Reader Jan sent in the following question. I thought it might be an issue a few of you have faced, so I figured I’d address it here and maybe help a few extra readers out who share her situation! Here’s what she asked:
Mavis,
I just tried transplanting seedlings for the first time. I thought I was doing everything right, but I think I killed every last one. Is there any way to heal them or are they gone for good? And what did I do wrong?! Help!
Novice Gardener & Devout Reader,
Jan
When your seedlings are transplanted and they stop growing or begin to wilt and die, it can be due to what some call transplant shock. It’s happened to me before and it’s just what the name implies. Their little roots are shocked by the move. Sometimes, the plants are goners, BUT there is a lot of hope. They can most often be brought back from the brink!! Usually plants just need a wee bit of time to recover.
This requires a few things: First, patience. They might not spring back overnight. Next, keep them out of direct light {cover with an inverted pot if necessary} even after they droop. Make sure they have proper water and fertilizer, too. But the biggest thing here is prevention. How can you prevent this from happening? Easy peasy. It’s a process called hardening off.
One of the biggest mistakes newbies make when it comes to starting their plants from seeds is to just throw them out into the garden without hardening them off first. Hardening off plants is basically SLOWLY getting them used to the outdoors. Plants started indoors have only known the minutely variable climate of the indoors. They have probably had the luxury of a steady grow light, and have not had to withstand the afternoon sun, wind, or fluctuations in the temperature. Hardening off is basically introducing them to the outdoor variables slowly, so that when it is finally time to plant, they have toughened up a bit.
How long you harden off your plants really depends on your location. I usually harden mine off for about seven days, but here in the Seattle area, the weather is mild. In areas with significantly cooler morning or nighttime temperatures, you may want to shoot for longer…say, like two weeks.
To start the hardening off process, scale back on watering, and stop fertilizing all together. Set the seedlings outside in the shade for a couple of hours and bring them in at night. Each day, increase how long you leave them outdoors and how much direct sunlight they are exposed to. After several days {again, depending on how long you plan to stretch out the process}, leave the plants outside all night. For me, this is around day seven. Make sure to check nighttime temperatures, just to be safe. If the nighttime temperatures are still too cold, it will be too early to plant your seedlings anyway.
Once your seedlings have spent a couple of lonely nights outdoors, you can go ahead and transplant them into the garden beds. Make sure to water them in well. You can also start back up on your fertilizer routine once they are transplanted.
Hardening them off is basically like a little insurance policy for your time and effort.
Hope that helps, Jan!
~Mavis
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