I believe starting out with dappled shade is easier than trying to adjust the timing of full sun exposure. It seems to work for me anyway. After a week or so I move them into full sun. If I hurry the process too much I lose a few leaves but the new leaves come in already adapted to full sun.

Your peppers have been outside for weeks? At night too? Maybe they are suffering from cold.

Jim

If you are in zone 5 and hardening them for weeks, you may have started too early. I start hardening mine near the end of may

I was really happy with my hardening off last year. What I did was to first take them out in the late evening shade (6'ish or so). After about 3 days, I started giving them the late evening sun (still 6'ish), then take them out earlier and earlier. Giving them regular peeks to make sure. If there's signs of wilted leaves, then take them away from direct exposure. It's pretty easy to see if they are having a problem or not. All in all, I spent 10 days. The last 4 days they spent overnight in the garage which reduced the moving part immensely. Doing it that way, I did not loose a single leaf on any plants. I hardened off about 80 plants in total last year and this year I have almost 140 (91 of them are Peppers plants). When they can handle the midday sun for a couple of days, they will survive the morning as well.

I was worried about this due to my zone. This was my first year hardening off a large number of plants and varieties. I put a shelf across the bottom rungs of my sawhorses and placed the peppers there. I then took 1"x2" boards and created a frame that I could staple fiberglass window screen to. I put the frame on the top of the sawhorses and lashed it down with bungees due to the persistant winds we get here in South Texas. The setup is in full sun from around 9am until 5pm. I started with two layers for the first two weeks and then reduced it to one. I have yet to take the second layer off, but so far all the peppers look great. Not to mention they have really taken off now that they are getting better then flourescent light.

Scott

unfortunately, i had to get them out of the house, so i may have started them too early, but i brought them back in when the temp got below 40. some breeds seem to be doing alright but others struggle. Hmmm....a window screen? I have never thought of that. Thanks for the ideas I will give them a try

I'll never get to harden off these peppers as long as this wind keeps up! 2 days in a row now I've had to keep them in to prevent ripping them to shreds. This is like an every year thing...a few days into hardening off and instant winds gotta mess of my process LOL!
Thankfully the wind kinda subsides late day/early evening so I think I'm going to try Scott's approach!! Thanks for bring up this topic...never would I have thought about doing it this way :D

Vera

I think I'm in zone 6 (sw missouri). I think the frost is thru for the year but in MO it's kinda hard to be sure. Should I continue keeping my pepper plants indoors for a few more weeks before starting the hardening off process?

I had my 16oz red Costco cups in a box. I placed the Box with lid closed outside in shade at 8am on Day 1. Brought them back inside at 2pm no matter what the temps were to be placed under the flourescent lighting.

Day 2. I opened the lid, still in shade from 8am to 3pm. This way they see the natural light. Bring them back in.

Day 3. I placed in area where sun shined for 3 hours.

Day 4. I placed in sun for 7 hours.

Day 5. They have been fine outside day and night. Temperatures have helped speed the process up. Especially because night hasn't dipped below 55.

But we definetly jumped the gun on the peppers this year.

Mine started about a week ago with a few hours outside for a few days. Then, this past weekend (this depends on weather, of course), I left them outside the whole weekend in a mostly shady spot. This week, they get partial sun & stay outside the whole time. This coming weekend, they will get transplanted to their final homes and stay outside for good. They have been doing just fine with the process so far. =)

My plants are under florescent lights 24x7. Maybe this is not the best idea, but they are growing. It is an interesting experiment. As they are used to light, do they still need to be hardened off?

Wouldn't they also need to get used to wind & heat?