrub, the tree(s) and leeward shrub row will be evergreen, etc.

Due to lack of money and very unfavorable spring weather, it's impossible to get it all done in one planting. And that may actually be a blessing. I pulled some of my pictures of landscaping I'd done "by the seat of my pants" (no plan, just gardeners intuition and experience) and realized I needed to quit thinking so hard and trust what I know.

Sound familiar to anyone????