• If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.

When to start "hardening" pepper plants

I'm having a hard time finding on websites exactly when I should start hardening my pepper plants from their indoor conditions to their new place outside and when to take them out of the seed tray and put them into their own pots. I've found varying "time frames" but I'm not sure at what "visual" stage to do these steps.
 
The attached pictures are their current state. Some have grown more than others but should I start hardening there whole tray now? Or do I need to move them to individual pots first and only harden the most mature ones? Or do I still need to wait a little while? If so, what should they look like before I start hardening?
 
 
I planted the seeds on 12/30 so it's been about 10 days so far.
 
Thanks!
 
Nick
 
 
P.S. - The upload part of this site is down right now I supposed, so here is a link to my google drive with the pictures:
 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AplIYOhUl3groE8aADJe5lJLh-ROb3Ic
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gWmGypzcf5VmoKXBZdXf35QHUrP7WLfV
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wN5Bd6U-zjnNCk_YHynV_8PVZR1teA6I
 
 
Hardening off, is the transition between inside and sunny outside.
I do it for 3-5 days before they stay outside.

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk
 
I don't have much experience hardening peppers but anything else I started at least a week to 10 days before I was ready to put them into the ground or pots outside for the summer. Mostly I left them in the shade or last year my portable greenhouse helped with that.
 
Down here, hardening off for plant out is at the beginning of March. 
I use the same seed starting trays. The plain ones; not self-watering. You can pot up any time really. They can go in solo cups now. Or if you're limited on light and space, then you can wait to pot up when you see roots showing at the drainage holes. The longest I would wait is when they have 2-3 sets of true leaves. Then they start to get root bound. At their current stage it would be good to have a light fan blowing on them.
 
Do you have those under lights? They look they're stretching a little in the first pic. Set the lights as close as possible without burning them from the heat of the light if your lights put out heat.
 
Seedlings at that stage don't need to be hardened off to go outside to grow, they adapt without a problem. Of course that depends on the temps in your area and your temps at night are a little too low unless you have a greenhouse or grow tent you can put them in. If you go that route remember to watch daytime temps so you don't cook the plants.
 
There's no need to rush transplanting, do that once they have at least one set of true leaves. Leaving them in the flat will save growing space under lights.
 
Mr West gave good advise, get a fan lightly blowing on them to harden the stems and prevent damping off.
 
Rajun Gardener said:
Mr West gave good advise, get a fan lightly blowing on them to harden the stems and prevent damping off.
 
I've got a little oscillating fan near my seedlings, but haven't run it for fear of the fan drying out the little seed cups while I'm at work.  Overblown?  Maybe I'm not keeping everything wet enough..  I've just moved some up to 3.5" pots in coco/perlite, especially worried about those.  The coir seems to dry out very quickly.
 
Rajun Gardener said:
Do you have those under lights? They look they're stretching a little in the first pic. Set the lights as close as possible without burning them from the heat of the light if your lights put out heat.
 
Seedlings at that stage don't need to be hardened off to go outside to grow, they adapt without a problem. Of course that depends on the temps in your area and your temps at night are a little too low unless you have a greenhouse or grow tent you can put them in. If you go that route remember to watch daytime temps so you don't cook the plants.
 
There's no need to rush transplanting, do that once they have at least one set of true leaves. Leaving them in the flat will save growing space under lights.
 
Mr West gave good advise, get a fan lightly blowing on them to harden the stems and prevent damping off.
 
I don't have them under lights, however, they are next to a window sill and every morning I open the blinds to allow some light to come through so that's probably what they are reaching for.
 
I do have a little mini greenhouse (about 3 foot wide by 5 foot tall) that I *can* put them in on warmer days, but I'm just not sure at what stage I should move them from their current location to anywhere. I've attached another picture of them today and some of them do have 1 set of leaves (if those are called "true" or not, I'm not sure) but I just don't want to do anything prematurely and disrupt their growth.
 
Is there any problem with allowing them to stay indoors for a while longer? I don't want them to get to the point where they get root bound?
 
Thanks!
 

Attachments

  • pp4-3.jpg
    pp4-3.jpg
    173 KB · Views: 71
Those are begging for more light. You can put them outside in the tent now and bring them in at night. You don't need very high temps if you have the tent, 50 is fine and they will respond to natural light better than using bulbs. You really need lights to grow seedlings inside, the window is a nice bonus but not enough. 
 
I hate to say it but those might not make it since they're so weak from stretching for more light. Good Luck, I hope you can save them.
 
Rajun Gardener said:
Those are begging for more light. You can put them outside in the tent now and bring them in at night. You don't need very high temps if you have the tent, 50 is fine and they will respond to natural light better than using bulbs. You really need lights to grow seedlings inside, the window is a nice bonus but not enough. 
 
I hate to say it but those might not make it since they're so weak from stretching for more light. Good Luck, I hope you can save them.
 
I put them outside in a portable greenhouse once you told me this. How do you think they are looking now? Think they can still make it?
 
Thanks!
 

Attachments

  • p1.jpg
    p1.jpg
    163.7 KB · Views: 66
  • p3.jpg
    p3.jpg
    167.2 KB · Views: 65
  • p2 (2).jpg
    p2 (2).jpg
    149.7 KB · Views: 67
  • p4 (2).jpg
    p4 (2).jpg
    160.6 KB · Views: 73
They look better now that they've got more light. They were stretching, but they look ok now. I suggest you cull some of them. Where there's a leggy seedling in the same space as a short one, you should cut out the taller ones.
 
I'm right down the road from you. I start my seeds in November and will put them in the ground early March. I will move the seedlings from the starter cups into a larger container at least once before going in the ground.
 
Back
Top