This Season
 

How to Harden Off Seedling Plants

How to Harden Off Seedling Plantsthumbnail
Transplanting a seedling directly into the garden can cause shock and may kill the plant.

You decided to grow your own vegetable plants for the garden. Now you have to prepare those seedlings for the harsh conditions of the outdoors. No more controlled heat, water and light for the little guys. It's time to harden off the seedling plants. Harden off means acclimating the new plants to the temperatures, sunlight and moisture conditions typically found in the garden.

Related Searches:
    Difficulty:
    Moderately Easy

    Instructions

      • 1

        Move the seedlings outdoors for about two hours when daytime temperatures are in the 60s or higher. Place the seedlings in a shady area of the garden while outside. Direct sunlight can kill a young plant.

      • 2

        Bring the seedlings back indoors and place them back in their position inside. If you have a heat mat, make sure it is off unless nighttime temperatures are below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

      • 3

        Increase the time spent outdoors by about an hour each day. Decrease the watering schedule each day as well. The plant must become less dependent upon your nurturing.

      • 4

        Accustom the plants to the natural sunlight by gradually moving the containers into the sunny areas of the garden. You may wish to allow half an hour of direct sunlight and increase the time each day. Watch for signs of wilting and move the plants back into the shade if this occurs.

      • 5

        Acclimate the seedlings to the nighttime air and temperatures after the seventh day by keeping the seedlings outside after sunset for a period of about an hour. Do this only when the night temperatures remain above 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

      • 6

        Continue hardening off the seedlings for 7 to 10 days, until the plants remain outdoors overnight. Transplant into the garden in the desired location.

    Tips & Warnings

    • Avoid using fertilizer when hardening off seedlings. Fertilizer promotes new growth that could be damaged from the hardening process.

    Related Searches

    References

    • Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

    Read Next:

    Comments

    You May Also Like

    • Hardening of Tomato Plants

      Both homegrown seedlings and ones purchased from a garden center must be hardened before transplanting to the garden bed. The hardening off...

    • How to Harden Off Seedlings

      If you're away from home during the day, or if you simply don't want to bother ferrying your plants around, consider investing...

    • How to Harden Off Tomato Seedlings

      If you are new to gardening you've probably heard others referring to hardening off their tomato plants and wondered exactly what they...

    • How to Harden Off Seedlings For Planting

      Planting a seedling outdoors that has spent its entire life in a greenhouse (or under lights in your basement) can be a...

    • Gardening with Plant Food

      Plants are living things that require food. Learn about gardening with plant food from an award-winning horticulturist in this free home landscaping...

    • How to Harden Off a Tomato Plant

      The tomato plants you've grown from seed or purchased at a greenhouse require a little more care before you plant them outdoors....

    • How to Identify Vegetable Plants

      If you are new to the whole gardening idea, you will find that unless the vegetable plants have a label on them,...

    • How to Harden Off Greenhouse Plants

      Plants that are grown inside a greenhouse become accustomed to consistent temperature, humidity and light levels. If you move these plants outside...

    • How to Harden Off Seedlings

      Hardening off seedlings is a method that is used to get seedlings to survive outside, and it involves simply making a plant...

    • How to Use a Frost Blanket to Harden Off Seedlings

      Hardening plants prepares them for the reality of growing under normal conditions in the garden. While frost blankets are useful in preventing...

    • How to Harden-Off My Plants

      Hardening off plants is a process to help get indoor potted plants acclimated to the harsher, often unpredictable conditions outdoors. Whether you...

    • How to Plant a Seedling

      Learning how to plant seedlings is a very basic, but important gardening skill, because healthy, happy seedlings grow into productive plants. Making...

    • How to Harden Plants for the Garden

      Hardening off seedlings is done in the early spring just before it's time to transplant into the garden or into a container....

    • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants Started Indoors

      Tomatoes grown indoors can easily burn in the sun if not hardened off before being planted in the garden. This process consists...

    • How to Harden Steel With Water

      Heat treating steel can fundamentally change its properties. The process can transform steel from something that is soft and malleable to a...

    • Plant Vegetables in the Morning or Evening?

      New seedlings are sensitive to environmental changes. Don't plunk new seedlings down in your vegetable garden without a little forethought on timing....

    • How to Harden Sand

      When you think of sand you might reminisce about sandcastles at the beach or playing in the sandbox as a child. But...

    Follow eHow

    Related Ads