Forgot to harden off... oh oh...

So not having been feeling great, I wasn't thinking today and put out a whole bunch of seedlings that were in paper pots without hardening them off for several day first:

24 corn seedlings about 3"-4" tall
8 cucumber seedlings about 1" tall
2 sunflower seedlings about 1" tall
2 zucchini seedlings about 1" tall
2 summer squash seedlings about 1" tall

All of these are either just 2 seed leaves or just starting to send up the shoots of the first real leaves. When they gerinated under the lights, the seed leaves grew VERY fast and I didn't want these getting too big inside. But my excitement and being fuzzy from not feeling well conspired to cause me to forget about hardening off.

It is cloudy/rainy today and supposed to be that way for two more days wth highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's. Then warmer weather after that.

Any thoughts on whether I just doomed much of this crop? I suppose if it dies I can still replant from seed an will only lose a couple weeks.

Thanks.

-Ed

If the weather stays cloudy you have a good chance of not having baked plants. If you use tulle on your beds, try doubling the thickness on the top. Or lay a piece of just about anything over hoops to provide the needed shade for a few days.

Kay

I think actually you planted at the right time since you are fuzzy brained. The clouds and the rain should help get them established without the full sunshine to fry them. When the weather starts to clear, you may want to make some shade for them for part(s) of the day. I think you could leave them uncovered for several hours in the morning. Then shade them for the hottest part of the day. Take off the shade for a few hours in the evening. Repeat it the next day but allow a bit more time for each. The third day just shade them for a bit in the middle of the day. On the fourth day I think you can leave the shade off completely.

That is what I would do if it were my garden. If during the cloudy period you get some sunshine peaking through, that will help harden them off and you can figure out how much sunshine you are getting.

Thanks for the encouragement. We got about 1/2 hour of sun today between the clouds and showers. Tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to be similar. Crossing my fingers that I was lucky.

-Ed