Monday, April 28, 2014

Nothing Much Got Done Today





It started out hot and muggy this morning and really looked like I was going to get something done even after the drenching we got yesterday and last night. The radar looked good, there wasn't a whole lot of strong wind and the sun was even shining.

I walked outside to enjoy the fresh rain soaked morning while listening to the eager Bobwhite bachelors out calling all over the place near and far looking for mates to repopulate the fields.

Out of nowhere this huge storm just appeared and struck like a freight train. My rain gauge shows we got a little over four inches of rain in a few short minutes but that doesn't even count the quarter sized hail that covered the ground along with the rain.

Everything is a total wash out now. I am sure I am going to need to replant what I have in the ground already except for the stuff in the raised beds maybe. There is half a tree stuck in the middle of the mud flat I once called my garden and I can't even tell you what tree it came from because all the ones nearby appear to be whole minus all their new growth leaves anyway.

My poor Grape seedlings took a severe beating. Almost all their new shoot growth and leaves are completely stripped away from the small pencil sized trunks that were stuck in the ground. I was impressed they could grow so much in only two days but that's all gone now. I hope they recover.

This morning we still had some Apple and Redbud flowers on the trees. Not anymore.....

Other than plants and seeds though I don't think anything else was damaged. Luckily I been tacking down the roof of the barn from all the earlier wind storms so it held well and since the storm came out of the Southwest most everything is protected on the East side of the buildings anyway.  I did notice one of the top hinged opening windows from the barn was broken and flapping around so I will need to climb up and fix that soon. 

There is no way I am going to get back out in the garden for at least a week if not longer if we get more rain. I knew I was jumping the gun a bit by planting so soon but I also limited my planting to those varieties I can re-sow without a problem so no real loss. This is a regular occurrence around here each year and I knew better than to fall for the nice weather we been having. Had I really pushed my planting into over drive I would be spending the next two weeks or more standing at the edge of the mud flat watching the weeds take it over and nothing I can do about it. These Spring storms are the reason I started building all those raised beds to begin with at least I can weed them when it is wet and they drain the water out better.

I guess I better check all my bee hives and swarm traps now and see if they survived.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!






10 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear that story I have had stuff wiped out but never so early in the season, usually I get a nasty storm in July that lays the corn flat and damages everything else that isn't tied down. Maybe it is good that it happened so early and you can recover better now than later.

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    1. Sf - Oh this happens every year. It seems each year in April I get the idea I can plant stuff and then bam so much rain I can't even get out into the garden for weeks and it gets so overgrown. Last year was the first time I can remember when my corn actually righted itself. I had almost given up on growing corn because of the storm damage each year usually laid it flat and it never came back.

      I will be content with my raised beds for another few weeks then replant. I really only lost a few beans and cowpeas and I got plenty of them to go around.

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  2. Way too much rain here. The news said when the fields dry out the farmers have like 2 weeks to plant everything, corn & soy.

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    1. Rob - Some of the guys around here already got their crops in or maybe half in. It actually might be a pretty good year if the moisture stays up now. These storms are just hell on gardens and more delicate crops.

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  3. Sorry, Bro. 'Ole Mother Nature can be a bitch for farmers. Very hot here.

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    1. Stephen - No kidding. Like I said though I pretty much expected it which s why I didn't go whole hog on the garden planting. My tomatoes and such are still protected as well.

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  4. PP,

    I'm sorry to hear about your seeds/seedlings, and buds/blossoms. This rain and heavy winds are just tearing up everything. We had the same issues today too. I had just planted the seedlings left in my greenhouse outside when it came down like buckets and destroyed everything.

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    1. Sandy - Ya I didn't lose any tomatoes or other seedlings as they are still in their protective spot. The rabbits ate my sweet potatoes though already lol.

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  5. Somehow we squeezed by this one with just a little heavy wind and a few minutes of hail pellets. I'm having trouble with something eating the stems of my peppers off right at ground level. I had some DE put out and of course it rained it all away. So I reapplied again today. Any idea what might be doing it?
    Sci

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    1. Sci - Hmmm whenever I see anything snipped off my first culprit is always rabbits out here. They eat a lot of my plants especially early in the season before some of the stuff they like gets growing. I think it's too early yet for cut worms.

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