If you grow them at a sunny window, they are to some degree already used to sunshine but still need to get used to the wind and weather. If you grow seedlings under grow light they will be more sensitive to natural light. The farther away from a natural environment our seed starting practice is, the more important is the process. To help them to adjust, they need to be hardened off. These indoor-grown plants are not used to natural sunlight, wind, and fluctuation in temperature. When we start seeds indoors for the outside garden they are growing in an artificial environment. Hardening off plants before planting them out in the garden is part of the starting seeds indoors process. If you have questions about hardening, or about gardening in general, please don't hesitate to comment below.If you prefer listening to reading, you can continue on YouTube just follow the link. The point is to introduce your plants to the elements slowly. If it is scorching hot, you might want to stick to 2 hours a day for 3 straight days, before leaving them for 3 hours. One of which is to water them twice daily.įinally, this isn't a hard and fast rule. Please note that I didn't include the things that you should also do to keep your plants healthy. This is a technique our farmers use in provinces harden off their plants. If you want, do this until you reach 10 hours.
#Hardening off seedlings images full#
On day 2, move the seedling to the outside area for two hours.On day 1, move the seedling outside (garden, open area, balcony) for one hour.Make sure the plant has its true leaves already.That is why we recommend storing your newly sowed seeds indoors, under your bed, or the basement if you have one. Remember that when you first sowed the seeds, you don't need the sun.Outside area means the "permanent" place you will put your plant when they're fully grown where there is sunlight and access to water.The key point here is that it has to be movable. This can be our coconut husk pots or other pots. There are a lot of ways to go about this, but the easiest one is to harden off the plants for a duration of at least 7 days.īut before that, there are a few things we need to clarify first: If you are not careful, your plants can die. It's as if you placed a paper on fire starting on the edge. You'll know because you'll see the edge of the leaves turn brown / yellow. This can happen from both too much sun or lack of sun. In non-technical terms, you will see your plant bowing and most of the times lanky, instead of growing straight. When you don't harden off your plants, you run the risk of: 3 Common Problems When You Don’t Harden Off Your Plants And, you avoid the 3 common problems first-time growers experience (which we'll get to below).
The main benefit of hardening off your plants is to make sure they adapt to their surroundings.
The same goes with plants, especially seedlings. You make sure they drink their milk and water. That's why the practice in the Philippines is to take them out early morning when the heat is not to strong. You don't leave your baby under the sun for too long. This allows them to adapt to their surroundings. Hardening is exposing your seedlings to the sun and other forces of nature in small amounts. If you’re new to urban gardening, there’s a chance that the same thing happened to you. And you don't want that to happen to your plants. Then, when the plant dies, you tell yourself that you don't have a "green thumb" and swear never to plant again.ĭid you notice the image above this post? Where the plants are "bowing" and not growing straight? That is called wilting. We prefer that you ask these questions rather than assume you already know what to do.
#Hardening off seedlings images how to#
First-time growers have lots of questions about how to get started with planting.
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