Sounds complex doesn’t it? Well I thought the term sounded highly technical and complicated for some reason, however in reality actually learning how to harden off seedlings wasn’t difficult at all.

This year I have applied myself to a successful year of gardening, and although I was a bit ‘lazy boots’ rather than Daisy Boots last year, it’s now all in order!

Growing From Seed

You are probably wondering what this has to do with knowing how to harden off seedlings. Well last year I cheated a little by buying young plants from the garden centre, but this year I have grown all my plants from seed. So my success with seed germination required a little knowledge about how to plant the seedlings outside without the loss of any of my beloved plants.
So, I had to learn how to harden off seedlings.

Pampered Seeds

All of my seeds have been well and truly pampered! All have been grown in a greenhouse in EPS seed trays which has provided them with more insulation than other alternative seed trays. I would certainly say my seed growing exploits have – all in all – been very successful.

I have grown from seed;

• Beetroot
• Lettuce
• Sweetcorn
• Roma Tomatoes
• Baby tomatoes
• Peppers

3 Steps To Harden Off Seedlings

I’ll begin with what I found out this year, and most importantly what worked for me.

• Step One – Are Your Seedlings Pampered?

If like me you have kept your seedlings nice and warm and protected from the harsh weather, be it the bright sun, excessive rain or strong wind then you will need to ‘harden off’ those seedlings.

• Step Two – Understand what ‘harden off’ means.

To ‘harden off’ literally means to acclimatise seedlings gradually to new outdoor conditions, this includes not just cooler weather but also the harsh sunlight.

• Step Three – Hardening off Seedlings

To harden off seedlings will take anywhere between 7 to approximately 10 days. Make sure all frosts have passed otherwise the change may be too extreme.

Begin with putting the seedlings out for a couple of hours in the garden during the day in the shadier parts initially to avoid the harsh sunlight.

After a couple of days you will be able to put them out for a little longer each day and also start exposing them to more and more direct sunlight. You will soon notice the plants start to go a darker shade of green as you successfully harden them off.

NOTE: If you have a greenhouse you may want to begin this process by opening the door for a couple of hours each day and cooling down the green house first.

My Experience with Hardening off Seedlings

I found the process very simple and straightforward and it prevented the loss of my precious seedlings! The seedlings did indeed change to a darker shade of green over that short period of time and sure enough all of my seedlings have all been planted out into the raised bed and they are thriving.