Hail Protection

In our area spring tends to bring some of our most severe storms. Hail can come unexpectedly, wreaking havoc in our gardens. Large-leaf and non woody stemmed plants can take the most damage. Most of the time the damage isn't the end of the world, but you can lose harvest.
There are several options that you can choose from to protect your plants from hail damage, ranging from a sheet spread over the plants to hoophouses or other structures. The idea is to cover your plants with something that the will hail will bounce off of. Simple as that. Here's a link to another blogpost covering several hail protection methods used in an area that gets struck with more hail than we generally do.
If you already have some hail damage, then here are some suggestions on what you can do to help your plant recover.