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Hardening off plants

P. Dreadie

P. Dreadie

This will run on a little ..... sorry

Last my garden got hit hard will hail. So this year I'm making frame from canopy fittings that will enclose and cover my raised beds when need. I'll use those heavy blue plastic tarps like you get from Lowes or Casa Depot. The traps will be attached to the top center ridge so I can roll them up and keep them that way until need. No picture yet .... sorry

So I'm wondering if I can take my small plants and simply set them in my beds , then roll the tarp up for several hours and drop it back down later in the day. The trap should hold heat in but would be dark when rolled down.

I know this is a lazy way to do things ..... but I want to be if I can !! LOL I'm NOT looking forward to dragging 50 plus plants back and forth from inside my house. But I'll do what's best for the plants .

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
I'm all for making things as easy as possible. But, it sounds like the time you got done building all of the "traps" you'll need your plants will already be hardened off.:P
 
I dont know if that will work or not for hardening off. Do you get hail every year? Most every year? Only every once in a while?
 
patrick I'll have the frame work built way before I can fully risk planting anything. We can get a freeze at late as mid May .... not ever year ... but it can happen here. And I guess/hope the tarp would save young plants.

Mjdtexan in Rillo Tejas we do get hail every year. Some times bad , some times not so bad. Last year we had a killer hail storm and it jacked my plants , some didn't make it after the storm but most did. The main reason for the cover is I have a sprinkler system for my lawn ....... and a wife !! The tarp will keep the pepper plants from getting damp every time the sprinklers are used.

POTAWIE .... I could use some clear plastic under the heavy tarp. Then use the heavy tarp when needed. What I thought hardening off did was a two fold thing. It got plants that have had a gentler life in a green house or under lights use to the temps and stronger light from the sun. Doesn't the full sunlight matter ??

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
patrick ..... My game plan is to start hardening off plants the first or second week of April. Then transplant them when ready. Then I can cover them if the weather gets bad. In my part of Texas they say if you don't like the weather ... wait a day !! Which is true . Next week we're going to hit 80 degrees. But I know that kind of weather won't last long here .

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
You could even use your framework to set up shade cloth during the hottest parts of summer as well as for hardening off, I think a dark tarp is probably overkill. The shadecloth will probably resist the hail too. I see hardening off as gradually exposing the plants to all the outdoor elements including sun, wind, humidity fluctuation, temp fluctuations etc.
 
POTAWIE I understand what you're saying about using shade cloth. We do get hot as heck here. Not sure if it is strong enough to handle the 2" hail we got last year. But then the heavy plastic tarp would save things. The heavy tarp will also keep the peppers from getting wet when I water the lawn. Shade cloth wouldn't stop the pepper plants from getting wet . Right ?

You say hardening off is "gradually exposing the plants to all the outdoor elements including sun, wind, humidity fluctuation, temp fluctuations etc." I'm sure you haven't done what I want to .... "the lazy guy " hardening off of plants. Do you think this would work ? Use the shade cloth open for several hours at a time , then let it down. Cover with the tarp if/when needed.

I want to make things simple if I can , but these plants will be my dreams of peppers for this season. To late to start again if I screw my plants up. So POTAWIE ...... would you try this ?? Good idea ..... bad idea ...... risky idea ?? I don't want to screw up my growing season with my laziness .

Peace ,
P. Dreadie
 
It should work but I'm sort of having a hard time visualising things and I can't say I know much about your climate
 
I can see this working to stop hail from wasting your plants. It just seems it would be a pain in the butt to use a canopy to help harden them off.

I just got a craving for waffles. See ya.
 
patrick .... the choice of a pain in ass with wanting to do this is simple in my eyes. Choice ...... drag 50 plus plants out for an hour or two every day and dragging them back inside every day for several weeks . Or to simply untie a knot or two and dropping the cover . I can roll up the tarp in less time than I can pick up all the plants and place them else where. Just my thought ....

I hope you had spice laden chicken and maple syrup with them waffles .....

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
I think it's a good idea however i would go with shadecloth. It wouldn't help with the sprinklers though.
 
P.Dreadie, Hardening off isn't for "several weeks" bro it's for a week at most. Plus you can always drape a cover over them while they're outside. Just stick a couple of posts in the ground for it to sit on and you're good to go.

I don't mean to keep you from building your cover, just thought there was an easier way. You're probably right.
 
patrick .... sorry if I sounded like a whiner or drama queen. I'm making my cover anyway . It's purpose is cover the plants when my sprinklers come on and in case of bad weather. All I wanted was to see if others thought I could use it to harden off plants. Or if the idea was a bad one and won't help in the least .

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
I use my patio furniture with an umbrella i put up and down, the same idea as your shade cloth P. I am thinking of getting some shade cloth to place over a chainlink dog kennel I have in the backyard. I say go for it.
 
No apology necessary P. Dreadie a man's got to do what a man's got to do. Hope you don't mind if I ask for pictures.:)
 
I think the clear plastic tarp would work the best....a neighborhood kid threw a rock a fist sized rock at mine last year and it bounced off, so 2" hail would be nothing for it, AND it could get maximum sunlight, AND protect it from the sprinklers, AND it would be good for gradual hardening, AND you wouldn't have to worry about rolling it up and down, you could leave it up all the time......

but just a humble opinion;)


you can get heavy duty plastic sheeting at fabric stores for fairly cheap...depending on thickness .99-3.99/yard
 
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