HAIL-ashus Veggies: How Our Texas Container Garden Survived Golf Ball-Sized Hail

Garden survived hail damage

Updated July 2026

One of the realities of gardening in Texas isn't just the heat—it's the weather. Spring can bring beautiful growing conditions one day and severe thunderstorms the next. Looking back at these photos from 2008 reminds me how quickly gardeners learn that Mother Nature is always in charge.

Gardening During Texas Storm Season

Texas gardeners quickly learn to watch the weather almost as closely as they watch their plants. High winds, hail, heavy rain, and even tornadoes can undo weeks of work in just a few minutes.

Whenever severe weather is forecast, consider:

• Moving container plants under a porch or patio if possible.
• Bringing hanging baskets indoors.
• Harvesting ripe vegetables before storms arrive.
• Securing lightweight pots that could blow over.
• Covering tender plants if hail is expected.

The Malabar spinach

Looking back, I later learned that Malabar spinach loves consistently warm weather. It often spends its early weeks developing a strong root system before suddenly taking off once summer heat arrives.

One of the Best Garden Helpers

Texas spiny lizards and other backyard lizards are some of the gardener's best friends. They spend their days hunting insects, helping reduce populations of pests without the use of chemicals. We always enjoyed watching them dart among the pots, and Pamela became quite skilled at gently catching and releasing them with her bug net.

Fortunately, our container vegetables escaped with very little damage after this storm.

I took some pictures of my veggies yesterday to log in the growth rate. So far, everything is blooming and producing. There are lots of tiny bell peppers, chili peppers, jalapeno's, cherry and large tomatoes. Cucumbers are getting leafier, but no fruit yet. Last night (to update those I left hanging from my prior blog) we had a tornado scare. We had three major storms developing and heading straight for us. Every station on the TV was reporting the weather.

Since we couldn't park our car in the garage (too much stuff!) we ended up parking it in our yard under the shelter of some trees. All of our neighbors were doing the same thing.

Afterwards, Alan and I quickly carried our glass patio table under our back porch. It wasn't until the hail hit that I remembered my potted veggies. Golf and tennis ball sized hail pounded our roof. Fortunately, the tornado missed us, but we heard reports that other areas lost their power, roofs were torn, and some area schools were canceled today.

This morning, my veggies looked virtually untouched! Tonight we are expecting more storms, so I'll probably move them this evening.

plants survived hail
 

potted plants doing well

I'm a little perplexed about the Malabar spinach... It hasn't been growing much... perhaps it's doing most of the rooting where I can't see? I'd transfer to the ground, but afraid of slugs getting to them.

This little fellow (missing part of his tail) eats most of our insects. Lots of lizards in the backyard. Pamela spends a lot of time capturing and releasing them with her bug net.

I still have many packages of seeds to plant. Running a little slow this month in getting the rest of my gardening done.

Conclusion

Every season teaches gardeners something new. Some years it's drought. Other years it's insects. In 2008, it was learning how quickly severe weather can threaten months of work. Thankfully, nature surprised us, and the garden proved far more resilient than we expected.

Is it Summer Already? How to Keep a Container Garden Alive During Extreme Texas Heat

Gone With the Wind: Growing Malabar Spinach & Natural Slug Control Tips