How to Harden Off Plants

It's time to start moving your pampered seedlings outdoors. These seedlings are used to all the luxuries of life under lights or in a greenhouse: warmth, controlled light, regular water and feeding. As we've all had to learn, life on the outside isn't that pampered. To avoid sending your seedlings into transplant shock, you need to acclimate them slowly to the harsh realities of garden life by hardening them off. It only takes a few weeks, but it will keep your plants growing happy, rather than stunting them with a sudden chill.

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