Even as I write this, quarter-size hail is pummeling my vegetables for the THIRD time in 2 weeks!! My poor plants! My heart broke when the hail just pulverized my squash plants. My tomato plants snapped in two. I am down to 5, yep 5 nectarines. The new leaves in my blue berry plants are utterly destroyed. I don't know how my pepper plants have withstood the assault but only them, the onions, and the potato plants have escaped serious damaged. My watermelon and canteloupe seedlings (2nd batch) are covered in hail and I will probably have to sow them again. AGGGGGHHHH!!! All I can do now is hope at least one plant of each survives.
Anyway...sometimes the aprehension of a big storm is well justified. I hope your garden fares better than mine this spring.

Yes, I prefer a slow rain that doesn't hang around too long. Storms in the wee hours are sometimes followed by another storm. Hail can be a heart break.

Just last night was scary with thunder storms and very high winds.

I am jealous of anybody who can grow any nectarines.

Meanwhile all my cantaloupe seedlings are rainkilled, my pumpkin seedlings have cracked stems, and I had to come inside today cos the tornado sirens were going off every 5 minutes...and then nothing but a little rain.

So how did your new beds do in the rain queuetue?

As for hail damage, last year my garden got pounded by hail, this after months of drought so it was a trying year for a gardener. The big surprise was how well the squash came back after being pulped. I only lost two plants to the storm and the hail was horrendous. Don't give up too fast on hail-damaged plants, remove the stems/leaves that are completely broken off and then wait and see.

They held up just fine - and two tomatoes started flowering immediately after. :)

This is exactly why I grow in pots! Often I yearn for yard with soil but then I read stories like this. Yikes! Best of luck to all of you.

Ah the joys of gardening. This is what makes gardening "fun". When it comes to mother nature, you win some, and you lose some. For me it's a hobby. So while a it's a disappointment if I lose one, it does make the next "win" all the more gratifying. However, it really makes me appreciate what those who's lives depend upon "winning" have to deal with when it comes to mother nature. (So now having said this, let's see if my "How Sweet It Is" sweet corn which will be ready in about 10 days will sucumb to a wind-blown thunderstorm and turn into a horizontal mass of stalks for the 4th year in a row..)