It seems like last year I lost about half of my vegetable transplants I grew from seed shortly after I planted them. How do I keep that from happening this year? PS

We are getting very close to being able to plant our summer vegetable crops, but it’s not quite time yet. Our average last freeze date is April 15^th, so we always recommend waiting until at least that date before planting. And really, there’s no need to hurry. As of the writing of this article soil temperatures are in the 50s. At this temperature, most summer vegetables will just sit there waiting for the soil to warm up if you went ahead and planted so, it’s best to just wait until the time is right. Soil temperatures of 60 degrees or more are more appropriate. You can check area soil temperature at www.mesonet.org.

However, there is something you can do while waiting that will hopefully increase your success rate with the transplants you grew. It’s something we call “hardening off” your transplants.

Hardening off is a process of gradually getting your transplants used to the outdoors rather than just planting and hoping for the best. Remember, they have been raised in very nice, safe environment and moving them directly to the garden can leave them in shock if they are not prepared.

You can begin to harden off your plants now indoors by placing a small rotating fan on a low speed to gently blow on your transplants. This gentle wind will actually help your transplants to get a little tougher.

In addition to wind, your plants are going to need to get used to direct sun. Oftentimes when vegetable transplants move directly from indoors to outdoors, the direct sun will cause them to wilt and possibly die. We work against this by gradually introducing your plants to the sun.

You can start by placing them outdoors in a slightly shaded location for about an hour and then bringing them back indoors. Over a period of a week or more, gradually increase the amount of sun they receive, and you’ll be amazed how much better they will do when you plant them in your garden. If it happens to get hot on one of those days, keep an eye on them. You’ll be able to tell pretty quickly when they have had enough.

And remember, with this time outdoors in the hardening off process, they will likely need more water than you have been giving them. Just keep an eye on their soil moisture.

You’ve spent a good amount of time growing these little ones in preparation for the growing season, this little bit of extra effort will help not only increase their chance of survival but give you healthier and more robust transplants as well. Good luck.

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701 or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo - OSU Ag. Communications