The last of my seedlings - summer and winter squash, melons and pumpkins - are going through the hardening-off process in preparation for being planted out in the garden.
This time of year, it isn't so much the temperatures that I need to get them acclimated to, it's more the intense sunlight. I'm trying to keep the plants from getting sunburned. If I didn't do this, the leaves would turn white and the plants would become stressed. I'm hoping to plant them by the weekend.
To get them used to the sun, I have set the flat out on our deck for a couple of hours today, then will bring them back inside. Tomorrow, I'll increase their outdoors time, and so on.
This year, I'm growing the following squash, melons and pumpkins:
Zucchini: 'Italian Striped' and 'Ronde de Nice'
Winter squash: 'Red Kuri' (a Hubbard squash), 'Sweet Dumpling', 'Butternut' and 'Delicata'
Melon: 'Far North'
Pumpkin: 'New England Pie', 'Rouge Vif d'Etampes' and 'Sugar'
