seeds Moving out seedlings with shade cloth questions

[austin87]

So I just started some seeds in Northern California - Gowing Zone 10a/b - and I expect 1-3 weeks for germination depending on variety.

I live in a small apartment and dont have any space to provide artificial light to seedlings once they sprout, so I will need to get them out of the humidity dome and into the late summer sun when they are still very small and fragile.

I think my only option is shade cloth. My question is, what percent should I use if the seedlings will be going directly out into a full days sun (keep in mind it will be late August/early September), and how long should they stay under before removing it? Temperatures should be in the low 80s but could be up to 100

Im thinking somewhere in the 50-70% range and that they should stay under for at least a week, but I am just spitballing. They may need several weeks with shade cloth that lets in progressively more light, though Id prefer to only have to get one to keep costs down.

Any suggestions?

 

[BlackFatalii]

It is summertime. Have you considered germinating them outside? As an experiment, I germinated some seeds outside in late May this year. No special treatment, I just put the seeds in Solo cups with FF Lucky Dog potting soil and stuck them under the 40% shade cloth with the rest of my plants (all my outdoor plants get shade cloth, as our desert climate can get fairly harsh in the summer) Our highs at the time were around 90, and by the first week of June we were in the 100s. I was a little worried that they would burn up, but they germinated and grew just fine. Surprisingly, those "small and fragile" sprouts actually seemed less stressed by the rapidly rising temperatures than my older and more established plants. Almost like they were born to it.  Anyway, they did and are continuing to do just fine. The best part was, I didn't have to mess around with any kind of a hardening off phase. I just made sure not to let the soil in their cups dry out completely, and they did the rest. I realize that your climate is quite different from mine, but still. It might be an option worth considering.

 

[austin87]

It is summertime. Have you considered germinating them outside? As an experiment, I germinated some seeds outside in late May this year. No special treatment, I just put the seeds in Solo cups with FF Lucky Dog potting soil and stuck them under the 40% shade cloth with the rest of my plants (all my outdoor plants get shade cloth, as our desert climate can get fairly harsh in the summer) Our highs at the time were around 90, and by the first week of June we were in the 100s. I was a little worried that they would burn up, but they germinated and grew just fine. Surprisingly, those "small and fragile" sprouts actually seemed less stressed by the rapidly rising temperatures than my older and more established plants. Almost like they were born to it.  Anyway, they did and are continuing to do just fine. The best part was, I didn't have to mess around with any kind of a hardening off phase. I just made sure not to let the soil in their cups dry out completely, and they did the rest. I realize that your climate is quite different from mine, but still. It might be an option worth considering.

This is really interesting, thanks for this. I will keep them in the humidity dome inside until they pop, but I am really excited to get them out soon after sprouting. I figured that wild seeds that sprout dont get time to harden off, they are just born into the sun and make the best of it.

If you can go with 40% in the desert I will probably look for 30% but might be limited to what I can find locally.

 

[CAPCOM]

50% will be fine. you biggest issue will be keeping the media hydrated in your absence and the seedlings from drying out. If this does occur, just water as usual. Seedlings are amazingly resilient.