Winds gusting over 30 mph blew through the farm today, collapsing most of our grape house and damaging some of our blackberries. The collapsed hoop house over the grapes (we were hoping that there wouldn't be a repeat of May 31st) broke canes off of several vines, but others were spared. Now we have to get the plastic (which has many holes in it now) back over them before the leaves sunburn. Cloudy skies are forecast - and more rain - for the next few days, so we have a little time to repair the hoop house. Unfortunately, the collapse also broke off one of our two tomato plants, so we will definitely be short on tomatoes this year. The winds blew over several potted bushes and trees, swept a tray of artichoke seedlings off the tractor hood, and appear to have damaged primocanes and flowering laterals on several blackberries. Wild Treasure looks to have weathered the storm well, however, with no apparent damage. Gotta love that variety! Once the wind dies down (it's still going pretty good even at this hour) and the sun comes out, we will see how much damage was done to the blackberry patch. As for the raspberries, thank goodness I trellised the Cumberland black raspberries. They and the rest of the raspberries look fine.
Things like the weather, which one cannot control, require perseverance and deep respect for nature. Times like these remind me that in Alaska just about anything is possible at any time of the year and both people and plants need to be robust to survive - and not just the cold!
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