The Aftermath Of The Hail Storm
A few days ago I did a post about what the hail storm did in the garden. The photos I posted back then were taken right after the storm, when things were still uncertain.
Today I'd like to show you the actual damage the hailing did on some vegetables.
Tomatoes
Some tomatoes are already started to rotten, like this one for example.
There are two categories here. One is when the vegetable's skin is broken. In that case the vegetable, or fruit has no chance. The other is when there are bruises, but the skin is not broken, like in the last photo, those white spots. In that case there's still a chance the vegetable will survive, without starting to rot.
With a little bit of luck, these bruises can dry and when the vegetables ripe, these can be cut out, saving the rest.
Peppers
This one is sentenced to death. It's just a matter of time till the whole pepper will be rotten.
This one as well.
Same story, a big hole on the pepper, just a matter of time till it disappears.
Honeydew
This poor thing got hit pretty hard, but has a thick skin and will survive it seems. The leaves got destroyed, but I still hope it can renew itself.
Bottom Line
The best thing in this mess is that branches were not hit badly. Leaves got big holes, look like lace, but new ones can grow quickly. Some of the veggies have to go, but there are others to grow.
One thing I've learned in agriculture is that you have to be grateful for everything you get and store as much as you can as nothing is guaranteed. Next year you may get nothing.
Damage Control
These cucumbers also got hit pretty hard, but are still ok, so it's time to salvage some of them.
The damaged part can be cut out and the rest id perfect for pickles.
Red bell pepper, cucumber, onion, some spices, salt plus vinegar and the pickles are ready. This is how you fill up your storage room or cellar. Slowly adding to it, every day or every week, little by little.
Hail Storm destroy everything
I am glad that you were able to salvage some of these plants. Now I want some pickles.
Lol, I'd be happy to send you some.
Good to see that things aren’t a total loss. Mother Nature can be a real bitch sometimes! Lol. Great idea to pickle them instead of letting them go to waste. You could take some of the ones that aren’t going to survive and use them to harvest seeds for next year. I’m trying to figure out what I need to do to harvest and keep seeds over the winter. I’d love to not have to buy seeds next year!
Pickles was the only option at this stage. Harvesting seeds is a tricky business. We've done it in the past when good seeds were scarce but you have to be very careful if you want a good crop next year.
The vegetables must be fully ripe when harvesting seeds, which is why these are not good for this purpose. The other criteria you have to pay attention to is to select vegetables that have no diseases of any kind, otherwise you'd be spreading the disease from one year to another.
Then you have to dry the seeds very carefully, keep them in a dry place, safe from any danger.
We gave up on seed harvesting, except for beans, which is the easiest of all.
It's nice what you're trying to do so I'm wishing you good luck! I should visit your blog shortly. Let's hope I can catch up soon.
Great all didn't get destroyed by the hailstorm. Nice one with the pickling rather than letting them all go to waste