Of course for me, it was another day of work, with major wind and rain this morning. I mean pouring rain and fierce winds. Not bad for some, but for us anti-umbrella Seattleites, it wasn't so great. Despite a mad dash to the car after checking out the garden, and running to the bus, not to mention the run from the bus to work, I thought I was ok. I got to my desk after getting coffee, got situatated, and then my boss gets there from Portland. I say hi, talk for a bit, then go wash my hands in the rest room. When I look in the mirror, to my shock and horror, my hair is plastered to my forehead and looks horrible. Wonderful impression, hehe.
Well, you could care less about my hair. What happened to the garden? Well, my hoop covers held up well. A few of the clips came off in the wind, but otherwise they held firm. Unfortunately, the tomatoes didn't fair so well. The cages were actually a detriment I think. When I dashed into the garden this morning, this what I saw.
The cages are bent, the tarp is nowhere to be found, but the cages couldn't be ripped out because they're attached to the bed with tarps and binder clips. Needless to say they were quickly removed and set aside for bending back into place later. The tomatoes took their chances with the weather for the rest of the day. Thankfully the storm subsided and the sun came out. I think they'll be fine.
As for the other SWC in the garden area. The result was the same.
However, it was a different story over by the potatoes. Recall that I put a garbage bag over the tomato cages. Well, what I didn't consider is that the hoops at the top are not solid surfaces. Therefore the rain puddled in the middle and actually created a 5 inch deep swimming pool at the top of the cage. Then the wind bent the top-heavy cage 90 degrees. It would have come clean off except it was well attached to the SWC lid. I was in a hurry and getting soaked, so I didn't take a picture of the comedy of errors. Instead, when I got home I took this picture of the plants.
Notice the lower branches of the tomato plant on the right? Dead. The top branches are drooping like crazy. I sure hope they bounce back. This is not a good start to their permanent existance...
Everything else looked good, though my poor magnolia tree has lost almost all of its flowers to the wind. Darn and it was so pretty. My wife is disappointed.
Enjoy your garden.
I was just thinking yesterday that tomatoes were like kids. They bounce. I think once it suns and warms up a bit you'll be doing fine.
ReplyDeleteTomatoes always seem to bounce back! If they weren't so delicous they might be weeds! LOL. A major wind and rain storm a couple of months ago got all the blooms from my early member of the magnolia family too. Such a shame when that happens, isn't i?
ReplyDeleteLooks like hoops are the way to go. I always wondered about those tomato cages. They just don't look very strong. All in all though it sure could have been worse!
ReplyDeleteAs long as that tomato plant stays green, I wouldn't worry. A bad hair day is perfect for a baseball cap - that's my remedy. However, I'm sure that your job demands more correct attire than mine. BTW, the house next door has been reduced to $149K, hee hee...
ReplyDeleteYou have to watch those plastic bag covered tomato cages when you have small children. When my daughter was about five, we were trying to rescue our covered cages during a windstorm. Amy grabbed one and a gust of wind lifted her and the cage and flew them right out of the garden! She did have a soft landing in the sand, luckily.
ReplyDeleteGranny
Sorry to read about your tomatoes. The wind storm wasn't very enjoyable. My husband came home and saw all of my tomatoes lying over so he grabbed the pots and put them back under indoor lights. They're doing well now.
ReplyDeleteMy hoops held up well, too. I had to rescue one sheet of fabric that flew off, but everything else was OK.
I hope this is the last of the wind storms here in the PN for quite some time!
Yes, it was quite a storm! Sorry to hear about all the disarray. No storm damage issues to report on my front since I've got the SWCs inside the greenhouse. I sure hope the weather settles down though!
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh at the plastered hair! You are definitely a gardener now!
ReplyDeleteI will keep my fingers crossed that your tomatoes do the bounce back for you.
Did a check for damage in the garden when I got home tonight and did not find anything amiss. We obviously got a LOT of rain while I was away though.
My goodness!! What a storm you must have had up there! I'm sure the tomatoes will bounce back for you. I hope you get some nice dry, warm weather soon.
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