advice for seedlings in full sun?

[wh1t3w1dow1]

i've got some seeds germinating indoors under CFL's but due to space restraints and other reasons i need to move them outdoors basically immediately after they sprout. i am just wondering if they will tolerate full sun OK? i'm in SoCal where the overnight lows are in the 50's plus and daytime highs hang around in the 70's although the sun is strong. not sure if those rays will fry my plants or if they will adapt quickly? if it got really hot i could move them under a tree in the midday sun. i've also built a hardware cloth cage so birds and rodents shouldnt be a problem.

any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[_tessarecting]

I put mine out under [shitty home depot] 6 mil 10 days ago with 9-10 hours direct light with 0 issues.

You could set up a layer of plastic and/or shade cloth on some bamboo stakes and peel back for like a week if youre worried about it.

 

[amanda88]

I do the same and leave a temp gauge close by,

I like to bring the trays in when it cools down to far

cheers

 

[sacramental]

Yep, i have a good week of cool weather so I have the same plan. I bought some 50% shade cloth. Try and give them some filtered light for a week or so and they should be fine.

 

[corky1968]

Put them in the shade for a few days to adjust to outdoor conditions.

Even in the shade there's a lot more light than some people think.
The plants also have to get used to the lower humidity and placing
an indoor plant in the full sun will cause it a lot of stress.

Each day, expose it to more and more full sun and I bet after a week it's party time.

I'm sure you've all seen nice flowers put outdoors that wilt in a day. That's why.

Plants don't sunburn. They just die.

 

[MicroRoy]

I put mine out where they get just morning sun when they first go out. Then move them over time into more and more sun.

Just to avoid sun scald. AKA sun burn.

 

[_tessarecting]

They definitely bleach / turn away from the sun before just dying.

 

[theJointedOne]

Listen to corky

 

[bombadil.360]

I used to plant directly into the soil outdoors in full sun and the seedlings loved it. The biggest problems were some birds that love to eat the sprouts.

If the plants you are growing lack vigour or can't take full sun from the start, I'd not even bother with those seeds.

Edit: you of course need good medium to plant them in and water at night enough so that through out the day the soil remains sufficiently moist.

They'll fry if the medium is allowed to dry or if you water while the sun is out. It will heat the water too much and damage the young roots. Also mulch.

 

[FoothillFarming]

I agree with Bombadil, fresh seedlings don't really need to be hardened off. Also, even 2ft plants coming from indoors, to my greenhouse, doesn't need to be hardened off either. However, I would advice hardening off to be safe.

As for animals, and temperatures, sometimes if you don't have 1000 seeds, you can cut the bottom of two liter bottles off, and use them over your seeds. Acts as a little greenhouse, keeping bugs and animals away.

Good luck.

 

[Top_shelf_farms]

No need to transition them if they haven't even pushed above ground. You'll be fine.

 

[plantingplants]

lol I love the contrast in the responses you got, wh1t3. I'm grateful you asked this because I'm in the same boat except they're 1-3 days above soil. It's cloudy and cool out here for the next 3 days so I'll let you know how it goes.

I read that hardening off is to create enough roots for the plant to be able to transpire quickly enough to deal with direct sun? Doesn't make sense anymore if fresh seedlings can handle it. Or maybe it's a surface area thing... like dropping an ant off a building, seedlings don't have enough mass for the sun to cool?

 

[stoned-trout]

mine are doing fine in so cal sun...I generally give them a day or 2 to adjust then its fine....yeehaw..got some going now

 

[stonedbuddha]

I put my girls out in July when we were having some 80-90 degree temps last summer and I put em in a shaded area for 2 days, had a couple that really showed stress and they got tossed and the best got thrown into the ground.

 

[Mendogrowing]

Full sun works great, just watch out for birds they like micro greens sometimes

 

[mendo420]