Pepper Seedlings Hardened Off Too Quick??

16 years ago

Ok, I have a handful of hot pepper seedlings that I had in my tall greenhouse for 2-3 days (only gets 2-3 hours of sun or so) & they were doing fine. A few days after I moved them to my cold frame (gets almost full sun all day...prob from like 10 am to 5/6 pm), they started to get white on the leaves and wilted/kind of became crunchy. Did the sun fry them? That was my first thought about what happened. I also thought maybe they got exposed to too much cooler air (50's, maybe high 40's some nights), but that wouldn't explain the white/crunchy leaves. Thoughts? I may loose one of the seedlings, but I don't want the others to die! =( I moved them back to the tall greenhouse that gets 2-3 hours sun & closed the flap on it to hopefully help them recover for now. Any ideas on saving these? Did I do the right thing by taking them back out of the full sun location? If this may be a fungus or something, I'd like to know quick, so I can quarantine them from the rest of the plants, thought I think they just got burnt. Thanks! - Steve

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Comments (6)

tsheets
16 years ago
Certainly sounds like they got sun-scald.

I think you did the right thing by moving them back. Let them catch their breath and try easing them back to the cold-frame. Maybe something to diffuse the light or opening the cold frame during the day (not sure the design of your cold-frame).
gardendawgie
16 years ago
Your plant is sunburn. not fungus.
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tn_veggie_gardner
Original Author
16 years ago
ahhh...ok, that's what I thought. I imagine I can nurse them back to health them. =) I may give them a shot of diluted FP 9-3-6 later today when I get home to help with the recovery. Thanks, y'all!

- Steve
wayright
16 years ago
I wouldnt give them a break, Heck the damage is done. They might be a 'lil stunted but they will rebound. Restart your hardening process, Go a 'lil less this time. 8 hours the first day is a no no. go with 2,4,6,8 it doesnt take long.Keep them burnt plant leaves real wet for a few days.
I keep 18-24 hours a day under lights so when mine hit the sun its kinda a relief for the plants,IMO.
Kevin
sambo725
16 years ago
I would get a thermometer and monitor the temps. A glass encloser in full sun can get hotter then you would think.

Sam
kterlep
16 years ago
when you put them in the cold frame put them in on a warm day with the cold frame OPEN...it's so easy to bake plants in a cold frame like that.

I am taking my pepper seedlings out during the day but bringing them in at night (our temps are still chilly here although we can leave our tomato seedlings out most nights) You could probably replicate that with a cold frame by opening the cold frame during the day and closing it at night.

You may even want to move your cold frame into a shadier location to regulate your daytime temps.