hardening And transplanting of seedlings
So you have a seedling that needs to be planted outdoors soon, right? Congratulations on successfully starting the seeds and raising new children! But hold on tight! Do not take your seedlings and leave them outside without a proper adjustment period to prepare them first. The next step in the journey of your little plants is to harden them. This is a very important step, especially if you started the seeds indoors or in a preserved state. Hardening seedlings helps ensure a smooth, successful transition to your new home - your garden
This post will discuss what hardening is, why it is important, and how to do it.
What is hardening?
Hardening is the preparation of seedlings for planting outdoors. It takes slow, systematic steps for your little plants to become stronger and more flexible in front of the hand. It helps reduce stress and promotes success as soon as they go out.
Why harden?
If your seedlings are not adequately exposed to the conditions they face in the "big bad world" of the garden, they may stumble. They can bend, crumble, rot, fry, or otherwise die. This is especially true if you start sowing seeds indoors. Up to this point, indoor seedlings are highly protected; Even the baby. They are not subject to extreme temperature changes, strong winds, rain, or direct sun. If you take them from a stable, moderate position and sow them quickly in your garden, they may experience alternative shock.
The process of hardening the seedlings to prevent transplant shock is very easy! This requires a little planning in advance. This is simple, free insurance to provide your plants. Even if it is not done "right", every little hardening helps greatly! There is really no reason to rush and avoid it.
Transplant Shock
Transplant shock is a state of shock or trauma that a plant may experience after transplantation. It may or may not kill them, but it will make them retreat. They may be permanently deficient, so they may not reach their true potential during maturity.
Another tip to prevent planting shock is to make sure your plants are not too rooted before planting. For their current containers, even if excess roots are sticking to the bottom and still not ready to go out - place in larger containers as needed. When planting, do not over-rot the roots in the seedlings.
Also, do not over-fertilize the soil they are going to, as this can cause them to “burn” and shock. We modify our beds with rich aging compost, worm molds and light kelp meal and a light dusting of alfalfa food - less than the package calls for, to be safe. After planting, watering with dilute sponge extract can also help reduce transplant trauma.
How to harden seedlings
We start the hardening process by encouraging our seedlings to grow strong and healthy from an early age. Like any good parent does, right? You take a week before planting in the garden to further deliberately harden the "steps", which we will discuss in a moment. However, there are other things you can do in advance to give them a great start.
It should be noted that all I will explain next are generally best practices and recommendations. It does not have to be a perfect science, and you do not have to follow an exact schedule. As long as you do your best to prepare and strengthen your plants as I describe and do all you can to create some gentle, beneficial stress relief! Tables get busy, days get missed ... I understand.
After germination
Two weeks after germination (i.e., after germination of plants), we begin to introduce light air to the seedlings using a low swing fan. Do not place it too close to them, preferably not just in one place from one direction, so the recommendation for oscillations. The movement created by the wind causes the seedlings to shake and bend slightly. That action causes them to quickly strengthen their spines in response to movement. This helps to prepare them for the air they enjoy outside.
The use of a fan in seedlings is generally a good practice because increased airflow also reduces the chances of disease. However, you do not want the fan to constantly explode on them. This will make the soil dry faster. It is vegetative Keeps the leaves away from the wind and grows thinner. To prevent that, try rotating your plates a few times so that everyone has the opportunity to experience the wind in different strengths and directions. We usually put the fan on the seedlings for a few hours and repeat a few days a week.
Several weeks before planting outdoors
You can take the following steps several weeks before you plan to plant seedlings in the garden.
Heat
Do your seedlings sit indoors, on hot mats? While heat mats are a great tool to encourage seed germination, they also help heat-loving seedlings like peppers and tomatoes grow faster, and they are another help to keep your seedlings from over-baby. A few weeks before your target plant expiration date, you should start weeding your indoor seedlings from their heat mat. If your seedlings are placed somewhere that is too cold or at risk of frost, such as a garage or insulated shed, practice judgment here. Do not leave your seedlings without heat if there is a risk of frost!
If you use a thermostat-controlled heat mat like us, the breastfeeding process may seem like lowering the temperature by 5 degrees every week for several weeks. If you do not use a temperature-controlled mat, remove the mat overnight and resume running during the day, but only for a short time. One week before the start of the next phase (so about two weeks before planting outside), they should be completely removed from the heat mat.
Note on the use of greenhouses:
We start our seedlings in a greenhouse. However, keep in mind that we do not heat our greenhouse! When a portion of our seedlings sit on warm mats to stay nice and warm at night, the rest of the seedlings and the greenhouse will be just as cool as the outside. The unheated greenhouse is 5 degrees warmer outside at night, although it is considerably warmer than the outside temperature during the day.
Where we live, freezing temperatures are not available, so our greenhouse plants are not at risk. Moving our seedlings from the heat mats to the unheated bench in the greenhouse is part of our hardening process. There, they expose the seedlings to as much cold as they can outside!
Light
If your seedlings are currently indoors under growing light, that’s great! Keep it that way. Unlike heat, they do not like to remove their light source before planting. They will deceive you. However, how long do you keep your lights on?
It is best practice to place the seedlings in the light for about 14 to 16 hours a day. If you have longer than that, for example overnight, definitely start reducing the amount of time they have when you are ready to go out. Vegetative seedlings require about 8 hours of darkness. In our greenhouse, we quickly remove the seedlings from the growing lights, but they still get a lot of natural light.
One week before planting the seedlings outside
Now is a week to plant your kids outdoors. This is when the most systematic hardening process actually begins. By following the steps below, your plants will be well adjusted and ready to go! That is, follow as closely as you can. Completeness is not the goal. The goal is a gradual, steady, increased exposure to the sun, wind, and temperature rise.
First day:
Check the weather. Try to start the outdoor hardening process on a day when things are very quiet - no extreme wind, rain, frost, or things of nature are predicted. Take your seedlings out. Breakfast is a very important meal - it can either make or break your day. Start in a shady, protected place. Keep the seedlings out for only two hours on this first day. Then bring them back inside.
Day 2:
Again, make sure the weather is not crazy. Light rain is fine during the hardening process, especially after the 2nd or 3rd day. We want to avoid heavy rains that can break their stems. Bring the seedlings back out. If possible place them in a shady place away from direct sunlight. Wave an hour longer than the first day
Leave them out for a couple of hours. Bring them back inside.
Day Three:
This time, go ahead and let them be in partial shade in the partial sun. Extend the length they are outside for another two hours. Well, it’s time for the kids to come back. (I begin to feel very grateful for our heavy seedling trays that grow and crack. It makes everything back and forth easier!)
Day 4:
Place the seedlings back in the partial sun. When you start exposing them to direct sunlight, it is usually better to give them the morning sun than the afternoon sun because it will be less intense. Now they should be out of 7 Or 8 hours.
Day Five:
Repeat on the fourth day. A little more sun, and an hour or two. After a while start keeping them out until the evening so they can enjoy the cooler temperatures.
The temperature they feel when they are in their containers is actually cooler than the soil when they are planted. A large amount of soil, like being on an elevated bed or floor, retains radiant heat and overall warmth and is better than small exposure of seedlings. But don’t forget to bring them overnight! I recommend setting an alarm.
Sixth day:
Go ahead and give them sun all day! It covers the hot sun of the afternoon. What if it wasn’t Weil? That's good! They are still used to the external conditions in which they have to compete. Let them be outside beyond their bedtime again.
Seventh-day:
Now you can quickly expel them in the fully exposed area of your yard. Leave them out as late as possible, but again, bring them in overnight for the last time.
Planting day!
Plant the seedlings in the morning on a quiet and moderate day. Beforehand, check the forecast! Are you good to go? Or has something changed, is there an immediate forecast now of frost or some other severe weather? It is okay to stop your plant exit date as long as you are comfortable with the forecast. Continue to harden them outside on the days you can.
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Garden Tips
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