Windburn-- how bad / permanent is it?

[NurseNettie]

Dear hubby thought he was doing me a favor by moving my 4 week old seedlings outside for some sun and fresh air yesterday. I work evenings, so he's up hours before me, and before I realized it----- about 35 each of my pepper and tomato seedlings, and some herbs, were pretty windburned. The seedlings have been growing slowly due to the rain/ clouds we've had, as it is.

They look pretty droopy-- like a plant that's been water-starved looks (though they've been well watered). Still green, and no dead edges or leaves.. yet.....

We are still having temps in the 30's at night, and frost warnings-- so it is looking like at least 2, if not 3 more weeks before they can go outside.

Is it all over for these plants? Or is there hope? I know that time will tell, but looking for experience and advice (and whether or not I should try to go find some greenhouse plants now, before they are all gone)..

He feels badly about it, and I'm trying to temper my tongue, since buying plants is really not in the budget at all this year....

Sigh.....

Edit to add-- yes-- I brought them in as soon as I realized what was going on!

 

[Carol Dee]

I think they might be o.k. yet. Since you brought them in out of the sun and wind already. Give them a few days of TLC and see if there is any new growth before you throw in the towel, so to speak. My Hubby set out a shamrock plant and it got really hot. I missed it until the next day and all the foliage was dead! I kept it and in a few days I was seeing tiny new leaves coming from the corms. Good Luck.

 

[patandchickens]

Absolutely be nice to them for a week or so and see what happens. IME the peppers are apt to have the least sense of humor about this sort of thing -- if they survive, they may never do well -- but if you are not going to replace them with new plants it would still be worth putting them in the garden "just in case" if the alternative is just letting the space go unused.

The tomatoes may be set back but as long as you have a reasonably-long growing season and are nice to them for the next month or so they should bounce back IME.

Herbs, if they survive at all which many of them probably will (depends on what herbs you have), will probably be FINE once they resume growth.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[digitS']

My fiasco last year moving tender/tender tomato plants from a heated greenhouse into an unheated plastic tunnel where overnight, the temperature fell to 37F -- may have had the same results you are seeing. Some tomato plants were not affected. Others wilted, a few died, quite a few lost their most tender parts.

The ones that lost tops were given to a friend - who claimed that they would be fine. I kept some of the Sungolds since I had no replacements for the topless ones and didn't want to give them up.

The friend had plenty of tomatoes that year! And, my Sungolds did just fine.

Steve

 

[NurseNettie]

Thanks folks. 2 days later, they're not looking one bit better. Our growing season is SHORT, and all of these are heirloom varieties-- unheard of in these parts!!! I'm thinking I'm going to need to find a greenhouse and buy plants next week ( I'm working the next 6 days straight)... and there isn't one, for the most part, for at least 25 miles. The "good" one is 40 miles away....

Maybe we'll just have lots of beans and potatoes instead this year.

 

[NurseNettie]

Sadly, they are all looking horrible-- worse than day 1..

Does anyone know if they look worse before they get better? I'm wondering if I should just pull them all and try to start a few new plants (since we can plant as late as July 4 or so and still get a full season)... They are occupying just about all my pots, so I'm being stingy, lol! Or, should I wait a bit more. It's been 5 days now... no improvement, just dead leaves, and yellowish stalks...

They've been watered, and in a warm place on the sunporch, no harsh light or wind whatsoever (glass enclosed)... I was hoping for some sign of improvement by now... but none.

 

[digitS']

You believe you could sow tomato and pepper seed now, transplant in 4 or 5 weeks and get a crop? Whoa!

. . . just dead leaves, and yellowish stalks...

I think that a recovery doesn't sound possible. They must have taken quite a hit.

Steve