Harden them off outdoors over at least one week. And if you have time, you can transplant them into bigger containers. But you need to let them get used to the new containers for a couple of weeks before your plant them out. 🙂

Thank you so much! Another question I always forget is when do I start to put outside for a little to get use to the outside? And also if I started them in Jeffrey peat pellets do I need to transplant in bigger containers before outside? Sorry for the questions! Want to make sure done correctly so my son don’t get upset. Thanks!

Not confusing! 🙂 Generally, I recommend to leave it on until all have sprouted. If they’re not on heat and you have peppers and tomatoes that haven’t sprouted, definitely leave it on. If the other seedlings are starting to push up against the lid, it needs to come off. 🙂 One thing I will add, get some light on them if you haven’t already. Once they sprout, get them close to a light source so they don’t start stretching.

Awesome, Kathy! Gearing up for the gardening season is so exciting!

Great question! There are a few reasons:

1. When using heat mats and starting several plants, it’s easier to get ideal conditions (temperature and moisture) for germination in the small cell trays. Plus you can start more plants in less space.
2. We start them in seed starting mix which is a soiless mixture and has no nutrients. We don’t want them to stay in that until planting, so we transition them from the soiless mix to potting soil to garden soil.
3. The transitioning in soil type and container size helps the seedlings build a stronger root system that makes for healthier plants in the garden.

Thanks, Vickie. I’m glad you liked it! 🙂