Hardening Off Your Seedlings - Traditional Way and an Easier "Lazy" Way
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
- When you grow your seedlings indoors under grow lights to get a head start on the season, you can't just throw them outside and expect them to thrive...or live! You need to transition them gradually so they can build up protection from the sun's rays. In this video, I show you 2 ways to do it...
The traditional way, slowly over a week. OR the lazy way, in only three days!
Find your frost dates: www.almanac.co...
This is genius. 3-4 days from now we’re going to have a week of very cloudy weather, and I despise hardening off seedlings. I’m never patient enough and always stunt my seedlings. I’m excited to just put them outside next week. So glad I watched this video and that the weather is going to cooperate
I tried something this year that worked well, and thought I’d share for those that aren’t lucky enough to get cloudy days when they need them. It worked perfectly, and it was four days long.
Day 1: 1 hr of direct sun, then back to the lights they go.
Day 2: 4 hrs of dappled light (outer reaches of tree leaf shade), then back to the lights.
Day 3: 4 hrs direct sun, back under the lights.
Day4: full day outside, then depending on temps and size (at least 45 deg overnight, at least 4” tall), then they can have their own overnight slumber party outside.
It worked perfectly. I’m now at a stage that I take all germinated seedlings directly outside since the temps are warm enough, but I still bring my cukes /squash inside if it dips below 45. The tomatoes are rock starts though, they seem to love the cool nights, and they’ve doubled in size despite it. Must be a northerners breed. 🤷🏼♀️
I should also mention: at any point, if you see damage (I only had one with damage and it was a tomato of all things), start the process all over again.
Weather looks beautiful there. It was 60 today in Indiana, no planting but lots of yard work! Thank you for the information.
I feel your pain regarding the caterpillars only my nemesis this year are aphids. This is my fourth year starting seeds indoors and my first year dealing with these pests. Like you I have no idea how they appeared or where they came from. I even sterilize my growing medium before planting. Thanks for producing this very timely video. I love all your videos. Even though I live on the opposite side of the country and in a different growing zone, I always find information relevant for me. PLEASE, keep your videos coming. I say this because I had a favorite channel from someone who was gardening in my zone 5 but he has stopped producing videos. 😞. Even so, he never produced one like this about hardening off. So THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you.
I see your plight with aphids and I am with you in this suffering, sister. I am also in Zone 5! I find that using Castile soap is ideal for handling the buggers. (I strongly urge you to use Castile and ONLY liquid castile soap. It is made from olive oil and even the cleanest handsoaps have additives that turn your plants yellow and start shedding leaves.) 4 tablespoons per gallon (1 per quart.) Mix well. Pour it into a spritz bottle. Spray those soft-bodied suckers down! Get around the dirt, too! The soap creates a film on the aphids bodies and suffocates them, since they breathe through their skin. As for your plants, they will get a nice glossy look, and it rinses off them easily. If you can find Castile soap with peppermint, even better, since peppermint is a natural anti-pest product of the mint plant. You can find castile soap in just about any pharmacy or store that carries soap products. It's a very old world type of soap without any additives, and has been used for a few thousand years.
@@Razzy-sr4oq Hi Razzy. I actually was using the Castile soap on the plants “and drenching the soil. But those little buggers just kept on coming. I first tried rinsing them off over my utility sink, then applied the Castile soap for any that were left and then applied it to the soil by drenching it. Kept inspecting the plants daily and don’t you know I would find more. I was able to save my tomato plants but the zinnia plants were a losing battle. The following year I moved and haven’t gardened since. This will be my first year gardening again. Can’t wait.
I use a shelving unit next to a north facing side of my house so they get morning sun and I can block wind if needed. I also wait till 3 days after potting up then move them outside for a weak or more (usually 2). I try to take advantage of the overcast when I plant too one less stress for the plant. I usually use the hardening off time as bed prep time too making sure soil is all ready and hydrated ( tilling in compost or other amendments and soaking in water)
Always learn something from you, keep the tray on a table instead of on the ground, great tip! Thank you for another sweet video, Brian!
You're welcome! And I almost left that tip out🤣🤣
I know I'm 3 years late but this is the first I'm seeing this video. I did something similar to this for my plants this year. I didn't have overcast weather but I put them in a spot on my porch that only gets about 4 hours of sunlight. When I got home from work I'd move them out in the open into direct sun for about 2 days. Like you said in the video I work from 6am to 5pm so I don't have the hours of sunlight until it's planting time. Plus the lazy man approach works for me because I start my plants in my basement which doesn't have outdoor access so it's a pain to haul all my plants up the stairs and all the way across the house. You're videos are awesome, I'm not a full on organic grower but I am an old school grower so I compost and use locally sourced manure.
Beware of Grazon in the locally sourced manure.
Thanks for the informative video it couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re supposed to get some sun (finally) here in So. Cal. and maybe I can finish hardening off. I’ve been setting out seedlings daily when it’s not raining but almost all on cloudy days. Thanks for the reminder about morning sun only to start. Sorry about the ‘pillar attack. I’ve been lucky so far! Looking forward to some warm, sunny days so my vegetable beds can dry out a little so the soil is workable. I usually plant first week in April but this year mid-month is probably the best scenario. Hope you can resurrect the seedling that got attacked and have a great growing season. I’m using your method on tomato seedlings and it’s working great with very healthy, thick, dark green plants just about ready to go in the soil!
Looking forward to the warmer Sunny days as well. Your plants sound like they're doing great
lol at 24 in Ireland :) thanks for sharing, here I leave the patio doors open, no point in putting anything outside for quite a while, I've lost soooooo much every year thinking frost was over :(
Thanks for admitting that it is a mistake to put plants out too soon. I am starting all seeds indoors since late March (Canada, Zone 6a) and I am going nuts waiting for the warmer weather to kick in. Blessings to Ireland!
Thanks for the Celcius conversion - a lot of us don't do imperial temperatures. :-)
I wish Europeans did the same thing for us
@Zellonous its all about other people. It's funny cause converting isn't hard. But people are too stupid.
Ive never gone through that rigmarole hardening off and never had an issue, possibly cuz I don't have a basement so they always have some natural light along with the grow light. Our temprange is minus 10C to 40C.
Last summer we had a huge nest of caterpillars on a tree next to my back yard. Our HOA refused to spray. I lost the battle over my Brussels sprouts but won the war over the cabbages.
I know this is a late comment but my HOA would’ve done the exact opposite. They take their landscaping very seriously and those caterpillars would’ve been persona non grata!
They probably would have sprayed the cheapest poison they could have anyway
Funny that I knew the shades would help in hardening the plants. When I transplanted my jalapenos, I happened to do it on a rainy weekend and put them in a spot wherein the morning; they would get sunlight and get shades the rest of the day. It's been like this for a week now, and this coming weekend, I will be putting them out in the full sun. It is also amazing how they survived the sudden temperature drop at night for most of the week. I did this because I worked third and slept during the day. I may only get the late evening to check in my plants. Btw, I rent, so everything is potted, no inground planting.
EXCELLENT INFORMATION! THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Oh sorry about the caterpillars!!! I hope you can save the seedlings! I didn't really know about the sun factor for hardening off, I really thought it had to do with the temperature, thanks so much for that information!
You're welcome!
Oh you're funny! I hate bugs too! HAPPY spring to you as well!
Lol
Had to rewatch this as I’m a second year container gardener . Loved it! Looks like between the weather and my work schedule , next week I’m kicking my Sweet Millions, San Marzano s , Red Knight, Purple Beauty , and Mini Munch cucumbers outside for acclimating 😊
I wondered about Harding off plants. Thanks for answering my question.
TY for the timely advice. Good luck getting rid of the pesky caterpillars.
you are just an enormous wealth of pertinent info. Thank you, my garden was planted two weeks ago and the new soil I got from a different provider is Wonderful mushroom compost and other good nutrients. We always put a bag of blackkow in the 13 raised beds. Stay busy you look good. We are getting alot of needed work done in the house, garden and nursery now that my r/e franchise and nursery has been closed since 3/14.Wish I could attach photos. m/a
Thank you. And that sounds great. You can always email me californiagardentv@gmail.com
You had me at “lazy…”
About to try hardening off a moringa tree in Las Vegas summer heat🤞.
Cute puppy dog!
Thanks
Great advice I normally just put them under a tree for a week that is like dappled sunlight this method works ok as well. I really like the idea of this tho.
I have found for vegetables planting before its gonna be rainy for a few days it also very helpful.
So helpful, thank you!
The last two years I didn’t worry about hardening my plants off. However this year it’s been hot and when I put them out they wilted right away. Needless to say I brought them out of the sun right away and not they are fine.
Love the “lazy way” tip! Do you think this would work well with houseplants as well?? Keep the tips coming. I’m envious of your Cali climate. Zone 5b here in Ontario, Canada. I’m just thinking about starting seeds now. Take good care of yourselves!
I think it would! Take care of yourself as well
Fantastic tip, thankyou!!!!
Thanks!
I'm hardening off now..finally figured a wagon was best..I'm keeping mine on porch that's covered but gets sun in evening..I don't know how it's gonna go..we will see
Ok awesome but what if you are this Canadian gal in zone 5 who went a lil crazy and now you have zero room under grow lights and still need to start April seeds. 😁 I'm 6 wks away from last frost so I've moved cool loving plants out to mini walk-in plastic greenhouse with crock pots of water turned on 😂🤣 Please tell me this will be ok, guess I'll find out soon enough. This is day 1 of overcast rainy days and daytime highs of 10c. Wow this was winded, I'm desperate. 🤪
Let me quote The Beatles on this: "All you need is love.." Sounds like you are doing everything a caring gardener could do. I'm in Toronto Zone 6a, btw.
@@marktwain368 🤣🤣 Everything survived and I'm not making same mistakes as last year. Especially with this cold Spring we are having. I don't even have my mini greenhouse up yet and just sowed tomatoes. Hello neighbour 🇨🇦👋🏻
We have a MAJOR PROBLEM, here, with Caterpillars !!!
I mean HUNDREDS. The 1st thing I have to do everyday during Caterpillar Season, is to go outside and do "Caterpillar Duty", where we inspect my plants closely, and, remove them, and, take them across the street to release them as far as possible away from my "Container Garden", which includes Blueberries and Raspberries.
I have 130 pots to harden off. They all went on the ground lol It just is what it is.
So you use a 'sink or swim' approach with this?
Thanks 😉👍
great video! thanks.
Thanks, man
Dont forget to include barn cats and dogs as pests
lol Although, my best tomato plant was one that my dog had pruned for me.
Is that a hydroponic tower in the background? Do you work with hydroponics? I'd love to know more about hydroponics from starting seeds through the full life cycle. I just bought a starter NFT system and am exploring in addition to soil gardening.
Can I assume that a covered patio doesn't work like a cloudy day?
I don't see why not....it provides shade and relief from intense UV. Try it!
I accidentally used the lazy method last year and still fried my entire crop and ended up purchasing plants through a local green house. I've never had success in starting seeds.
Thanks for all the good info. There's a question that I can't find an answer to and I've checked all the garden sites I can think of. WHEN do you start hardening off tomato plants? Do they need to have a certain amount of leaves? I have little baby seedlings that came up probably three weeks ago. How do I know when they should start being hardened off? I'm past the frost date. Can you tell me specifics about what size the seedlings need to be before I take them Outdoors to start hardening off? Thank you in advance!
I think just about any time as long as you're past your frost state. If you want to be really safe wait until they have their 1st set of real leaves
If the plant has been grown in a traditional greenhouse will they still need to be hardened off from the sun?
Will putting them in a greenhouse outdoors also work for the "lazy" method? I also had them in my windowsill for like a month, with about 3 or 4 days of having the window actually open if that helps any too??
Optimistically, it's official-the funds have made it safely from your bank to your Visa/Mastercard card.
I'm in this phase now.... question... when I bring everything back in, do I put them back under the grow light?
Lil dawn and garlic oil!
What is your zone and what is the date you are filming. Thanks 👍
I'm in trouble. I set bunch of tomato seeds in cups March 1st. Some seeds did not sprout so I set some more then, they
ALL sprouted. You know how you are suppose to weed out the extras? I just didnt have the heart, so, they all got repotted.
NOW, I have 42 tomato plants and only a couple of neighbors to share them with. I only wanted 12 for myself. I thought
of parking with my extra plants outside of Home Depot garden center offering my extras for free but figured the store
mgr might not think that cool.
What to do?
!
A lady in my neighborhood sets them on the sidewalk with a free sign. Any place that sells tomatoes might not appreciate you (like Home dep, etc) but other places like grocery stores should be ok - maybe if they are container friendly determinates give them to assisted living homes etc.
Well .. I live in Ontario Canada 🇨🇦 and it’s winter , we have snow ⛄️ how am I have a good garden ??
If there aren’t any overcast days, can you just leave the plants in shade for the entirety of the first day or two, and gradually add the sun? Since traditional way is a few hours in shade the first day, what’s the difference between leaving them in it the whole day or out the full day when overcast?
No appreciable difference. Just be aware of sun exposure and night-time temps.
Do I transplant my seedlings into a container after hardening off? Or do I harden off after transplanting?
After transplanting, the plant takes a few days to recover the shock I think. We usually harden them off, and then transplant. Space is a factor here too. They may not be ready to stay out yet fulltime.
my tomatoes are about 4 weeks old. I put them outside last week for a couple of hours and did great. Can I still do that even now? I don't have too much time to actually Harden these plants off except the weekend. I can't chance taking them out all day while I'm at work. if I start little by little after work and during the weekend, will that be okay? Or would it set them back because I'll be bringing them back inside under the grow lights constantly?
I'm using this question in tomorrow's video. Thanks!
@@NextLevelGardening that’s cool, thanks
What about night time temps. Currently days can be 60-80 degrees but can drop to 50 at night. Which plants might be affected?
As long as temps dont drop below freezing you should be good, 50s are fine for most plants
Thanks for the tips! What happens if a few of the leaves do get a little burned?
As long as the newest ones are OK it should make it
I was so confused as to why he kept saying a lot of us are home. I was like “is this a gardening channel for school teachers?” Then I realized it was covid time when he made this
Lol. Yea
Its 54 degrees outside. Is that too chilly for the overcast hardening?
Should be ideal....you are way above freezing, and if you have enough plants to do it, put out a small sample to see how they take it. Then do the rest.
Sunny 88 degrees and 45mph gust here today...ugh
With the lazy way of doing it, do you leave them outside overnight as well? Or is it the lazy way because you don't have to be available to bring them in after an hour or so, more of a laissez-faire approach?
Still bring them in at night
I've been putting plants out for about 4 days, an hour or 2 each time... but was windy and pretty warm sunny today. Nothing seems different or damaged... can they put out for good?
What if I am in the desert without overcast days or 90+ temps? Can I just put them in a shaded region for a shorter period of time?
Thank you!
I just planted in door seeds for the first time -I know you said put two to three seeds in each little cup. I guess I have a problem with that because my fingers are so fat.😆what happens if I accidentally put too many seeds in each cell? Did I mess it up?😬
No. Its ok. You'll just have to thin them.
@@NextLevelGardening ohhh thank gosh! 🙏 Thank you, I'll research thinning now. 🤗
I have a video on that ...three yrs ago I think
@@NextLevelGardening perfect, thanks!
Were you able to find out what species of caterpillars you had on your plants?
They look like cabbage worms
Thanks for the video! Just curious, does it work the same way to harden the plants if you just leave them in a part of your yard that doesn’t get direct sunlight?
There is no frost during the day anywhere, unless you live in Alaska.
Do they still need to be hardened off if the plants have been in the glasshouse for a few weeks because they are still getting full sun throughout the day?
After 6 weeks in my basement nursery, I have had my peppers in a huge bay window full sun all day for the last full month. I topped them two weeks ago and they are spectacularly lush and bushy. I moved them outside yesterday under a covered patio, it is 18 degrees celcius sunny and a nice breeze. Today they look a little stressed I assumed all those days in the full sun had weather hardened them. Is it normal for them to look stressed under the conditions I have mentioned, I have 140 pepper plants and I dont want anything to go wrong. My plants are 6 inches tall and 8 inches wide with about thirty leaves on each one.
Sometimes widow glass is treated to be a sunscreen. It is possible they are still trying to harden off. Go slow with them outside. I would hate for you to loose any🙂
So could i use i use a full spectrum grow light and increase the intesity and exposures time indoors to help harden them off?
Can you harden off your plant on an open end and side carport?
What are those little starter bags you have the seedlings in
Hi Sir
Awesome channel and great information. 👍👍👍👍👍
Still waiting for the peppers updates.
Can you put like about 1 inch of water in an outer container then add the seedlings into that then place them outside during the hardening process incase your working or forget them so they have adequate water and not dry out from the heat. Like the water wicking method from beneath?
Yes! Great way to water seedlings.
@@NextLevelGardening
Any updates on growing of peppers?
From seeding?
Coming. But mine are late this year.
Nice video. I have a question. I have a 5000k LED light that im starting with do i still have to harden my plants.
I would still do it because the Sun is way stronger than the strongest light. However you may not have to do it so gradually
@@NextLevelGardening cool glad i asked. It's a lot of fun but a lot of work too. I don't want to burn them up. I hope you don't get tired of questions us newbies have a lot of them lol. Later brother
Watts? 😎👍🐶👋
@@grannysweet Hyper tough 45 watt 250 watt equivalent 4 foot 5000k LED shop light walmart 22 bucks works great no complaints says daylight right on the box. They have a 5500k also its linkable but DBL the price. They both have pull chain on off nice light. Thanks for asking.
Do you have any tips on ant issues? I found on google that mixing a soap to water ratio and putting it on the leaves should work but have had no success with it 😕
Can you leave them outside at night during these over cast days?
I beg your pardon. Did I hear you say Caterpillars? Weren’t you indoors? Please explain....
I had to watch 2 times because I wasn't listening. I was too busy looking at the dog and wondering what's his/her name ? I put some of my jalapeno peppers outside last week in the morning. In the afternoon the wind BEAT them up really bad. I think that I have to start over again.
Lol. His name is Boomer😉
Been there😥. Start over 🤔😃. 👍⬅️cleverly hidden green thumb. 🌞🌬🌥🌚👍🐶👋😎
So why not just start your seedlings in the sun and not worry about hardening? I've done it that way every year and had no issues.
Can you use seeds from a tomato? Do you cut it and plant or dry out the seeds?
If it is an heirloom variety preferably open pollinated. If you plant in non heirloom variety seeds you never know what you're going to get if anything
Any seed will work. Plant and grow!
at 75 and almost 79 we do a lot
I hope you get rid of these nasty caterpillars and thank you for the great advice! ♥ In one of my previous homes I used to grow on a balcony, and got lots of caterpillars once, too. After that, my downstairs neighbor called the police, because I ran back and forth, killing caterpillars, and yelling "here's one for you, fucker! how do you like that, huh???", and she thought that someone had broken in and I was fighting with them :)))))))
Lol
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👍😎🐶👋
I've tried the overcast days' hardening and still ended up with burned leaves. My question is, can the burned leaf plants recover if you provide shade cloth to protect them after the damage is done? Second, what can be done to help them recover? I recently put out some cucumbers, that looked amazing indoors but got over 12" high with 4" leaves, and they got sunburned on the leaves to the point they looked silvery/white. I put green shade cloth around them and am hoping for a miracle. Any advice or is it a doomed wish? Thanks, love the videos!
Toss em. even if they live they'll never produce well. In the time it takes to recover you could have started new vigorous new plants. Forgive yourself, we've all done it or something else as easy to do.😎👍🐶👋
@@grannysweet you're probably right, I've been more successful buying and transplanting than indoor seeding and hardening off, just wish I knew why. Plants are upright but getting pale despite the shade cloth. Some bug activity but Neem Oiled the plants which seemed to help but it's not looking too promising. Thanks for the reply post.
get tulle and cover
Thank you for the informative video. Unseasonably hot, 90 degrees today in Panama City Florida. Have to relocate my garden due to hurricane Michael. Here is a link to what I’m doing to get my garden area ready. View my photos at: www.terrykellyphotography.com/Photos-by-Location/Florida/My-Garden
People need to get back to work
Set aside 30+ minutes a day to tend to your garden's needs. I drive 35 miles to work and 35 miles back, in traffic, but I still have time for this relaxing pastime.
Good grief! Caterpillars indoors?!? Yikes! Nightmare. Hang in there.
I know! Have never had that problem.
The certain crayfish strikingly pretend because penalty fascinatingly shock excluding a humorous cut. boundless, unkempt women
how many times do content creators need to tell you what the video is going to be about before getting to the meat and potatoes of the video? These videos could be 2 minutes if they said what they were going to do and just did it. jeez.