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Does my bhut jolokia look mature enough to start hardening off outdoors??

I live in south Florida so no need to worry about the winter, Some nights it can get down to the 50's, but that's as cold as it gets. I chose
 
to start them indoors so i can have a more controlled environment. But, im only using a small florescent desk lamp, and i dont have the
 
equipment to keep them growing once they become adult plants. Do you think they look almost ready to put outdoors. The picture is
 
of the plant that is growing the most vigorous and healthy. ( sharpie added for size comparison)
 
 

 
 

 
 
FWIW, I start 'em younger than that!
 
A few days after germination - catching some morning rays.
12-11-sprouts.jpg

 
These guys are now a fair bit bigger, with a few starting their first true leaves.  They're more or less sun safe, staying out in the open sun for 2~3 hours at a time. I move them several times per day, alternating between open sun and the broken shade of my '14 plants which are still going fairly well.
 
Purely IMO, I wouldn't leave them out on nights below ~50, and would definitely ease them into their relationship with Mr. Sun.  Start with an hour or two of morning sun, followed by filtered sun or open shade for the rest of the day. 
Work up from there.
 
While the plants would possibly grow better in a warmer indoor room, I'm a fan of getting them outdoors as soon as possible. IMO, the sun and outside air dry the soil surface nicely, helping to reduce damping fungus issues.
 
Geonerd said:
 
Purely IMO, I wouldn't leave them out on nights below ~50, and would definitely ease them into their relationship with Mr. Sun.  Start with an hour or two of morning sun, followed by filtered sun or open shade for the rest of the day. 
Work up from there.
 
While the plants would possibly grow better in a warmer indoor room, I'm a fan of getting them outdoors as soon as possible. IMO, the sun and outside air dry the soil surface nicely, helping to reduce damping fungus issues.
Thanks, i think im just going to put them outside once they sprout next time like you did. Seems like less work and i wont have to run up my electric bill.
 
Sounds good.
 
I tried growing seedlings indoors last winter with ghetto equipment but - unsurprisingly - didn't have much luck. 
Being unwilling to pop $ for a mega bulb and attendant power bill, I've gone 'all natural' this year. :)
 
In terms of photosynthetic energy, I figure a few hours of direct sun is probably worth an entire day under lights.  The plants aren't exploding like they would in late March (or under a killer indoor system), but they seem healthy enough and are making steady progress.
 
Tomorrow is forecast to be mostly sunny and 60.  Think I'll try leaving the biggest plants unshaded all day (with a 1 hour lunch break for my peace of mind) and see what happens. Pretty sure they'll be fine.
 
Since your nights and mornings are co cool, I would wait until later in the day to start setting them out. The difference in temps between inside and outside wouldn't be so great.
 
I like to set them out next to the east side of a building around noon so they will be in the shade within a couple hours. Then as the days go on you set them out further and further away from the building so they get more sun each day. That way you don't accidentally leave them out in the sun too long on any given day.
 
Geonerd said:
Sounds good.
 
I tried growing seedlings indoors last winter with ghetto equipment but - unsurprisingly - didn't have much luck. 
Being unwilling to pop $ for a mega bulb and attendant power bill, I've gone 'all natural' this year. :)
 
In terms of photosynthetic energy, I figure a few hours of direct sun is probably worth an entire day under lights.  The plants aren't exploding like they would in late March (or under a killer indoor system), but they seem healthy enough and are making steady progress.
 
Tomorrow is forecast to be mostly sunny and 60.  Think I'll try leaving the biggest plants unshaded all day (with a 1 hour lunch break for my peace of mind) and see what happens. Pretty sure they'll be fine.
How necessary do you think it really is to harden off hot pepper plants in a humid sub tropical climate? Isnt that what they like anyway?
 
Are you gonna pot them up? Cause if you put them outside in 1/3 of a cup like you have them in now, i think they'ed dry right up and die IMO.
 
More Hotta said:
Are you gonna pot them up? Cause if you put them outside in 1/3 of a cup like you have them in now, i think they'ed dry right up and die IMO.
Yes i potted them in standard 4.3 inch clay pots
 
RedF said:
How necessary do you think it really is to harden off hot pepper plants in a humid sub tropical climate? Isnt that what they like anyway?
 
Unless you have some very, very bright grow lights, I'd say it's 100% necessary.  Plants grow just strong enough to meet the demands of their environment.  Dumping them out in the blazing sun, with wind and dry air drawing even more moisture, will dehydrate just about any young or indoor sprouted plant.    The plants will need to grow thicker skin on the leaves and enhance their root system to avoid drying up.  And before they can even begin grow that way, they need the initial stimulation to do so.
 
Geonerd said:
 
Unless you have some very, very bright grow lights, I'd say it's 100% necessary.  Plants grow just strong enough to meet the demands of their environment.  Dumping them out in the blazing sun, with wind and dry air drawing even more moisture, will dehydrate just about any young or indoor sprouted plant.    The plants will need to grow thicker skin on the leaves and enhance their root system to avoid drying up.  And before they can even begin grow that way, they need the initial stimulation to do so.
Got it. So if i want to avoid having to harden off plants i should just germinate them outside?
 
RedF said:
Got it. So if i want to avoid having to harden off plants i should just germinate them outside?
 
To a degree.  I wouldn't say they can be placed in full sun on a clear day indiscriminately. 
 
I'm sprouting two seeds per cup in a hot box.  As soon as one sprouts, I take the cup outside. The second seedlings have been getting ~3 hours of full winter sunlight from day one, and they don't seem to mind at all.  I wouldn't leave any very small plant in the direct sun all day unless you're around to check on it a few times.  If the sun does prove too hot, they can get fried pretty quickly.  If they start to look saggy or pale, pull them asap.  It's tempting to 'fix' wilting with more water.  Don't - give them a break in the shade instead.
 
Born Wild or not, they are still pretty tender.  Remember that many plants species need a little ground clutter / debris to protect the seedlings from too much sun in the first few days.
 
At the other extreme, THP member Impending Bending gave me some ~6 inch hydro-grown plants last year.  After potting them, they were fine indoors, but just placing them out in the dry air (in full shade) was enough to cause significant wilt and stress. These guys took several weeks to become fully outdoor-sun safe.  They had to simultaneously develop a lot more roots, and grow thicker skin over a much larger leaf area.
 
Geonerd said:
 
To a degree.  I wouldn't say they can be placed in full sun on a clear day indiscriminately. 
 
I'm sprouting two seeds per cup in a hot box.  As soon as one sprouts, I take the cup outside. The second seedlings have been getting ~3 hours of full winter sunlight from day one, and they don't seem to mind at all.  I wouldn't leave any very small plant in the direct sun all day unless you're around to check on it a few times.  If the sun does prove too hot, they can get fried pretty quickly.  If they start to look saggy or pale, pull them asap.  It's tempting to 'fix' wilting with more water.  Don't - give them a break in the shade instead.
 
Born Wild or not, they are still pretty tender.  Remember that many plants species need a little ground clutter / debris to protect the seedlings from too much sun in the first few days.
 
At the other extreme, THP member Impending Bending gave me some ~6 inch hydro-grown plants last year.  After potting them, they were fine indoors, but just placing them out in the dry air (in full shade) was enough to cause significant wilt and stress. These guys took several weeks to become fully outdoor-sun safe.  They had to simultaneously develop a lot more roots, and grow thicker skin over a much larger leaf area.
ahh i see, so pretty much just constantly monitor them and see how well they can acclimate to a new environment 
 
The size is good enough for hardening off, but 10 F is to cold and photosynthesis will be inefficient (i.e. the plants will not grow much). If you have the space, just put them in the Windowsill until the nights are at least 55 F and the days 65 F. If you keep them insiders they will develop much faster.
 
Pfeffer said:
The size is good enough for hardening off, but 10 F is to cold and photosynthesis will be inefficient (i.e. the plants will not grow much). If you have the space, just put them in the Windowsill until the nights are at least 55 F and the days 65 F. If you keep them insiders they will develop much faster.
What do you mean by 10F? The days are at least 85 degrees here and 75 at night, only on the occasional cold front does the temperature get down to 50s during night.
 
sorry, I converted 50F to Celsius.. my bad. I understood the 50s were "the" temperature. 85F in daytime, 75 at night is good. Put them outside. That's what a GOOD grow summer is over here.
 
Pfeffer said:
sorry, I converted 50F to Celsius.. my bad. I understood the 50s were "the" temperature. 85F in daytime, 75 at night is good. Put them outside. That's what a GOOD grow summer is over here.
what part of Europe are you from?
 
Haha, you can grow outside much further north. A friend of me lives in Finnsnes, Norway (above the polar circle). He grew some jalapeño earlies outside (indoor sow in December) and had a few ripe pods before the frost killed them in September. There's actually quite a lot of chili growing up north, think about Fatalii which lives in Finland.
 
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