{"id":118,"date":"2022-04-10T05:54:31","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T05:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/?p=118"},"modified":"2022-04-10T05:54:31","modified_gmt":"2022-04-10T05:54:31","slug":"keeping-seedlings-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/2022\/04\/10\/keeping-seedlings-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Seedlings Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by Colleen Villanova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I have tried growing seedlings a few times over the years, and it usually goes VERY badly.\u00a0 Things start off very well, but then slowly but surely the plants all die.\u00a0 Sometimes the thin seedlings wouldn\u2019t even make it outside, but if they did, at most they would only last a day or two.\u00a0 Then I learned I was doing it all wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to start taking care of those seedlings BEFORE you even try to move them outside.\u00a0 Grow lights help a ton, but the plants need to be toughened up to make it.\u00a0 After they start to grow inside, put an oscillating fan near them.\u00a0 This helps the stems to thicken up and get tougher.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have a fan, then you can brush your hands on the tops of the plants every day. \u00a0To me, that seems like way too much to remember with everything else going on in life.\u00a0 So, I highly recommend just getting a fan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then you have to SLOWLY acclimate your plants to the outdoors.  Don\u2019t just put them out for half a day with the wind and full sun.  Yes, I have done that and some of the seedlings didn\u2019t make it.  You need to take BABY steps to get the plants ready for their new lives outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Colleen Villanova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first day, bring them out somewhere in the shade, and preferably when it is not crazy windy.\u00a0 The winds in New Mexico can be intense in the Spring, so it can be tricky to get this done here.\u00a0 After an hour, bring the plants back inside to the grow lights and fan.\u00a0 Make sure to keep them hydrated because the outdoor elements will usually dry them out a lot faster than living inside.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second day, bring the plants out and give them an hour of direct sun (preferably NOT at peak times \u2013 between 10am and 2pm).  After the hour, bring them back inside again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue everyday giving them an additional hour of sun and bringing them inside.  After a week or so, you can just leave them outside even overnight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you actually put them in the ground in their final home, try to do so late in the day and water them immediately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Colleen Villanova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s it.  Sure, it sounds simple, but these few extra steps make a world of difference.  This year I followed the rules, and my seedlings are doing FANTASTIC!  I planted them in the garden a little over a week ago and they are so happy.  I check on them daily, and they keep getting bigger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one process that you really can\u2019t skip or shortcut if you are growing seedlings inside and want to move them outside to finish growing.\u00a0 Take the extra week or two and slowly acclimate them to the sun, wind and temps.\u00a0 Before you know it, your little plant babies will be getting huge, and you will be ready to harvest!\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have tried growing seedlings a few times over the years, and it usually goes VERY badly.\u00a0 Things start off very well, but then slowly but surely the plants all die.\u00a0 Sometimes the thin seedlings wouldn\u2019t even make it outside, but if they did, at most they would only last a day or two.\u00a0 Then… Continue reading Keeping Seedlings Alive<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.s2gnllc.com\/desert-gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}