I am trying to sprout some Brandywine and Rutgers for the fall 2006
season. They both wilted and died last week in the heat (103) even
though they were well watered in good potting soil and moved to shade
in the middle of the day. Do I need to bring these inside until it
cools off outside? My fall garden experience is limited to transplants
from the local hardware store.

"Mike" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am trying to sprout some Brandywine and Rutgers for the fall 2006
season. They both wilted and died last week in the heat (103) even
though they were well watered in good potting soil and moved to shade
in the middle of the day. Do I need to bring these inside until it
cools off outside? My fall garden experience is limited to transplants
from the local hardware store.

My guess: the plants were kept too wet; hence, the wilting. Potting soil
is mostly peat, which can easily become waterlogged.

Or perhaps, they were too young to survive the extreme temps. Might be
better to keep your seedlings in dappled shade all day until they/re better
established.

Rutgers are ~80 day to maturity. Not much time left in the season, given
the length-of-day will begin to shorten quickly come mid-August. Still time
to sow a fall crop if you go with a variety that/ll pick in ~60 days.