Spring 2024

Caroline Steinmetz

After dedicating ~2 months to our seedlings, we were nervous introducing them to their new home! If you don’t spend the proper amount of time allowing your plants to adjust to their new environment, you could potentially shock them. Therefore, for my first year of flower farming I did my research!

Both gradual direct and gradual indirect sunlight exposure is crucial for successful transplants!

A big takeaway from my research into the hardening off process is that it’s important to vary both direct and indirect light quantities. Start hardening off by allowing your plants to see about 15 minutes of direct sunlight and 75 minutes of indirect sunlight. Gradually increase both direct and indirect sunlight times over 7-10 days before planting!

In order to properly plan my hardening off process, I started by determining the last frost for my area and (in my case a more difficult task) a free Saturday Dan and I could dedicate to planting. Once the date was set, I made my hardening off schedule counting backwards from our planting date!