A Minor Set Back

There's nothing quite like a hail storm to totally deflate a gardener. We get more hail in Fort Collins than I saw growing up in the Midwest. Couple that with too little rain and you've got a very tough place to be a gardener. But, there is always hope! I received some plant-saving tips from a local garden center the day after the storm. I put these tips into practice and the garden is already looking so much better.

The aftermath of the hail storm looked like this:



A sad garden

Shredded Strawberry plants



Lots of compost food

 I followed the garden center's tips and pinched off all damaged leaves, being very careful to leave slightly damaged and healthy leaves to provide energy for the struggling plants. Remembering that nothing is wasted that goes into the compost, I was content with the fact that I'd be able to use the depressing remnants of once-thriving plants to help plants thrive next year. There's nothing like compost to remind you of the ecological cycle! Then, I bought some "compost tea" (a liquid solution made by steeping compost in water) from the garden center and poured it on all of my veggies and most of the new perennials. I continued to water as needed. Now, about two weeks later, all but one plant (a Hubbard squash I wasn't too excited about anyway) have bounced back and grown many new leaves.

Yet another lesson learned -- no matter how dire the situation looks, there is almost always a way to save your plants. Just look to the experts; they've likely dealt with all of the set backs you will encounter more than once and have found a useful way to cope.