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Post by binnylou on May 30, 2022 16:39:00 GMT -5
I’m sure that most gardeners use some protective covers to protect newly transplanted garden starts, but what do you do to protect your young plants after the covers/milk jugs are removed?
We have probable severe weather headed our way tonight. Tomatoes and celery have grown up and beyond the protection of the drainage tile surrounds. Do you take precautions to protect your plants, or just accept what Mother Nature throws your way? I suppose some tall buckets, upside down might do the job. Bricks would be needed to keep the buckets from blowing away. Multiple bricks…and five gallon buckets would be needed.
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Post by breezygardener on May 30, 2022 16:59:01 GMT -5
For me it depends on how sturdy/hardened-off the plants are, but sometimes I'll just fasten insect-weight floating-row cover over plants I think might get beaten up.
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Post by Mumsey on May 30, 2022 17:24:21 GMT -5
I just pile the straw up around them as far as I can. My garden is pretty protected from wind unless it's the unusual straight line wind. Everything is pretty much on it's own other than that.
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Post by emmsmommy on May 30, 2022 19:30:42 GMT -5
While I go to great extents to cover stuff from frost and freezing weather, I just kind of let everything fend for itself once established. Of course I've rarely dealt with tornado-force winds or massive hail either (knocking on wood) or at least not during garden season.
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Post by desertwoman on May 30, 2022 20:54:32 GMT -5
If it was exceptionally strong winds I would be covering them, or erecting some kind of barrier, but with regular strong winds I let them fend for themselves.
Same with hail. There's nothing I can do when big hail comes down- it usually comes on unexpectedly and quickly and would be painful, besides, to try to run out there to protect things.
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Post by Latitude33 on Jun 1, 2022 13:02:09 GMT -5
Drought and high heat are my biggest issues. Wish rain was a problem. Mostly using straw mulch from the ladies and portable shade.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jun 1, 2022 15:40:38 GMT -5
When I first planted my tomatoes, and later the eggplants, I would shove a bamboo stake well into the ground, just away from the roots, and clip the stalk to the stake as High as possible. Later I'd add another clip or piece of velcro, to secure it higher, as they had grown a couple more stems, by the time the eggplants were being planted, and it was windy again - 20-30 mph, though there would be some up to 50 mph one night. When I examined everything the next morning, there was no damage, fortunately. The stakes, plus the small amount of silicate I add to the watering water for all these veggies, strengthens the stalks.
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Post by Tomato Z on Jun 8, 2022 7:32:18 GMT -5
Hail is usually the enemy in June, so we add sunscreen fabric to the tomato cages with clothespins, moving the fabric up the cage as the plant grows. These past years have seen hail also in July and even August.
Pepperhead212, I’m interested in trying silicate for stronger stems. So you have a favorite brand?
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Post by heirloomfan on Jun 8, 2022 10:51:43 GMT -5
We are in a hail zone too so have a frame over our beds and add hail netting. Last year also had a small rabbit that came into our yard and got into some beds and ate plants, so I also keep an eye out for them and have to put barriers around the beds too. This year we seem to have a lot of magpies around the yard, they are always walking around where the raised beds are so I will be adding bird netting too. Not sure if they would bother the plants but don't want to take a chance. We had an extremely windy spring too but didn't have much set out at that time. But I also put supports around tomato plants just to keep them from being snapped off in the wind.
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