How to protect plants from hail?

Does putting buckets over the plants work? Next time a hail storm starts I plan on going out into the garden and covering my plants with buckets.

How to protect plants from hail?
That does not sound like a bad idea, as long as the bucket is an old one and you can put a tiny hole in the bottom of it so the plants can "breath" maybe you could make some sort of plastic covering a bit like a green house and just weigh it down with something or make a frame of some kind to put around them
Reply:I think this is a good question. Last year here in the Denver, CO area, we got two hailstorms that did damage to our garden. One was early on when my plants were little seedlings, then later on in the summer, which shredded the large leafed plants like the squash and pumpkins. Both hailstorms really took their toll on the garden, especially the early one.





I wondered if Walls of Water would help, at least until the plants were big enough to survive some hail? We usually have had good luck growing our garden but those two hailstorms really stunted the plants a lot early on.
Reply:You'll need a lot of buckets!! Better to turn old plastic flower pots upside down and use to cover smaller plants. For larger plants, put some wooden stakes around your plants, and throw an old sheet or blanket over them to make a little tent. The hail will bounce off.
Reply:That could work. Make sure the buckets don't get blown away or even knocked out of place by the hail. However, you would need a lot of buckets, and it could be kind of dangerous for you to go out in a hail storm.
Reply:Of course it works when the plants are small : )
Reply:I use my saved plant pots. Works well.