Hardening off
With the warmer weather fast approaching, I have made sure that some of my bigger Chilli plants have been hardened off. Hardening off is a process in which Chilli plants are gradually introduced to outside conditions over a period of about ten days until they have become accustomed to being left outside permanently.
At this stage, these Chilli plants have typically reached a height of around 8-12 inches or more. The stems have thickened and become sturdier to support the weight of the foliage and fruit. The leaves have expanded in size, and the plants have developed a healthy canopy of green foliage.
The root system of the Chilli plants has also expanded and filled the space in the current containers. You may notice roots appearing through the drainage holes or circling around the bottom of the container. The roots are crucial for nutrient uptake and anchoring the plant.
The hardening-off process starts with taking the plants outside for initially an hour a day when outside overnight temperatures average 8 to 10 degrees Celsius and increasing their outside exposure by an hour a day until the plants have been left outdoors for at least ten hours. At this point, they become hardened to the rigours of direct sunlight, wind, etc. The temperatures in the early morning also tend to stay around 8 degrees Celsius at this time of the year in the UK, so there is no danger that the plants will be harmed by the cold.
With the hardening-off process completed, I will now be doing the final potting of these plants into the containers that they will spend the rest of the season in, as they have now reached the final stage of growth before flowering and bearing fruit.