New Moon Greetings – July 5, 2024
Didn’t See it Coming
When I began gardening in Colorado, hail was not on my planning list. I knew that gardening would be harder in Denver than in Pennsylvania where I’d grown up. Water falls from the sky routinely in Pennsylvania. Rainfall in Erie, PA averages 42 inches a year. In Denver the average rainfall is about 15 inches – quite a difference.
I knew that mulching heavily to conserve water would be important. But I didn’t factor in the stress on plants from daily temperature extremes or the drying wind that can suck the life out of plants. And I had certainly had never heard about the season of hail.
Meteorologists refer to Denver and surrounding areas as the “hail capital” of North America. (Who knew?) Hail season peaks in June and July, sometimes with nine hail storms a season. Not every storm brings damaging hail. But if you have ever had hail decimate your entire garden, leaving only stubble (as I have), every thunderstorm creates some anxiety.
Why So Much Hail in Denver?
Hail is created during thunderstorms when there are strong updrafts that carry raindrops high up into the coldest parts of the clouds. Raindrops then turn into ice. During a strong thunderstorm, the frozen droplets are swept up into the high atmosphere multiple times. Each time they will gain another coating of ice until finally they are too heavy to stay in the clouds.
There is often hail in the upper atmosphere during a storm, but in places like Erie, PA, it has to fall further to reach the ground. There is much more chance of it melting and turning back to rain along the way.
Denver, however, is 5,280 feet above sea level – a mile high. And because of that elevation, it is closer to where the hail is being formed. The falling hail has a much better chance of reaching the ground, and that can result in golf ball size hail in Denver.
What’s a Gardener to Do?
If you are a gardener in Colorado, you must factor in hail and consider how you’ll protect your plants. I’m growing more and more plants in pots on my patio where it is easy to pull them under cover if it starts to hail. I have a friend who plants in large planters with wheels so she can easily pull plants to safety.
For raised beds, it is easy to create hoops to drape anti-hail fabric over. You’ll need ¾ inch PVC pipes that come in 10-foot lengths along with 8 inch pieces of rebar (steel reinforcing bar). Both items can be found at any hardware. Hoops can be spaced about 4 feet apart. Hammer the rebar partially into the ground on either side of the bed. Then fit the PVC pipe onto the part that is sticking out of the ground and stretch it over the bed to meet the other piece of rebar.
Many garden centers in Denver now sell hail cloth, but if you need a big quantity one of the best places to get hail cloth is the Greenhouse Megastore. (No, this is not an affiliate link. I just really like their products and their prices are fair, especially if you need a large quantity.) You can use 3 inch binder clips (used for keeping papers together) to hold the fabric on the hoops.
There are fancier and more expensive ways to do this. You can order kits online. However the PVC pipes and rebar are economical and functional.
The Hail’s Perspective
Just for fun, let’s start with a thought experiment and imagine things from the hail’s perspective. It gets bigger and stronger the longer it is thrown around in the updrafts of the storm, amidst the wind and lightning and being pummeled by other ice pellets. Each time it rises it adds another coating of ice, a kind of frozen armor. So it is possible even in the midst of chaos to put on one’s armor. And if you were a piece of hail wanting to make a dramatic appearance, the longer you could put up with the intensity of the storm, the stronger and bigger you’d be. There is something to the idea of adversity making one stronger – at least for hail.
Gifts of Hail
Reminders to be grateful are some of the gifts of hail. I am grateful for the moisture – even in solid form – especially now that the garden is protected. And I am thankful that hail cloth is easy to access. It does make me sad that I cannot see and enjoy my garden beds when they are draped with fabric. But it is a small price to pay for protection. I can’t imagine gardening here on the plains without it.
Hail also forces us to be mindful of the weather, which can change quickly in Denver. Certainly I paid some attention to the weather when I gardened in Pennsylvania. But I feel like Denver requires much more attentiveness to the rapid shifts from good to bad. So hail is a garden reminder of mindfulness.
My personal experience with hail also reminds me of the truism that “we don’t know what we don’t know.” I moved to Denver not knowing anything about the season of hail. It wasn’t in my garden experience so there was no way I could ask about it. How do we discern things that are outside our awareness? It is a puzzle.
Certainly, part of the answer is to stay curious and pay attention, both are types of mindfulness practice. However, even with that, life can surprise us – sometimes with golf ball size hail and other challenges. We can do our best to be prepared while simultaneously surrendering to the fact that life is unpredictable – just like hail.
About this Blog Post & and Global Healing Circles
This post is part of my lunar blog series. For the time being I’ll be posting on each new moon (not the new and full moon as I did the last few years because of some other writing projects). I’m posting this blog early because I’ll be traveling for the eclipse. Usually, blogs will post each new moon and will be related to plants and ideas featured in my book, Growing Mindful. or on other topics related to mindfulness, gardens, and intentional living. For more details and a list of past lunar blog posts, click here.
An invitation to healing circles. One of my new projects this year is partnering with other graduates of the IIQTC (Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi) to offer virtual HeART of Body Compassionate Self Care Practice Circles based on qigong and tai chi. Check out the information here: Global Healing Circles or contact me if you need more information.
Joann, if you moved to another state that you did not know about, or even a very different part of Colorado, what would you do differently to get informed about weather patterns and gardening?
I think I’d join a Facebook or other online group of gardeners from that area so I could hear about the ongoing issues and challenges. The books I consulted on growing food in the west never discussed hail. Perhaps I was reading the wrong books, but a lot of the focus was on managing water, which is of course important.