hardening off question

When you harden off your plants, do you put them in the sun for a while and when you give them a few hours of sun do you put them back under the grow lights, or once the hardening off process begins do not put them back under the grow lights at all? Do they still need the extended amount of light whether it is artificial or natural? Thanks for any comments.

When I first start off and I'm still bringing them inside, I'll put them back under the grow lights when they're inside. But once they're a little more used to outdoor temps then I'll leave them outside and just move them into a shadier area when they need to be out of the sun.

My grow lights are in the basement so it would be a lot of work to bring them up and down the stairs. When I first bring mine outside, I put them in the deepest shade in the yard and gradually move them to sunnier spots. I only bring them back in if the night temps drop really low and I just keep them in the kitchen. I've kept them there before (in front of a sunny window) for a couple days when the temps got really cold. My point is that although they will probably be happier moved back under the lights, it is not absolutely necessary.

I take mine out to an east facing covered porch. The morning sun comes in till about 10 am and then it is shaded the rest of the day. It is out of the wind and protected. I will drape a few blankets from the backs of chairs at night if it gets very cool, and only haul them in if it is freezing. They are usually good to go in a week from that area.

One of our members, Critterologist, wrote a great article about hardening off seedlings last year. Hang on a minute, and I'll find it for you. . .

Here you go!

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/914/

Angie