Saturday, July 2, 2011

Storm and Morning Garden Walk

We had a storm last night that 'bout knocked our socks off. Except we had just gotten into bed and our socks were already off.

Lightning, thunder, high winds and hard rain which totaled out at three-quarters of an inch according to our rain gauge this morning. I'm not surprised the storm happened as our temperatures yesterday afternoon and early evening were very strange.

In our immediate area the temperature was rapidly falling with it going down to 47 degrees at the official reporting spot in our nearby town. Thirty miles north of us they had 89 degrees at the same time. When our daughter arrived at her home (an hour from us) around 9 p.m., she called to report that her temp was in the mid-80s.

Grid power went off sometime in the night. We weren't on solar power because we've had several days of gray, overcast weather during which our batteries lost more power than they gained.

But this morning calm has returned and the sun is shining. It also feels like stepping into a sauna when you walk outside. I have hopes that will pass as the day goes on.

Above are two big healthy raspberry canes that got blown down last night. How they escaped the trellising holding them upright is a mystery.

We're going to have a bumper crop of our domestic blueberries this year.

This is a raised bed that I had cherry tomatoes in last year. This spring we tilled the whole bed and planted a cover crop of buckwheat . . . which didn't germinate. But lots of weeds did. This week when I went out to weed the bed, I found interspersed with the weeds approximately 5,074 little volunteer cherry tomato plants. I rid the bed of weeds, judiciously transplanted eleven of the little tomato plants and figured since they had survived all they did, they deserved a chance to do their thing.

Although we aren't gardening this year (ahem) and vowed to each other not to start anything new in the garden (ahem) someone who shall remain nameless (he is sometimes referred to on this blog as Papa Pea) sheepishly presented me with some Jerusalem Artichoke tubers this spring that he had "forgotten" he'd ordered and which needed to be planted. They seem to be thriving in this raised bed which we hope will contain them and keep them from spreading all over the acreage.

Last but not least, I found the first strawberry with color on it during my morning stroll through the strawberry patch. If we get some sunshine, it looks as though the strawberry harvest will begin right on schedule this year. July 4th is the date we usually get our first bowlful.

11 comments:

Patty said...

That WAS quite a storm! I'm surprised to hear it wasn't mre rain than it was. Pretty neat about the tomato plants! Happy 4th of July weekend to you and Papa Pea! :)

The Apple Pie Gal said...

The weatherman really messed up! Yesterday was real goofy here too. Not nearly as bad as yours. Muggy today! Ick!!!

We knew you and "he who goes by" couldn't really forsake gardening. Just can't fight it! So long as it doesn't overwhelm you with all the other doings and makes you happy...that's what counts. Or bellies happy I should say!

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

I am disturbed by the fact that the one who is not gardening has a better 'garden' that those of us gardening up a storm! That settles it, I am officially done gardening. I quit! (can you tell I was out in the garden today and found all kinds of new bugs and destruction) I will up for some strawberry pie later this week. That will make me feel better :)

Sue said...

Crazy temperature differences in such a small area. We could sure use a bit of rain, but you could keep the storm part. Just a nice gentle soaking!!

My strawberries should be done by Monday. I hope you have a great crop. Aside from the mold problem (a lot of MY fault!!), we had a good year with them. Now I'm eyeing those blueberries........

Judy T said...

We managed to miss the tail end of that storm that was dragging through Iowa. I heard that there were winds up to 80 mph with the main body of the storm. Glad you fared OK. The weather and temps have been strange this year, that's for sure. We went from cool temps for weeks to suddenly 95+ yesterday.
Judy

Sparkless said...

Sounds like a whooper of a storm. Glad to hear nothing was damaged. I can't believe how off the weather forecasts have been lately. We've had beautiful cool weather with enough sun to make most people happy the last couple of days.
Happy 4th of July to you!

Erin said...

I am just loving the NON-GARDEN this year, LOL!

You Can Call Me Jane said...

Your blueberries look wonderful. We need to get out blueberry act together. Glad the storm only damaged a few canes.

judy said...

at least the cool front took out the muggy air [ foe a few days ] is Jerusalem artichoke tubers, french for---"artichoke "
lol

Mama Pea said...

Patty - From what I've heard, you got more rain out your way than we did!

APG - Keep in mind that other than the salad greens and bed of slicing cucs, I haven't actually planted anything else. But just taking care of the berry patches is enough to keep anyone busy!

Jane - I do have to honestly admit that from what I've heard, our area here in northern Minnesota is faring better than most other places. I think it's probably 'cause it's too cold for too long for a lot of the insect buggers to survive!

Sue - You're thinking your strawberries should be done today . . . and I picked our first 8 oz. of them! Wonder how many miles farther south you are than we are??

Mama Pea said...

Judy - 'Bout the same crazy temperature ups and downs by us, too. It's hard to predict what's gonna be next this summer!

Sparkless - Glad your temps have been juuust right! Can't beat that.

Erin - Cut it out, Erin! Or I'll tie you in front of a bee hive and bang on it with a stick!

ThyHand - I've never kept track of how many pounds or quarts we've gotten each year off our blueberries but I'm going to do it this year. I think I'll count it in quarts. (Nobody ever talks about picking 3/4 of a pound of blueberries, do they?)

judy - Sad to report the muggy air is right back with us today. Rats.