It's April and I keep thinking to myself "This weather can only be a joke". We go from 6°C & rain to 22°C & sun and back again in a week. This is not only stressful for us, but also for our plants.
But can you prepare your plants for the conditions outside? Yes, that's called hardening off!
You heard right, plants can also be hardened off. This is a common practice to increase the durability and vitality of plants.
Hardening off plants is a process in which plants that have been grown indoors or in a greenhouse are slowly acclimatized to outdoor conditions. This also applies to the plants from our GreenBox.
The purpose of this process is to make the plants more resistant to environmental influences such as temperature fluctuations, wind and sunlight.
It's a bit like taking a cold shower, having an ice bath after training or simply venturing out into the park in the first spring sunshine.
Here are some tips for hardening off plants:
- Start early: The hardening off process should begin at least one week before the planned planting out. However, depending on the type of plant and weather conditions, it may also make sense to start earlier.
- Start slowly: start by putting the plants outside for just a few hours a day and gradually increase the time. On the first day, they should only be left outside for an hour or less. Don't overtax your pups!
- Pay attention to the weather: avoid putting the plants outside in very cold or windy weather. It is also important to protect the plants from strong sunlight, for example by placing them under a tree or pergola.
- Control watering: When plants are placed outside, the soil in their pots or root ball dries out more quickly. Make sure the plants are sufficiently watered, but avoid overwatering as this can lead to root rot.
- Watch for signs of stress: Observe the plants closely and look for signs of stress, such as drooping leaves or brown spots. If you notice such signs, put the plants back indoors and reduce the time outside.
- Fertilize the plants: One week before planting out, it can be useful to fertilize the plants with a balanced fertilizer to improve their nutrient supply. To do this, simply add a capful of our GreenBox Booster to the irrigation water. This will give your plants all the nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) they need.
By following these tips and slowly acclimatizing plants to outdoor conditions, you will increase their chances of growing successfully and staying healthy outdoors.
We wish you lots of fun and success in hardening off your plants!
If you want to learn all about transplanting, check out our previous blog post on this topic!
For convenient seedling production, we also recommend our GreenBoxes - unbeatable incubators, as well as our PlantPots sets - high-quality clay pots from Germany with peat-free coconut fiber substrate for optimal results.