Unpopular opinion: transplanting seedlings at night is better than morning but nobody talks about it

I spent 2 years losing half my tomato transplants every spring before a greenhouse worker at the farmer's market asked why I was moving them at 7 AM instead of after sunset. That night I tried it with my peppers and the wilt was almost zero compared to my usual morning routine. Is there a real science reason for this or am I just getting lucky with the weather patterns?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilymurphy18h ago

Bet the lower light stress lets roots grab soil before the sun hits them hard.

rowan84914h ago

Yeah have you noticed that too @lilymurphy? I think she's onto something with the lower light stress thing. I switched to moving everything at dusk last year and my failure rate dropped like crazy. The roots just seem to settle in without that harsh sun beating down on them right away. It's wild how much difference a few hours makes when everything else is the same.