Into the Ground

Getting garden vegetable plants from pot to garden

Small apples are on the trees, irises are in full bloom, trees have for the most part leafed out, and most importantly, we have just had blackberry winter. What is blackberry winter? Well, here in the Ozarks, when the blackberries are in bloom, we get our last patch of cold weather and after that, it’s time to plant the main garden plants like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and pole beans.

Preparing Tomatoes and other transplants for Planting in the Garden

To prepare the transplants I planted over the winter, I first have to “harden the plants off”. Hardening off the plants is the preparing the plants to go outside.

How to Harden Off Plants

You see, plants can’t handle direct sunlight. They have to ease into the sun just like we have to tan to prevent sunburn. To prepare the plants, we have to put the plants outdoors for short periods and gradually increase that time until the plants are no longer negatively affected by all-day sunlight. During this time we have to ensure that the plants have plenty of water, much more than we might otherwise have done before introducing the plants to sunlight. On hot, sunny days, the plants are especially vulnerable.