The Big Day. Hardening Off –day one

Well….the day has finally come for the hardening off of the greenhouse crop. I have been anxiously awaiting this day for months now.

Hardening off is the term gardeners use to describe the toughening up of the bedding and garden plants before planting them outside. It is when a gardener brings them outside to acclimatize them to the outdoor temps and the sunlight conditions.

I begin slowly. I will haul all of the plants outside…and almost immediately turn around and haul them all back inside so as to avoid a sunburn.

looks different empty doesn’t it?

Yes- plants can get sunburns. It will present itself as silver coloration on the leaves…and in extreme cases…burns. When it is going to be warm enough, I will leave them out overnight.

Each day I pull everything outside…and wait a bit longer each day to bring them back inside.

By the end of this week, I should look like a little old lady…exhausted, a few pounds lighter and crippled! (ha-ha)

Each year I ask myself…”why do I do this to myself every year”…the answer is ….because it’s worth it.

I will be outside doing it all again in the morning…it takes almost and hour to bring them all outside…and an hour and a half to bring them back in.

I have beds to till up…grass to fertilize and weeds to kill tomorrow…it’s a dirty week in Tootsie’s world…good thing my kid’s teachers know I love the garden…I showed up at school to pick Busy up with a petunia bloom stuck in my ponytail today!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Tootsie
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(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.