Uh oh... rain

[MikePerson]

We've been having horrible downpours up in NE lately. I have three week old seedlings outside and they're getting hit pretty hard. I checked on them before and the stems aren't very strong, they can't support their own weight and are leaning against the side of the cup. Is this bad?

[budblower10]

i am in NE also and its suppose the next few days or so. what i did was simple and it has worked so far. i simply bought some bamboo sticks (like 3' ones) for like 25 cents each and broke them in half. i put 4 in each bucket, with two pushed father into the soil than the other 2. i then bought (for 2 bucks) some cloth plastic - its just a clear wrap of plastic basically. i cut 1 foot by 1 foot pieces and i put it over the bamboo sticks - creating a little canopy. since two sticks are longer than the others, the rain water wont collect on top of the canopy, it will fall off. i took twisty ties and tied the plastic to the sticks - making a strong canopy and i cut any excess plastic off. the sun still gets in there and so does wind (so it beats using milk jugs cut in half). i know slight rain wont harm my week old babies, but i'd rather be safe than sorry u know...just incase we get some hard rain with it....you know what i mean? the only bad thing is that the plastic stands out slighty - but since noone really frequents the area and the surroung brush is pretty thick...i think they're alright. i checked them and they are good - a few are up straight and a few are leaned over, but as soon as the sun comes out and rain stops they will perk up. i have learned that plants like some rain, but not hard downpours or storms you know. you could try tieing them up with straws, but i'd rather prevent it than fix it. good luk

[budblower10]

i mean im in the Ne and its suppose to rain for the next few days or so

[MikePerson]

Yeah I see what your saying. I needed a real quick solution so I just used soda bottles with the bottom cut off.

My poor babies are wettttt The soil was so saturated water was collecting on top. If they can last until tomorrow I can transplant them into dryer soil (they're outgrowing the cups they're in now anyways)