Cold good. Shock bad?

[enchant]

I'm a great believer in giving plants the cold treatment, especially as we approach time to plant them in the ground. That's still a month away, but I'm sure it's always a good thing.

Our thermostat goes down to 59F at night, and the temp is probably even lower where the seedlings live. That room is always a little chilly. They're doing fantastic this year, probably due to not using dime-store potting soil and I bought them a new brighter light.

The weather has been fairly chilly for a while, but we're getting into a warming trend. The temperature is supposed to go up to 58 today, and I was thinking that a couple hours out on the back deck in the sunshine might be nice. But even though they've been in that temperature many times over the past couple of weeks, the temperature change is always gradual. If I bring them out today, it will be an instant 10 degree drop. Does the quick change in temperature matter?

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by enchant

I'm a great believer in giving plants the cold treatment, especially as we approach time to plant them in the ground. That's still a month away, but I'm sure it's always a good thing.

Our thermostat goes down to 59F at night, and the temp is probably even lower where the seedlings live. That room is always a little chilly. They're doing fantastic this year, probably due to not using dime-store potting soil and I bought them a new brighter light.

The weather has been fairly chilly for a while, but we're getting into a warming trend. The temperature is supposed to go up to 58 today, and I was thinking that a couple hours out on the back deck in the sunshine might be nice. But even though they've been in that temperature many times over the past couple of weeks, the temperature change is always gradual. If I bring them out today, it will be an instant 10 degree drop. Does the quick change in temperature matter?

Not really, but the bright sun might. Be careful to put them in partial shade to prevent sunscald, they haven't been hardened off yet, right? The temp should be OK.

[enchant]

We've been seeing sun about every other day. The sun shines through the sliders and they get maybe 2 hours of uninterrupted sun that way, then it dips behind the leafless trees so it's more diffused. I don't know how much the glass filters out. There's nothing special about the glass - no uv filtering or anything.

Maybe I'll just give them an hour outside.

[sdambr]

This is the first year I have been putting seedlings in a place that is much cooler, and yes, mine look fantastic. They are shorter and stockier.

[guruofgardens]

Start in the shade. It should take a week plus to get them hardened off. You probably won’t be planting for another month, so start the process in May.

[Nan_PA_6b]

Yes, sunlight through glass is not the same as bare naked sunlight.

Nan

[Gardeneer]

Cool air, lots of light cam make stocky seedlings. How do I know ?
After planting out , i had/have several extras, kept inpots in the tomato garden. They were thin legged but now the are real stocky. They look as stock as Bonnies at the nurseries.
Our weather has bee. In 40f (lows)to 65f (highs) for the last 3 weeks.