Off The Grid Living: (Video Incl.)How To Protect Your Garden From Extreme Weather

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How To Protect Your Garden From Extreme Weather

Written by: Julie C. Survival Gardening

Hail
You’ve survived the early spring frosts and your garden is thriving, thanks to the warm, sunny days of early summer. The cool-season crops, such as carrots, lettuce and radishes are at their prime and the tomatoes and beans are starting to climb their cages.
But don’t get your hopes up yet. Hail is perhaps the most discouraging of all extreme weather because it’s completely unpredictable and hard to prepare for. Hail usually arrives in early summer – in June in my area. It’s most common in the Plains states, which are also the states most likely to see tornadoes.
Hail and tornadoes both get their start when strong, warm updrafts mix with cold downdrafts. The updrafts lift drops of rain high in to the atmosphere where they turn to ice. Downdrafts deliver the ice particles back down to warmer layers of air where the particles partially melt. Another updraft lifts the particles again and they gain another layer of ice. This process continues until the balls of ice are too heavy to remain afloat and fall to earth as—you guessed it—hail.
Hail usually accompanies severe thunderstorms and rainstorms, which weather forecasters are able to predict, but forecasters can’t always predict hail accurately. In most cases, you’ll get a few hours notice at the most.
In years past, when a hailstorm hit, I rallied the kids out to the garden to throw buckets and lawn chairs over our precious produce. If hail storms were a rare event, this willy-nilly method would probably suffice. We’ve endured major hailstorms every summer for the last five years though, so I’ve decided that a more proactive approach is probably in order. Below are the strategies I use for dealing with hail.
My husband built mini-hoop tunnels from PVC pipe.

The tunnels sit snugly over my raised beds. In the early spring, I cover the tunnels with floating row covers or agricultural fabric. This fabric keeps the soil warm so seeds germinate faster. It also protects young seedlings from flea beetles, rabbits, and deer. Bird netting covers the hoop tunnels that lie over my strawberries. Come fall, the agricultural fabric extends the growing season and protects fall crops. But during hail season, the hoops are there mainly to protect the garden from falling ice. If a hail storm is predicted, I throw tarps and thick plastic over the tunnel. The plastic won’t protect the plants from very large pieces of hail, but it eliminates most damage.
Most hoop tunnels are 2 to 3 feet tall, which makes them impractical for protecting large plants, such as tomatoes. Here’s a clever trick from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Stretch a sheet of hardware cloth over the tops of tomato cages. Allow the hardware cloth to fall over the sides of the cages. Netting wrapped around the cages offers added protection.
The first glimpse of the garden after a hailstorm can be heartbreaking. Last year, the storm pummeled by lettuce to the ground and completely stripped the raspberries. The stems and trunks of the tomato plants were covered with nicks and cuts. It’s hard to tell, though, immediately after a storm if damage is temporary or permanent. Don’t start tearing up the garden right away. Young root vegetables with shredded leaves are probably goners, although older root vegetables can probably be harvested. Lettuce usually sprouts new growth within a week or two, and tomatoes come back if the hail occurs early enough in the season……More Here