By teaching you how to connect deeply with nature, The Dallas Garden School helps you unlock your full potential. Callie is the foremost gardening expert and educator in North Texas and a gardening columnist for D Magazine. Based in Dallas, Texas.
Seedling Hardening-Off Cheat Sheet [PDF]
Once your fall seedlings are ready to go into the garden, you'll need to harden them off by gradually exposing them to outside elements. It can be a bit confusing, so I created a printable guide for you for both winter and summer seed-starting.
Click here to download and print the quick guide: Hardening Off Cheat Sheet DGS.pdf
Hardening Off FAQ:
What if I miss a day? Do I have to go back to the beginning?
If you need to pause the hardening off process just put them in the safest location and then resume hardening at the point in the process where you left off. If you just started hardening, keep them in shade. If you're in the middle or toward the end of the process, just keep them under shadecloth. That's why I love shadecloth so much for this process. It gives you lots of flexibility.
Does it have to be 8 days?
Eight days is the minimum time you should allot for hardening off your seedlings. A longer period of hardening is ideal. If I have the time and the space to hold them, I will often take up to 2 weeks to harden off my seedlings. That gives me a lot more flexibility.
When do I know when it's time to start hardening them off?
Watch this video I made!
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The Dallas Garden School
By teaching you how to connect deeply with nature, The Dallas Garden School helps you unlock your full potential. Callie is the foremost gardening expert and educator in North Texas and a gardening columnist for D Magazine. Based in Dallas, Texas.
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