A gusty lady, that Erika
By H.I. JEAN SHIELDS
I am sure everyone in this area knows who Erika is by now – a gusty lady pushing across the waters from the coast of Africa, towards the Florida Coast.
Yes, that is a long journey, fortunate for us because we have plenty of time to get ready for her.
Will she stay her westward course or meander off into some warm waters to the east? Will she be torn apart by stiff winds, or just dry up as she hits a spot of dry air?
The big question is where will she go and when and will you be ready if she visits Southwest Florida.
This is kind of like a dry run, I hope, for gardeners to get ready for a possible disaster, or not.
This will not be the only tropical storm to travel over our way this year. You need to take stock of your yards and gardens to make sure they are
storm ready.
It is easy to just sit back and wait and hope for the best that we will be missed by these seasonal storms. Lawn furniture and decorations need to be moved or tied down. Think of that when you are buying articles.
Remember that pretty little pot on the doorstep that is only half filled with heavy potting soil. A good strong tropical storm can blow it right over or worse, out into the yard, in more than one piece.
Trim any branches that are weak, tie-up anything staked. All empty pots and cans should be in garage. They should not be outside full of water anyway. Mosquitoes!
Pool furniture needs to be secured, unless you like them cluttering up the pool.
Storm shutters need to at least be dusted off and ready to be used. It takes a bit of time to get them organized and put up.
Will a pending storm stay the course or shift away, or even decide at the last minute to turn this way.
Trust your weatherman. He is going to know more about what turns and twists are possible and will be right there to broadcast.
Read your Hurricane Guide for 2015. They are free and always at the grocery store.
You can start planting some nice fall things in a couple of weeks, it is still too hot and wet, even though there are some in the market.
I hope you are not fertilizing just yet and I really hope you have turned off your yard sprinklers. You can go out to dinner with the money you will save by not doing you’re regular watering – thanks to Mother Nature.
Happy times till we meet again.
-H.I. Jean Shields is past president of the Garden Club of Cape Coral.