WATS WRONG!? (Hardening Off)

[Turkey]

Hmm wats wrong wit ma plants..they jave there 2nd and 3rd leaves already and I wanna start hardening them off..but every time I take them outside...they curl up and then they go down..like if they where down...they only last bout 10 minutes..wats wrong wit dem..? Are they always gonna be weak..? WIll they handle the wind..

[thepodpiper]

Hey Turkey, how long ago did they sprout? Did you have a fan on them at least once a day? How tall are they? are they leggy with skinny stems? Are you putting them in shade or sun? There are a lot of things that could be affecting your plants if you could post some pics it would be very helpful.

Dale

[DevilDuck]

Zip tie those puppies to a wood stake.

[Turkey]

Hey Turkey, how long ago did they sprout? Did you have a fan on them at least once a day? How tall are they? are they leggy with skinny stems? Are you putting them in shade or sun? There are a lot of things that could be affecting your plants if you could post some pics it would be very helpful.

Dale

um.i sprouted dem bout 1 month ago..there bout 3 inches and 3rd set of leaves they are leggy..and yea skinny stems..There in a sunny..no fan..

[Slinter]

I would start them out in sun before 10am, then after 4pm. Then work your way a half hour every couple of days towards 12. If they are really leggy, replant them deeper, or add soil or whatever they are currently in to "shorten" them. To get them used to wind, shake the trays a few times each day. I got that tip from somewhere and it seems to work out.

[thepodpiper]

Turkey, I put mine outside in the shade for 4 to 5 days and then gradually gave them sun and yes you do need to bury those puppies down to the cotyledons. Strenghtening the stems seems to be very important shaking the container will work or brush your hand over the tops of the plants or better yet put a fan on them a couple times a day. On my seedlings i had a fan on a timer and it would turn on three times a day for around a 1/2 an hour each time.

Dale

[Turkey]

Ok..So basically its bury dem deeper..and wind(fan)..oK Thanks Guys!

[koolguymike]

Ok..So basically its bury dem deeper..and wind(fan)..oK Thanks Guys!

YES! but i would for sure take these advices as they are very good - especially Slinter's;

Turkey, I put mine outside in the shade for 4 to 5 days and then gradually gave them sun and yes you do need to bury those puppies down to the cotyledons. Strenghtening the stems seems to be very important shaking the container will work or brush your hand over the tops of the plants or better yet put a fan on them a couple times a day. On my seedlings i had a fan on a timer and it would turn on three times a day for around a 1/2 an hour each time.

Dale

I would start them out in sun before 10am, then after 4pm. Then work your way a half hour every couple of days towards 12. If they are really leggy, replant them deeper, or add soil or whatever they are currently in to "shorten" them. To get them used to wind, shake the trays a few times each day. I got that tip from somewhere and it seems to work out.

[Pam]

I second the "Listen to Slinter" vote. His advice on hardening off is excellent.

[Turkey]

Thanks for da tips guys!! Will do!

[thepodpiper]

If I would have known that we were having a vote on who's methods of hardening off were excellent I would have kept mine to myself. I was merely sharing my methods because someone asked. I do not have the time to move 450 plants around all day long and i did not here any of them complain once. I have not lost a single plant.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o65/thepodpiper/hardeningoff005.jpg

Dale

[Pam]

If I would have known that we were having a vote on who's methods of hardening off were excellent I would have kept mine to myself. I was merely sharing my methods because someone asked. I do not have the time to move 450 plants around all day long and i did not here any of them complain once. I have not lost a single plant.
Dale

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to denigrate your method of hardening off plants, I just thought slinter's was a good, detailed, step by step method of hardening off plants with exact times and increments of increased sun exposure that would be less confusing for a newbie.

I work, so I don't have time to do it slinter's way, either; but I have a front porch that gets filtered sun at one end and full sun at the other. I just slowly move mine along the porch until they're ready to go in the yard. Works beautifully but unless a newbie has a porch like mine, it's pretty useless to offer it up as a reliable method of hardening off plants.

[Turkey]

Ok Thanks everybody for the awesome advice its been 2 days with da fan treatment and sun exposure and Ive noticed that they dont shake much no more under "Low" in da fan..! Thanks ill post updates!