Your seedlings are up – so now what? Here’s what to do next in order to ensure success when transplanting seedlings to their permanent home…

You’ve prepared your seed starting materials, planted your seeds, and waited with fingers crossed for your seedlings to germinate… With a bit of patience and some luck, now they are growing into lovely, green little plants, and it’s time to think about transplanting your seedlings out into their permanent home – or at least getting them ready for this future event!

Treating your seedlings right and giving them the proper care once they’ve peeked their heads up out of their potting mix is essential for growing strong and healthy plants. Transplanting seedlings from their indoor homes out into the garden can be stressful for them, and in order to weather the transition successfully, they may need a bit of preparation. Seedlings can experience transplant shock, temperature shock, and even sunburn if you don’t manage the transition correctly.

In some cases, moving your tiny seedlings into larger pots and giving them more time to build a root system will help them to weather the shock of eventually transplanting outside. Some smaller, fast-growing, and cool-weather crops won’t need this, and can be transplanted directly into the garden from their starting seed trays. Either way, you should always be sure to “harden off” your seedlings before transplanting to help them avoid temperature shocks and sunburn.

From “pricking out” to hardening off, this short video shares a step-by-step guide for preparing your indoor seedlings for settling into their new home in the garden.