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Need to harden-off when going from a light box to a window sill?

HwyBill

HwyBill

Banned
Been giving them 24/7 light at about 85F for a few weeks, and I think the intense bolus of light is starting to take it toll on some of the bigger/older plants.

Do I need to harden them off at all before sitting them in the window sill for more natural cycles of light, or can I just set them in the sill?
 
Ok.. as I move them to the window sill.. I live in the city and don't have a south facing window.

Only East and West facing windows. Is the West facing window with afternoon sun and heat preferable?
 
[sub]You may want to try a few in each window and monitor them closely to see which produces the best results. The good gardeners are always experimenting with comparative testing to improve our methods and grow more with less!![/sub]
 
If you had a South-facing window, I would say harden them off for sure, and I say that from experience. I made the mistake of thinking the glass would sufficiently block "the hard stuff" one year, but a tray of fried seedlings told another story. But also keep in mind that the primary direction of light is changing as the time moves along - you will want to ensure they don't get direct sun for more than an hour at first, etc., even if they're not in South-facing windows. It's the amount of directness of the light that matters.
 
I moved a bunch of peppers and tomatoes to windows without hardening and they were fine. Just make sure they're watered! The heat from the sunlight dried out my plants much faster than under my lights.
 
Well.. first of all, it is a west facing window (I have no south facing windows). So it gets the hottest, most intense afternoon sun.

After a couple hours of their first day there, it does look like it is frying their leaves a little bit. I think I will take them out for the time being.

Will the damage to the leaves rebound, or is this irrepairable damage?
 
Not really, those leaves will be replaced with new ones and that’s how it works. I live in Vermont and place ours in south facing windows every year (hundreds of them) and have never had any problems thus far. As long as the plants continue to grow you'll be fine.
 
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