Hardening off seedlings is a mandatory procedure that is carried out shortly before the plants are moved to the beds or greenhouses.
The number of problems that a summer resident will have to face depends on how correctly the hardening is carried out.
Anastasia Kovrizhnykh, an expert of the online publication "BelNovosti", a scientist, agronomist and landscape designer, told how to harden off seedlings of bell peppers.
Why is this necessary?
The procedure does not simply prepare young plants for life in the natural environment.
This is primarily a guarantee of the resistance of vegetable crops to possible diseases.
Of course, hardening will prepare you for temperature changes. All this is true if hardening is done correctly.
How to harden seedlings correctly
Those who open windows or put plants on the balcony are doing the wrong thing.
Professionals claim that cool air only causes stress in plants and advise to do the following.
1. First, spray the seedlings with water at a temperature of at least 22 degrees. Do this for a week.
2. Then you can lower the water temperature to 18 degrees.
3. Watering plants with water at room temperature helps a lot, which is called “root hardening”.
It is important to use a spray bottle when spraying so that the drops are minimal - there is less risk of damaging young plants.
Another condition is that the procedure must be carried out in the morning so that the moisture on the leaves dries by evening.
It is recommended to practice both methods of hardening, which will only contribute to success.
Expert: Anastasia Kovrizhnykh
