Saturday, November 14, 2009

Tidal Flood!



This strange coastal storm has been bringing some high water, but no problems until this morning. As you can see, we have salt water surrounding all the garden beds, and the two lower beds, strawberries and blueberries, are filled with salt water. The tide was only about an inch from the entrance to Dolly's hive. This is more water than we have had with the worst of the hurricanes since we first arrived here in 2000. My only hope for the gardens is that they already were so saturated with rain water that the salt water did not soak in as much as it otherwise would. I expect to lose all of the strawberries and blueberries, but I guess it is possible that some may survive (due to the existing fresh water saturation). As soon as the tide goes down I will rinse the plants and flush the beds as best I can. It was something to be out in the yard at sunrise, with water coming almost over my tall boots while standing near the vegetable gardens! Sorry the quality of the photos is not better, these were taken with my cell phone in the dim, early morning light.

Do note how beautiful the vegetables are in the gardens. We are harvesting and eating fresh lettuces and greens every day. Because I was away so much, I did not get a second planting of lettuce in the ground, so it looks like I will not have a salad from my own garden for Thanksgiving. I will, however, have broccoli, collards, mustard, and savoy cabbage to chose from!