Madison Messenger - April 18th, 2021

PAGE 12 - MADISON MESSENGER - April 18, 2021
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Watch for details about the Madison
County Master Gardners’ new “Ask A
Master Gardener” Help Line,
coming soon.
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Tough love aids transition to outside
By Marlene Dorko
Madison County Master Gardener
Whether started at home or purchased
from a greenhouse or big box store, indoor
grown plants will benefit from some tough
love before being planted outside.
Plants grown in the sheltered environment
of a greenhouse are ill prepared to
withstand the hot blazing sun, drying
winds, heavy rains and near freezing nights
that are all part of the spring norm here in
Ohio. Placing greenhouse plants directly
into the garden environment can cause
them to go into shock, stopping growth,
damaging foliage and possibly even killing
the plant.
Hardening off is a process that can help
transition plants from the nearly ideal conditions
of the greenhouse to the harsher environment
of the outdoors. It should be
started 10 days to two weeks before the
planned planting date. Outdoor temperatures
should be above 45 degrees.
A few days before starting the hardening
off process, reduce watering of indoor
plants. The soil should be allowed to dry a
bit between waterings but not to the point
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where the plants begin to droop. Stop fertilizing
from this point until the plants are
placed in the ground.
Start by setting the plants in a shady
sheltered place for two to three hours. Depending
on outside temperatures, you may
want to do this during the warmest part of
the day. An open garage, shaded porch or
under the dappled shade of a tree are good
places. A cold frame can be a great place to
harden off, provided you are able to control
the amount of exposure to sun and wind.
Each day, increase the time spent outdoors
by an hour or two. Gradually increase
the plants’ exposure to sun and wind by
moving them into more open areas of sunlight.
Watch the plants for signs of stress,
such as wilting or drying leaf edges. Monitor
soil moisture carefully. Small containers can
dry out quickly on sunny, windy days. If the
soil feels moist but the plants are wilting,
cut back on the amount of sun/wind exposure.
After plants are in full sun for 10 to 12
hours per day, begin leaving the plants out
overnight. If there is a frost warning, move
plants inside until temperatures warm to
above 45 degrees. Once plants have been
outside a few full days and nights, they are
Hardening off is a process that can help
transition plants from the nearly ideal conditions
of the greenhouse to the harsher environment
of the outdoors.
ready to be planted in the garden.
Try to choose a cloudy windless day for
planting in the garden. If it’s a sunny day,
plant early in the morning or late in the
evening. Give plants a drink of diluted fertilizer
at this time to help get them growing
again.
Hardening off causes the plants to slow
growth. It allows the plants to develop more
roots, accumulate more carbohydrates, reduce
the amount of freeze-prone water in
the leaves and to thicken cell walls in the
leaves and stems. These changes make the
plants better able to handle the variations
in moisture, temperature and air movement
encountered outside. It might still be necessary
to cover plants should a late frost
threaten, but the plants will be much less
stressed by the fluctuations in temperature.
These tough sturdy plants will soon catch
up to or even surpass stress damaged plants
put in the ground earlier without the hardening
off process.
ose aren’t worms or
aliens; they’re sprouts!
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By Barbara J. Myers
Madison County Master Gardener
Have you ever cut into a tomato and found
white squiggly-looking things inside? Those
are not worms or aliens that made their way
to the center, but rather tomato seeds that
have started to germinate. This phenomenon—when
seeds start growing while still inside
or attached to the mother plant—is
known as vivipary, Latin for “live birth.” It is
common in certain varieties of tomatoes, peppers,
apple, pears, and some citrus.
Vivipary happens when the hormone
controlling the seed dormancy is exhausted
or runs out, letting the seed grow in the
moist environment inside the fruit. This
warm, moist environment is perfect for germinating
seeds to grow. If the tomato were
left uncut in warm conditions, the new plant
sprout would eventually poke through the
skin of the now decomposing tomato.
These new plants can be potted where
they will grow into a large tomato plants
I cut into this tomato the other day and
thought it was wormy. Actually, the seeds
inside the tomato were sprouting.
and even produce tomatoes. The tomato
will not be a clone of the mother plant, because
it grew from a seed that had to be pollinated
by another tomato flower,
introducing new parent genes into the seed
that will produce the new plant. The tomatoes
off of the plant are entirely edible and
quite possibly delicious. Check out the
seeds inside your fruit or vegetable the next
time you slice into it.