Before the summer storm: why you should get to your beds today

Friday, 2:30 PM. The weather map is orange to red. Hail up to 20 millimeters possible — not likely, but possible. And if it hits, the stones turn your tomatoes from bright red to dark brown.

It's not dramatic. But it's frustrating. Because the fruit has to be thrown away — or at best ends up in sauce.

So: out to the garden, before it starts.

What to HARVEST RIGHT NOW

All fruits that already have color:

• Tomatoes: anything from the first light-pink coloring (ripens after)
• Peppers: yellow, red, orange — all of it off
• Eggplants: dark purple, glossy — those too
• Cucumbers: long, green, beautiful — harvest before they turn yellow
• Zucchini: medium size (6–8 inches), don't wait until enormous
• Squash: if the skin is hard and the stem is woody — out
• Berries: blackberries, gooseberries — anything that's black or dark red
• Melons: if the blossom is dry and the fruit "sounds hollow" when you tap it

Tender leaves that could get damaged:

• Lettuces — basically all of them
• Chard — especially young leaves
• Spinach — better harvest today than in two days

What you DON'T need to harvest: Green beans in the next two days — they can handle a lot. Cover crops and leafy greens just planted need the rain anyway.

What to do with the harvested fruit?

Tomatoes (still green or light pink): line boxes with newspaper, put fruits inside (don't stack), keep in the dark and warm (64–68°F). Put apples or bananas in the box — they release ethylene and help ripening. Two or three weeks later they're red.

Peppers: like tomatoes. A bit cooler is fine (59°F), but it has to be dark.

Cucumbers and zucchini: fridge. They easily last until Wednesday.

Berries: fridge, plastic container, don't wash (they get moldy). Paper towel under the berries — absorbs moisture.

Lettuces/leafy greens: wash, spin or dry well, put in plastic container with paper towel. Fridge, top shelf. Lasts easily a week.

The rain itself

After hail, there's usually a lot of rain. Your raised bed will be soaked — that's normal and okay. What you can do:

• If the storm passes and there's still some sun: don't water for the next 48 hours
• Loose soil drains better — if you have time and the bed was too dry, gently work a fork through it (don't dig, just loosen)
• Seedlings recently planted: check tomorrow if they're not sitting in water. If yes, they can still be moved

The hail itself is not the problem (plants are tougher than you think). The problem is broken ripe fruits — they don't heal.

What to do in the garden after the storm?

Saturday or Sunday, when the weather clears: just go have a look. Damaged leaves (brown spots, long scratches) often dry up — not necessarily cut. Rule of thumb: if 30% of the foliage is gone, I'd cut. If just a few leaves have scratches, I'd leave them.

Diseases are sometimes triggered by hail (fungi love wounds). If you see something in the next few days that looks like gray coating or brown spots with yellow rings — cut fast and get it out.

The seasonal reminder

August is not the safe month it seems. Hail in August is rare, but when it comes, it hits exactly the fruits that are about to be harvested. Mid-September that looks like bad luck. But early September — when the heat breaks and humidity rises — harvest windows get shorter and shorter.

So: Harvest now, eat later. That's not greed, that's foresight.

In the Erntezeit planner, you see the ripening windows for all your vegetables — and get weather alerts before it gets critical.

View your harvest plan →

🦔 Stachi