Maximum Yield Australia/New Zealand March/April 2021 | Page 45

Sowing your seeds indoors offers many benefits . The first is it allows you to start your growing season much earlier . You will find you can fit in more grow cycles per season while also growing long-season crops such as tomatoes , broccoli , peppers , and kale in short-season climates . If the natural climate where you live is unpredictable , seeds sown directly outdoors may struggle to survive and are at the mercy of weather changes . If you started them off under controlled conditions indoors , however , then you should find they will be strong enough to tolerate some environmental fluctuations when you transfer them to an outside garden . If you sow your seeds indoors early in the season , it allows you to be more selective with the seedlings you decide to take through to harvest . You can plant many seeds and then wait to identify the strongest , healthiest looking contenders for transplant outdoors . Doing this will hopefully increase your chances of success and high yields . This method doesn ’ t suit all types of plants , and some seeds are better sown directly outdoors including pumpkins , cucumbers , squash , and watermelon . Root vegetables like carrots and beets do not like having their roots disturbed and are resistant to transplanting . Plants with long taproots like parsley and dill are also not suitable for transplant , so always check before you sow . So once you have started your seeds off indoors , what ’ s the next step ? And how do you move them outdoors successfully ?

When first introducing your plants to the outdoors , you should thoroughly water them to prevent them from drying out .”

HARDENING OFF INDOOR SEEDLINGS
Inexperienced gardeners often find themselves disillusioned when the seedlings they have lovingly nurtured inside for weeks deteriorate very quickly on introduction to an outside environment . Successful transitioning of seeds from indoors to outdoors relies on the process of hardening off , which is where your seedlings are toughened up gradually to their new climate before they are fully transplanted . To harden off any annual plants , including vegetables or flowers you would plant in spring , there are a few steps that you should follow . Firstly , move your seedlings somewhere outside that is shaded from the sun and sheltered from the wind . You need to do this for increasing periods each day . Your plants will be weak and prone to breakage at this point as they will not have been exposed to the wind yet . Increase the exposure time by an hour or two a day until your plants can withstand outdoor conditions for a full day . If your seedlings begin to wilt at any stage of the acclimation process , move them back to a shadier spot or indoors if this happens very early on . When first introducing your plants to the outdoors , you should thoroughly water them to prevent them from drying out . As they spend increasing amounts of time outside , you should reduce watering until you leave the soil damp only .
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