HOW TO HARDEN OFF SEEDLINGS

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In the majority of cases, germinating your precious seeds is often the easiest job when it come to propagating plants. In fact, half-hardy annuals, half-hardy perennials and some vegetable seeds need to be germinated indoors otherwise they would be damaged by frost, harsh winds or cool growing conditions.

Unfortunately, when you are germinating outdoor plant seeds under the safety of a protective environment ie. a warm windowsill or heated glasshouse, problems can occur when it comes to returning your young plants back to the harsh reality of their natural habitat - the great outdoors. Burning sunlight, and desiccating winds can quickly spell the end for the soft foliage of a plant grown indoors and so before they are fully released into the wild they will need to be 'Hardened Off'. This process allows the soft stems and tissues of young plants to thicken up and strengthen, while increasing sheilding waxes and internal pigments to protect against ecessive water loss and UV radiation.

Put simply, the idea of 'hardening off' is to gradually to acclimatise the seedlings to the harsher conditions of the great outdoors. However, you will need to allow a minimum of ten days to do this, preferably longer.

Start by putting your seedlings in a sheltered position outdoors for two hours during daylight and lowering the temperature of the greenhouse or propagator for the rest of the day. Slowly increase the period that the plants are outside so that by the time the frosts are finished, the plants are fully conditioned to being outside. Don't forget that the trays will need watering but should be protected from heavy rain.

When the young plants are transplanted to their fimal positions they may still need some protection against the damaging effects of strong, cold winds.

A very useful aid to successful hardening off is a cold frame. It should be large enough to accommodate you propagaing requirement, but can also be a very simple inexpensive structure. During the day the 'lights' - that's the glass or plastic cover over the walls of the frame - can be opened or removed altogether, but put back into position overnight.

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Article courtesy of Thompson and Morgan

Photo care of http://www.sunset.com/