Planting out dilema- help!

[myfingersarenotsogreen]

Help! I have lots of cucumber seedlings in small pots in a lean-to green house. We are going away for a week. Should I plant them out and let them take their chances with slugs and rain( or a lack of it) or leave them in their pots until I get back. I’m worries that they will dry out in the pots quicker than in the garden? Also they are only tiny and have only just grown their first true leaf.

Personally, I'd pot the seedlings up into larger pots, then stand them in a tray of water while you're away (I like gro-bag trays for pots of seedlings). Potting up will ensure a greater volume of compost for water retention.

P.s. Don't leave them outside! I speak from bitter experience. Slugs will decimate your seedlings.

I agree with Poppins, you can get water retaining matting that you can stand them on, put at the bottom of the trough, so if the water evaporates some will still be in the matting.
Costly, I know, but if you’ve a greenhouse full you can get self watering kits by Hozelock which attach to your outside tap. Great if you’ve a lot of things in the greenhouse.

Pot them up and put them on some capillary matting with a reservoir for it. That should tide them over, especially if you leave them in sort of semi-shade so that they don’t get dried out quickly if it come super sunny. Don’t plant them out, they’ll either get eaten or just do nothing because they’re too small to be hardened off properly.

fantastic advice! thank you. Potting them on now