Through your own experimentation in your specific zone you'll come up with your personal technique for hardening off seedlings, but until then here's what I do: 1. Typically, germinating seeds are killed by the damping-off fungus prior to emerging from the ground, and older, more established plants are seldom affected. Hardening off should take a minimum of a week and may take up to two. Jan 27, 2019 - If you harden off seedlings, they'll be strong when transplanted and able to withstand full sun, light breezes, spring rains, and fluctuating temperatures. Hardening off should take a minimum of a week and may take up to two. After 5–7 days of hardening off, the seedlings will be ready to be transplanted to their final growing position. Take my little ones outdoors under a protected/covered area for a couple of hours to start a 7 to 14 day hardening off process. DO NOT OVER WATER SEEDLINGS! Harden off plants gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions. For most plants, start hardening off about a week before the final frost date for your area. I'm hardening off some seedling to plant out soon, but it is still way too soon for the melons so they are just along for the ride! Hardening also means getting plants that started indoors used to the heat and humidity of the outdoors. Begin Hardening Off Your Plants in a Sheltered Location: About a week or two before your transplant date, place your plants outdoors in a protected spot for a few hours on the first day. B. Hardening off involves getting seedlings used to conditions outside gradually. Once my seedlings get a few leaves, I then leave any covers off, and they naturally "harden off" with the fluctuations in heat during the day in their covered outdoor position. If you’re planting directly into the ground so that your plants’ root mass is covered by soil, this is the best way to protect your roots. DIRECT SOWING Turn over garden soil with spade or fork. Over the next few days, gradually increase the time outdoors by a 1-2 hours. Hardening Off. Steps to Harden Off Your Transplants: 1. I like to situate my seedlings on a patio table under an umbrella to shade them from the sun and shelter from rain. For most plants, start hardening off about a week before the final frost date for your area. HARDENING OFF IS KEY . The amount of damage to seedlings depends on the particular fungus, soil moisture and temperature. A loose soil enriched with moderate amounts of organic matter or fertilizer to supply nutrients is best. Transplanting. This can be reduced by: hardening off seedlings gradually; watering the plants … Suddenly moving plants from a stable environment to one with wide variations in temperature, light and wind can seriously weaken plants. When a seedling is planted in a new growing position it experiences transplant shock. “Hardening off” is a process where you slowly adjust your plants to life outdoors. 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