Greenhouse

I have a green house that I can put up and take down when I need it. When I put it up should I harden my seedlings off in there or can I just put them in the greenhouse? And can I just open the door fully to harden them off?
Thanks

NoQ this is my first spring with a green house too although mine is a permanent structure. If it's in the shade I would think you could put your seedlings in there to harden them off with no problem.

As far as opening the door I would imagine that would depend on your temperatures....both in and outside of the green house. I don't have any experience with those portable jobbies so I don't know how much temperature fluxuation you'll have. I think I've heard people mention putting some of their hardier plants like snapdragons inside them fairly early and just leaving them. But of course the tenders will be more susceptible to temp swings and would still need to be watched closely.

I'm afraid I really wasn't much help. Maybe some one on the green house forum could give you a better idea.

I've used the portable greenhouse to harden off. I have it where it gets morning sun, then afternoon shade. At first I open the zipper just during the day time, gradually waiting until later in the day to close it up. I never put it in full sun as there is no top ventilation and it gets very warm inside in the afternoon sun. Hope this helps. We are putting up a permanent greenhouse, but I plan to use this rack to roll plants in and out. It was worth every penny (about $35)

Added: I actually use it to start seeds in the house, then roll it outside when the weather stays nicer at night.

This message was edited Mar 4, 2009 12:32 PM

I'd set it up and place a thermometer inside to see how the temps are doing. I have a homemade portable greenhouse that I can remove the top on, which I do gradually. I don't know if plants are officially hardened off when they are just in the greenhouse and haven't had direct sunlight.
There is a greenhouse forum maybe someone can give you more answers there. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/greenhouse/all/

Cathy, does your greenhouse look similiar to this picture? I was considering getting something like this just for hardening off my plants in the spring. I am terrible at bringing them out and then taking them back in all the time.

Once you bring your plants out, do you just leave them in there, and close the zipper up for the night? I could see this working well for the perennial initially, since they can take the colder weather. I might have to wait longer for the annuals to use this though.

Thompson and Morgan sells this discounted if you buy seed.

Would a coldframe do the same thing? This picture is from Gardeners supply.

Yes penne, the top picture is what I have. I did all my petunias and vegetables in it last year and it was a pretty cold spring. It is up against the house, I think that may help keep it warm. I've heard of people putting the small twinkle size christmas lights in the bottom to heat it. Being so small, it doesn't take much.

Plant that have been growing under protection is like when you get your first sunburn that can blister. Once you have a few layer of sunburn your skin has some protection. Protective plants have nothing in their leaves to protect them against the elements. Therefore, they have to be harden-off.

Any plant that I grew in the house, I harden them off by placing them to receive early morning sun. Then gradually expose them to more. It takes one or two weeks to harden off a plant, depending on your climate.

pennefeather
I have the same setup as in your photo but never used it. I haven't sowed seeds for a couple of years, but this year I am on a roll. It will come in handy for all the plants I started if I can figure out how to prevent it from blowing to NE with WY high wind.

It is like the first greenhouse but larger.

I always wanted out one these greenhouse to use outside, but I needed a real reason to get them. I'm going to check around and see if I can find a lower price.