Hardening Off Edible Gardening for Beginners Ep 7

The weather is getting warmer and it's time to start moving from inside to outside. But even the healthiest seedlings can be lost overnight if you skip this step. So come along with me and I'll show you how to transition your plants gently so they don't just survive, but thrive in the garden. If you take seedlings that have spent their whole life indoors and plant them straight outside, they can die off. Not because they aren't healthy, but because they're not used to the conditions yet. That's what hardening off is. It's simply the process of helping your seedlings adjust to the outside world before they're planted. Start about a week or two before you're ready to plant outside. On the first day, place your seedlings outside in a shaded, sheltered spot for just an hour or two. It's the intense sun and strong winds that they're not used to yet. On the second day, increase that time by another hour or two. And by the third day, you can begin to introduce them to a bit of direct sunlight. From there, just keep building slowly. A little more time outside each day, a little more exposure to sun and wind and temperature changes. By the end of the week, they should be ready to stay out overnight. If frost is in the forecast, bring your plants back inside or tuck them in for the night. Temperatures are just above freezing here, so I'm leaving mine out, but covering them with a row cover to keep them protected. Some plants are a bit more cold tolerant than others, so just be mindful of what you leave outside and how cold it's getting. You'll start to notice when your plants are hardened off. Their leaves become thicker, sturdier, a deeper green, and almost leathery to the touch. Plants that aren't hardened off yet tend to have softer, thinner leaves and weaker, more wobbly stems. If you start to notice your plants looking a little droopy, bring them back inside right away. It's usually a sign that they're either too hot or too cold, but don't worry, they should bounce back. Now that your plants are hardened off and frost is behind us, you can finally plant your seedlings outside. You can sow seeds directly into the ground as well, or if you're sticking with pots, just keep putting up as your plants grow. As long as you remember the basic principles of germination and transplanting and potting up, you will be just fine. And from here on out, it's just about growing. It's just about showing up every day and paying attention and doing your best and having fun. It's not going to be perfect every time. Some things will flop, some things will surprise you, and that's kind of the whole point. You're growing food, but you're also learning how to grow food and how to show up and make mistakes and just be there every day for all of it. We are all continuing to grow our gardens together. If you've made it this far and you've been here for the whole journey, I just want to say thank you for coming along. I'm so excited for what you're growing this year. I'll see you in the next video. Now go plant something. I tried to do a somersault. It's a lot harder than it looks. I was honestly afraid to do it.