Yesterday ’s hail storm - October 11 , 2013
This has been one of the most intriguing year in the veg garden that I can call up .
First the leafhoppers arrived in spring to infect the tomato plant with the curly top virus they carry , a fatal disease for tomato plants . They particularly get regretful during drought age because they care it dry and hot . I pretty much thwarted them by covering all but 4 of my tomato with row cover ( I ran out ) which act as a strong-arm roadblock until they forget in July when the rains came . So my loss was minimal - maybe 10 % compare to the 50 % loss of tomato plants last yr for me . Luckily I always grow more than I need . I will definitely will cover them again next year .
Yesterday’s hail storm-15 May 2025
Biggest Cucurbita pepo ‘ Honey Boo Boo ’ only 176 lbs at ending
A squirrel corrode my best and quickest growing giant pumpkin plant which put me out of commission to be a competition for our state track record , putting me 2 months behind when growing the back - up pumpkin . Here is a pic with my total pumpkins - biggest this yr - discover ‘ Honey Boo Boo ’ – 176 pound - bummer …
We had one of the bad hail tempest I can think of in former July but again since the tomato plants were still cover , they were protected . Everything else really got coiffure back but did come back eventually . Many of my gardener friends got hit really hard and lost many crops in that one storm .
Biggest pumpkin ‘Honey Boo Boo’ only 176 lbs at end
Hail damage - tomato on left , cranny ( now healed ) from too much water tomato on right
Then in August we finally begin getting a lot rainfall which we urgently postulate . Unfortunately we got 3 inches of rain in one week which the plants could n’t handle all at once and many , including rock difficult green ones separate or cracked from too much water . ( Ahh , whata ya drop dead to do ? First too minuscule body of water , then too much water all at once ! ) The love apple were a little watery for about a week until they absorb the spare water and cure their shot . Now they are dear again . Most of the uglies became sauce .
Then another devastating hailstorm this time with the rowing cover off so the tomato plants took it intemperately and many started to succumbed to fungal diseases because the hail damage weakens the plants and makes them susceptible . Kinda like us getting a severe beating opening up many combat injury .
Hail damage-tomato on left, cracks (now healed) from too much water tomato on right
Hard frost in late September end off tomatoes
While I was on vacation , we got our first toilsome freeze in the last week of September which fundamentally complete off the garden except for the chard and the grass produce under the tomato plants . fairly unbelievable that we get such an early frost in Sept when normally it does n’t come in till the second or third workweek of October . So the season has terminate up very forgetful . commonly I can go to the Farmers Market through the first workweek of November now I ’m not certain I can get thru the 3rd hebdomad of October . I will go tomorrow to the market as I still have 8 box seat of good tomatoes but we will see after that . I just picked the green ones that were starting to mature and see if they will still ripen .
Pumpkin plot of land almost cleanse up before hail bang .
Hard freeze in late September finished off tomatoes
And finally yesterday we had another hail storm - in October no less ! Unheard of to have hail so tardily . as luck would have it I had finished foot any tomato plant , eggplant , peppers and a few squash vine that made it just yesterday morning before the hail hit . So that ’s it - THE END . ( although I mean I may still have some chard left - gotta see how beat up it got … )
Which brings up a stop as I am rather unagitated about all this . I use to get super distressed but I learned 11 years ago when we had our 3 class bark mallet infestation due to a serious 4 - year drought that fundamentally wiped out 98 % of our pinon tree ( I lost 300 ) that we really ca n’t fight Mother Nature . We can only crush our drumhead against the bulwark for so long . We try on to do our best and then at some distributor point I memorise that I just have to give up to what is—’you ca n’t stop an avalanche ’ as I was told once . Once I deliver , all stress leaves because I realise I can only do what I can do and that ’s it . And surrendering is not so bad as now I can have go and start to plan the next season . Ahh , the liveliness of a little farmer . fortuitously my main income comes from glassblowing not farming so I am very lucky in that sense compare to the farmers whose primary income is from their crops .
Besides I have n’t been able-bodied to write that much in the web log this time of year as I ’ve been so busy in the garden but I did take photograph and can enchant up on some of the matter that took place but did n’t have time to write about . Stay tuned …
Pumpkin patch almost cleaned up before hail hit.
