hardening off plants...help!

Well, all my plants have come up, have survived my initial mistakes and are growing great. I am wanting to harden some of them off now and have a question. I understand how to slowly get them used to the sun, wind, etc. by putting them out a little more each day. While I am putting them through this process, should I be bringing them back in to the house when they are not in the sun and putting them back under the grow lights or should I just be leaving them in the shade outside until I put them out again in the sun the next day for longer periods? Thanks for any help I can get on this....obviously it is my first time....!

I am not sure what kind of plants you are talking about.If they are house plants,they can be left out as long as the nights stay above 50 degrees,generally speaking.Some plants can take cooler temperatures.If these are perennial or annual plants you grew from seed,they should be ok as long as you don't get very cold nights.They should be kept moist,but out of hard cold wind and rain,such as under a large shrub or somewhere a little sheltered until they are ready to go in the ground or larger pots.Hope this helps.

When hardening off annuals and vegetables that I have started in the house, I usually bring new seedlings in for the night for the first few days, and then watch the temperature after that to make sure it doesn't get too low. Also, if it rains, I either bring them in or try to protect them, because I find rain can knock the soil out of their pots. I find planting out on a cloudy day also helps them adjust. It also helps to gauge what the individual plants' needs are, some are hardier than others. For example, I hardened chard off early (and quickly) but I am waiting until it is vey warm to start hardening off my eggplants and peppers, because they can't take cold temperatures and could suffer a setback. It's not as complicated as it sounds in the books, I think that as long as you do some hardening off, your plants will survive. You just have to develop your own system.

Thanks for all your input. I guess my real question was regarding while I am transitioning them into the sun/wind outdoors. I have vege and flower plants. I know I am supposed to put them out in the sun/wind a little more each day.....Say, one hour the first day, two the next ect. When they are not out in the sun/wind while going through this process, I was wondering if I would just put them in the shade protected from wind, or should I bring them inside and put them under the grow lights again. Thanks for all your help!!

They really need to be acclimated to big changes in temperature and sunlight (and wind too in your case). So if moving outdoors represents a big temperature change for them, then you need to acclimate them to that gradually too which means indoors in between would be better. But if outdoor and indoor temps aren't too far apart then they will probably be fine left out as long as they're protected from the wind and the sun.

I think the question is, do they put them back under the grow lights or not.

If they have to come back indoors then it doesn't hurt to put them back under the grow lights, but like I said if outdoor temps are moderate leaving them outside in the shade is fine. It's really more about the temperature (and protection from direct sun & wind) than anything else at this point.

Now I got it. Thanks for all the clarification.....It sometimes takes me a while to "get it"! :)