Sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice. She publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. To harden off plants, gradually acclimate them to outdoor conditions over a seven- to 10-day period. Hardening off is most crucial for seedlings raised indoors, but if you have enough time it can be helpful to harden off seedlings purchased from a garden center. Harden them off before transplanting them into your garden. Jessica Damiano writes regular gardening columns for The Associated Press. Once the seeds have germinated, move the flats or plots to a cool location with temperatures between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit until seedlings are ready to transplant outdoors. If you started plants in a greenhouse, they’ve already been growing in direct sunlight, so the process is abridged: Open the windows for a few hours each day for about a week, then move seedlings to a sheltered outdoor spot for two hours the first day and four hours the second day. Be aware that high temperatures and intense, direct sunlight may “cook” your plants, especially in Southern gardens, so gauge conditions and use your judgment before attempting this. Remove the container for each day’s hardening-off session, setting it back into place and securing it into the soil afterward. Burying the bottom in a few inches of soil will hold the container in place, and you can water plants through the pouring hole at the top. But it's such a pain carrying a big stack of plants in and out and in and out and.If absolutely necessary, and as long as the weather isn’t hot, you can even plant your seedlings directly in the ground and harden them by covering each individually with a plastic, gallon-size milk container with its bottom and cap removed. By taking these steps, you can help your plants to adapt to their new environment and become much better equipped to thrive. You will also need to reduce watering, as outdoor conditions tend to be much drier than indoor conditions. THE CHALLENGE: Who honestly has time to mess with this? I'm sure some of us do. Hardening off involves slowly exposing your plants to increasingly intense sunlight and wind. Do this for a few days and continue to slowly increase the time they are exposed to full sunlight until they are "hardened off" (capable of sitting in the sun all day long). This timing should also be after transplanting and before your planting date which depends on your frost dates. It is best to start hardening off about one to two weeks before the final frost date. By hardening off, you slowly expose your vegetables, fruits, and flowers to the outside elements to ensure their survival. You can definitely take longer, but any shorter and you could have trouble. Hardening off or acclimating is vital for gradually adjusting your seedlings to the outdoors when you are ready to transplant them. The best possible method is to start two weeks before you plant your seedlings in the ground. Then the next day, put them out for 2 hours. You’ll want to start the process of hardening off at least 1 week prior to planting in the garden. 1.The secret to successful hardening off is to do it gradually. Put them outside for an hour and then bring them back in. TRADITIONALLY: To harden off your seedlings you need to slowly introduce them to outdoor light levels. Once the seedlings sprout their first sets of. Seedlings need some periods of darkness, too. Use a timer to turn the lights on and off. Use bright grow lights placed close to the seedlings so they don’t have to stretch to reach the light. So you better follow this advice.unless you've been able to figure out some workarounds. While your seedlings are indoors, take these steps to improve their chances to successfully harden off. Without the opportunity to adjust first, they'll get sunburn and might even die. "You Must Harden Off Your Seedlings" If you don't harden off your indoor seedlings before planting them outside, they will suffer shock from the brutal sun. In a little over a week, you can leave them outside overnight as well. Gradually leave the plants in the sun for a few extra hours each day. Repeat this process daily to harden off your plants. How to Harden Off Seedlings or Should You? On day 10 you can start introducing your transitioning plants to a few hours of sun.
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