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My Hardening off advice

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dragon49

Many newcomers are not sure the of amount of time and number of times to harden off by leaving the plants outside. Last year, I had a great crop, so my hardening off techniques work. I had a good crop the year before with a similar pattern. Here is my log:

1st Hardening off - around 1 month after sprouting after all plants have at least 2 sets of true leaves - 10 minutes - 84 f outside.

2nd Hardening off - 20 minutes -76 f outside.

3rd Hardening off - 40 minutes - 70 f outside

4th Hardening off - 1 and 1 half hours - 63 f outside

5th Hardening off - 2 hours and 5 minutes - 72 f outside

6th Hardening off = 2 hours and 50 minutes 77 f outside

These times were spread out over a 6 week period.


Some important notes:

It is OK to give the plants more time outside, after they have been hardened off a number of times, and you are close to putting them outside, But, don't give them a lot of time in the beginning.

Also, expect the plants to look much crappier after they are exposed to the elements. This is normal. Do not worry.

Maybe, I should invest in a fan to strengthen the stalks, to avoid the weakness, but I need to share that I have always need to stake a number of the plants, after they were exposed to wind and the stalks bent too much.

Best of all luck to all growers this season!
 
Not everyone has this option,,but I found a way to harden a lil quicker!

My son's trampoline!!!!!!!!!

I set the plants out when it gets warm ,full sun,,,mebbe it takes 15 minutes for signs of wilt at the beginning!!
here comes the magic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I move the trampoline over them as a big shadecloth!! :cool:

they recover in almost the same amount of time,,
move the tramp ,,,go a lil longer,,

Have hardened plants in a single day

:cool:
Kevin
 
I go full morning sun, then diffused afternoon sun. Make them suffer the heat. Builds character. Mine were outside from 11 a.m today.... still out there waiting for morning sun.
 
In interested in what others have to say. Mine are blown all day and night by a fan and the stalks are starting to look woody. Not worried about the wind in the least... Was going to start mine under the pine trees. Plenty of space and nice and shaded. Couple hours the first day. Little sun and back under the next.... Just not sure how long the exposures should be
 
Mine go on the deck under a sunshade. Dispersed sun under that for a couple hours in the morn then afternoon sun and nothing in evening. They will find a way to survive.

Wait I just reread the op. SIX WEEKS TO HARDEN!?!?!?!?!?!?! Sorry mate. You're wasting your time... Two weeks to harden is too long.
 
wayright said:
Not everyone has this option,,but I found a way to harden a lil quicker!

My son's trampoline!!!!!!!!!

I set the plants out when it gets warm ,full sun,,,mebbe it takes 15 minutes for signs of wilt at the beginning!!
here comes the magic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I move the trampoline over them as a big shadecloth!! :cool:

they recover in almost the same amount of time,,
move the tramp ,,,go a lil longer,,

Have hardened plants in a single day

:cool:
Kevin
Click to expand...


Love your system! I'm just a city boy with a southern facing window fire escape. I use the resources that I have.

millworkman said:
Mine go on the deck under a sunshade. Dispersed sun under that for a couple hours in the morn then afternoon sun and nothing in evening. They will find a way to survive.

Wait I just reread the op. SIX WEEKS TO HARDEN!?!?!?!?!?!?! Sorry mate. You're wasting your time... Two weeks to harden is too long.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Now I have a followup question:

I usually give a few hours of direct sun, not more than a week or 2 away from when I'm going to transplant in the garden. If I harden off a month before they go in the garden, and then just leave them under the lights, will they get soft, or will they be hardened off for good?

I had suspected 6 weeks of hardening off (only 6 times though) was too long, but am always worried that I can run into too much crappy weather before the garden transplant, and want to take advantage of the opportunities that I have.
 
3/5King said:
I stuck mine out and left them out last season....lol. They even withstood a few frost nights. May the strongest survive....they all survived...hahahahahaha
Click to expand...

That is my method too!
Put them outside all day, I did bring them in at night because it was too cold, but then it got warmer, so just been leaving them out for the last couple days and nights.
Some of the seedlings went right from the germ tray to outside for 48 hours.
and its been howling crazy wind for over 24 hours too....lol

Natural selection, survival of the fittest.

They all seem to be surviving just fine :)

However....if it gets to the low 30's in the nightime forecast, they will come inside for safety sake....
 
I just threw mine outside, they get shade indirect sunlight and they get a good 2-3 or afternoon sun. Yeah they wilt a lil bit but they come back up after sun's down. I leave em there after sun down so they can get a good taste of something cool then move back inside then the next day just dumped them outside. It was 1 maybe to days for me.

day temp: 65°F -75°F
night temp:40°F-50°F

I agree with most of the guys, 2 weeks is to damn long.

"Wait! I need to put 2k plants outside! (about 1 hour...) Holy shit 2k plants inside! They're gona burn!"

*Every day for 2 weeks? Just think about it a lil bit more.*

,Vegas
 
I harden off mine in the morning sun. Usually around 45 min to 1 hour. As soon as I see a little wilting I bring them
to the shade. I also set a timer because I have forgotten about them on several occasions. If it's too windy and
they are getting beaten up. I bring them inside. I worked too hard for survival of the fittest.
 
I put mine where they get morning sun for a few hours, hard to in my backyard since it receives direct south sun all day. I take advantage of a large weeping willow for shade and mixed filtered light. Might need a new plan for this year, time will tell.
 
I put mine out with northerm exposure and leave them for a week.

Caterrpillars,grasshoppers ,mites,leaf miners etc. like slightly sunburned leaves as much as ones that aren't.
 
If I started when they had four true leaves I'd have to place them in the snow.

I start out around 30 minutes or so and add 30 minutes each time over the next couple of days with the intention of doing that for 7-10 days. But I get tired of hauling all of them back and forth after the third or fourth day and leave them out. Most of them get sunburned and it sets them back a week or two but it's much easier on my back.

OP it's nice of you to offer to help newbies but hardening off isn't a one size fits all kind of thing. .
 
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