Hardening off is a process that helps plants adjust to the outdoor environment, preventing shock and ensuring they thrive once planted in the garden. Gradual exposure helps the plants acclimate to the conditions they will experience out in the garden or in their containers on your porch before you put them out there.

Today on Just Grow Something we’ll go over the exact steps we need to take to harden off our plants prior to putting them out into the garden. This includes whether you’re growing them yourselves or if you’ve just brought them home from the nursery, garden center, or farmers market. Following these steps and displaying some patience will prevent the heartache of putting those plants out and having them fail. We’ll also talk about how to recover if your plants begin display signs of stress after they are already in their permanent home. Let’s dig in.

Question of the Month:

: “What is your biggest pest in the garden and how do you

References and Resources:

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Effects of hardening off on Growth, Yield and Quality of some Pepper (Capsicum annuum) Cultivars | Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development (gjstd.org)

Influence of Different Methods of Hardening-Off Of Tomato Seedlings on ReEstablishment and Subsequent Growth

A COMPARISON OF CHEMICAL CHANGES IN PLANTS DURING COLD-HARDENING IN CONTROLLED AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS (cdnsciencepub.com)

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