Hardening Hardships

Gardening has not been going so well. The seedlings all sprouted wonderfully, and then began to die. Many got knocked off the top of the refrigerator, and fell down the stairs. Others got starved for water when I was gone for a couple of days due to work. Then the plant light got unplugged and left that way for a couple of days.

But most frustrating was the "hardening off" process, and the plants that were killed or damaged by it.

I can’t put out a plant for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and lengthen the number of hours that it stays out over the course of a week. My schedule is too random, and my attention too hard to keep. And some of these books recommend going two weeks or longer!

I’m looking into a grow box, with a lid that you open and shut. I built a one foot deep box, and buried it eight inches deep in the garden, so the contents will get heat from the soil, and less light than their above ground neighbors, and no wind. Next I need a lid that I can easily open and shut. Ah, if only I could open and shut it automatically. For now, just the lid will do. I’m probably thinking just a large sheet of Plexiglas.

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