Hardening Off
Average time to read: 1.9 minutesBefore it’s time to transplant seedlings into the garden, they should be hardened off.
Hardening off is the process of acclimating seedlings to the harsh conditions outdoors before transplanting them out permanently.
Trays of seedlings being hardened off before transplanting out
Whether you bought seedlings from a garden centre or grew them yourself from seed, they are fragile! Simply moving seedlings to another location or a larger pot can be a big adjustment for them. Changes in light, humidity, temperature, and soil conditions can set them back. Now combine all those smaller changes with the hot summer sun, cold overnight lows, and strong winds they’ll be exposed to outside; transplanting out can be very hard for seedlings to bounce back from.
To help smooth the transition for your seedlings, harden them off before transplanting out.
To do this, place your seedlings outside for a few hours near where they will be transplanted permanently. Then, gradually increased the amount of time spent outdoors over a period of three to seven days.
Be careful:
Begin by placing seedlings outside before or after the hottest part of the day.
Do not place seedlings out on unseasonably hot or cold days.
Do not leave trays out overnight.
Seedlings should be exposed to breezy weather but protected from strong winds.
Do not allow them to dry out.
Echinacea seedlings, transplanted out after being hardened off
When the weather is finally right for transplanting out, it can be tempting to skip this step. That can work but is considered more advanced gardening. Success in that case relies on choosing the right types of plants and facilitating indoor growing conditions that are closer to the natural growing conditions outdoors at the time of transplanting out.
If that’s not your plan, harden off those seedlings! After all, watching your beloved seedlings suffer, wither, and die after all your careful tending is a heartache we’d like to spare you from if we can.
Trust us, we’re speaking from experience ;)
***
Links to all our favourite products can be found here.