This May 9, 2023, image shows annual and vegetable seedlings being “hardened off,” or gradually acclimated to outdoor weather conditions, in Glen Head, NY. After that, they can safely be planted in their permanent homes, whether in the ground, a raised bed, or a container. Add an hour of outdoor time each day for a week. Repeat this on the second day for two hours. Place plants outside for an hour, set a timer, and then bring them back inside to a warm spot, under electric plant lights is the best choice. Even the window that gets the most sun in your home or an electric growing light cannot compete with the strength of direct sunlight.Ĭhoose a day after the danger of frost has passed and when the temperature is above seven degrees Celsius. Do this for increasing periods each day for about a week before planting them in the garden. Start hardening your plants by placing them outdoors in a sheltered area that is partly protected from the sun. But the process usually sets their growth back by a few weeks. If plants are not hardened off enough, they could get burned by the sun or go into shock from more wind exposure or lower temperatures than they are used to. That means slowly introducing the plants to environmental conditions like sunlight, wind, and changes in temperature that they have not yet experienced. However, seedlings cannot usually go straight from an indoor growing area to outdoor beds and borders without risk. Those who have grown plants from seeds indoors may be getting ready to plant them in the garden at about this time. Many gardeners are visiting garden centers now to buy plants. Given today using an unknown neighbor’s weather station we had a high of 48.2F and low of 35.1F I still have some time before I can safely bring my tomatoes/cucumbers outside but they should be toughened (hardening) up and ready to go when it is.The month of May is the best planting time in many areas in the northern half of the world. After a few days I will drop the temperature a few degrees until it has similar low temperature to the outdoors, while still staying at a safe temperature for the plants. By allowing some hot air to vent and lowering the maximum temperature setting in the software I am able to bump the temperature down to a range of 57-65 degrees. Normally the grow box runs at about 68-72 degrees which is a great environment for my seedlings. This year I am using my grow box to harden off my plants. My history of hardening off plants follows a similar pattern bring out a plant in the evening with the full intentions of bringing it back in after a few hours, unfortunately I forget and it spends its first day out in the cold all night which normally the demise of my summer plants. Unfortunately I believe I am missing this virtue. This process takes a lot of patience, which as they say is a virtue. At this time it is ready to get its permanent home in your garden. Each day increasing the amount of time it is exposed to the outdoors over 1-2 weeks period, or until the plant can survive a full day/night outside. If the plant begins to wilt let it recover indoors until it appears healthy again. You start by bringing the plant outside for two hours in the late evening or early morning hours. This is a process of slowly getting the plant accustomed to the real world environment a couple hours at a time. The solution to this problem is to hardening off the plant. If you take this happy plant and move it directly into the wild (your garden) it can, and probably will, go into shock leading to its sudden death. When you have seedlings growing indoors or a greenhouse during their life they have had the opportunity spending it in a near perfect environment with controlled temperatures, consistent lighting, no wind, etc. 14.5 years ago computer, computer power control, cucumbers, electronics, indoor growbox, tomato
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |