Garden Pummeled by Hail

It’s such a sinking feeling to have one’s garden pummeled by hail especially for farmers who lost crops.

Anyways in a few days to a week you’ll probably get a good idea what is salvageable or not. It never looks pretty after the storm but in a few weeks, it’ll be kind of normal again.

Damaged leaves can still function, just not as well as they once did. Don’t trim them immediately. Give the plant a chance to grow new leaves and draw nutrients out of the old leaves before trimming. A half of a leaf is better than no leaf.

For tomatoes, start using a fungicide spray because their wounds and torn leaves will let fungi into their system like late blight.

With damaged flowers, you may be able to trim back the top leaves, which bore the brunt of the weather damage, to reveal less damaged leaves below.

It is a good idea to fertilize your plants, which will help them to grow new leaves. Be sure to stay on top of watering, especially any plants that were severely damaged. An addition of 2 to 3 inches of mulch will also benefit these plants.

We lost most of our fruit tree fruit to a late frost. June was non-stop rain; July brings heat and hail. How the season will finish is anyone’s guess.

Creating a Garden Collection

Creating a garden starts out as an innocent pursuit. You just want a pretty patch of flower or vegetables that flows and looks beautiful at least three seasons out of four. But there is that one plant that outshines the others. It outperforms them by looking great or by being the big, bold bright spot that everyone comments on. And you start doing a little bit of research on what it really wants, because let’s be honest, you got lucky by plunking it in the right place. And the next year it is even more beautiful. And you want more. More. More. More.

You are hooked.
This is how plant collections start. At least this is how mine have started and most of them have snuck up on me. I don’t set out to have a “collection” of a specific plant, I just really like them and suddenly have a whole bunch of them (and often, less money in my bank account).

My first plant collection was viburnum shrubs. I thought there was just one. I liked it because of the blooms, leaves, and was basically pest proof (including rabbit, deer, and grasshopper). Now I have 7 varieties of the plant.

Once you decide you love a plant you start searching out different cultivars: the usual suspects you can find in your neighbor’s garden just won’t do. You search out specialty nurseries who will sell those unusual cultivars and, you hope, send you better plants than you can pick up at a local nursery. You’re really in trouble when you start buying books on a specific plant and scope out plant-specific online forums.

Other collections I have are coral bells and hostas under the shade of trees. If you know theses plants already you have an idea of the amount of varieties present in each plant.

I feel the pull of new collections, too. I’ve recently developed a fascination with tree peonies (again, a plant that requires a great deal of patience. What is with me?) The world of dwarf conifers is amazing, but it’s one I feel I really need to study before delving into because in many cases there are too many to pick from. I would love some of them bordering the walkway up to the house. There’s that whole toad lily thing that I learned last week I’m totally missing out on.

Can You Add a Room in Your Attic? 6 Questions to Ask.

Maybe you have always dreamed of a better master bedroom, as large as the house and as private as can be. Or perhaps your teenager needs more space – but you can’t imagine where you’ll make it. Maybe you want a little rental unit, or a romp room for the kids. The answer you’ve been looking for might be, literally, over your head, but can you add a room in your attic.

You have two choices if you want to add onto your home’s living space: either build outward or convert an unlivable space into something you can live in, instead. As attractive as it sounds to add on to the house, it usually costs much more to build an addition, plus you have to worry about easements, buried lines and much more. For most people, it isn’t very practical.

Almost everyone has an attic, however. Of course, some simply aren’t practical to convert. Others are begging to be transformed. As an added bonus, an attic conversion increases your home’s value significantly.

Here are some essential considerations to help determine if attic conversion is feasible for your home.

1. Do You Have Rafters?

The first thing you need to determine to find out if your attic is convertible: Do you have rafters or trusses? Grab a flashlight and take a quick peek inside your attic and you’ll know.

Rafters are large internal beams that create a triangular structure with the floor at the bottom and the roof peak at the top. The inside of the triangle provides an opening that’s easily remodeled.

Trusses are a network of W-shaped boards that support the roof. With no central opening, one must be created. This should never be done by a DIYer, as the trusses are load bearing. A structural engineer must determine how to support the weight while modifying the trusses. In the end, it may not even be practical to convert an attic with trusses, due to the costs involved.

2. Is There a Staircase?

You probably don’t have a permanent staircase leading to your unfinished attic space – but you will need one. Building codes will not allow a permanent living area without  permanent stairs leading to it.

Stairs aren’t difficult to build, but they do eat up a large amount of space. A straight stair will take 10 to 14 horizontal feet of floor space, while a spiral space will take up about 5 feet. Think about where you might want the stairs and how you will work around the space. Keep in mind typical code requirements:

Stairs must have a minimum of 6 feet 8 inches of headroom the entire length of the stairs.

Stairs must be at least 36 inches wide.

Treads must be at least 10 inches deep.

Risers must be at least 7 ¼ inches high.

3. Is There Enough Headroom and Space?

Building codes vary on headroom and space. However, most require that at least half of the attic has a height of 7 feet 6 inches. Don’t forget to factor in the inches you will lose with flooring and ceiling coverings. In addition, the living space must equal at least 70 square feet with a minimum width of 7 feet.

4. How’s the Floor Strength?

Your attic was probably built with dead loads in mind – things such as boxes and trunks that don’t move. When converting your attic, you need to consider live loads – people, animals, and anything that moves. As home improvement expert Bob Vila explains, most building codes require a load capacity of 30 pounds per square foot.

5. What About Lighting?

Some building codes require a certain amount of lighting. Here’s where dormers work like magic. Not only will a dormer raise the roof height (helping you attain the minimum headroom) and add light, it also provides a second exit – which most building codes require. Check your local building code for further information.

6. Can You Heat and Cool It?

You’ll probably want to add insulation to keep the space warm. More importantly, you may need to extend electrical lines, plumbing and HVAC systems.