In practice what invariably happens is this: on the first day you follow the instructions to the letter. On the second day you put them outside and forget about them. In the morning you think "Oh s**t, I wonder if my seedlings are all dead!", but find they seem to be fine (or possibly eaten by a cat) and then you plant them out whenever it's convenient.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
When you raise plants from seeds or cuttings indoors they tend to grow rather soft and sappy. Standard gardening advice is that you should not plant such seedlings directly outside but should "harden them off" first. In theory, this involves setting the plants outside on a warm sunny day for around an hour, then bringing them back indoors. The next warm day you may set them out for a couple of hours, but be sure to bring them back in before night. In subsequent days, leave them out for longer and longer periods until they are toughened up enough to plant out.