Hurricane Irene is making her way up the east coast. Here in Philadelphia, we expect to feel her impact early Sunday morning with high sustained winds and heavy rain. Since Wednesday of this week, new urban beekeepers like me may have pondered the best way to protect our beehives from storm damage.
An online search yielded no good advice — not surprising since it’s been decades since Philly has coped with a major hurricane.
Top bars fit snugly together and so far, the roof on my hive in the Awbury Arboretum hasn’t let water in during our recently heavy rains. Hoping to prevent the top bar hive from blowing over in 60 mile an hour winds, I tied down the hive roof to the body of the hive. I put a tarp on the roof to prevent leakage into the hive during a sustained period of intense downpour. Two bricks, along with the tie-downs should keep the tarp in place. This task was completed while the sun was shining. The bees will decide when it’s time to hunker down in the hive, so I made sure the tarp isn’t blocking their multiple entrances. Cinder blocks were fitted around the hive’s raised, crossed leg base to allow for lateral wiggle room but to prevent the hive being lifted up on one end and tossed. The bees were left with two full jars of heavy sugar syrup because they won’t be able to forage for nectar, pollen or water until the rain stops.
After tending the hive, I shuttled over to my urban farm site. The goal? Harvest as many ripe and near ripe tomatoes as possible. This is a sad time of year to contemplate having the best of your summer yield lost to hurricane and subsequent lingering dampness – which will make the healthiest garden susceptible to disease. Tomato plants hate wet feet! Delicate skins split when water is pushed into the fruit too quickly – a sure sign of overwatering. High winds and rain will ruin anything but a hard green tomato.
Twenty pounds of squash, eggplant, okra, and tomatoes later, I left the garden curious as to how it will bear up over the next few days. It’s nearly time to clean out beds for fall planting, and I’m prepared to do this a week earlier than planned as Mother Nature decides what happens next in our city’s urban growing sites.
The weather forecast for Monday? A beautiful, late summer day with the hurricane a thing of the past. On Monday, I hope to find the hive where I left it, undamaged, with the bees no worse for the storm event. As for the garden? With any luck, I’ll be harvesting hefty, intact heirloom tomatoes next Tuesday.
