A sudden downpour can turn a promising batch of seedlings into a soggy mess in minutes, especially when young plants still have tiny roots and delicate stems. A little rain can help seedlings, but a hard storm can wash away soil, flatten plants, expose roots, and leave containers holding far more water than those tender roots can handle.
Thankfully, seedlings do not need a fortress, a greenhouse, or a backyard engineering degree to get through a nasty storm. Several moves can make a dramatic difference, whether the plants sit in a garden bed, a raised bed, a tray on the patio, or a collection of small pots that suddenly look alarmingly vulnerable when the sky turns black.
