hardening off seedlings before transplanting

Hardening off seedlings before transplanting full#

Once I started doing this in our garden we never had seedlings wilting or being set back after planting outside.

This helps to reduce the shock plants feel after being disturbed.Īnother tip I’ve found very helpful is to fill the planting hole with water or liquid fertilizer when planting. If possible try to pick an overcast day to transplant seedlings into your garden. Frost tender plants like tomatoes can’t be planted into your garden before your last frost date unless you are giving good frost protection. Remember you still need to follow normal planting guidelines.

Hardening off seedlings before transplanting full#

Once the plants have been hardened off and no longer show signs of wilting or stress after spending full days and nights outside you can safely plant them into your garden. This will help your plants not to have stress from lack of water on top of their new growing conditions. Keep an eye on the moisture levels and water often so the potting mix stays moist. The small cell packs that plants are grown in can dry out quickly in the hot sun. You could place them on the side of a shrub or building that blocks the wind. When you are hardening off seedlings outside, make sure to shelter your seedlings so the stems don’t snap. This helps to strengthen the stems of the plants to they don’t break in the wind. You can start helping your seedlings with this by brushing your hand gently across the top of them every day while they are still indoors.Īnother option is to set up a fan on low and have it oscillate across the plants an hour a day. Vegetable seedlings grown indoors need to build up their strength to handle the wind. Young seedlings will need a little more care than full-grown flowers during the hardening off process. Garden huckleberry seedlings being hardened off before planting. Once your seedlings have been fully hardened off you can leave the plants outside until you are ready to transplant them into the garden. This process takes 7 to 10 days, sometimes longer if you get a sudden cold spell. Once they can spend the full day and night outside without wilting they are ready to plant into the garden. On the 3rd day place them where the sun is a dabbled shade, for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.Ĭontinue lengthening the amount of time they spend outside by 30 to 60 minutes a day and increasing the amount of direct sunlight that they get. The next day place them out in the shade again for 1 hour to a 1 1/2 before bringing them back inside. Some gardeners start off by doing this for a few hours right away, but I’ve found better results by leaving the plants outside for just 30 minutes on the first day. This could be a covered porch or under a shady tree. Start by placing your seedlings in a shady place outside. Kale, onions, and cabbage seedlings being hardened off outside.ħ to 10 days before you want to transplant your seedlings into the garden start is when you want to start the hardening off process.

A sheltered place that has shade for at least part of the day and is protected from strong winds.A strong plant tray works best so that you don’t have to keep moving the plant cells in and out of containers each time. You’ll need a plant tray or box with low sides to carry your plants outside and back indoors.Their leaves can turn white from being sunburned.Īt best this will slow down their growth at worst the plants you spent all that time growing or money buying will die. They will start by wilting badly and going into shock. If you take plants out of your home or greenhouse and plant them into the garden they have a good chance of dying. But it really is worth it to slow down a little and do things right. I know, it can be hard to be patient in the spring when you want to get your garden going.

They all need to be hardened off so that they can slowly adjust to the outdoor growing conditions. Yes, it doesn’t matter if you are dealing with young vegetable seedlings, mature flower plants, or houseplants you want to leave outside for the summer. Hardening off tomato plants before planting.