Hardening plants

[weaselbean]

Here's my plan, tell me if I'm wrong.

Tomatoes are 3 weeks old, 5 inches tall, bushing and growing under t5's.

I'm planning to put outside in the sun starting at 1 hour and increasing by an hour each day. Ill set them inside an open garage at night near the front.
It will be about 4 weeks till set out time. Day temperatures in the 70's and nighttime low to mid 50's for the next ten days.

Am I getting them outside too early or should they be exposed as early as possible?.

What say you? Let me have it, I can take it.

[dmforcier]

IMO that schedule is a bit aggressive. Start at 1/2 hr. Then increase by 1/2 hr. Then leave them in for a day, then 1.5 hr. etc. You have plenty of time so erring on the side of caution is better. OTOH, they would probably do okay on your suggested schedule.

Temps sound okay.

The unmentioned unknown is wind. Have you been using a fan?

[weaselbean]

Originally Posted by dmforcier

IMO that schedule is a bit aggressive. Start at 1/2 hr. Then increase by 1/2 hr. Then leave them in for a day, then 1.5 hr. etc. You have plenty of time so erring on the side of caution is better. OTOH, they would probably do okay on your suggested schedule.

Temps sound okay.

The unmentioned unknown is wind. Have you been using a fan?

Been blowing on them several times a day and beating them with a yardstick.

[carolyn137]

At about 4 inches tall I would put them out for hardening off if the temps were OK,at first in FULL shade forseveral days,never in sun, then gradually expose them to sun.It would take me a full week to harden them off.

I just sent seeds two weeks ago to someone in NC, near Raleigh , he is one of my now 7 seed producers,he wanted them ASAP to get them out and growing before the hot humid temps appeared,as they can and do.

My brother and Family moved from up here in NYS to NC in 2005, he's about 20 miles north of Asheville and his temps there are almost he same as up here.

And I would only take in my hardening off ones if rainy weather appeared or the temps got too low at night.

Carolyn

[weaselbean]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

At about 4 inches tall I would put them out for hardening off if the temps were OK,at first in FULL shade forseveral days,never in sun, then gradually expose them to sun.It would take me a full week to harden them off.

I just sent seeds two weeks ago to someone in NC, near Raleigh , he is one of my now 7 seed producers,he wanted them ASAP to get them out and growing before the hot humid temps appeared,as they can and do.

My brother and Family moved from up here in NYS to NC in 2005, he's about 20 miles north of Asheville and his temps there are almost he same as up here.

And I would only take in my hardening off ones if rainy weather appeared or the temps got too low at night.

Carolyn

Thanks Carolyn
Ill go a bit slower with the process. There's plenty of time. I thought too not to bring them back inside unless the weather dictated so.
I'm about 50 miles west of Raleigh

[Nan_PA_6b]

Originally Posted by weaselbean

...I thought too not to bring them back inside unless the weather dictated so....

My deer dictate that I bring in hardening-off plants every night.

Nan

[Gardeneer]

How doe your 15 day forecast looks like ? Any lows under 39 F. If so when/how far out that day is ? Hardening off can take about 7 to 10 day. If your LFD (and/or per forecast is more than 20 days away , I would suggest to hold off and let them grow under light and get bigger.

Talking about NC weather, I should say that NC is a big state stretching from TN mountains all the way down to about 50 miles from Myrtle Beach , SC, I am in the same vicinity (Whiteville area) and our 15 day forecast has no low under 48F, with lows mostly in low 50s.
The last day on the forecast is April 7. That is almost our LFD.
If you are in a similar climate, you can go ahead an start hardening off your plans.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

How doe your 15 day forecast looks like ? Any lows under 39 F. If so when/how far out that day is ? Hardening off can take about 7 to 10 day. If your LFD (and/or per forecast is more than 20 days away , I would suggest to hold off and let them grow under light and get bigger.

Talking about NC weather, I should say that NC is a big state stretching from TN mountains all the way down to about 50 miles from Myrtle Beach , SC, I am in the same vicinity (Whiteville area) and our 15 day forecast has no low under 48F, with lows mostly in low 50s.
The last day on the forecast is April 7. That is almost our LFD.
If you are in a similar climate, you can go ahead an start hardening off your plans.

And both weaselbean and my brother are in the far western area of NC on a high plateau and a short hop over to TN where a woman from up here had a home built and spends summers up here and winters down in TN..

Carolyn

[Keiththibodeaux]

I find Tomatoes harden off very easily and rarely spend more than 4 or 5 days getting them from indoor propagators to full sun.

[Gardeneer]

I would do as Carolyn has advised.

The ideal hardening start off is during overcast skies, mostly cloudy that once a while you get a glimpse of sun. But that might not come . So start with a shade, preferably some tree shade rather than building shade.
Smaller seedlings are more adaptive than big ones.

[hovermother22]

High of 54 degrees here today in Chicago, with some sun. I need to start hardening off my plants. I probably won't be putting them into the ground, at this rate, until first week of June? They are huge, though, and need to get acclimated. Is this too cold for beginning the hardening off process? Maybe I should just wait until temps go up, if that ever happens??? Thanks in advance.

[hovermother22]

I am in Chicago, and it has been a cool spring. The temps are finally seasonally appropriate. Does anybody know how long it takes the ground to warm up enough for planting if the temps are finally getting higher? I usually don't put them into the ground until the first week of June because Chicago weather is so crazy. And another question: I have way too many plants to keep them under my lights once I repot them, and I'm wondering, if the weather is good, do you think photosynthesis from the sun is more beneficial to the potted plants than lights? I will of course abide by the slow hardening off process.

[Lukasrl]

Originally Posted by hovermother22

I am in Chicago, and it has been a cool spring. The temps are finally seasonally appropriate. Does anybody know how long it takes the ground to warm up enough for planting if the temps are finally getting higher? I usually don't put them into the ground until the first week of June because Chicago weather is so crazy. And another question: I have way too many plants to keep them under my lights once I repot them, and I'm wondering, if the weather is good, do you think photosynthesis from the sun is more beneficial to the potted plants than lights? I will of course abide by the slow hardening off process.

Hello Hovermother22,

I live in the south suburbs of Chicago. It has been a cold spring, but I will take that over the spring downpours we have had the last few years. LOL. So my rule of thumb has always been to plant after Mothers day. I will be planting this year next Monday. Our last frost date was April 18th,(I know we have come close a few times) but the 10 day forecast is showing nothing below 50 for lows. Our day time temps have been in the low 80's. So I think we should be safe planting any time after Mothers day. As for Grow lights vs Direct sunlight, that I think would depend on the grow lights you are using. My plants didn't grow all that tall under My LED lights but They did grow real thick trunks. Not leggy in the least bit. When I took them out to harden them off, They started to grow more height, still with a thick stem.

[Al@NC]

Originally Posted by hovermother22

Does anybody know how long it takes the ground to warm up enough for planting if the temps are finally getting higher? I usually don't put them into the ground until the first week of June because Chicago weather is so crazy. And another question: I have way too many plants to keep them under my lights once I repot them, and I'm wondering, if the weather is good, do you think photosynthesis from the sun is more beneficial to the potted plants than lights? I will of course abide by the slow hardening off process.

Depending on your situation, if you're able to put something like black plastic down on your garden then that will help to warm the ground. I think it's here on T-ville that I once read that the worst thing you can do is plant your tomatoes in cold dirt and it's true...

The sun is exponentially better than anything else you can do but also expect to water them and feed alot more than inside if you have the sun and 70+ temps for several days.

Also it's soo easy to sun scald them by leaving them out in the sun too long.

Al

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by hovermother22

I am in Chicago, and it has been a cool spring. The temps are finally seasonally appropriate. Does anybody know how long it takes the ground to warm up enough for planting if the temps are finally getting higher? I usually don't put them into the ground until the first week of June because Chicago weather is so crazy. And another question: I have way too many plants to keep them under my lights once I repot them, and I'm wondering, if the weather is good, do you think photosynthesis from the sun is more beneficial to the potted plants than lights? I will of course abide by the slow hardening off process.

Here's how I determine if the ground is warm enough to plant out,not very scientific, but it worked for me and many others including the farmers in my area at the time.

Take a handful of soil,aka dirt, gently squeeze it, if it stays in a ball,the soil is still too wet,not warm enough,but if it crumbles in your hand,then it's OK to set plants outside.

Carolyn