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Hardening Off Question

coachspencerxc said:
Hmm... trial by fire, I guess... or flood, as the case may be. Had been 70s & 80s all last week. Planted 18 plants of my 300 in the ground a few days ago- partially because that's all I had time for & partially because I didn't want to commit to more in case things went wrong. I knew we were in for some rain & cooler temps this week, but not like this. It's rained everyday & it'll get down to 48 tonight. Was 50 at 3 PM. Pouring rain all day today. Yesterday was two short bursts of rain & 25 mph winds. Looked fine yesterday but I didn't check today except from the window. Looked OK from a distance.
 
One more day of cool rain & then up to 80 Friday & 84 Saturday. We'll see how things work out. So much for the very regimented bottom watering. If the fungus gnats are hanging out in this downpour, more power to them. :)
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Hopefully they will be fine. I planted sweet peppers last year a week before my hots and we had a 2 day spell right after of rain and constant temps in low to mid 40s. Seemed to stunt some of them. Several never got more then a foot tall and produced hardly anything. During my cold snap though even the highs were in the 40s so hopefully you'll be alright.
 
An easy way to address an unexpected change in weather: Put stakes between your plants and drape plastic over the stakes.  If it is seeds you are worried about, cover them up with black plastic even during the day.  It will warm the ground and speed germination.  Until they get out the ground, they dont need the light.
 
Since this is a thread about hardening off I'm going to highjack it with a potentially stupid question, but I'm a newbie so please bear with me. Is it necessary to harden plants off if they are going into an outside greenhouse, from having been inside by south facing windows? I mean, it's still a change for the plants...
 
Not exactly a highjacking and not a stupid question.
 
It would be highly recommended as a precaution to harden off before moving to the green house or even while in it..
The problem with being able to answer your question with any certainty is, I dont know what type of covering you have on the green house. It could be clear glass or a 75% shade cloth. So my answer is assuming it is clear glass.
 
CAPCOM said:
 
The problem with being able to answer your question with any certainty is, I dont know what type of covering you have on the green house. It could be clear glass or a 75% shade cloth. So my answer is assuming it is clear glass.
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Actually it's a plastic one, it was slightly more expensive than the glass version, doesn't look as pretty but apparently it has better temperature control. We still haven't had it delivered, so I haven't really planned it all out yet, all I know is  it's getting crowded by my window.
 
By clear glass, I was referring to light transmission more than anything. Will sun light become intensified passing through it as clear glass has a tendency to do, or is it diffused?
 
CAPCOM said:
Will sun light become intensified passing through it as clear glass has a tendency to do, or is it diffused?
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I actually have no idea, it doesn't say. All I know is it will look like this:
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The plastic has these channels running through it, but I guess that has more to do with retaining heat?
 
coachspencerxc said:
Kind of a mixture. Some in the bright sun on sunny days. Some, a little less direct sun & partly cloudy days. Thanks. BTW, I'm sending you something tomorrow. Maybe you'll like it- maybe not, but if not, I bet you'll find a good home for it. Take care.
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Thanks very much Rick  
"Maybe you'll like it" is an excellent effort at an understatement. I got the envelope in the mail today and cant wait to get one of each in the dirt,  I am making plans to grow 4 more plants where I previously had no more room. I know it is a little on the late side, but they are not super hots so I think they will be alright.And besides,I looked them up and they sound like really great additions to the grow.
 
Just put all my 36 plants out in my new GrowCamp this morning.
Had the plastic cover partly off during the day, and all sealed up for the night.
There has been no hardening off, due to lack of time and will :)
Temps today was around 65 wit a fair amount of sun, and will be around 35-40 tonight
Plants are in 6 liter black plastic pots, and most are approximately 8-20'' tall.
A single plant had some sunburn when i got home from work, all others looked fine to me!
 
Fingers crossed!
 
Link to growcamp should anyone want it:
http://growcamp.com/growcamp-usa?mid=1&region=151&region2=157
 
CAPCOM said:
A thick layer of sleet this morning and hard frosts expected over the next 2 nights here in IL.
Looking more like things are going to drag on till Mothers Day.
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Safe bet, a few 30's here coming up as well. Guess I start the hardening off beginning of May then progress until MD> 
 
For what it's worth, my husband is the pepper grower and here in Toronto zone 5b, he doesn't start putting his peppers outside to harden off until the 3rd week of May when I'm transplanting my tomatoes.  Peppers and Eggplants are more tender than tomatoes and are more susceptible to growth set-backs if the temperatures fall below 50F or sustained winds are substantial. He grows all of his plants in containers, so before transplanting, he puts a couple of 2 lb rocks in the bottom to keep them from blowing around.  Anyone in the Great Lakes Region can attest to strong thunderstorms in the summer.  He also uses 3 ft stakes to secure them inside small cheap tomato cages.
 
Mostly, it's the low end of the daily temperatures you need to be concerned with, not the high end.  Keep them in the shade and even temperatures in the 70's aren't going to really harm them during the hardening off period.  It's unlikely that you'd be in the 80's during the hardening off period, but maybe in Texas. I have no clue about their weather.
 
ajdrew had a brilliant idea of draping plastic over stakes.  That's essentially what we do for the eggplants and basil which are grown in-ground and can't be moved.  Duane has done the wild save the pepper plant dance to get his containers into the garage ahead of a hail storm, though.  I really must get video of that. It's pretty entertaining.
 
Sorellina said:
For what it's worth, my husband is the pepper grower and here in Toronto zone 5b, he doesn't start putting his peppers outside to harden off until the 3rd week of May when I'm transplanting my tomatoes.  Peppers and Eggplants are more tender than tomatoes and are more susceptible to growth set-backs if the temperatures fall below 50F or sustained winds are substantial. He grows all of his plants in containers, so before transplanting, he puts a couple of 2 lb rocks in the bottom to keep them from blowing around.  Anyone in the Great Lakes Region can attest to strong thunderstorms in the summer.  He also uses 3 ft stakes to secure them inside small cheap tomato cages.
 
Mostly, it's the low end of the daily temperatures you need to be concerned with, not the high end.  Keep them in the shade and even temperatures in the 70's aren't going to really harm them during the hardening off period.  It's unlikely that you'd be in the 80's during the hardening off period, but maybe in Texas. I have no clue about their weather.
 
ajdrew had a brilliant idea of draping plastic over stakes.  That's essentially what we do for the eggplants and basil which are grown in-ground and can't be moved.  Duane has done the wild save the pepper plant dance to get his containers into the garage ahead of a hail storm, though.  I really must get video of that. It's pretty entertaining.
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3rd week in May is gambling for Canada I would think. Its Mothers day here in N.Illinois. 5b? in Canada?
 
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