Hardening Off (this is where I usually blow it)

[wifezilla]

I have figured out most of my problems with starting seeds inside. It was a lighting issue. I finally got some good CFL's (100's until I can get some 175's) and my plants are doing great.

The problem is I know me and in years past I have killed perfectly good starters given to me by friends by not hardening off properly. Sometimes They dry out. Sometimes I forget to bring them in. Sometimes I accidentally put them in a spot where I don't think they get direct sun, but in the afternoon while I am at work they get fried...

Anyway...anybody know an IDIOT PROOF way to harden off plants? I am in Colorado and our weather is weird. VERY hot sometimes, cold nights, low humidity, etc... Plus I work full-time and have irregular hours.

Help! (please?)

 

[digitS']

It's going to be tough for you - away from the backyard, changeable weather thru the day, etc.

Best to not push them out and increase the risk. And, you gotta find that perfect microclimate in your yard. I've got a good place north of a deciduous tree that leafs-out, late. It is also against a south wall and protected from winds by the steps to the deck.

The sun shines directly on this location only until mid morning, then there is some shade from the branches of the tree for the remainder of the day. Heat is reflected off the wall of the house but the wall is in that filtered tree shade, as well. I keep the plants low enuf that if the wind picks up, the steps catch most of it.

If the plants only have a few days out there before being moved into the open garden, you can put newspaper teepees around them for some protection for a few days - or, a milk jug with the bottom cut away and the cap removed.

They are tiny, think micro . . . and here's wishing you the Best of Luck .

Steve

 

[wifezilla]

Once it is above freezing at night, do you think a few nights in the garage would acclimate it to temperature...THEN I could worry about light, but not have to bring the plants in after dark?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Idiot proof = greenhouse! Greenhouses cut the strength of the sun by . . . I can't remember something like 10 or 20% and it is apparently enough to protect the seedlings, because it worked for me in a shadeless greenhouse.

If you can't do that, then I would recommend you only let your plants out when you are home to watch out for them (at least the first week). It might mean that it takes longer to get them hardened off, but at least you know they will make it. Start the process on a weekend when you are home (take them out for a few hours a day), then only leave them out if the weather is mild when you are away.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I typically acclimate them to the sun first, and then only let them stay out all night on a particularly warm night for that time of year. Once they are out that night, I let them stay out and I don't worry unless a freeze is scheduled.

 

[farmerlor]

Hardening is the hardest part but I agree that you should get them used to sun first, then cool, then wind. I am taking the easy way out by hardening mine in the greenhouse. The greenhouse will keep them warm enough without exposing them to this harsh wind until I take the ends off the greenhouse to allow some flow through.

 

[wifezilla]

Ok, you guys are just big cheaters! LOL

I would love to have a greenhouse, but that would require me to MOVE. I have a small suburban lot and my back yard already has garden beds, grape vines, 2 apple trees, a pear tree, a pond, a shed, a hot tub, a patio, a duck pen and 5 1/2 ducks! (1/2 = little one in a brooder )

 

[Purple Strawberry]

Can anyone suggest how to make a mini green house just big enough to fit about a paper box maybe? That way it would be easier fo rthe full time workers.

 

[patandchickens]

I do the opposite of DrakeMaiden and farmerlor -- I worry about temperature first, then sun, then wind.

What I do (same as my mother, now in her 80s, has always done) is put them outdoors first in a totally wind-protected SHADY spot for a few days or more. I do not have a good convenient shady spot for this where I live now, so I use layers of lace curtains and windowscreens and suchlike to shade the plants at first. Once they seem reasonably secure, I start moving them to a partly-sunnier location or in my current case peeling off the curtains/screens. At this point I typically transplant them into the ground with a small shade/windbreak in place around them (screens, evergreen boughs, whatever) that I gradually remove over the next week or two depending on the plant and the situation.

I definitely do not fuss over them or carry them in and out or anything like that. Once they go out that door, they STAY out -- I make sure to put them out when warmish nights are scheduled, and I cover them if necessary for the first night or so (not usually).

Which is precisely why I limit my use of a coldframe (whcih is what a tiny greenhouse would be) -- unless you have an auto opener you HAVE to be there in early or midmorning to crack the lid, and even with an auto opener you can have problems in some circumstances. Although packing a cold frame with LOTS of thermal mass, like gravel and jugs full of water, gives you a bit more margin for error.

I think what this shows is that there are lots of different ways to harden off plants, you don't have to do it just one exact way.

I do think though that there is great value to exposing them to only one, or at most two, harsh new factors at a time (of sun, wind, temperature).

JME, have fun,

Pat

 

[vfem]

I always start at the end of the day the first day.... then bring them in at night.... then in the morning give them a heavy watering and put them back out again. Bring them in at the end of the day (around people's time getting home from work) Then day 3 its all day, and day 4 is over night!


I do occasionally lose some anyways.... but 90% seem good.

It's not a perfect science, you can't predict the weather. Usually my killer here is random heavy winds!!