Most farmers tuck tail this time of year because of the heavy rains and chance of a devastating hurricane, but not me. Of course I stand a risk of losing plants, and I most likely will.
There are some things I do, however, and you can do in your home garden, to better prepare your plants for a storm.
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Here are some steps you can take to better prepare yourself for a storm.
1. Know when the storm is likely to hit and plan on preparing a couple of days before. Do not attempt to go out in the storm and move stuff around. This will also give you ample time to clean any messy areas that could be hazardous.
2. Best to have any trees or leggy plants trimmed, this should be done as we enter storm season and not when storm is on way. Don't do big trimming right before a storm. Those branches are now heavy projectiles.
3. Turn off irrigation; if possible shut main line or power. If a tree goes down and breaks the pipe, water will run and add more flooding.
4. Bring in delicate plants if possible. Any plant that has a delicate leaves or stands tall, will most likely take a hit.
5. Plants that you can't bring in should be tucked into a corner. You can also use and entrance way, screen room, or garage to protect plants (careful not to block access). Large hedges can also make a good anchoring point as well.
6. Tall plants and trellis should be laid down. If too tall and heavy maybe try and anchor with rope and stakes. If trellises are staked in the ground, just pull them up and lay them on the ground with plant attached.
7. Pick any fruit that is close to being ripe; it will most likely get ripped off anyhow.
8. Bring in garden furniture. If garden furniture cannot be brought in, stack in corner, or by fence, or under tree, or in hedges, and tie it together and tie to fence, tree, or hedge. A child's playground will also work as a good anchor point, unless it is smaller, then it must be moved and tied down as well. Try to lock furniture together by turning chairs upside down on each other and laying them down, then stack table on top and tie.
9. Do not put lawn furniture in your pool. This can permanently damage the finish or even cause a leak.
10. Bring in the grill or tie it down as well. It's not as heavy as you think.
11. Scan your yard for anything else that could turn into a projectile in heavy winds, i.e. signs, gnomes, pots, the dog and other decorations.
12. Close all doors and windows on sheds, and reinforce if possible.
Use common sense when preparing, anything that can catch wind should be moved or properly tied down. Make sure when tying things down that the rope can handle the load. Don't use string to tie down heavy objects, look for nylon rope. Make sure knots are tight and rope is tight around objects without any play. Good luck!
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