Tips for Hardening off Garden Plants

Garden season is here! Whether you are going to plant some early garden plants at this time, or wait until later in May, when we can start transplanting warm season plants, successfully hardening off your transplants helps them make the big transition to full sun and wind!

You'll want to transition your plants over several days to a week, depending on goals, environmental conditions and time you have to manage and plant. A week is a nice amount of time.

Don't overcomplicate it, but DO make sure you've prepped your plants some, to go in the ground, to reduce the risk of transplant shock.

Start by introducing your plants to full sun and wind.

For the first day outside water well and place out in the sun for only 1-3 hours. You could place them in a fully sunny area, then take back in after that time has passed, or place in an area that will begin to get shade after that amount of time. If you're going to be gone all day and can't tend to it, perhaps place in dappled sun. Avoid days that are excessively windy.

I have a nice space on the East side of a building where I like to set them, where they are a little protected from the wind and get shade after midday. I have a small trailer with sides I sometimes like to use, as they can get full sun, but have some wind protection; I used to roll this in and out of the garage. We also have a smaller greenhouse-ish structure that keeps plants out of the wind, but can help to acclimate to temps. Everyone's system will look different! Make sure to keep plants protected from critters, and chickens, and locate them close to water.

You can gradually increase the amount of sun each day, an hour or so a day. You can do this for a few days, or a week, until you have worked your plants up to a full day in the sun.

Add in nights.

After a few days in the sun start leaving the plants outside overnight. Make sure plants at least get a couple nights outside before transplanting. You may want to bring in the night before transplanting to give them a break before the big day. Make sure they continue to be protected from wind. (Can you tell wind is an issue here?)

Keep in mind the needs of your individual plants. Are they cool or warm season? Some plants do not want to be exposed to nights below 50, as it could stunt or alter their growth. Some plants that can take some frost in the fall do not like it in the spring.

Water as needed, but don't baby.

Water your plants as they look like they need to be watered, but you don't need to keep them damp the whole time. Hardening off means we want our plants to be hardy!

Plant those babies out!

When the day comes to transplant make sure to do it in a cool part of the day, on a day that is relatively calm. Early morning is ideal, or after the heat of the day. Water in well and keep watered well as they establish. 

Inevitably,  you may end up with some leaves that turn whiteish (sunburn), or some of the larger leaves may die. This is just par for the course. Watch for the new growth to come on!

Keeping your transplants protected from wind while they are little is helpful, some folks use cans, which can work nice, but keep an eye on them, as they can also hotbox little plants.

A couple other items that may help reduce transplant shock...using a fan with your bedding plants, prior to transplanting, can help toughen up stems, simulating wind...and don't allow plants to become too rootbound in their smaller pots. 

We'll have garden transplants at Shellee's Greenhouse, Madelia, again this year! Watch for a listing of plants - heirloom tomatoes, brassicas, jalapenos, cucumbers, celery and more. We'll have a smaller selection of items available at the farm store. Certified Organic garden transplants to nourish your garden and family!

Brooke and Leo delivering plants to Shellee!

Prepping & Planting Potatoes!

It's aaaaalmost time to set these spuds in the ground and let them work their magic. I love love love freshly dug taters for dinner! These will keep us eating good from July through to about March! 

My Potato Plans

We will be planting 40 lbs of seed potatoes, or 150' of potatoes. I have 5 lbs of Natascha (new to me, my fav is Mountain Rose, but it was out of stock), as our early variety, which we will dig and eat fresh during the summer. As our mid-season variety we have Kennebec, a standard for us, which we will dig and eat fresh during the fall; at some point digging the rest to cure for storage. Lastly we have Green Mountain, an heirloom storage variety I just love; it does well on our site (clay-loam) and stores great. We'll plant 20lbs of Green Mountain to dig and cure in the Fall, for our winter storage potatoes and for our Winter CSA customers. 

I plant the early varieties at 8" and the late variety at 10", nestled in the bottom of a 6-8" trench. After planting cover with a couple inches of soil, filling the rest of the trench in later, as the plants grow. It's nice to mulch potatoes, if you are able, as they are water hogs and love the extra moisture. While most veggies in the garden like 1" per week, potatoes like 2".

After 17 days waking up/sprouting.

Greensprouting/Chitting Potatoes

The potatoes pictured are just over halfway through the Chitting process - I chit you not this works great. ;) When our potatoes arrived just over 2 weeks ago we began to "wake them up" by bringing them into the basement (60-65°) and keeping them in complete darkness. During this time they start to put out little white sprouts (like taters that sit in your pantry too long).

After 2 weeks they were moved to the spare bedroom to sturdy up for planting. Left open, as pictured, in a space with indirect light, these shoots will begin to green up and get tougher. This get them ready for planting, sturdying up so they are less likely to break off when being handled.

Click on over to our Facebook page, check out the videos section. I have two videos from when the seed potatoes arrived from The Maine Potato Lady, and from their transition to light. I'll post another at planting time.

As you can see in the pics some sprouts are longer than others. You don't want them to get too long, but each variety may act a little different and, of course, it will depend on the temps in your house as well. If you have longer sprouts you just need to be careful when planting.

Nice sturdy little shoots.

Planting Time

After about 4 weeks in the house these guys will be itching to get in the ground (like all of us itching to get our hands in the dirt!). So, in about two weeks, when the sprouts are nice and sturdy and ground temp is around a nice 60° (no need to rush folks) we will plant them out. A good phenological sign is when the dandelions are blooming (not the ones on the South side of the house).

Do you have to greensprout them? No, certainly not, but it has worked well for me. It gives the potatoes a head start in the garden and potentially can create higher yields. I like that, as with our heavier soil, which can somewhat restrict set growth, it's nice to have an advantage.

Well that's potatoes for tonight! I'm trying to post more on facebook, and a bit here, about what we're planting, how were growing and cooking, so follow along on facebook and if there is anything you are wondering about please holler!!

Sowing Seeds

An update with what we have seeded in the greenhouse, and in the garden!

Many folks are asking about more gardening and food preservation questions - let us know what you're looking for and we'll try and walk you through what we do as the season goes on!

It's good to see all this spring green - inside and outside of the greenhouse.

Onions, lettuce, peppers, basil, pea shoots.

What's Growing in the Greenhouse

onions
celery
lettuce
peppers
tomatoes
tomatillos
ground cherries
kale
chard
herbs: sage, ashwaganda, parsley, basil, rosemary
(Items I don't grow anymore that I would have started by now - leeks, other herbs.)

Some seeds I sow into small pots, then transplant the out into
larger plugs or pots. Sage, rosemary, basil, beet greens, chard pictured.

I still have a couple rounds of pea shoots, the last seeding of microgreens and a last cutting of winter lettuce (personal) growing in the greenhouse as well.

Microgreens, celery, ground cherries, pea shoots.

More pea shoots, tomatillos, early basil, kale, parsley, many tomatoes!

Early Spring Crops

When the soil is ready to be worked, mid-late April, There are many items you can get into the ground to get the garden greening up. If you've planted garlic, or rhubarb, it's already poking up and greening your garden!

Last Sunday, April 5th I planted spinach! This is the earliest I have ever been in the field. Don't despair if you are not ready, you have plenty of time to plant. I never depend on getting in the field before April 20th, and I don't get warm season goodies (tomatoes, squash) in until the end of May. Sunday the soil was at 54° - great for spinach - I'm waiting for 60° for my peas, potatoes, onions. I usually plant onions and potatoes around May 1, but it may be earlier this year! My lettuce is ready to head outside as soon as the real cool temps (20s) pass.

As soon as you can work the soil there are many crops you can plant - cool season crops, root crops, greens. Spinach, lettuce and radishes are nice items to start with, as they have shorter seasons and you can plant another crop after them. It's good to get peas in on the early side, so you get a crop before the heat of the season comes in. Any root crops can go in early too - parsnips, carrots, beets, turnips, etc. Carrots and beets can be planted in multiple successions through July; do a late crop for storage roots.

Here's one reference for you - Minnesota Vegetable Planting Dates Chart

What I plan to seed/transplant in April - spinach (direct seed), lettuce (transplants, but can be direct seeded well), peas (direct seed), kale (transplants), chard (transplants).

I'll have some transplants at the store a little later on - stay tuned for updates. I recommend Shellee's Greenhouse, in Madelia, as a great source for garden transplants! A great small business that supports the community, we also grow organic transplants for Shellee - including heirloom tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, ground cherries, basil, cucumbers and celery.

Lettuce transplants!

Celery plants headed to Shellee's Greenhouse, Madelia.

Hundreds of tomato babies! Some for the farm,
most for Shellee's Greenhouse, Madeila.