Tips to Transition Plants Outdoors

[TheKieftan]

I’m just curious how everyone hardens their plants to outdoor conditions the size of the plant you like to transition at and recommended night low to wait for from research I know about hardening off and trying to gradually match the day night timing but I’m wondering if there’s any advice you old timers can give me that I can’t find online I don’t want to have my babies die because of inexperience

[SoOrbudgal]

Well there's many folks that will give you an answer as you will see. I just take my plants once they are big enough transplant into 1 gal plastic and set them outdoors on a porch all day, then bring back in at night. Mine will be about 2 months old before i set them out ( photos ) then i have a hippie greenhouse no heat just shelves. I'll do my transplanting inside there to there 15gal. plastic nursery pots with dozen holes drilled into them. Transition to outdoors takes me about a week. For me it's all about the length of daylight heck they can be younger it's just the light i need in the area i grow. I'm surround by 80-100 yr. old firs and sun needs to be high in the sky. I have to move them around come Sept.

Autos i don't worry abit about them they sit on a flat roof on 4x4 posts. Pic 1 is May of last year i was too early and they went into flower bad bad news. 2nd pic are autos on my roof it's hot up there. They loved it sun all early morning till sundown

[PeterMatanzas]

I have a screened in patio. Plants get moved into patio shade (and sheltered from wind) for half a day for 3 days, then shade all day for 4 days, making it a week under shade only. Then plants are moved into patio sun.

[PeterMatanzas]

Size for transition - at least 12"

[Rwise]

After last years starts all flowered as soon as they went outside, I am planting seed in the ground!

[SoOrbudgal]

Really Rwise are they in now? When do you start seed in ground outdoors?

[Rwise]

SoOrbudgal Most years I cant start until after 4/15 to be safe from frosts, this is not one of those years! I have sprouts on 3/31, and all are in the ground now!

[TheKieftan]

Hmmm never even considered starting outside mostly because I had so few seeds before I needed to baby every one I might try this next year now that I have a decent amount it would make my life significantly easier

[CaptainWiese91]

All my outdoor plants are germinated under the sun and spend their lives from day 1 outside. No transition from tent inside to outside.
I fill the pots, sow the seeds and put the pots outside from that day.
But I have a quite good climate.

[SoOrbudgal]

Well we are experiencing great spring weather no doubt in So.Oregon but i'm still very leary. I'm really spooked from putting them out too soon like last summer damn don't want to deal with reveg again. I'm keeping clones under 18/6 & 20/4 for as long as my tents have headspace LOL.

[TheKieftan]

Yeah better too late than too soon too late you just get a little less harvest maybe too soon you’re lucky if you get any harvest

[DeadlyFruit]

In the Toronto area it is at least another month or more before I’ll trust seeds in the ground so I am getting ready to drop seeds in my indoor room for now. As a rule we typically do planting aim the area on the May 24 long weekend. I am waiting for a set of 7 gallon air pots so the transplant will be easier than my normal cloth bags, so they have a stage between cups and straight outside.

[SoOrbudgal]

Oh me too DeadlyFruit I got raised beds helps alittle for warmth but need that sun high in the sky at our house. Price i pay for living in a forest LOL

[DeadlyFruit]

Oh me too DeadlyFruit I got raised beds helps alittle for warmth but need that sun high in the sky at our house. Price i pay for living in a forest LOL

i wouldn’t trade away that forest of yours for anything - your pics showing some of your yard look beautiful. With that said forests are definitely a challenge to grow in. We have a family cottage in northern Ontario where I grew up and between the shade, the clay, the pine needles, and the hungry critters, trying to grow stuff is darn near impossible unless you have those raised beds set on the bank above the beach.