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sun The April Sun

patrick

patrick

I'm hardening off a few of my plants and I've noticed that even after letting them stay out a bit long I don't have any sunburn issues. That got me to thinking since I'm a month early the sun isn't as close as it is in May and therefore it isn't quite as intense. Makes sense right?

I am really digging this warm spring we be having.
 
Sounds like your weather down in the Plains is right fine. I still have a month or so to go until I can start hardening off my plants, and I have a helluva job ahead on that front, with 90ish plants. Price you gotta pay for it, I guess.
 
i put all my 18 little ones out a few days ago and the second day was HOT and they got mild burn but show no signs of shock so we are good to go! and i think you are right on that Patrick!
 
sorry, the earth is at its closest, to the sun, in our winter months, we are currently moving further away from the sun at this point. it is how the earth rotates on its axis. so even though we are closest to the sun in our winter months, our silly egg shape and tilt points us away from the sun. we tilt, or should i say, we wobble, back toward the sun during our summer solstice, though the sun moves further away/or we move further away. (when God made the earth, he said let's make it in the shape of Burning Colon's head and some days he will tilt it to the left and some to the right).

i am thinking cloud cover may be helping you along right now or high moisture content due to southern storms. we are in a la nina year, the last one was 2008 - that was my best growing year, why my tepin even produced pods(that was the last time it did, i am hoping this year it will deliver again).

for 30 minutes today i was able to put a few of my plants outside, but it is still too cold and we just finished another snow pounding but i am going to put my plants in my dodge caravan as during the day as it warms up quite nicely. thinking, with the tinted windows, void of direct sunlight, the higher temperatures should create a nice greenhouse effect. can't believe i didn't think about during that in past years.... it just hit me today.

hope you have a great growing year.
 
I don't no about the plants but my left arm has sun burn from driving in the car with the window open...........lol
Seriously, The sun is pretty strong right now, I've got 200 one gallon tomato plants hardening off. A few have some edge burn but the new growth is fine. We've had partly cloudy skies lately with spratic rain at times. I think its been perfect for hardening off the tomatoes, since they can tolerate the cool winds better than the peppers. Hopefully I can get the OW's out this weekend in a shady area and do the gradual sun thing, little by little. Then the rest of the 400 plants can come out and play.....So I can get the eggplants, summer squash and cukes going under the lights.

Greg
 
Our Sun down here on the Lower Peninsula could fry anything in a short time, Try screens for shading they filter 30% of the sun, then you can remove the screen to give em the full effect. My seedlings get screened full sun for a couple months, then I move them outside.
 
The sun might not be as close but the angle is different for sure. Atleast where I am. I don't know the science of it all but it is pretty obvious. 80° in march is way different than 80° in july. We had a two week spell of high 70s and 80s in march this year and my plants could handle 4 or 5 hours in it no problem. I would not even think of that in late may.In the N. East USA you need sunglasses more on sunny winter days than in the summer. The sun is always at that annoying height.
 
My c. chinese are getting sunburn if I put em direct sun for too long no matter what I do. I have to put them in the shade, lol. We are seeing days in the 80s though.
 
Burning Colon said:
for 30 minutes today i was able to put a few of my plants outside, but it is still too cold and we just finished another snow pounding but i am going to put my plants in my dodge caravan as during the day as it warms up quite nicely. thinking, with the tinted windows, void of direct sunlight, the higher temperatures should create a nice greenhouse effect. can't believe i didn't think about during that in past years.... it just hit me today.

hope you have a great growing year.
Click to expand...

Somebody (dragon49 maybe) posted a similar idea in the growtech section where he was using his car windshield as a green house for some peppers on Long Island. I think as long as it is pretty sunny it should work pretty good.

And Patrick, today was temping up here (75, sunny, damn gorgeous), but a quick check of the next week's weather shows a few nights still at freezing or below. It doesn't matter how close I am to the Sun, if it's still that cold at night, I still can't plant out. :banghead:
 
This is my first year growing from seed, I germinated, when they sprouted ,potted them in 18 ct flats,put them under 2 cfl lights for a week or two, moved them outside to the shady side of my yard that does get some and heavy filtered sun in for a week or two, then put them with the rest of my plants. Sounds like alot of people harden off for alot longer. As long as they didnt look burned up or, stressed, does it matter, will they grow any different (as in a negative way)?
 
BC you're right, of course! We are closer to the sun in winter. It's all about the angle. Thanks for the science lesson!

JH4FSU it takes different amounts of time to harden off plants depending on several factors, if yours are doing well in the sun then grow baby grow!
 
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