Staking Tomatoes in a Lightning Storm... Good Idea? - Page 2

tjg911 · June 25, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by marc_groleau

Oh boy if I could be out there in the heat and humidity, I would. Had to work though. I would never enjoy a day off for shoveling snow but I'd take every hot and humid day I could if I could work in the garden.

i'd shovel 2' of snow and love every second of it vs working in 90+ heat with dew point in the 70's but then i hate heat and humidity.

yes you are crazy. standing on a metal ladder to tie tomatoes when a lightening storm is bearing down on you? you'll push your luck one too many times and you won't be alive to ask if we think you are crazy. maybe you should listen to your wife.

tom

Mojave · June 25, 2012

Reminds me of one of my backpacking trips to the summit of San Gorgonio Mtn. (So Cal's highest peak at 11,502 feet). The summer afternoon thundershowers moved in every afternoon. You could see the storm and lightening forming below at about 7,000 feet. Within a few hours the clouds moved up to the top and you find yourself inside the storm and the lightening blasting above, below, and all around you. Believe it or not you can smell lightening, and suddenly your aluminum framed tent doesn't seem safe anymore!

Zeedman · June 25, 2012

Staking tomatoes in a lightning storm... I wouldn't recommend it unless you love your tomatoes enough to become their primary Nitrogen source!

JamesL · June 25, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeedman

Staking tomatoes in a lightning storm... I wouldn't recommend it unless you love your tomatoes enough to become their primary Nitrogen source!

Primary nitrogen source - Now THAT is funny!

Rockporter · June 25, 2012

Oh yes, you can smell lightning and it is a very strong, burn the nose kind of odor to me but is a fresh smell. I could feel the electricity in the air a few months back so I new I wasn't going to step out of the safety of my home. I think my hairs on my arms were standing straight up too.

WVTomatoMan · June 25, 2012

Crazy? No, not at all. Standing on a metal ladder driving in tomato stakes during a thunderstorm while juggling chain saws...now that would be crazy.

Randy

marc_groleau · June 25, 2012

OTE=WVTomatoMan;286241]Crazy? No, not at all. Standing on a metal ladder driving in tomato stakes during a thunderstorm while juggling chain saws...now that would be crazy.

Randy[/QUOTE]

How many chawinsaws are we talkin?

I love the smell of lightning in the morning!

NGGrant · June 25, 2012

Last night there were 2 wildfires in an arroyo less than a mile from here. The air was full of smoke and there were forced evacuations just down the road. My neighbors were preparing for the evacuation while I was out putting an overhead sprinkler on my garden and turning on the all the drip lines as a fire defense.

I realized that my gardens were safer than my home.

tjg911 · June 26, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockporter

Oh yes, you can smell lightning and it is a very strong, burn the nose kind of odor to me but is a fresh smell. I could feel the electricity in the air a few months back so I new I wasn't going to step out of the safety of my home. I think my hairs on my arms were standing straight up too.

when you say smelling lightening are you referring to the ozone that is created by lightening? ozone has a sweet fresh smell. it's often a smell you detect after a storm with lightening.

i read an article once about ozone and waterfalls. they are full of positive ions and they make you feel happy whereas desert winds that are hot and dry are full of negative ions and make you feel depressed. interesting stuff.

tom

Mashman · June 26, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjg911

when you say smelling lightening are you referring to the ozone that is created by lightening? ozone has a sweet fresh smell. it's often a smell you detect after a storm with lightening.

i read an article once about ozone and waterfalls. they are full of positive ions and they make you feel happy whereas desert winds that are hot and dry are full of negative ions and make you feel depressed. interesting stuff.

tom

================================================== =====

If forced to choose, I would opt for "Waterfall" Ozone over "Lightning" Ozone every time!

Gotta tell you, someone needs to cross a few varieties and give it a Lightning themed name (i.e. "Happy's Ozone" Azoychka + Budai Torpe ).

Michael

tnpeppers · June 26, 2012

I did something similar in Tennessee years ago (minus the metal ladder)...wind from an approaching storm was knocking my tomatoes down, so I grabbed stakes and a mallet (might have been rubber) and headed out. Down came the rain...thunder crashing, lightning flashing...my wife is watching thru the glass doors while her husband is pounding stakes into the ground, shin deep in mud and soaked to the bone. Got the job done, though...had an awesome garden that year...wonderful tomatoes and peppers...they knew I took good care of them, and they rewarded me with a wonderful harvest! Woo-hoo! I'd do it again!

marc_groleau · June 26, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnpeppers

I did something similar in Tennessee years ago (minus the metal ladder)...wind from an approaching storm was knocking my tomatoes down, so I grabbed stakes and a mallet (might have been rubber) and headed out. Down came the rain...thunder crashing, lightning flashing...my wife is watching thru the glass doors while her husband is pounding stakes into the ground, shin deep in mud and soaked to the bone. Got the job done, though...had an awesome garden that year...wonderful tomatoes and peppers...they knew I took good care of them, and they rewarded me with a wonderful harvest! Woo-hoo! I'd do it again!

That's what I'm talkin about!

Rockporter · June 26, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mashman

================================================== =====

If forced to choose, I would opt for "Waterfall" Ozone over "Lightning" Ozone every time!

Gotta tell you, someone needs to cross a few varieties and give it a Lightning themed name (i.e. "Happy's Ozone" Azoychka + Budai Torpe ).

Michael

Oh yes, I love the smell of the ozone in the air when it is raining but the time the smell burned my nose it was a major lightening storm and the smell was so strong it burned my nose. I really could feel the electricity in the air and knew if I stepped outside I was a goner.

And I like the smell of a waterfall much better than lightning.

Elliot · June 27, 2012

The problem with being out in the middle of a lightning storm is that you are putting your health and life at risk. your life is worth more than tomatoes and we are all dedicated to growing great tomatoes. Gee, in this geographic area, this past week, 12 people on a golf course taking cover in a golf hut were burnt by lightning and every day people get killed by beng hit by lightning, somewhere. Its not worth it.

June 25, 2012	#17
Mojave Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: SF Bay area Z9a Posts: 821	Reminds me of one of my backpacking trips to the summit of San Gorgonio Mtn. (So Cal's highest peak at 11,502 feet). The summer afternoon thundershowers moved in every afternoon. You could see the storm and lightening forming below at about 7,000 feet. Within a few hours the clouds moved up to the top and you find yourself inside the storm and the lightening blasting above, below, and all around you. Believe it or not you can smell lightening, and suddenly your aluminum framed tent doesn't seem safe anymore! __________________ Bill _______________________________________________ When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. -John Muir Believe those who seek the Truth: Doubt those who find it. -André Gide

June 25, 2012	#20
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	Oh yes, you can smell lightning and it is a very strong, burn the nose kind of odor to me but is a fresh smell. I could feel the electricity in the air a few months back so I new I wasn't going to step out of the safety of my home. I think my hairs on my arms were standing straight up too. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

June 25, 2012	#23
NGGrant Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Santa Cruz New Mexico Posts: 81	Last night there were 2 wildfires in an arroyo less than a mile from here. The air was full of smoke and there were forced evacuations just down the road. My neighbors were preparing for the evacuation while I was out putting an overhead sprinkler on my garden and turning on the all the drip lines as a fire defense. I realized that my gardens were safer than my home. __________________ Nick.

June 25, 2012	#18
Zeedman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 313	Staking tomatoes in a lightning storm... I wouldn't recommend it unless you love your tomatoes enough to become their primary Nitrogen source!

June 25, 2012	#21
WVTomatoMan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West Virginia - Zone 6 Posts: 594	Crazy? No, not at all. Standing on a metal ladder driving in tomato stakes during a thunderstorm while juggling chain saws...now that would be crazy. Randy

June 25, 2012	#22
marc_groleau Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 444	OTE=WVTomatoMan;286241]Crazy? No, not at all. Standing on a metal ladder driving in tomato stakes during a thunderstorm while juggling chain saws...now that would be crazy. Randy[/QUOTE] How many chawinsaws are we talkin? I love the smell of lightning in the morning!

June 26, 2012	#26
tnpeppers Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Zone 6 Posts: 365	I did something similar in Tennessee years ago (minus the metal ladder)...wind from an approaching storm was knocking my tomatoes down, so I grabbed stakes and a mallet (might have been rubber) and headed out. Down came the rain...thunder crashing, lightning flashing...my wife is watching thru the glass doors while her husband is pounding stakes into the ground, shin deep in mud and soaked to the bone. Got the job done, though...had an awesome garden that year...wonderful tomatoes and peppers...they knew I took good care of them, and they rewarded me with a wonderful harvest! Woo-hoo! I'd do it again!

June 27, 2012	#29
Elliot Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Hicksville, New York Posts: 503	The problem with being out in the middle of a lightning storm is that you are putting your health and life at risk. your life is worth more than tomatoes and we are all dedicated to growing great tomatoes. Gee, in this geographic area, this past week, 12 people on a golf course taking cover in a golf hut were burnt by lightning and every day people get killed by beng hit by lightning, somewhere. Its not worth it.