Hardening Off Suggestion

[jessxcr]

Since I am away at work from 7:30 am until about 6 pm I am pondering how I am going to do this hardening off process. Lately when it has been nice out I have been taking them outside for a half hour when I get home from work but by then the sun is not very strong anymore. I'm just not going to have the luxury of going up to an hour, then two, three, etc...

One thought I had was, I do have a 4 season porch facing the East so they could get sun for part of the day if I put them in there and then maybe put them outside on that side of the house after a few days so then they are getting morning sun. Then maybe move them to the back which is facing west after a few days so they are getting more of the mid-day to evening sun. Anybody else have the dilemma of having a job?

Also, once I start hardening them off, after I bring them outside, should I put them back under my lights inside or is that the end of the lights then for the season?

 

[RedtailForester]

About the only other thing would be to leave them under a tree where they would get sun flecks through the day. Tough to let out babies go play outside unsupervised...

 

[jessxcr]

Too bad there are no leaves on the trees. Probably will be a while yet in MN. Plus the only tree I have in my yard is on the north side. Not much sun over there.

 

[LGHT]

I'm in the same situation, but I have a dedicated "hardening" spot on my patio that gets late afternoon sun about 4-6 hours of sun a day because of the overhead patio. I basically put my new plants on a couple of buckets that decreases that 2-3 hours and leave them there for a week then I remove one bucket that gives them a little more then put them on the ground for the 4-6 before moving them to a permanent location.

 

[Josh]

I would recommend investing in shade cloth. It takes a lot of the stress out of hardening off. I first put them out under 40%. Then I switch to 30% for a few days. Finally, I wait for a couple rainy/cloudy days in row and remove it altogether.

 

[jessxcr]

OK. Maybe this will help some suggestions come. Here is what I have to work with.

Couch is facing East so I have sun coming from the East and South windows.

Outside my front door on East facing porch.

South side where they will have their permanent home in containers.

West side where they could get afternoon sun.

In dog kennel between shed and garage where they would really be blocked from wind and not get much sun. Maybe another good place to start hardening?

 

[HawaiiAl]

I would go to lowes or farm supply get 50 % shade cloth place over the dog kennel instant green house, shade house after a few days you can roll up or grow under it.

 

[muskymojo]

I would start in the east facing windows you have pictured. You can adjust how many hours of sun they get with the window shades. It looks like your windows are fairly new vinyl ones, so they should have a low-E coating on the glass which usually allows between 65% and 75% light penetration. After that, maybe a few days in the dog kennel. Good luck!

 

[jessxcr]

Ok. So I have called around to all the stores in my town that could possibly carry shade cloth: Home Depot, Fleet Farm, Kmart, Nature's Garden World (local gardening store). They all said "Huh?". I would explain to them what it was and they had no idea. Ridiculous...

 

[gasificada]

I would recommend investing in shade cloth. It takes a lot of the stress out of hardening off. I first put them out under 40%. Then I switch to 30% for a few days. Finally, I wait for a couple rainy/cloudy days in row and remove it altogether.

Exactly what I will be using this year. Last year I was working the graveyard shift and things worked out perfectly as I would come home in the morning and I was able to give my little guys some morning sun and then whack 'em in a shadier spot before I hit the sack. However, now that I'm back on the day shift, things will be a little different....

On the plus though, I do live only five minutes away from work so at least I can come home on my lunch break every day to check on the little fellas!

 

[gasificada]

Ok. So I have called around to all the stores in my town that could possibly carry shade cloth: Home Depot, Fleet Farm, Kmart, Nature's Garden World (local gardening store). They all said "Huh?". I would explain to them what it was and they had no idea. Ridiculous...

What? Just ordinary, run-of-the-mill shade cloth...? Yikes!

Have you tried a hardware store?

 

[ZanderSpice]

When it's time to bring them outside I put them in a product called the "Flowerhouse"

You can shade it, adjust the vents, add some water for a thermal mass, even add an aquarium heater in the water. They love it, and I never have to bring them back inside. The most work is zipping closed the vents (leave one cracked just a bit) on cold nights and opening in the morning.

 

[Josh]

Ok. So I have called around to all the stores in my town that could possibly carry shade cloth: Home Depot, Fleet Farm, Kmart, Nature's Garden World (local gardening store). They all said "Huh?". I would explain to them what it was and they had no idea. Ridiculous...

Yea, I had trouble finding it locally as well. I ordered mine online but cannot remember where. I do remember having to state how many and at what distances I wanted the grommets. Here are some links I found in my favorites. I assume I used one of these places.


http://www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com/shade_cloth.htm

http://www.theshadeclothplace.com/

http://www.growerssupply.com/farm/supplies/cat1a;gs1_shade_houses_shade_cloth.html

http://www.cpenterprise.com/shadecloth.html