If you are like me, you've been spending the last few months dreaming of this year's garden. You've put a plan together for what you want to grow and know the best time to put your plants out in the garden. You've started seeds inside and have been growing them under grow lights or by a sunny southern window. You've tended to your baby plants and they are growing great.

You are a proud parent and your thumbs couldn't be greener!

But now, as it gets closer to the time to put your little teenagers out into the garden, you're thinking about getting them into the garden (and dreaming of getting your living room back, or is that just me?).

Anyway, you still need to do a little more planning to ensure that their transition from inside your climate controlled and loving house to the big, bad world is smooth and successful.  You need to harden off your seedlings with a little tough love before you pack them up and send them on their way.

Hardening Off Seedlings

The first year I started seeds inside, on the first nice day we had in April, I put the seedlings outside for an entire day. When I (finally) brought them back inside for the night, I was horrified. Most of the plant's leaves had turned white and were curled.  The plants looked terrible! My poor little seedlings had gotten a wicked sunburn and, while they eventually recovered (after many weeks), it definitely was not good for them.

If I had really thought about it, I would have realized that I needed to introduce my seedlings to the harsh world gradually. And that's exactly what hardening off seedlings is!

Introducing Your Plants to the World Gradually

So, in very basic terms, you want to build up your seedlings tolerance to the elements (mostly sun and wind). Start small and build up their stamina so that they can withstand being outside all day and night.

To get started, pop them outside for an hour of shade and then bring them back inside. Then put them outside for 1 hour in full sun the next day. Then an hour of full sun with an hour in the shade the following day. Then 2 hours of full sun and 2 hours in the shade the next day, and 3 hours the next.  And on and on until they are ready to live outside full time.

While it's kind of a pain to schlep your plants outside and then back inside every day, it is totally worth it.  It takes a bit of time and planning (not to mention the wear and tear on your back), but your plants will be healthier and will be as ready as possible for planting them in your garden in the next few weeks. You'll be giving them the best start possible!

Here's what my seedling hardening off set up looks like today ...  Nothing fancy, but it works!

The first year that I started seeds indoors, I just used good old natural light.. you know... a window.

BIG MISTAKE!

No matter what anyone says, you definitely need something stronger than even the sunniest southern facing window to successfully start seeds.

MUCH MUCH STRONGER!

My first growing system set up

So, the next year I bought a small, 2 shelf growing stand. It looked just like this one that I found on Amazon>>

I don't know brand it was (it has long since been disassembled here and the only things I still use are the trays!). It was used and I bought it on eBay. I think the seller said it came from an estate sale and I definitely spent well under $100 for it.

Sadly, it didn't have high output bulbs (and I didn't realize at the time just how much high output bulbs are needed).  It did work better than the window (anything would work better than that!), but it still wasn't that great.  Seeds grew, but they were still rather spindly. I'm pretty sure that it was due to the bulbs.

The new systems like this all seem to come with high output bulbs so I still think that this is a good starter system. But, for me, this little shelf system quickly became WAAAAY too small... I needed more shelves and more space.

1. A 48" x 18" x72" Commercial Steel Shelving Rack from Costco: We have tons of these shelving racks in our house, in the garage, and in our studio. They are fantastic and we use them for all sorts of things. The racks come with 6 adjustable shelves and the whole thing is on wheels, so it's easy to move around if needed. They are 4 feet wide, so standard 4 foot light fixtures fit perfectly on each shelf and they are deep enough for most of my trays.
   
   They hold something like 500 pounds, so I can really get a lot of large plants and pots on the shelves if needed, and since we have so many sets of these racks, we almost always have an extra shelf around that I can add to my grow rack if I decide to start more seeds.
   
   
2. High Output T5 Growing Lights bought on Amazon: 
   
   I have these in both 4 foot and 2 foot lengths (I bought a 2 ft. one accidentally and it was cheaper to buy a second 2 ft. light (rather than to send the first one back). Together they fit a 4 ft. shelf):
   
   And I also have these lights in 4 foot length (I prefer these over the others because the light part is a bit shorter and I can get them closer to the top of the shelf I hang them from)
   
3. Trays 
   We bought a bunch of used pizza dough trays on eBay and they are the trays I prefer to use for seeds and seedlings.  They aren't cheap, but they are incredibly strong and durable. They really should last me a lifetime (if I can remember to not leave them outside!)
   
   You can also purchase dough trays like this on Amazon.com >>
   
   
   I use just about anything else I can find for trays too. I have flimsy, plastic seed trays purchased from garden centers (I don't buy these anymore -- they are just too flimsy and only last a few years). I use old cake pans. I also use plastic trays that our local grocery used to sell hamburger in (sadly they no longer use these trays, but I have a bunch of them and they are great!). Really, anything can work!

All in all, my indoor seed starting set up may not be pretty, but it's big, it's functional, and it works really well!

ps ... I also have a homemade incubator and seed germination chamber that I will write about soon. It's built from a huge, old cooler, a lightbulb, fan, and a temperature controlled electric switch.

We've got Pine Siskins coming out of our ears here lately! They seem to be everywhere you look and are monopolizing our thistle sock feeders. We've had Pine Siskins here before, but never in the numbers we are seeing this year.

I feel so bad for our little Goldfinches - the Pine Siskins are outnumbering them greatly and seem to chase them from the feeders. I always thought that Pine Siskins and Gold Finches pretty much got along (after all, they are both members of the finch family), but this year there seems to be some serious discrimination happening and the Pine Siskins appear to have the upper hand.

But, once the Pine Siskins decide to start to head north for the summer, I'm sure my beloved Goldfinches will have full reign of the thistle feeders once again.

Meet Spinus Pinus

A member of the finch family, Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) can be found throughout the US in the winter, but usually head north to Canada to breed. Pine Siskins are small birds with light brown streaks and bright yellow and black edges on their wings and tails. They usually travel in flocks and prefer woodlands and open conifer forests.

Here are a few photos from our thistle feeders...