Oh, Hail!

After delays due to traveling to a conference and weird-cold weather, we finally planted our bales. Tomatoes, peppers, squash and watermelons were added to our pots of flowers and herbs. It looked pretty good!


We decided to do something different and planted this tomato and watermelon in the berry patch that ended up being a no-berry patch.


We have tomatoes and peppers in these bales, and a squash and watermelon are planted in the thick mat of old straw.


This isn't a seasonal garden, but I love how our grass and hesperaloe hill is looking!


 Front bales with squash and a couple of marigolds to keep them company.


Larger squash bale planting, which will soon have another squash and an Armenian cuc.


Our main tomato bales, with basil thrown in for good measure.

And then the hail hit...two nights in a row. The damage you see below was caused by the storms that went through last night (9 May).


 A little visual to show what the typical hail stone was like during the first pass.


Our front walk - the hail was still falling at this point.


A grassy-ish patch in our bay yard (taken during a lull in the storm).

And then there is the aftermath...


This little tomato plant has a tiny leaf left. Where there is life - there is hope! Another tomato plant has only a 1/2" stem left...will watch for a few days, just in case something pops out.


He just got beat up, real good.


These tomatoes seem to have faired quite well.


The basil is thrashed but will be fine.


Brief pause to show how beautiful our grasses are :)


Enlarged that one to show detail. Pretty cool, huh?


We lost some apples as well as some pears and apricots - and there are leaves down everywhere. But we still have some fruit!


The geranium was beat up a bit but will also be fine.


As will most of the tomato plants. Is it too early to start looking forward to the harvest?

Comments

Post a Comment

I would love to hear feedback or about any adaptations you have made to any recipes.

Popular posts from this blog

Chicken Philly Cheesesteak

Image
 OK, I want to start by saying that I know that saying "chicken" and "cheesesteak" together is a bit confusing, and may even be considered sacrilegious by some. However, last week, I found a recipe by a similar name and decided to "Sue-ify" it. What follows is that recipe. A note about serving size: Chuck and I don't have huge appetites any more. So, while this might give us two meals, it likely will need to be doubled if you are serving people with larger appetites. Chicken Philly Cheesesteak By Susan Scott Serves 4  Ingredients 2 cups cooked, diced (or shredded chicken) 1 large red bell pepper, cut in strips 1 medium onion, sliced in strips 2 cups sliced mushrooms ~ 2 Tbl olive oil ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper ¼ teaspoon paprika (I used sweet smoked) ¼ teaspoon chili powder (I used chipotle) ¼ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon dried thyme ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram ¼ teaspoon dried basil 4 slices of Swiss cheese 4 ro...
Read more

Cabbage with Hot Bacon Dressing

   My husband and I love cabbage prepared all kinds of ways. Recently, as I was planning our dinner, I decided to buy some bacon, because...well...bacon. After I cooked the bacon then added the onions to the leftover bacon fat, the smell took me back to German potato salad. So, I grabbed my dad's old recipe, and our dinner was transformed. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but just picture chunks of cabbage with diced onion and bacon. Cabbage with Hot Bacon Dressing ~3-4 cups cabbage, chopped in large squares 2 slices thick bacon, diced                      1 cup onion, diced fat from bacon                                          1/4 c vinegar 2 Tbsp water    ...
Read more

Fruit and Nut Stuffed Acorn Squash (Slow Cooker)

Image
I have been wanting to make acorn squash stuffed with apples and Craisins, but I kept getting held up because I couldn't find a recipe I wanted. I will also admit that on these occasions I had not planned far enough ahead to allow myself some time to do research. I just wanted to magically land on the perfect recipe. Never happened. But what did magically happen is I finally started the process early enough to do some research and create my own recipe! And to keep life sane, I cooked it up in a slow cooker.  I think it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself ;) Wash you squash (hey, it's fun to say!) and cut in half from stem to bottom - you'll want to use a heavy, sharp knife for that. Clean out the seeds and squash strings - you have to scrape pretty good to get them out. Lay a strip of foil in your slow cooker and set the acorn squash halves in. Isn't it cool how you can crumple up the foil to help the squash sit level. Peel, core...
Read more