One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Disclaimer: I am dreading writing this post.

What a morning. As I mentioned here, my impatiens were not doing so red hot at the beginning of last week. However, over the course of the week, I saw small improvements and was feeling encouraged. Even thinking I might resurrect more than half of the impatiens plants.

Well, it would seem fate had other ideas...

This morning, as we do every Monday morning, my husband and I awoke at 6:30 a.m. and hit the road. Back to school. We spend our weekends at home and weekdays here in College-ville. Because my plants have been so small and have needed daily watering, I have hauled them back and forth every weekend for almost two months. Do you think this is convenient? No. So back to this morning...

About 15 minutes into our hour and a half journey, a DEER jumps out in front of our car.

Can you guess where this is going?

Yes, we hit the deer. Dumb animal. It didn't even die. (Please don't turn me into the humane society for that comment.) Thankfully, Lucy (my car) came away from the collision with only minor damage: passenger side mirror broken. It could have been much worse.

However, remember, my small plants were inside the car. You have this figured out by now, right? Yes, the plants went FLYING :( 

Not much was left. Only a backseat full of dirt :(

Once we made it to our destination, I picked through the remains. I was able to salvage all 14 peppers plants and 1 measly zinnia. I repeat, ONE. Out of approximately 20 plants. As for the impatiens, this little accident was the straw that broke the camel's back. They were completely ruined.

This picture shows my garbage can. However, it doesn't even do justice to how awful the poor little guys looked.

So... what have I learned?

1. If you plan on transporting your seedlings on a regular basis (which I would not recommend), peppers are the only deer-collision-proof plant.
2. This probably was not the best spring in my life to start plants indoors.
3. I have determination. (Just in the last few hours, I have already purchased new seeds, soil, and potting carton thingy-es, and sowed my new seeds.
4. Maybe you could call #3 stupidity?
5. I will never again start impatiens from seed. Totally not worth it. They took almost a month to sprout. Grew slowly. Almost died from a few hours of fresh air. And did not survive the crash. Not worth it.

A few other irrelevant observations...

1. Not all zinnia seeds are the same. I had a few left from before that I planted today (Burpee's Bright Border Mix variety) and the new seeds (Fruit Smoothie Mix variety) were much larger than the oldies.
2. Jiffy Seed Starting Mix has a much finer texture than Miracle Grow Seed Starting Mix.
3. A little TLC goes a long way. My impatiens had almost recovered.

When the damage was first surveyed, I was very disheartened. My husband actually had to talk me into starting seeds again. But now that I've had some time to mourn, I am trying to optimistic. Seeds are a new beginning. My last set had so much potential. I just made a few mistakes. But now I know --- stay away from cold weather and deer!