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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 18, 2015 10:02:04 GMT -5
How long do you give your seedlings time to get used to being outside? How much time in protected area, how long to get used to wind, how long out of sun then in sun before they are ready to transplant?
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Post by Mumsey on Mar 18, 2015 13:19:03 GMT -5
Bad me. I never harden off. I'm away 10 hrs a day and they would never survive DHs neglect! I simply save milk cartons beginning in December. Cut out bottoms and 3-4 inch opening at top. Each plant then has its own little greenhouse. If temps get too low just cover top with grass/leaves. I leave them this way until they outgrow their greenhouse. Protects from sun and wind. I have never lost a plant with this method.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2015 13:47:26 GMT -5
Lil, if you can create a windbreak, about this time of year bring your tender plants outdoors every day it goes above 50F. It shouldn't take more than ten days.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Mar 18, 2015 14:09:19 GMT -5
My mother was much better at this than I was. As I recall, the time to harden off really depended on the temperature variation between day and night. She started the process either in April or May, depending on the weather that particular year, but usually when the evening and night temperatures varied by degrees equivalent to what the plants would experience when they were out permanently. I.e., if in our area the late spring temps varied by 20 degrees or so from the daytime temps, and when the high daytime temps weren't more than say 10 degrees above the house temp, that's when she'd start. This continued under there wasn't much more variation from day and night temperatures than there would be if completely left outside.
If it was especially windy, she'd put the plants on an outdoor picnic table in a protected area underneath the patio for the time they were out in the wind. On pleasant days, they'd get more sun, but putting them in sunny areas was a gradual process, starting with perhaps an hour per day.
I think a lot depends on the configuration of your yard and how much sun and shade you get. I'd start with shade to get them used to the temperatures, then gradually move the seedlings into the sun, starting with a shorter time and leaving them out longer each day.
Sorry I can't be more specific; with Mom, it was really a question of relative temperatures, and she was really quite a gardener - I don't think she lost many seedlings, if any, including the 1000 or tomato seedlings she planted one year!
When I move eventually, I'd like to have a breezeway between the house and the garage, with extra side doors. I'd keep my grow light arrangements in the breezeway, then wheel the whole thing outside when it's time to harden off! I remember lugging flats and flats and more flats in and out, in and out, for days.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 18, 2015 16:15:56 GMT -5
I am not near ready at this point as most my seeds haven't even been started yet. Just trying to figure how I would do it. Temps here won't be ready for at least a month. Mums, you use the plastic gallon jugs? I have been saving them but I may not have enough. I will have to ask volunteers from family and work to save them too. But I do find it interesting that you don't harden at all. Very interesting.
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Post by ncgarden on Mar 18, 2015 16:58:37 GMT -5
For me it is about a week - I have an area under my deck that gets a lot of light, but no direct sun, and is sheltered on two sides. So I take the plants out in the morning and back in at evening. I usually start on Sunday and plant the following Saturday. But there have been years I spent two weeks hardening off because I did not have time to plant. And sometimes, I plant right from the basement. I have not noticed one way is more successful than another.
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 18, 2015 18:26:18 GMT -5
I am fortunate to have a sheltered front porch so I take the flats of seedlings out during the day and bring them in at night for about a week. Then they stay out on the porch all night but get pulled back towards the house out of the wind and under the roof at night.
By this time I probably could plant them but you never know about a late frost so they end up staying on the front porch for several weeks. I would rather re-pot them into bigger pots and keep them pampered on my front porch than get them into the ground as soon as I possibly can. By the time I plant them in the ground they have thick strong stems and roots have filled the pots.
My last average frost is May 15.
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Post by Mumsey on Mar 18, 2015 18:49:35 GMT -5
Yes I save the gallon jugs. 1/2 gallon work in a pinch. If I'm short of the I go to the city recycle bins and get some to recycle.
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Post by desertwoman on Mar 18, 2015 21:10:52 GMT -5
Harden off? It's hap hazard at best.
At most, they go outside for a day or two for a couple of hours in partial early sun then by day 3 they stay out until after dark. Day 4 they are planted with a kiss and a prayer.
I always think I should do that, but the reality is that I rarely do. The seedlings do just fine.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 19, 2015 9:54:04 GMT -5
Mid April I can start putting in onions and peas. Onions I have Copra that were started indoors in Mid Feb(I couldn't wait any longer) and I will be putting in sets which I hope to pick up this weekend or next. I think I can transplant broccoli by then also. I can't believe the time is almost near when I can put them out....I'm psyched!
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Post by gakaren on Mar 19, 2015 11:07:22 GMT -5
I am kind of lucky in this respect. I seldom "harden off" anything. I start the seeds in my garden house most of the time so they come up in what ever conditions we are having at that time. But this year, since I had the mishap with the tomatoes, the second planting of seeds are sitting on my front porch and are exposed to full sun during the morning hours. I'll slide them down to the end when they get a bit bigger so they will get nearly full sun all day then.
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Post by johng44 on Mar 19, 2015 16:38:58 GMT -5
I usually harden off 7-10 days. Start about 4 hrs. at a time first 2 or 3 days and then up a couple of hours for same amount of time, last days leave out until late afternoon. While inside I keep several small desk type fans circulating air around the plants. By the time they are ready for transplant the plants have nice healthy stems and leaves. Keep the lights about two inches above the plants to keep them from getting spindly.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 19, 2015 18:51:22 GMT -5
Like SpringRain🕊️, I sort of play it by ear, and it all depends on the weather! Sometimes the night temps aren't going down so much, and the day temps are pretty good, so hardening off is more to get them used to the sun and wind. I put an oscillating fan on my plants to help produce stronger stems, but the hardening off is definitely good for the light resistance. I put mine out for about a week, starting for an hour or so before going to work, then again when I get home on the opposite side of the house (where the sun is each time), increasing the time gradually. I do not leave them while at work, as I have no control then. Strangely enough, I found out early on that something that was prone go "sunburn" was chinense peppers, which is strange, since most of those are from the tropics.
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Post by claude on Mar 20, 2015 7:03:04 GMT -5
The last couple of times I hardened off I lost my plants because they got too much Sun and the winds came up suddenly enough to blow my flats off the table. Most of the time I use a fan as well so the plants are pretty hearty. The area must be sheltered. As pepper head said, it's best if you are home and watchful.
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 20, 2015 9:02:44 GMT -5
When I was working away from home 9-10 hours per day, I would just set the plants out for an hour or two after I got home from work and bring them in when it got dark. Then on the weekend, when I was home, I would put them out all day in a slightly shaded area.
After that they could be outside on my shaded and sheltered front porch all day without too much risk.
I never use a fan on my seedlings.
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