Hardening off Plants/Seedlings

Imagine you are sitting in a toasty hot tub and the outside temperature is 0 Celsius or 32 Fahrenheit. What happens when you get out of the hot tub? You're freezing and want to get some place warm. When you buy plants/seedlings from a greenhouse they are used to a tropical and almost perfect environment. They're not used to the cold, direct sunlight or to the wind so you need to gradually introduce them to the these conditions.

Somethings to keep in mind: Peppers and tomatoes like it 13 C or higher. Basil you want to wait for the temps to be above 10 C. Before hardening off plants you need to keep an eye on the weather. You will need about a week for plants/seedlings to become acclimatized to the weather and outdoor conditions. You'll want to start hardening off your plants a week before your last frost date. In Steinbach that is May 21-June 2.

The first step is to bring the plants outside in a shady, non windy spot for a couple of hours. The next day you extend the time by an hour or two. You need to watch the plants for signs of stress: wilty looking plants, leaves curling, and in general the plants just looks really really unhappy. Day 3 move them out in the morning in direct sun, than move them back into the shade in the afternoon. Continue leaving the plants longer and longer and they will become ready to go into their permanent homes in about a week.

If you can, plant the plants in their permanent home when it a warm, but cloudy day. After planting make sure to give them a good drink of water.

The way I harden off my plants is to move them from my plant room into my greenhouse starting in April. I have a shade cloth up so they aren't impacted by the strong afternoon sun. It's basically sink or swim for my plants, they do tend to adapt quickly. I do try to keep my greenhouse at 5 Celius at nighttime with heaters until it gets warmer at nighttime.