HAIL!!!!

[fisting_mayfield]

So it hailed yesterday. It wasnt too bad, but bad enough to shred my plants :(

The worst hit was my tasmanian hab, and my Bhut Halokia.

Shredded leaves aplenty!

The worst part is, i got pelted with hail while trying to rescue them, but it looks like the damage has been done.

I'll upload some photos soon

[chilehunter]

they'll come back, it happened to me last season

[fisting_mayfield]

But... but....

My plants! my beautiful plants.

I figure i wont get the harvest i was hoping for this year then

[chilehunter]

yea yea I know what you're going through, it bummed me out too when I saw the hail coming down but I didnt go outside to get them because it was close to golfball size hail coming down (for me)& I was in no mood to get pelted :lol: so I just hoped for the best.

most of my plants lost leaves, several lost branches. my worst hit where the congo trinidad & for a northern climate they still came back & produced, maybe not as much but still not much difference from the other plants I was growing just a later harvest time which isnt that bad IMO

I've thought (thats as far as I got :lol:) about building some kind of screen/stand thats overhead of the potted plants since it'd be a small enough area to make something like that.

[Pam]

So it hailed yesterday. It wasnt too bad, but bad enough to shred my plants :(

Oh no!

There are a lot of things you can plan and protect your plants from, but hail? Especially since y'all are in such serious drought; the lat thing you would want to do is prevent rain from getting to them.

We haven't had anything but the lightest of hail storms around here in years. As a matter of fact, I don't remember one that did any damage since I was a child.


The worst hit was my tasmanian hab, and my Bhut Halokia.

Shredded leaves aplenty!

The worst part is, i got pelted with hail while trying to rescue them, but it looks like the damage has been done.

I'll upload some photos soon

Yes, pictures are good! Remember, though, peppers are resilient! They'll come back even bushier, and that might even out the delay in producing. Wasn't it Devil Duck who was hit by hail late in the season? And he still got a good enough crop to make up some of his sauce.

[willard3]

Chiles are very hard to kill........

[DevilDuck]

Yeah, I got hit pretty good back in August, I think. Lots of TLC helps. If the damaged leaves turn yellow, go ahead and pick them off. Everything else will eventually fall off, but new growth will eventually come back in and the plants will be very bushy.

I had a good late season run of peppers, but my mid-season was in the crapper.

[Pishk]

That's not good fisting_mayfield!! I didn't get any at work, but I just remembered, mum said we got a bit at home. I should go and check, although apparently we barely got any at all. I'm more worried about my plants getting diseased with all this rain we are having this week :(

And Pam, as for the drought, the rain is extremely coastal, so it doesn't help at all for the drought. This time of year is the storm season. It will be hot in the day, then in the afternoon, big thunderstorms roll in, often with some hail.

p.s. fisting_mayfield, just be thankful the hail wasn't like what we had 2yrs ago with tennis ball sized hail everywhere. Your plants would definately be dead! And if you tried to save them, you probably would be too :) I remember that day! Half the cars driving on the road had no windscreens lol :o! You probably missed out on that actually, you're a bit further North than I am :)

[AlabamaJack]

Hardware cloth (1/2 inch square mesh wire) works wonders for keeping birds out and hail off of plants. I made a frame over my tomatos this year to keep the birds out and covered it with hardware cloth. I did not lose a single tomato to the birds this year. I had no hail but I can not throw a baseball through it.

[wordwiz]

AJ,

It ain't the birds or bees that hurt my tomatoes, it's the squirrels. And with a 40x6 sq./ft. growing area for them, that's a lot of chicken wire.

I wish I could them like my uncle - his plants that seemed to be the runts of the crop were still well over six feet tall! I've seen picture were they were well over his head (by a foot or more) and he was 6'3".

Not to hijack this thread, but this year I'm thinking about something like trellis gardening for the green beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. I have four rows that are framed with 2x4s that are about six feet tall (the other two feet are in the ground!) that I can run a wire. I can run a wire from one side to the other, then twine down from the wire to the ground. Use velcro to tie the plants/vines to the twine.

And as long as I'm off-topic, what about the idea of digging a trench to put the containers in? They will be thin, black plastic (like the kind one gets large plants in at a Garden Store) so they will draw a lot of heat, especially in the dead of summer. I don't really expect a summer like last year (it was above 90 degrees 40 out of 45 days, and above 100 seven days), but even temps in the high 80s with bright sunlight will bake stuff. I have a good rotary tiller so it wouldn't be hard to rake out 120' of trench, but the containers at least partially in them, then rake the dirt back along the sides. The pots are about one foot tall, so I figure a trench eight inches deep should work well.

Opinions?

[chilehunter]

wordwiz - I use concrete wire mesh thats held up by conduit (1 single row) for cucumbers to grow on, as they grow I just push the vines through the mesh. also it works great for making cages for chiles/tomatoes. the mesh isnt really a mesh its just metal wire with about 6" openings plenty of room for your hand & a tomatoe to go through.

what you mentioned it sounds like more work & using wood which will just rot over time, not to mention velcro never heard of people using velcro in their garden.

[wordwiz]

Velcro is great. It is about an half inch wide and comes in 10-25 ft. rolls. It's easy to cut and I use it instead of string or cloth to tie plants to a stake. It's also easy to undo and tie back a little higher up the plant.

Yeah, the lumber will rot in about three years or so - I just had the eight of them laying around. They were left over a couple of years ago when a contractor had to replace part of my roof because of a storm. Too warped and cured to use for anything, except for driving in the ground!

I like the idea of growing cucumbers vertically, as they can take up a bunch of ground space. Hopefully, they will also ripen better. Do you, by chance, have a picture of your set-up?

This summer, I went for quantity of veggies (trying to help the local county fair) but next year I want quality. Gone are the mustard, kale, and most of the bell pepper plants. Instead of 60 tomato plants, I'll have 30.

Tentative list (with number of rows):
The tomatoes - 2
Hot Peppers - 4
Carrots, Beets, Onions - 1/3 ea.
Cucumbers, Zucchini - 1/2 ea.
Potatoes - 1
Green Beans - 1
Squash, Eggplant, Bell Peppers
Broccoli, Peas - 1/3 and 2/3 (Followed by Grean Beans as a second crop)

By spring, I'll probably come up with a couple more things I want to plant, especially some spices.

[fisting_mayfield]

just be thankful the hail wasn't like what we had 2yrs ago with tennis ball sized hail everywhere. Your plants would definately be dead! And if you tried to save them, you probably would be too :) I remember that day! Half the cars driving on the road had no windscreens lol :o! You probably missed out on that actually, you're a bit further North than I am :)

Yeah, we got that! the gf's car is still all dented!

The weather is pretty hectic atm, I know the chilies will grow back, but its the downtime thats killing me!!!

[bentalphanerd]

Thought it was my turn today...got so dark at 3 pm I had to turn the house lights on. It didn't miss us by much, lots of reports of damage around town.

Speaking of cars...those little rice bubble shaped things have the windshield as part of the structural strength. If it gets broken by hail the roof will sag before you can get it fixed & the car is written off.
Gotta love progress :P

[fisting_mayfield]

gotta love insurance!!! get a windscreen smashed in... get a new car!!!!

Yeah the east coast is hectic atm, its so bloody hot here by day, then the black/blue clouds roll in and its battle stations!!!.

The chilies love the hot, humid weather tho... But my hab keeps dropping flowers!

[bentalphanerd]

Must have been 35 C here before the clouds came through, I went down to Bunnings & scored a few metres of shade cloth & a heavy duty staple gun. Leaned two 4 x 2 hardwood stumps against the wall of the house & stapled the cloth between them.
Enough room under there to fit a card table with all my young plants & covers them from the midday sun. Maybe a little hail protection too.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6062/shadenk3.th.jpg (http://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shadenk3.jpg)

[bentalphanerd]

can you tell i haven't mowed for 2 weeks :lol:

[fisting_mayfield]

good thinking batman!!!

I have a huge balcony, so i have my seedlings up there, but i have the chilies downstairs in the direct sunlight

[fisting_mayfield]

LOL yeha i was gonna comment about the size of the grass!!

[bentalphanerd]

i like to harden them to hot weather...but kind of defeats the purpose when their leaves are being burned off. The established plants are loving it though.

[bentalphanerd]

LOL yeha i was gonna comment about the size of the grass!!

That really is 2 weeks worth :lol:

[fisting_mayfield]

lol
things grow bigger in QLD!!

Speaking of QLD, my holiday to brisvegas has been put off temporarily, but i still do intend on making the trek sometime soon, probably over the hols.

I'm looking forward to that curry, only i do prefer Indian over thai...

[bentalphanerd]

Cool - I'll be away for some of the Hols up at Hervey Bay (you're welcome to visit there too if you dont mind driving an extra 3 hours north). PM me the dates you'll be here when you know....I'll polish the good cutlery (then hide it)

How about a Vindaloo, I should have a Bih Jolokia to drop in it by then. Or maybe we'll just BBQ some burgers with a few fresh Habs :P

[fisting_mayfield]

I love a vindaloo!!!

I have a massive mortar + pestle, and enjoy bashing up my own mix often!!!

I'll be sure to pm you when i know the dates of my arrival. you can let the rest of brisbane know too, as i'll be bringing red paint!

PS: check your pms

[bentalphanerd]

We should get together with billyboy & stillmanz when you come up....we'll all hit an Indian restaurant and see if we can scare the cook :hell:

I think I know just the place :think:

[chilliman64]

my little seedlings have been hit by slugs, already! I only planted out on Sunday. I used a sugar cane mulch. on top of that I've had a few die on me! I can't believe it. I think I should have hardened them off a bit longer...

[fisting_mayfield]

my little seedlings have been hit by slugs, already! I only planted out on Sunday. I used a sugar cane mulch. on top of that I've had a few die on me! I can't believe it. I think I should have hardened them off a bit longer...

:(

I share your pain chilliman!!!

[bentalphanerd]

my little seedlings have been hit by slugs, already! I only planted out on Sunday. I used a sugar cane mulch. on top of that I've had a few die on me! I can't believe it. I think I should have hardened them off a bit longer...

Oh no! what is it, the heat?

[billyboy]

I spent the afternoon staking out with star pickets & fencing wire my outside Nagas after the heavy downpour we got here today had them at parallel with ground level :shocked: I keep repeating a chant when those clouds started building "Its not going to hail, Its not going to hail" We got 50mm of rain in two hours.

[fisting_mayfield]

yeah it absolutely poured here.

its a catch 33 realy...

put pots outside and get them smashed by hail, put them under cover and they dont get as much light...

[chilliman64]

Oh no! what is it, the heat?

I don't know. I'm very depressed :( I went straight down the shops and bought some slug/snail baits and manually ejected any of the little legless critters I could find.

it may have been the heat. we've just had huge rains also in the last few days. it looks like I've lost about 10 seedlings out of the 30-odd I planted. I've still got about 15 in the lightbox - 7pots, scorpions and some others that I can't identify thanks to 'the tragedy' incident.

all is not lost, yet. if I don't get any pods I may have to freeload off some of my very generous buddies for freshies *looks at fellow Aussie THPers with a pathetic puppy-dog expression hoping for positive responses...* hehehehe

[fisting_mayfield]

Dude, if i get any surplus, you're welcome to them!

[billyboy]

After my clean up there were a few broken branches, I put them in a bucket of water with a bit of supaT & now have 12 cuttings of pure Nagas to care for over the next couple of weeks till they find their legs.

[bentalphanerd]

:resists the urge to run away:

mate thats terrible - you're having a real IGG year. I'll send sympathy pods as they appear.

It has been an evil heat through the day...leaves have been burning off 2 & 3 month old plants here in a matter of hours. And they've been outdoors their whole life.

[chilliman64]

thanks dudes! I've already got the map out and I'm planning the 'free chiles for chilliman64' pilgrimmage.

[fisting_mayfield]

LOL

An east coast tour?

[stillmanz]

Shade house are the bomb Mine are allhome made (read pretty dodgey) but stay up rain hail and shine and over summer inn Brisbane the plants love the filtered light.

[fisting_mayfield]

yeah i was thinking of bringing them out of the weather, but they are groing so well in the full sun!!!

[chilehunter]

wordwiz - sorry dont have a picture of the setup, its taken down after the season so the garden can be tilled, which is about 30' x 80' (never measured it so just a guess) but you can use anything to stake into the ground to hold the wire mesh vertical, I used the conduit because it was laying around & simple to pound far enough down.

I think the concrete mesh is great for garden purposes if you want something to grow on vertically & if you like cages I'd think you could make them cheaper using this vs buying premade cages, plus you can make them to what ever size you want & allow them to open up.

also rigged up hoses with Y's with quick disconnects on top of the fence that fences in the garden so I can walk to any spot with a smaller hose (about ? 12' ?) & water vs trying to pull a really long hose around in the garden & worry about constently breaking plants while pulling on the hose. one main hose on top then just connect at any location with the smaller hose.

never thought about using velcro, might look into it for the chiles since tieing them to stakes kinda sucks.

[AlabamaJack]

Dang...sorry to hear about your bad luck with the hail. Its just a matter of time before I get hit again. Haven't had hail at my house in Ft Worth in probably 3 years (other places in Ft Worth have had some good sized hail).

Seems to me you Aussies have a much better climate to grow peppers in than I do. We had dang near record rainfall this year ( Probably 50" so far this year ) and my peppers didn't fare as well as I thought they should have. The volume or rain plus the mild summer we had (didn't break 38C more than a couple of times this year).

[Pam]

Seems to me you Aussies have a much better climate to grow peppers in than I do. We had dang near record rainfall this year ( Probably 50" so far this year )


Ah ha!! You're the bastard who's been hogging all the rain! You are *so* busted! Hand it over, mister!



and my peppers didn't fare as well as I thought they should have.

Ha! That's rain hogging karma!

[AlabamaJack]

" redfaced lookin' down at my feet shufflin' in the dust"

Sorry about hoggin' the rain...I swear it was NOT my fault...I am happy with 26 inches a year.

I promise I will do better Ms. Pam

[chilliman64]

LOL

An east coast tour?

I'll go where ever the (free) hot pods are!

[fisting_mayfield]

I sure hope i get a few spare then!!!!!

[chilliman64]

I sure hope i get a few spare then!!!!!

fister - I'll be more than happy to ride one of my bikes to the Hunter and shout you a counter lunch T-bone and a brew or two in exchange for a handful of pods

[bentalphanerd]

fister - I'll be more than happy to ride one of my bikes to the Hunter and shout you a counter lunch T-bone and a brew or two in exchange for a handful of pods

I plucked off 4 x 2nd generation bird/habs today along with an orange hab & 2 Siams...they're staying fresh in the fridge. I'll send next week because it looks like there'll be several more orange habs ready tomorrow & a bunch of asian somethings by Sunday.

You could always just catch a plane up tomorrow. I'm doing daddy burgers on the Q & hooking into that fine Naga that billyboy sent me. Of course you'll have to help change the UJ that disintegrated on my Tarago today, but that'll be fun too ;)

Long story short, I hear you mate, package of fresh pods are coming your way :cheers:

[chilliman64]

it's ok, I'm not at the 'cut my wrists if I don't get a couple of hot fresh pods soon' stage.

if I was to help with your universal joint I'd be best passing you the tools and cold beers - I'm no wrench by any means!

did the jerky arrive?

[bentalphanerd]

if I was to help with your universal joint I'd be best passing you the tools and cold beers - I'm no wrench by any means!

did the jerky arrive?

well of course....tools & beer & flip the burgers. I've learned enough not to let a toyota guy near my tarago :P

no jerky today mate, but I think they deliver on Sat. too this time of year...heres hoping.

Bag of miscellaneous pods coming at u next week :cool:

[Pam]

if I was to help with your universal joint I'd be best passing you the tools and cold beers - I'm no wrench by any means!


Do you make appropriate little "oh's" and "ah's" during manly displays of universal joint know how? Do you perch primly on the fender and gaze with wide-eyed wonder as every excruciating detail of the desperate hand to hand combat against a rusty bolt is retold? There's a lot more to being a tool handler then sipping a cold brew, you know.

[bentalphanerd]

Sure do Pam, lots of "oh's" and "ah's"...I even know where the UJ is on a car....& it can't be seen from the fender :P I do however have trouble making my own breakfast & darning wear holes in my socks. Think you could help?

[Pam]

Sure do Pam, lots of "oh's" and "ah's"...I even know where the UJ is on a car....& it can't be seen from the fender :P

Whether or not you can see the universal joint is irrelevant, which all proper "oh'ers" and "ah'ers" know. It's the faux admiration for manly endeavors that matters, else how will one elicit more manly endeavors when things like bad plumbing or the "check Engine" light happen?



I do however have trouble making my own breakfast & darning wear holes in my socks. Think you could help?

I can say "Darn sock", before tossing it in the trash. As to breakfast, I *am* a Southern woman. Don't request breakfast unless you're bringing a manly appetite with you. And like grits.

[fisting_mayfield]

It could be a while chilliman, i'm just starting to get some pods now...
But when they do ripen, i'll have plenty!

[chilliman64]

Do you make appropriate little "oh's" and "ah's" during manly displays of universal joint know how? Do you perch primly on the fender and gaze with wide-eyed wonder as every excruciating detail of the desperate hand to hand combat against a rusty bolt is retold? There's a lot more to being a tool handler then sipping a cold brew, you know.

this must be something the sisterhood share with each other to make their menfolk feel useful - thanks for sharing Pam

It could be a while chilliman, i'm just starting to get some pods now...
But when they do ripen, i'll have plenty!

hopefully hail season is drawing to an end, but probably not. the 'hail-belt' extends from Nowra to Newcastle in NSW and every year without fail we have a few of our customers experience hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to their businesses, as none have yet been effected I'd say there's more on the way.

I'm already thinking that this season is a write-off for me and I'm starting to think about next years grow list... might cut the number of varieties back to just 4 or 5.

[Pam]

this must be something the sisterhood share with each other to make their menfolk feel useful - thanks for sharing Pam

Just admit you're a sadly inadequate tool holder. Why, I bet you're one of those men who gets all squeamish about handling another man's tools.

[chilliman64]

Just admit you're a sadly inadequate tool holder. Why, I bet you're one of those men who gets all squeamish about handling another man's tools.

ok now I'm starting to feel a little (read: extremely) uncomfortable with the direction this thread is heading...

[Pam]

ok now I'm starting to feel a little (read: extremely) uncomfortable with the direction this thread is heading...

I win! I win!

[bentalphanerd]

I ended up calling 4 local wrecking yards - all of them had the part I needed. After 2 hours of laying in mud in 40 C heat.....none of them had the part...well two did but (yes Pam) the nuts were so badly burred you couldn't get the shaft out.

[DevilDuck]

No comment...........

[chilliman64]

I win! I win!

no contest, I can't think of any witty comeback at all.

[fisting_mayfield]

I'm not gonna even start...

hey did you see on the new inventors, the guy that invented the frictionless UJ/CVJ?

Get your hands on a couple of them for the toyota!

[Pam]

I ended up calling 4 local wrecking yards - all of them had the part I needed. After 2 hours of laying in mud in 40 C heat.....none of them had the part...well two did but (yes Pam) the nuts were so badly burred you couldn't get the shaft out.

Having spent several days last August as Chief Tool Hander Under-er and Lunch Maker in the titanic struggle to replace the exhaust system of a '94 Nissan that had been driven in upstate New York winters, I am intimately informed on rusty bolts and massive amount of swearing they inspire.


Whew! That long a sentence this early in the morning...I need more caffeine.

[chilliman64]

...hopefully hail season is drawing to an end, but probably not. the 'hail-belt' extends from Nowra to Newcastle in NSW and every year without fail we have a few of our customers experience hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to their businesses, as none have yet been effected I'd say there's more on the way...

I'm changing my name to Nostradamus!

we just got hit by a huge hailstorm. our front and back yards are littered with leaf debris and melting chunks of ice. we sustained several broken roof tiles. my car is covered in dents and the front windscreen is smashed.

as if my poor little babies haven't been through enough :(

in their first week of life they have been scorched, attacked by slugs and snails and now been belted by hail...

looking forward to the Spring of 2008 (starts 1st Sept) - not long to go now :(

[chilliman64]

this is what we got

warning (https://http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDN65156.shtml)

[bentalphanerd]

this is what we got

warning (https://http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDN65156.shtml)

that links dodgy mate...I couldn't work it out.

I did read this:

A Bureau of Meteorology spokesman said the storm was expected to move out to sea following the deluge of rain, hail and damaging winds on the Central Coast.

"There's been quite a swath of large hail,'' he said.

''(We've had) lots of reports of hail of golf-ball size, we've had a few reports of hail up to seven centimetres in a couple of places.''



Dude...7 CM :shocked:

[stillmanz]

Man that sucks, my last year season was crapfor me, I experimented with hydro and killed and stunted just about everything. the thing is when I ignore the plants and let them do there thing the little buggers always come back and do well...its very frustrating.
Are you growing fatalii this year?
For me this year they are my achellies heel. Allof them are stunted and its killing me but I KNOW I'll get them in the beds and forget about them and by february they will be angry yellow fire balls everywere..murphy's law.

good luck man,
Mick

[Pam]

I'm changing my name to Nostradamus!

we just got hit by a huge hailstorm. our front and back yards are littered with leaf debris and melting chunks of ice. we sustained several broken roof tiles. my car is covered in dents and the front windscreen is smashed.


Oh no, how awful! That's some serious hail if it broke your windshield. I'm glad you weren't out in it.

Don't give up on the peppers, they're amazingly tough, and they can come back.

[fisting_mayfield]

yeah i was on the central coast last night... it was pretty hectic, but we didnt get any hail.

I was however calling my mates in newcastle every 5 minutes to check wether it was hailing here tho... paranoid!!!

Anyway, my plants are loving the weather chilliman, so i'm sure i'll have some pods for you sometime early next year!!!

[bentalphanerd]

Looks like you were lucky no-one got killed,

http://linksdisk.alphanerdz.com/stuff/hail.jpg

http://linksdisk.alphanerdz.com/stuff/hail_2.jpg

[fisting_mayfield]

thems some big hail

[Canuk Pepperhead]

All I can say is holy shit dude..we had a major dump here but nothing like that

[billyboy]

Crikey, those hailstones are the size of cricket balls :shocked:

The place must look a mess :(

[bentalphanerd]

link to some video

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-AU&brand=ninemsn&vid=0ee2419b-4daa-4224-af3f-cc0f190bea31

http://images.netshow.ninemsn.com.au/000/115/171/115171.jpg (http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-AU&brand=ninemsn&vid=0ee2419b-4daa-4224-af3f-cc0f190bea31)


Sorry about the lead-in ad.

[chilliman64]

even though my car got belted and has a smashed windscreen, as did chilliwoman's car, plus we had a heap of broken roof tiles and other plants damaged. but it's the damage to my chile plants that has caused me the most grief.

I received my bentalphanerd fresh chile care package yesterday - dude, you saved me! thansks!!! there was some great looking sauce and some strange looking distilled water in there also - I don't think I'll be able to drink either of them neat...

[bentalphanerd]

I received my bentalphanerd fresh chile care package yesterday - dude, you saved me! thansks!!! there was some great looking sauce and some strange looking distilled water in there also - I don't think I'll be able to drink either of them neat...

no problem mate, glad you enjoy them. I know the SES doesn't stock such things. Sure they'll throw a tarp over the hole in your roof & drop you a food parcel....but what do you really need :lol:

[chilliman64]

sweet liquor eases the pain!!!!!!!!!

hmmmmmmmm.... liquor and pain in one of Homer's quotes... maybe your latest forays into bottled water and chile sauces were foreseen by the great Homer J Simpson!!!

[bentalphanerd]

hmmmmmmmm.... liquor and pain in one of Homer's quotes...

Thats from the Iliad isn't it :think:

[chilliman64]

are you referring to the quote or the name? either way, it may be my learned friend - I heard the quote first from Homer J :) so it's a Homerism for me