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How to Harden Off Seedlings

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(25 Ratings)

For seedlings whose lives began on a sunny windowsill, the vegetable patch is no bed of roses. Before they can handle the wind, rain and strong sun of the great outdoors, tender young plants need a period of gradual adjustment. The simple but crucial process of acclimating seedlings to life in the garden is called hardening off.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  1. Step 1

    Begin hardening off your seedlings about a week before their transplant date. (Check the seed packet for the estimated date in your area; it varies depending on the variety of plant.) Keep the seedlings well watered throughout the process.

  2. Step 2

    Set the containers (whether flats or individual pots) in a sheltered, shady spot outdoors. A covered porch is an ideal starter spot, so is a table or bench under a leafy tree. Bring the plants back inside at night, and bring them in at any time of day if the weather turns cold, windy or rainy.

  3. Step 3

    Expose the plants gradually to more sun. After two or three days, you can safely keep them in the sun for half a day, then return them to the shade. By the end of the week they'll be tough enough to soak up the rays all day.

  4. Step 4

    Transplant the seedlings to the garden on an overcast day to ease the shock of transition from pot to ground. If a light mist is falling, so much the better.

Tips & Warnings
  • At the beginning of hardening-off week, arrange your containers on a rolling tea cart or a child's coaster wagon. Then simply roll your plants back and forth for the twice-daily commute between indoors and out.
  • If you're away from home during the day, or if you simply don't want to bother ferrying your plants around, consider investing in a cold frame, which is a simple box with a glass or plastic door that opens and closes. Set your seedlings into it and open the door a little farther each day, closing it each night. If the weather is sunny, shade the glass with a piece of lattice for the first few days.
  • The hardening-off process is identical for vegetables, flowers and herbs, both annuals and perennials.
  • Even if the weather is unseasonably warm, bring the seedlings indoors at night. Strong winds or heavy rains will topple their lightweight pots and likely damage tender stems and roots.
  • Avoid setting pots or flats directly on the ground; your young plants could fall prey to snails, slugs or other predatory critters.

Comments  

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on 2/16/2008 Thanks..i used this technique with my TickleMe Plants.
Now my kids can tickle their plants and watch them move while they are outside!

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