Seedling Gets A Beating

My tomato and pepper seedlings haven't been growing well under the fluorescent indoor lights; only one set of true leaves have grown. After visiting a couple of garden stores and seeing the strong and tall plants for sale, a surge of envy convinced me that the seedlings just needed some outdoor exposure.

I started exposing the seedlings to the outdoors a few hours a day, to harden them. Then one day last week, we had an unusually chilly spring day. I checked the weather before I left work in the morning; the forecast seemed warm and sunny enough. I still put the seedlings outside, but put a clear protective shield on the containers, just in case. The wind swooped in like.... well, like the wind. By the time I arrived home that afternoon, the protective shields were nowhere to be found. Three of the 6 seedlings were lying down, their stems snapped. Some of the other seedlings' leaves turned yellow, shrivelled, or blew off entirely.

Sorry little helpless plants. You paid dearly for my mistake. This post is dedicated in your memory.