In the spring of 2006, just before relocating to Idaho, a super cell ripped through our town breaking windows and damaging cars…. We suffered both. Hand sized chunks of jagged ice dropped like bombs from the sky. It was a bad storm.

We will never forget that freaky, weird, green color in the sky which was the tell tale sign of the danger that moved us [...]]]>

Found this pic on-line...We had hail this large in 2006

Hail Storms in the West….

In the spring of 2006, just before relocating to Idaho, a super cell ripped through our town breaking windows and damaging cars…. We suffered both. Hand sized chunks of jagged ice dropped like bombs from the sky. It was a bad storm.

We will never forget that freaky, weird, green color in the sky which was the tell tale sign of the danger that moved us quickly inside to safety. I knew more than one person that was badly bruised from getting caught outside without cover. Several friends had windows broken. The car dealers took a real bad hit… Our new Nissan was badly dimpled as were most of the cars in the area.  Fortunately because of our impending move we didn’t plant a garden that year. If we had, it would have been utterly destroyed.

Keeping the Garden…

That was by far the most severe storm I’d ever encountered in Oregon in my 41 years of living there. Every year, though, we would experience hail storms that would threaten to pulverize new seed beds. Little starts would be pummeled to destruction by marble sized hail. Larger plants would have their leaves ripped and battered; stunting growth and inviting disease after the storm had passed.

So now, I try to make every effort to protect tender plants from the devastation of pelting ice rocks.

I cover the potatoes with a covering of straw. Use grass reed fencing to protect young peas and lettuce plants. Tender herbs are protected using whatever is available inverted buckets or baskets work well . Strong winds usually accompany hail so precautions need to be taken to ensure the “cover” won’t end up at the neighbors or into another one of  YOUR planted areas..causing more damage. Well placed rocks, bricks , stepping stones, etc make good weights for holding down cover. I have them staged around my yard for just such occasions.

 

Food in the garden=Money in the bank

A  healthy garden is like money in the bank…

Food prices are going up.. who knows where they will top out…
I need to protect my investment of money and time with a little preparation. Hopefully this season won’t see any super cell storms,  but if it does I’ll be ready.  Knowing what you will do when severe or unseasonal weather threatens your kitchen garden is an important consideration.. My advice to new gardeners is this… have your protection supplies ready. It only takes 5 minutes of pelting hail to ruin your plants.

Have a plan and be ready to go.

Stage your materials around the ares of the garden that you feel are at the most risk. Tender herbs and small seedlings are the most vulnerable. Don’t wait until the hail is already coming down. Be alert to changes in the weather . Feel the air is it icy ? has the wind picked up? are the clouds dark and threatening? With all the crazy weather going on, fine tune  YOUR radar to what is going on around you.

If you can’t be home make plans to have non-damaging cover over your plants if you feel the threat of bad weather is high. But don’t leave things like dark colored buckets over the top of plants all day if you expect it to be sunny. You’ll come home to cooked plants.

If you have a stay at home neighbor that you can trust with your yard, make arrangements with them in advance to protect your garden in your absence. If they ever have to help you, don’t forget to share the bounty with them

New to Gardening?

Don’t be a worry wart but do be proactive.. And even if it does ‘hail on your parade’, it’s not the end of the world. If you sustain damage just get busy and replant as soon as the weather permits. Your garden is extension of your kitchen and with practice you’ll learn to  keep up with it as easily as you do your inside pantry.

My grandson Ashton, enjoying the idea of eating Savta's watermelon.

Thanks to DutchSinse YouTuber for his valuable weather monitoring…  http://www.youtube.com/user/dutchsinse

Here’s a little video to encourage you to be ready to protect your veggies and herbs…

Blessings….and as always!   Keep Food REAL!

Judith

So don’t wait…. get [...]]]> It’s not too early to get ready  for the bounty of the season..

A quality dehydrator is essential equipment during the growing season to ensure you get the most from your gardening efforts.

Please, seriously consider purchasing the Excalibur Dehydrator. With use, it pays for itself the first year!

Example…..Make your own Energy bars, store price $2.49  home made $ .75 ….

I’ve owned, and borrowed, various dehydrators over the years and by far the Excalibur IS the BEST!

So don’t wait…. get yours before you have a counter over flowing with    produce

Keep Food REAL

Blessings, Judith

I appreciate your making your order through my site…

Kitchen Counter Culture donates 10% of profits to help farmers and vineyard owners in the Shomron region of Israel

	Organic Vegetable Gardening Excalibur is the PERFECT companion tool for fruit growers & vegetable gardeners! It’s not uncommon for an avid gardener to harvest hundreds of pounds of plums or tomatoes all at once — far more fresh produce than any one family could dream of consuming. What do you do with all that abundance? Millions of gardeners give away tons of extra veggies – Save it for yourself – DEHYDRATE It ! Dehydrating is the ideal companion to a high-production garden because you can process fruits and vegetables all through the season; you don’t need a big batch to get started; you CAN process big batches when the garden starts bearing; preparation time and effort is minimal; you need hardly any space to store your dried foods; they keep indefinitely; and are easy to use in recipes all year long. Reasons Gardeners Love the Excalibur 3000 Series 26 Hour Timer – Load your trays, set the thermostat and timer. Your 3000 Series model will maintain the proper temperature during the drying cycle and will then turn itself off at the end of your designated drying time. Even at 3:00 a.m., while you’re sleeping! — In addition, we use a premium-quality, motor-driven timer to keep track of the actual drying time even if the power goes off and on again. (Digital timers go back to “0″.) Polycarbonate – The case, door, and trays of all 3000 Series models are constructed using space-age polycarbonate. Extremely strong and heat resistant. Built-in Safety Features – Yes, you can leave your Excalibur unattended! Excalibur dehydrators have three separate circuits to protect them from electrical malfunctions. Adjustable Thermostat – All Excalibur dehydrators have an adjustable thermostat for best flavor, fastest drying, highest nutritional value, and overall versatility. Great Flavor – Dried foods have wonderful, intense flavor. It’s Simple – Just cut, dry, & bag . It’s Nutritious – Your foods retain more nutrition than canning. Inexpensive – Buy foods in-season, in bulk, on sale and save. Easy – It’s extremely easy to dry foods in an Excalibur. Useful – You can use dried foods in thousands of recipes. Easy to Store – Any food-grade jar or zip-lock bag will hold dried foods perfectly. Compact – Dried foods store in far less space than cans or freezer boxes. Easy to Pack – Toss a bag of dried fruit in your briefcase, purse, or lunchbox. Lightweight – No extra weight means a lot to campers, RV’ers and backpackers. Clean – Dried treats won’t melt into a sticky mess all over your furniture or car seats. Many more uses – Gardeners dry foods AND raise bread, crisp crackers, culture yogurt, dry flowers, and make craft projects with their Excalibur! What would you do with 100 lbs. of snap beans? Give them away? Throw them away? Let ‘em go to waste? Can or freeze them? DEHYDRATE THEM! From the first stalk of rhubarb to the very last pumpkin. If you garden, your Excalibur Factory-Direct 3000 Series Dehydrator will be your constant companion from early spring to late, late fall. Pick a little, dry a little, from one end of the season to the other. When winter chills bring gardening to a close, turn to other uses for your Excalibur. During the lull between growing seasons, try your hand at crafts, jerky, holiday ornaments, just to name a few. Non Gardeners Please Note: The Excalibur makes sense for NON-GARDENERS, too! Those who garden have easy access to Nature’s bounty. But don’t feel bad if you don’t garden: with the Excalibur, you can enjoy all that goodness and nutrition, too. Stock up at harvest time. Fancy fruits and vegetables are pricey out of season. That’s because they’re perishable and must be sold when they’re ready. Take advantage of the over abundance, in-season, by capturing all that healthy wholesomeness with your Excalibur. In addition to your grocery isles, check your local farmer’s market, roadside produce stands, and be sure to check with your gardening neighbors. One of your friends may be searching for someone to share in their bountiful harvest. The last thing most gardeners want is for their excess produce to go into their compost bins. No such thing as “too many tomatoes!” Tomatoes and the Excalibur are made for each other! No food is as versatile as the lovely, juicy, red tomato. Dry tomatoes whole, in slices, or in chunks, and you have the main ingredient to 1,001 delicious dishes your family will love! To name a few… Pizza Salad Toppings Soups Sauces Meats Seafood Pasta Dishes Rice & Egg Dishes Gourmet Sandwiches Savory Appetizers V-8-Style Juices

Where has the summer gone? …. Here’s the latest

The 2010 winner of the Global Sun Oven was Erik Elmer of Nampa, Idaho!

Erik will be sending me some pictures of him with his Sun Oven. I look forward to sharing them here! Once a year, Yah willing, KCC will give away, via a drawing a Sun Oven. So stay tuned for how to enter next year’s drawing. Maybe it will be you!