Spring weather can be so temperamental, it can sometimes feel like we experience all of the seasons in a single day.
Frosts and cold snaps of spring are one thing, but hail can be one of the greatest risks to our gardens.
Hoop houses or high tunnels can both extend the growing season and offer protection from hail. Hoops can also provide structures to which tightly woven ‘hail cloth’ can be fastened for added protection; hail cloth can also be placed over tomato cages or other structures available in your garden.
Walls of water and gallon milk cartons (with the bottoms cut off) can be used to protect new seedlings. If you leave the cap off of these cartons, they can even be left over seedlings until the plant outgrows this structure. Your imagination is the limit! Before a hailstorm, cardboard boxes, plastic buckets, and even sheets can help prevent some of the most extreme damage from occurring; however, you should never risk personal safety to protect your garden and should only implement these methods if you are able to get out far enough ahead of a storm for it to be safe.
Here is a seven minute video on Hail Mitigation and cleanup provided by CSU Extension staff.
Extending the growing season: https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/722.pdf
If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.
