Freshly back from a 2-week stint in the Great White North…HORROR! A hailstorm hit the Grow It Yourself garden!
As soon as I heard the dreaded pounding thwack of hailstones on the roof, I grabbed the nearest piece of Canadian plaid and rushed outside to cover up the tomatoes and baby lettuce.
Now, plants and hail do not mix at the best of times, but young plants - particularly tomatoes - are especially at risk of being pummeled. You also don’t want to kill them with kindness though, and crush the plants with your blanket. Before covering tomatoes and other tall plants, cast around for some sticks and shove them in the ground next to the plants - they will help to prop up the blanket and prevent plant crush.
Hail is every farmer’s nightmare and should be yours, too.
But luckily, the morning after, the sun is shining, the air is warm, and they all seem to be just fine.
Whew.
Now, maybe the tomatoes should have been covered up in the first place. Maybe, in these early days of spring, they should have been under one of those plastic domes or water tepees that you can buy, or under an upside down plastic bottle, or some such. Certainly, many people keep their tomatoes under cover this time of year, and certainly they were not the ones rushing out in a hailstorm with a plaid sheet.
But geez louise, I have never covered tomatoes in May and always had great success. And coming from Saskatchewan, where the leaves haven’t even come out, lush and balmy Seattle feels like my own personal Hawaii. Besides, like my mother always says, “These plants need to suck it up.”
So, in my defense, I was not paying attention at all.
Lesson #1: Watch the weather. Pay attention to the forecast and daytime and nighttime temperatures. If it’s not reliably above 50 at night, those tomatoes should probably be covered up.
Continuing with this theme…
What was I thinking?
A garden casualty.
Poor basil. I wasn’t going to plant these until I got back from my trip, but like every year, I am overcome with the sight and smell of lovely basils and…I forgot. Honestly, planting basil before June can be a leap of faith, and I clearly had too much faith. It was feeling mighty chilly yesterday afternoon so I did stick these jars over them before the hail came, which spared them from that hellish fate at least.
So young basil and dear readers, I just feel terrible, and if you too lost some plants by following my lead, I have a small supply of basil and tomato plants at Headquarters. If you’re in Seattle and need a replacement, drop me a line.
Up next: Maintenance and the fine art of the Crop Tour.
