Q: I have grown a range of bedding and young vegetable plants under glass. Some of my neighbors plant theirs straight out while others insist on hardening off seedlings and plants first. Do I need to bother?
A: Hardening off seedlings and plants is the simple process of acclimate them to growing outdoors. Any young plants that have been raised indoors in a more sheltered environment such as on kitchen windowsill or in a heated greenhouse or propagator, will need to gradually get used to life outdoors before being moved to their final spot. If a plant has been grown under protection it needs time to acclimate to normal spring temperatures by gradually increasing exposure to lower temperatures and air movement.
