![]() ![]() As your seedlings progress, leave the door unzipped at night also. You'll probably have to unzip them during the day so your plants don't cook. You can drape row cover or a sheet over them to provide some shade. Those little plastic zip-front "greenhouses" are also wonderful for hardening off plants. Get spun row covers for your tender seedlings It will also let water through to the plants. A sheet would also work, but I think the spun row cover does a better job of insulating. Row cover provides better protection against cold when it doesn't touch the leaves. Put something underneath to hold it up off the seedlings. Giving the plants more or less exposure to "real" conditions is simply a matter of putting the row cover on or off. I use spun polystyrene row cover to protect seedlings from wind, sun, and cold. There are alternatives to moving seedlings around so much. The idea is to get them used to cooler night temperatures in stages. After a couple more nights, they'll be OK in a less protected location such as a few feet away from the house. By their third night, they'll have started to toughen up a little and can stay outside in a sheltered location, perhaps up against the wall of the house. The second night, bring them inside again unless the low temperature forecast is especially mild. Always bring them inside if temperatures drop near freezing. If that's not practical, putting them in a partly shaded location for several days before moving them to a sunnier location will work fine.ĭecrease protection from cold at night. Ideally, they'd get another hour or two of sun each day until they're enjoying the same amount of sun they'll get in your garden. Their first day out, seedlings should get no more than an hour or two of sun. There's a big difference between fluorescent lights and the brightness of real sunshine. One year, some varmint bit the stems off several dozen pepper seedlings! Now seedlings get set out on a table, so they're a little less accessible. I've learned the hard way not to set them directly on the patio. A location that's out of the wind and partly shaded, especially from harsh afternoon sun, is ideal. Scout around and figure out where your seedlings will spend their first hours outside. Gradually move seedlings to a less sheltered location. Although the process could be accomplished in as little as 3 days under ideal conditions, I like to give seedlings as much as a week to toughen up before transplanting them.įind a sheltered spot for hardening off. Give them a little more exposure to wind, sun, and temperature variations each day, until they are ready to be planted out. Hardening off simply means getting your seedlings used to outside conditions gradually. Your beautiful little seedlings may keel over in shock if you take them straight from your light shelves to your garden. Hardening off isn't tricky or complicated, but it can be a matter of life or death for your seedlings.
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