WELL, that hailstorm a few weeks ago certainly didn’t do our gardens any favours!
Many of you who garden would have suffered in some way, with your plants taking a hit from the hail.
My poor pineapples were affected – their leaves aren’t flexible like those of many other vegetables or fruit, and they were left quite scarred from the jagged ice we had here in the village.
Still, that’s one reason I like pineapples: they’re hardy, forgiving plants. They don’t need constant watering and don’t mind a bit of hot sun.
Depending on how badly your plants were damaged, most will recover in time. Some may need to be restarted, but others will simply grow new leaves and carry on.
It does seem, though, that weather patterns are shifting a bit. Remember those summers when it would storm just as you were picking the kids up from school?
Some of those storms were fierce – hail, wind, the lot. Maybe we’ve come full circle, and that cycle is returning.
Who knows!
Still, there are things you can do to protect your plants from wild weather. Most nurseries sell covers these days, and there are all sorts of solutions to guard against rain, hail, frost and cold.
You can get covers designed for small raised gardens, or use materials like sheet plastic, shade cloth, or even ultra-fine frost covers that feel as light as a spider’s web.
Shade cloth has been around for years, available in various colours, strengths, and sizes. Some-times, though, all you need is something to fend off large hail – that’s where netting comes in handy.
A half-inch bird netting makes a sturdy barrier against bigger hailstones. You can find fibrous or plastic versions, both easy to source in stores or online (even those good old mail-out catalogues like Magnamail – or, of course, just ask AI!).
So, the upshot is this: your plants can be protected from bad weather, if you want to put in the effort. Taking your chances, though? Well, that’s up to you!
Till next time…
