Some considerations: 1) seeds that were planted in the hoophouse exhibit more hardiness to hoophouse conditions than those that were transplanted. That means resistance to both cold and heat. I assume that having roots in very warm soil is a source of hardiness for little plants. 2) I have 11 carboys (which I mostly use for winemaking) and 6 6-gallons buckets in there, full of water, 91 gallons of thermal ballast total, and I also have an inner plastic layer. Still, I only get 4F difference when the wind blows. When the wind does not blow, it is more like 10F. 3) Another 10F or so can be had by placing a milk jug, bottom removed, on the seedling, and sealing all around with mulch. That would be a third layer. A bit of mulch inside the seal will provide plenty CO2, Best done if you have drip in there. Probably it is a matter of having the seedling lying low in mulch, and a small hoophouse (the jug) with low surface, and also stopping any small draft from really touching the plant 4) some seedlings are better than others in the hoophouse. Melons are best, toms are a bit delicate. They don't really like hot. 5) if your temps are warmer than 65F, sunny, better open one side, or no seedling will make it.

Do I juggle all the harden off periods? You can if you want to but IMO it just makes it more complicated. ;) Your safe plant out date is May 15th. I would wait till 10 days before that that then do them all at once. It saves all the toting in and out hassles. Out they all go - gradually increasing the time each day a bit - and then they stay out. Good luck and enjoy your plants. Dave

Bummer.. guess they didn't need a haircut.. although kids were totally enthralled with the idea of getting to barber shop the plants. Hhahahahahah *sees gleam in their eyes and insists. "We do NOT just give ANY old plant a haircut. ASK FIRST* I ran out of space, so I'm planting 1/2 to 1/3 of my seedlings on a flat rooftop in pots and just understanding that I'll need to water more frequently.. I'm excited to see how they'll do there. Some of the crosses I'm excited about are: Stippled Starshipx Duel Zone Acadian Mystique x Ghost Whispers Swiss Diplomat x Shuffle the Deck and English Lavender x Frank's Catnapping

Yep: Bill_missy is right. Mid to high 40's is fine for babies for hardening. I, myself, wouldn't bother for long periods(more than a week) at those temps because growth is almost nonexistent. They're better off inside. Adults are much more tolerant. I've had short periods of frost before and they survived fine. Of course, short periods of frost where I'm at is a couple HOURS right before sunrise. ;) Kevin