Hardening off seedlings, sink or swim

[Toddz]

A few years ago I started hardening off my seedlings by bringing them out and putting them under a slightly opaque cover that's used for protecting shrubs through the winter. Then I just leave them out for good and then after about a week, week and a half, I remove the cover. While inside this little cold frame that sits on cement, the only thing I do is keep them moist. They endure temperatures as low as 35°F at night and during the day if it got above 60°F I would vent it for a while.

It has worked for me but keep in mind that this is not scientific but anecdotal evidence. Also it's not standard practice and I don't recommend it for beginning seed starters.

I may be just getting lucky but I was wondering if anyone else uses this or something similar to harden off their seedlings? I heard about it on a Joe Gardener podcast.

 

[Meadowlark]

I have an old windshield that came off a golf-cart that serves the same purpose.

However, over the years I do less and less transplanting and just direct seed in the garden. Tomatoes will always need transplanting here to help beat the heat, but the growing season is long enough for just about everything else. This year, for example, I direct seeded my pepper plants from last year's peppers, and they seem to be doing fine. Much easier.

 

[Toddz]

I have an old windshield that came off a golf-cart that serves the same purpose.

However, over the years I do less and less transplanting and just direct seed in the garden. Tomatoes will always need transplanting here to help beat the heat, but the growing season is long enough for just about everything else. This year, for example, I direct seeded my pepper plants from last year's peppers, and they seem to be doing fine. Much easier.

I lived in Arlington TX for 9 years and I wish I had the growing season that you have. However we have a pretty long growing season as it is but we definitely can't direct seed peppers.

Last year our winter was so warm that we had volunteer lettuce seedlings and our petunias self seeded. We also had volunteer cantaloupe. These things have never happened to me since I started gardening 43 years ago.

I don't miss the heat though. I remember my steering wheel being so hot that I couldn't touch it. I drove a semi delivering deer and cattle etc fence all over TX and some of places I went, didn't have any civilization around it lol.

I have had success with my sink or swim hardening off method and though it is only anecdotal evidence, I find the recommended way a waste of time and very laborious. Especially when you have 28 individual trays like I do.

 

[Meadowlark]

... some of places I went, didn't have any civilization around it lol.

That would be us here in the Big Thicket. My nearest neighbor lives on land I sold him and no one else within miles.

I noticed recently that Lowes was selling corn seedlings this year. At first, I thought what a waste, but as I think about it more it may have an application.

Garden corn really needs to germinate at the same time...so as to pollenate at the right time. Cold fronts and weather disruptions often get my corn out of kelter on simultaneous germination. Also, the direction the seed is planted will affect germination time also. So, if all those seedlings are germinated at the same time...and they appeared to be same size...that might be a plus for small space gardeners to grow corn in squares. Might try that experiment next year just for fun. Anyone tried it?

 

[Eeilee]

I do something very similar. I have way too many little green friends to be bringing them in and out every day. I live in Oregon and it’s bi-polar at this time of year.
I bring them out into an unheated greenhouse and open the door and the top vent during the day and close the door at night.
They survive. I put them in the ground or in grow bags the first week of May

 

[Toddz]

That would be us here in the Big Thicket. My nearest neighbor lives on land I sold him and no one else within miles.

I noticed recently that Lowes was selling corn seedlings this year. At first, I thought what a waste, but as I think about it more it may have an application.

Garden corn really needs to germinate at the same time...so as to pollenate at the right time. Cold fronts and weather disruptions often get my corn out of kelter on simultaneous germination. Also, the direction the seed is planted will affect germination time also. So, if all those seedlings are germinated at the same time...and they appeared to be same size...that might be a plus for small space gardeners to grow corn in squares. Might try that experiment next year just for fun. Anyone tried it?

I have seen green bean, Swiss chard and beet seedlings for sale at Lowes too.

The problem we have with sweet corn in central Indiana is making sure that it's far enough away from field corn so they won't cross pollinate. We plant open pollinated sweet corn and crossing with sweet corn is a disaster for me. Thankfully we only have 1 field to worry about and it belongs to my dad and he plants beans or wheat in the field.

I'm trying "new mama" and "who gets kissed" sweet corn this year. We will stagger the planting so the two don't cross.

 

[Toddz]

I do something very similar. I have way too many little green friends to be bringing them in and out every day. I live in Oregon and it’s bi-polar at this time of year.
I bring them out into an unheated greenhouse and open the door and the top vent during the day and close the door at night.
They survive. I put them in the ground or in grow bags the first week of May

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only person doing this.

I use the jiffy 12 cell dome trays and they are a pain the butt to have to move everyday. I use the 72 cell trays for my flowers.

I don't understand why this is not more popular.

 

[Meadowlark]

.... We will stagger the planting so the two don't cross.

I do my corn that way, i.e. stagger plant so as to have continuous supply of fresh sweet corn most of the summer. I make three plantings staggered of Honey select triple sweet in 4 rows each planting about 25 ft. My third planting is in the ground now.

 

[Mr_Yan]

I'm on the second day of my hardening off by carrying back and forth but this is only two trays of onions right now. But it's April in Michigan so the weather is all over the map. Last Saturday it was 80 F and sunny and then we had snow on the ground again Monday.

In a few weeks I'll harden off my tomatoes and peppers.

I use a utility type wagon for this. Load the trays on the wagon and wheel it outside for the day and back into the garage overnight.

 

[Toddz]

I'm on the second day of my hardening off by carrying back and forth but this is only two trays of onions right now. But it's April in Michigan so the weather is all over the map. Last Saturday it was 80 F and sunny and then we had snow on the ground again Monday.

In a few weeks I'll harden off my tomatoes and peppers.

I use a utility type wagon for this. Load the trays on the wagon and wheel it outside for the day and back into the garage overnight.

My setup is in the basement and it's a pain in the butt. So that is why I do the sink or swim.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Yeah, some of mine are in the basement and some are in the living room. Once it warms up a little I'll have them in the garage. I start a lot of things (nearly everything) in soil-blocks in trays and transplant out as I crop out something from the garden.