Ouch! It will probably take a really good long cry. Certainly beats the worst of my horror stories with my non-gardening husband. Hopefully in a few days, you'll be feeling a little more optimistic and can start thinking about a Plan B.

I find the only way to entrust any kind of gardening task to a non-gardener is with a detailed check list. On paper. And after a bunch of my own stupid mistakes I try to always hold some seed in reserve.

I feel soo bad for you! I have some heirloom bean seeds i can send you and i believe i may have some heirloom tomato seeds left too. Send me an email with your address and i can send them right away. Your story sounds exactly like my husband :)

All I can offer is my sympathy.
What a disaster for you!
You can always grow more plants, but you only have one DH, so hopefully you will be able to forgive him.
I lurk about this site occasionally and have enjoyed your posts and your sense of humour. Don't give up.

That is heartbreaking! And it's probably too late to start those over this year anyway, even if you did have any extra seeds :-(.

How cold did it get? If they just got nipped above the soil, you could try burying what's left of them
- there's a slight possibility that they might put off a shoot from the stem. I've had it happen a few times with my tomatoes when squirrels have chomped off my seedlings. Most don't make it, but a few do. It might work for the peppers and eggplant too. If you buried them deep, past the first set of leaves, then you have a much higher chance of new growth appearing.

Don't let this cause you to throw in the towel for good though! There is never a year that goes by that I don't learn something through screwing up! Sometimes it take a few screw-ups before I finally learn something the hard way (I can be stubborn!). And at least DH isn't likely to make that mistake again (if you let him live :-)).

BP

Merri, are you sure it's too late? I'm going to a seed sale on May 6 (all organic) good prices and would be happy to send you something on my nickle (just to ease the pain)
E-mail me if you want something, we gals with "challanged "DH's have to stick together, LOL M

Oh Merri .. my heart goes out to you .. I know exactly how you feel .. my DH put my seedlings out in full sun for hours when I was starting to harden them off .. they all burned to the ground :o( I could have buried him with the dirt from the pots :o)

What kind of toms did you have??? The RBG is having a plant sale soon .. I know they have tons of toms but Im not sure if any are heirloom .. but I can check. I could send you some live plants via Purolator next day delivery if I can find the type you want. LMK
Laura

That's terrible. I'm completely new to this, I just set some seeds last weekend. I'm probably late but I broke my ankle in Febrary and am only now a bit more mobile to get around to do this. Hopefully something will grow. Speaking of being completely new, what are heirloom tomatoes vs regular tomatoes?

I'm sorry I've taken so long to come back to the site (and to check my mail). I've been literally sick with disappointment, hiding out and trying to drown myself in work.

Time to answer your notes. I think I better answer Karen's first, and separately. You all know how much I babble. Take 1 writer, add 180 WPM typing speed, and you get posts as long as War and Peace.

KARENMINBROOKLIN, heirloom tomatoes (or any heirloom plant) is one that will give "true" seeds. True seeds are defined as seeds that will grow into the same plant as the mother-plant. Most tomatoes you buy at commercial greenhouses are hybrids: they take part of plant A (say, its ability to ripen very early) and part of plant B (the gene that makes it especially sweet, for instance). They may use 2 tomatoes or 20 (by pollinating and cross-pollinating among certain, select plants...don't ask me for details, I'm not a botanist, alas), and the tomato you get has the best features of ALL of them. BUT: the seeds of a hybrid will not give you the same plant. The seeds sort of "devolve"...they start to revert back to their original grandmother-plants, which are never as nice as the hybrid they came from. This is true of all plants, of course (vegetables, tomatoes, you name it.) So if you want seeds to "come true", you get an heirloom plant.

I hope that wasn't too clumsy an explanation. :-(

Ok, now the rest.

janetr, I don't think I want my DH anywhere near ANYTHING any more. He knows how much work I put into these, he knows what's needed. There are days when I could cheerfully strangle him, but I'll aways admit that he is far from stupid or clueless. Forgive him? Eventually I will, I'm sure. I just feel too rotten to go there right now.

raptorfan, mora, and peatpod: you're very sweet to offer, but I don't have anything I can send you in return (at least not until fall, when my Columbines and Jacob's Ladder set seeds). I used up my heirloom seeds from last year and I was counting on harvesting a new batch this fall. There were many plants of each type (in the hope that at least ONE would thrive and be a seed doner), but now....nothing except some Honeywort seeds (annual) and my "straight to field" seeds (carrots, peas, that sort of thing).

Some of you have asked for my mailing address. I don't mind giving it out; I'll head to my email and send it now. It'll be mostly as an FYI for future reference, I guess. I wish I had a million wierd and wonderful seeds for everyone....I'm not much of a trade-buddy right now.
:-(

When I think of them all I could cry. Sasha's Altai and Gregori's Altai, German Green, Yellow Stuffer, White Beauty (that one really hurts), Purple passion, Yellow Russian, Black Prince, Black Krim, Moskovich, Urbikani, Ace, and two dozen more. They came to me through trades, really good online sales, and just plain dumb luck (the Rare Seed Round Robin introduced me to 3 new types). All dead. Bonnie, I hope to Amida that at least a few will revive. On your advice, I've left them in the pots, hoping for a small miracle.

The RR also had some amazing eggplants (orange, yellow, great wierd shapes), and melons and peppers, all of which...you guessed it.

It's not losing the plants themselves that hurts most. As any gardener knows, "There's Always Next Year" is the mantra to live by when disappointment hits. Trouble is, I would have to spend a fortune for new seed (*IF* I could find them all). So the collection that I've spent so much time and care on was decimated in one swoop. And it's my own stupid fault: I shouldn't have listened when DH said he'd keep an eye on things while I worked.

Now I have to get in touch with a dozen people who I was looking forward to introducing to heirlooms (I've already sent at least 10 emails, but there are lots to go). And then there's the locals who count on me each spring: the Senior's Residence, elderly neighbors (I grow them flowers from seed) and the food bank and our families - 4 in total - to whom the vegetables go to each fall. I'll make those phone calls today.

If that wasn't enough, I don't have a clue what to do about our Temple offering. I know no-one is going to say anything bad, no one will accuse me of trying to duck out on my annual promise, but the fact remains: I AM breaking that promise. BLIA (Buddha's Light) has been there for me during dark and horrible times, and they know I can't offer financial support. They've never tried to make me feel bad about how they tend to "forget" to charge me for various things. They're gracious and caring and very happy when I bring in my plants and produce, and this helps me be part of the Sangha ("Community" or "Congregation") in spirit and person both.

So many domino effects from one little greenhouse.

Augh. I'm going around in circles. I'm going to go see if my daffodils or have shown up. So far I haven't seen anything, but they can't ALL be dead!

.....could they?

Bless you all for your support (and sorry for rambling on yet AGAIN).

my goodness i don't want anything in trade!! i look forward to your email with your address so i can send them out. I've been the recipient of generosity on this site and it's the least i can do. i hope you salvage some plants this year. good luck!

My condolences, merri. I say, string DH up by his... no, wait a minute, howzabout he takes you to the nearest LARGE gardencentre and follows u around with a trailer while you spend, spend and spend some more (on HIS ccard!)
Now THAT, he'll remember!

clairabelle (whose DH did something similar once, only it was with a lawnmower...)

Oh, merricat, I'm so sorry to read your post!
While I am relatively new to gardening, I can only imagine how heartbreaking it would be to see all that hard work (not to mention the vision) gone.

By the way, I rather like clarabelle's idea. After a day like that, I'm sure DH would never make the same mistake twice. On the other hand, I suspect you would never believe him if he said he would look after the plants again.

Margaret

This doesn't do you much good for this year, but maybe next year... I know one can buy an alarm set up for a greenhouse that will warn if the temperature falls below a certain point. Maybe you can buy one, or maybe your DH can make one up, since he's probably a better electrician than plant minder :-)

BP

Ah, clairabelle, if only it were so easy! But our money is just that: Ours, and we just can't afford to go and get happy in a commercial greenhouse (they don't carry heirlooms around here anyway).

I'd trust him with my life. Um...come to think of it, I HAVE: we met when he was my flight instructor. We were at 5,000 feet, he put the plane into a steep bank and asked me out. My answer was something along the lines of "yeah sure ok whatever you want whatever you say just GET ME OUTTA THIS ALIVE!!"

After that, Mass Tomato Death gains a bit of perspective. Well...after a few days, that is. The first instinct is to regret we have no small nuclear devices in the house.

Next time he's doing any gardening care, I'll not only have a thermostat-alarm (great idea, Bonnie, and DH would love the new toy...electricians always do!), I'll have detailed and footnoted instructions. I ain't takin' NUTHIN for granted anymore!

Cheers,

- Merri (who's wondering what clairabelle's DH did with a lawnmower, but winces just thinking of the many possibilities!)

Hugs, Merri, I don't know what else to say. It makes me queasy to think that it could happen to any of us, for whatever reason, whosever fault. I feel terrible for you.

Merri: you have my condolences. How very sad. I wish there was something I could do to help.

Bill