Once you have reached the point where your plants can stand to spend a whole day outside , they are ready to be exposed to a bit more sunshine . Move them into direct sunlight for two to three hours at a time . You should keep a close eye on the leaves and look for any changes . Bleached-looking spots on leaves can signal sunburn , which can be fatal for seedlings . Once your plants can withstand a full day in the sun , then you are ready to transplant them into your outdoor garden .
TRANSPLANTING TO THE OUTDOORS
If you have many seedlings to transplant , then an auger tool or garden drill is an excellent buy to save time and reduce the strain of hours spent on your knees , crouched over , digging small holes with a trowel . Augers come in different sizes , but a 7.5-centimetre one will usually suffice for everything from small annual plugs to larger vegetables . When you turn your seedlings out from their pots , be as gentle as possible to cause minimal disruption and stress to the roots . Place your hand over the surface of the pot with the seedling stem between your fingers . Flip the pot over and with your other hand give it a few firm pats until the seedling , soil , and roots come away from the pot as one entity . Think about how you would turn a sandcastle out of a bucket and you will get the idea . It would help if you had the planting hole ready to carefully slide the seedling into straight away and then cover it with your chosen growing media . Please do not press the media too firmly as this will remove essential oxygen from it . If you are using bio-degradable pots or stonewool , you can plant the seedling right into the new medium .
Once you have transplanted the seedlings , even though you have been steadily acclimatising them to the sunshine and outdoor conditions , you should still keep them shaded for the next three to five days . Shading the seedlings protects them from the threat of transplant shock which can cause your plants to wilt following transplanting . Once out in the open , the weather is the biggest threat to delicate seedlings so you should carefully plan when you are transplanting them and ensure that it is not too early in the season . If your timing is correct , but you still experience unexpected cold snaps or frost , then cover your seedlings with pots or anything you have on hand to protect them and keep them a little warmer overnight and early in the morning .
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Once out in the open , the weather is the biggest threat to delicate seedlings so you should carefully plan when you are transplanting them .”
If it suits the crops you are growing , then starting your seeds in an indoor environment will give you a jump start on your outdoor gardening endeavours . It provides your plants with the best of both worlds : a controlled start where you set them up to develop a robust root system and subsequent healthy growth foundations . Following this , when you harden them off and transplant with care to the outside natural environment , they can drink in all the elements and nutrients the garden has to offer and thrive as nature intended — resulting in more robust , healthier , and productive plants .
46 Maximum Yield