Hardening Off questions

[Leslie]

This is the first year I've started seeds indoor and mostly they're doing well. I would like to start hardening them off soon since the weather is so nice and looks like it will stay that way. Even though I'm in zone 5, it's been getting down to only about 40 at night and in the day it's been averaging a high of 68-75. This week is expected to get to 80. In another thread someone said definitely don't start hardening off in zone 5 yet, but with these temperatures is there any reason not to? Maybe I'm just too excited to get these little guys outside! :-)

TIA, Leslie, zone 5 in the deserts of Eastern WA

[Sue]

HI Leslie,

"Zone 5" only describes annual minimum/maximum temps, it doesn't accurately describe what the weather is doing RIGHT NOW. I'm in Zone 5, but in Western Maine, my overnights are still dipping into 20's and daytimes in high 40's. I haven't even STARTED seeds yet!!!!

If I had the weather conditions you describe, I would be "hardening off", but probably not leaving things out overnight.

There is no reason you shouldn't TRY using your own good judgment.

Sue Western Maine definitely 'frosty'

[Bill Bolle]

I'm in zone 6 and I have started hardening off my plants. I put them out in a semi wind sheltered area around 9:00 AM, when the temperature gets above 50 degrees, and then bring them back into the garage around

6:00 PM. The night time temperatures are still dropping into the 30's and 40's so I will not leave the plants out at night. When the temps are consistently above 50 degrees I'll leave them out all night or plant them into their permanent spots. I'm primarily talking about tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, the potatoes, cabbage and onions are already in place and doing great. Bill

[Cereus-validus]

You just might be getting too excited if you are constantly hardening off!!!

Find out when is the last frost date in your area. Don't be fooled by a few premature warm days. Another cold snap could kill off much of what you move outdoors if you do it too early.

[Leslie]

Thanks for the quick responses! I'm going to start moving them out for short periods of time and see how it goes. It's a little after 10:00am now and 60 degrees. Gorgeous! Now I'm heading back out.

Leslie zone 5, Eastern WA

[simy1]

It depends on what you are hardening. My spinach and hardy lettuce are already planted outside for example (Zone 5.5). After this weekend, with an expected frost, I will transplant collard and cardoon as well. A few days of hardening, and they will be able to take light frosts without damage. In general, cold hardy seedlings will do nicely with temperatures of 50F, and tomatoes etc. with temperatures of 60+. My guess is that regular (not cold hardy) lettuce will do OK as long as the lows are at 40 or above. It is recommended that tomatoes and other warm weather veggies never be exposed to temperatures below 50. So go ahead and take them out, and set yourself up so you can bring them in quickly.

[Beecrofter]

If you don't mind hauling things in and out for a few hours in the day time go for it. Remember you harden off because the plants have not been exposed to UV from the sun and wind. So put them in dappled shade and out of the wind and don't let them dry out badly. Don't trust the weatherman.

[gregpresley]

Hi Leslie, I'm in Spokane, and our weather has been unusually gorgeous. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. We HAVE had snow the first week of May before. There are many seeds that are perfectly safe to plant outdoors now - annuals like poppies and bachelor buttons, cold hardy vegetables like lettuce, collards, peas, etc. If you have tomato seedlings and the like, I think this is too early to harden them off in our climate. (You might be warmer than we are, but still only a few weeks ahead in terms of last frost date). The problem is that, even if you are in the tri-cities or the like, tomatoes really shouldn't go into the garden until maybe the week before Memorial Day - they can be set back by the sort of cool showery spell we very often get in spring, where the high temp might be only 45 for a week, and the low

[Sed5555]

See:

[Leslie]

Excellent resource. Thanks!

Leslie