Trying to Unpack this Adventure - Hail Storm

Against the windows the storm comes dashing,

Through tattered foliage the hail tears crashing,

    The blue lightning flashes,

    The rapid hail clashes,

  The white waves are tumbling,

    And, in one baffled roar,                               

  Like the toothless sea mumbling

    A rock-bristled shore,

  The thunder is rumbling

  And crashing and crumbling,--

Will silence return nevermore?

~ James Russell Lowell, from Summer Storm

Oh,  hail!

"God love the farmer," I keep thinking/praying after today's storm. Everything turns on the weather. How do they do it...wait out this season of rain and hail and tornadoes and then the hurricane risk of the late summer? It's a giant gamble...a cosmic game of craps. Will there be a crop or not. Will we have money for the mortgage, the crop loans, the kids' shoes, repairs and so on. Will we have food for the year.

My people (as far back as I know - from memory and research) - farmed. I've walked the family fields in south Texas. I can find the towns on the map in Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois near where Flinns and Burrs once tilled fields. And unnamed others farmed in Scotland, England, Ireland, and Germany. 

My father grew up on the family farm - picked cotton, cultivated behind a mule-powered plow, and toiled in the family garden. Clients and friends would let him know when plots of corn were ripe and we learned a little about harvesting for the family. And one memorable evening, he took us out in a cotton field and showed us just how miserable it was to pick cotton by hand. But in his later years, Daddy had a garden. He grew a little bit of everything. Mom had garden beds full of shrubs and flowers -- and eventually wild flowers. 

I plant the "wild garden" for many reasons. It connects me with the land -- land friends helped me build. It's for joy and therapy. The garden is also for flood management (a native plant garden with the right kind of plants can absorb a huge amount of water - which we have proven over these last few year).  And it is for the birds and the bugs (except snails and fireants and hornworms) and other critters who have been displaced by the bulldozers. It's an ongoing experiment.

And then there is the vegetable garden. It has evolved over time. I plant what I have managed to grow in the past [forget about squash (vine borers) and eggplant (I don't want to cook it)]. I plant what I will eat and what grows well for me. And I plant extra to test new varieties in case there is a failure - for whatever reason. During the last year I have had something healthy to harvest every single day. 

And THIS YEAR - this year the tomatoes have grown like mad* - three varieties - patio, Juliet, and Sweet 1000s. I decided to try Poblano, Big Bertha (bell), and Emperor (bell) as well as the ever-consistent grower, Serrano. There are also onions and cucumbers as well as a few herbs. New veg was being harvested every day.

All was well, until it wasn't. 

I didn't even watch the weather last night so the storm was a surprise.

The thunder woke me. 

Surprised by the rain, I checked the weather and heard the forecast.

And then the hail came. I took some photos and waited.

Both gardens were shredded. I carried away about 5 pounds of fallen and damaged tomatoes. There appear to be some tomatoes surviving on each plant. The peppers plants have looked better and 4 large peppers were fallen/damaged. There are no peppers on any of the plants at this point. I don't know how to describe what happened to the onions while the cucumber plants look okay. I'll have to research what to do about them and the potatoes.

And the kale...darn it. The kale appears to have survived without much damage. Whatever.

Here are some before and after photos or not. It depends what shots I may have taken before the storm.

After last year's triple planting (evil pill bugs) I was shocked these were growing so well.

The Juliets were gorgeous and numerous.

There might have been some competition from the Sweet 1000s 

And I have never had so many large tomatoes on a Patio Tomato plant.

Another shot of the gorgeous Patio Tomatoes.

TB was deep in the Winecups and Mistflower

The Daylilies were about to bloom.

The fig tree had fruit perfectly timed for out July 4th date.* Fortunately, it seems the wide leaves of the fig largely protected the fruit. Some leaves fell, but we will just have to see how things go. Only two months to go.

One of the Purple Coneflower plants that I apparently love as I have 3 or 4. Note the blooms. Note the blue salvia in the background and the small pink flowers of the Rockrose in the upper left corner.

The Big Bertha bell pepper plant.

One of the garden paths with many plants intruding. It no longer looks like this. Most noticeable is the damage to the top of the Frostweed. 

Engelmann Daisy and Gorgeous Frostweed 

Buttonbush clears the fence-height and starts to bloom.

Elderberry's test year. It keep moving out and I'm fighting to keep it contained.

My little corner garden room.

Looking northward

Louise's Althea Forest

Another look at the corner that hides the morning "tea and reading" spot.

Hail starts.

THE AFTERMATH: 

TB is exposed as the winecups and mistflower were beaten back.

The tomatoes were almost exploded -- Fried green tomatoes for supper?

The potato plans were shredded. Do I harvest or wait?

All of these Aristotle bell peppers were damaged. What to do, what to do? Please not the size and amount of the hail.

The damage just seems so violent.  Needless to say, I made no attempt to cover anything after the storm was raging.

One of the lily plants with damaged leaves.

Oxalis, lilies, and something else may very well recover.

The Bur Oak lost many leaves and others were damaged. It's a strong tree. It will be fine.

The Poblano was just starting to grow and we will just have to watch it now.

The large part of this Serrano is broken, but there is a smaller part growing.

Protected by the fence and the porch, this Gaillardia managed much better than the other wildflowers.

In the foreground is the daylily plant that was about to bloom. All the blooms are gone. The Louisiana Iris in the background are beaten up a bit, but have already bloomed, so should be fine.

I had purchased plastic Christmas balls to act as decoys to keep the birds away from the tomatoes. They were only minimally sturdier than glass balls.

Juliets lying all around on the ground.

Many branches were broken off of the Sweet 1000s plant.

The Purple Cornflower plant was destroyed and all the blue salvia behind it is gone and there are no Rockrose blooms.

The hail simply lacerated plants.

Oh, I cannot look at any more of the broken garden photos. I will have to be out in it working for weeks as the damage completely shows itself. There will be a followup  post or two.

After all it IS a garden. I expect changes. And I know there will be some disappointment and some surprising survivors. My livelihood is not dependent upon this garden. And it will provide more joy and flowers and surprises. We all just have to catch our breath and get on with it.

For now I'll wait to see which plants recover and which will need to be replaced and figure out how to use the tomatoes and broken peppers. 

I am not the only one a little stressed out. Z found some cardboard and showed her displeasure with the weather. It's a small bit of back-sliding and to be expected.

NOTES:

*Wrap the root-ball with banana peels. They will grow faster than you can imagine. 

** The rule of thumb is that figs are ripe on July 4th here. Since my trees had never produced I only know anecdotally.