Hail in the Garden

Posted by Jamie McIntosh Apr 27, 2008

I live in a part of the country that some might say is set up for the perfect storm. In the springtime, cool air flowing down from the Rocky Mountains meets warm, moist air traveling up from the Gulf of Mexico. In its worst permutation, this weather pattern is the reason folks call this area “tornado alley.” In normal years, we must deal with severe thunderstorms, microbursts, flooding, and hailstorms. My exuberance for the generous rains and explosive growth I’ve experienced in my garden over the last few weeks dimmed my memory, or at least cast a glaze over these damaging, if not violent possibilities.

On the eve of Earth Day, a downpour jerked me awake at 2:37 am. I could see the clock clearly, not because it’s digital, but because the unceasing lightening beamed through my window like the probe of a UFO. A minute later, the cacophony of the hail began. Oh, dear, I had forgotten about the hail we’re subject to. I thought back to previous years, when hailstorms reduced my plants to ribbons. Some plants recovered, some did not. I listened for 12 miserable minutes until the stones finally abated.

It was painful to consider the prospect of surveying the damage in the morning, but I finally managed to drag my eyes to the picture window. A bubble of fear in my stomach turned to mirth and escaped as a giggle: not a single petal had fallen.

Some scientists say that violent storms will increase over the next decade because of global warming. However, the Rodale Institute has found that “organic soils actually scrub the atmosphere of global warming gases by capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide and converting it into soil material.” It’s another way organic gardening positively impacts the earth.