Thursday 18th April 2013 – Hail hurts on bear arms, ouch!

My afternoon up the allotment was cut short by the weather. For the first hour and a bit it was lovely and sunny. They had forecast showers, but there seemed to be no sign of that, so I thought “How lucky”. Then the clouds turned a dark grey and I could see the rain in the distance. Trying to blow them the other way I carried on with my digging and planting 32 more onions. Then it rained, nothing to stop me as it was quite light, then it hailed and came down very heavy. Hail really hurts when it hits your arms, especially if all you’ve got on your top is a t-shirt. It was time to retreat to the car for a while. When I could return to digging we suddenly had 2 rumbles of thunder. Not something I mess about with, especially when the implement you’re holding is metal (the perfect conductor). So I finished off the line I was doing and packed away. Tomorrow looks dry and far less windy, so I may take a lunch down with me and stay most of the day. It may mean I’ll have to use the Portaloo on site. I’m not keen on them, they make me shudder, but if I’m really desperate…..

8 Responses to Thursday 18th April 2013 – Hail hurts on bear arms, ouch!

david gray says:

April 18, 2013 at 2:41 pm

high winds here in south lincs, and i was awoken this morning to the sound of my mini walk in greenhouse taking off !!! lost several plants too, so not a happy bunny. good job i have lots on the windowsills indoors mind. i find these mini greenhouse covers to be tight fitting, have you ever used one ? they seem to spit down the zips way to quickly, surely the designer should make them with some leeway.

- lindasgarden says:
  
  April 18, 2013 at 3:01 pm
  
  Yes David i have used one before and they do tear very quickly indeed I
  
- clairesallotment says:
  
  April 18, 2013 at 3:09 pm
  
  Oh no, you poor thing. The pegs they give you for them are useless. You have to secure them to the ground with paving slabs. You can get hold of some fairly cheaply. Tuck the flap at the bottom inside the greenhouse and then put the slabs all the way round on the flap. It held mine in place. They don’t tell you that in the instructions. I’ve used the mini greenhouse before and the covers go brittle after a year, then it’s difficult to find replacements. They also need a couple of paving slabs on the bottom shelf to stop them from flying away too.
  
lindasgarden says:

April 18, 2013 at 3:02 pm

Claire an awesome post as always 🙂

R says:

April 18, 2013 at 7:18 pm

Wow I read that post and got very scared. I suggest you stay away from those allotments if there are bears there.

- clairesallotment says:
  
  April 19, 2013 at 5:50 pm
  
  I was very tired and it was near the end of the day. I knew it didn’t look right, but just couldn’t work out why.
  
david gray says:

April 19, 2013 at 1:44 pm

hi claire, yes i have anchored it down with paving slabs but my cover does not even reach the bottom its that tight fitting. its about an inch above so all i could do was weigh down the greenhouse by putting things on shelves and then tied some string up and over the whole frame to keep the cover more secure. where those corner ties are have ripped, so too down the zip of th door. these blinking covers are useless ! sorry, rant over, lol.

- clairesallotment says:
  
  April 19, 2013 at 1:47 pm
  
  The ties do tear very quickly. If you can stretch to a glass greenhouse, then get one. It’s much better, and keeps the plants warmer. Check the reviews though before buying, as some are cheap and nasty.