hi pals! regarding hardening off..

cubbieblue82

cubbieblue82

hello, all!

at this point i have a few dozen plants that are anywhere from 1.5-2.5 feet in height. they've been under HPS indoors since they were really little.

i have read such varying information on the hardening process that i thought i should consult all of you wonderful people here. often, i am away from the house for the entire day, without any time to stop by. would it be absolutely catastrophic to leave them outside the whole day? more specifically...is there a chance they would just straight up DIE in a day, or would i be able to bring them in and coddle them if that length of time didnt work out?

next week will be 70-80 here during the day, 60+ at night. Thoughts? ^_^
 
I have harsher humidity and UV than almost the entire US. (not so much heat, but I have more warm days than most everywhere) What works for me, is to start the hardening process in a fully shaded area, that is about 70-80% filtered. (like under a tree) After about a week, I'll put them under my porch screen enclosure, which is about 50%, for another week. When I see that I'm getting my first outdoor leaves, then I'll spend the next week putting them in a spot where they get about 2 hours of full sun, but in the latest parts of the day. After a week of that, they're good to go.
 
     There are lots of things starts need to get used to before they live outside. Temperature fluctuation, dry air, wind, sunlight... What I usually do is just put them outside in the shade for the first few days to get them used to wind and dry air. Then I start working on getting them used to sunlight. It's causes less stress to get them used to one thing at a time.
     Once you feel confident that your plants can safely spend all day outside, put them in a spot where they'll only get a few hours of morning or evening sunlight. I use the porch on the east side of my house so they get light up until about 10 or 11 am, then they are shaded for the rest of the day. Using a tree probably won't do you much good where we live this time of year, so use your house or some kind of structure to your advantage.
     It is possible for an unhardened plant to be almost completely ruined by one day in the elements. You can't undo sunburn and torn leaves no how hard you hug your plant. ;) A day of direct sunlight and wind could cause a plant to burn and drop all of its leaves. New shoots will eventually grow back, but the plant will be set back a lot. 
 
thanks, guys. there is a part of the front porch that doesnt get any direct sunlight until around 3pm right now. theres also a second "front porch" on the side - house is on a corner - that gets full sunlight in the morning, but only til about noon. i'll play around with both and see what I can make work with my schedule. thanks again!
 
Also keep in mind that cloudy days are great for hardening off peppers. After a couple of days in the shade they can usually handle a cloudy day just fine. Then after a couple of cloudy days they can handle sun pretty well in my experience. If all you have are sunny days just take your time and keep an eye on them. Good luck!
 
Key words, take your time.. last year I did small exposure for a few days.. then got a cloudy day and thought it would be ok to put them out before I spent the day at the RC track.. at some point the clouds broke and 90% of my plants for scorched. Set me back a few weeks while new growth replaced the dead falling leaves
 
     If you can swing it, do this for a while...
cubbieblue82 said:
there is a part of the front porch that doesnt get any direct sunlight until around 3pm right now. 
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     ...and then put them here to harden for a while longer.
cubbieblue82 said:
theres also a second "front porch" on the side - house is on a corner - that gets full sunlight in the morning, but only til about noon. 
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     By 3pm, the sun is getting pretty low and, as long as it's not windy or really hot, your plants should be fine as long as they are at the point where they can handle all day in the shade. Putting them in a  spot where they get sun up until noon should be a good next step. 
     Over the years, I've found it's better to change the amount of time your plants spend in sunlight by using an object to shade them at a certain time every day rather than planning on bringing them in or moving them every day. It's not as big of a problem if you forget to check on them this way. 
 
Shade clothes!
They come in various %s of blocking ability. They are not all that expensive and they work great.
 
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I'm not sure how strong your HPS is, but I stuck mine out at 12 noon in direct 75F sun and light wind.  They grew up under 1000W MH at 83F +/- 10F.  They are doing great after three days of 75 - 83F direct sun with lows in the 40's (pic below)  Don't do what I did.  
 
I think your porch method will work great.  I wouldn't worry about them too much while you are away.  Worst case, get one of those web based video baby monitors.   ;)
 
Sun_zpsj7xrpb59.jpg

 
 
 
 
 
Mine are smaller than yours and grew up under T5. I took them outside where they were in the shade for a few hours and got about an hour of sun on a nice warm day and some of them got pretty fried :(
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
     Nice. Even more foolproof! I bet they buffer the wind a bit, too.
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yes, they do provide a nice wind break as well. Came in nice last year when all my plants were outside in solo cups. This year they may be in 3 gal pots by plant out.
 
NeedsWork said:
I'm not sure how strong your HPS is, but I stuck mine out at 12 noon in direct 75F sun and light wind.  They grew up under 1000W MH at 83F +/- 10F.  They are doing great after three days of 75 - 83F direct sun with lows in the 40's (pic below)  Don't do what I did.  
 
I think your porch method will work great.  I wouldn't worry about them too much while you are away.  Worst case, get one of those web based video baby monitors.   ;)
 
Sun_zpsj7xrpb59.jpg

 
 
 
 
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I have a 1000 hps and would not recommend direct plant out without hardening off. No artificial light source can come remotely close to matching the sun. I fear you may regret your haste. It may take 3-5  days for the damage to occur from your decision. This is the words from experience of doing the same thing.
 
austin87 said:
Mine are smaller than yours and grew up under T5. I took them outside where they were in the shade for a few hours and got about an hour of sun on a nice warm day and some of them got pretty fried :(
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Going outside from t5's is going to take much time and patience before they are ready to endure the wrath of the summer sun.
 
CAPCOM said:
I have a 1000 hps and would not recommend direct plant out without hardening off. No artificial light source can come remotely close to matching the sun. I fear you may regret your haste. It may take 3-5  days for the damage to occur from your decision. This is the words from experience of doing the same thing.
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Today was day four... the damage so far is limited to a handful of newly ripened jalapenos and habs that disappeared over lunch.   :suspect:   And that inflicted by the new pyrocanthas while planting.  
 
I just put mine outside on the patio in the north shade from the house. That spot stays shaded most of the day except morning and evening.. Once they are out I leave them. They get a little burn sometimes but come out of it fast. Lol.. Kinda like the strong will survive even tho I've never lost one this way.
 
smileyguy697 said:
I just put mine outside on the patio in the north shade from the house. That spot stays shaded most of the day except morning and evening.. Once they are out I leave them. They get a little burn sometimes but come out of it fast. Lol.. Kinda like the strong will survive even tho I've never lost one this way.
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Thats what I did 2 years ago with the same results you described. I would never have been able to do that last years though. Just was too many plants.
 
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