Remember when garden centers actually grew their own plants?

Been thinking about how back in the 90s, the old nursery off Highway 9 in Hudson had seedlings from their own greenhouse. An older gardener told me my store-bought tomatoes were doomed because they never hardened off properly. Changed my whole approach after that - now I start everything from seed in March.

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lilys814mo ago

Gotta admit, I used to think store-bought plants were just as good. A few years back I grabbed some basil and tomato starts from a big box store and they just withered after a week. My neighbor, old guy who's been gardening since the 70s, told me the same thing that gardener told you. Said those nursery plants are babied in perfect conditions and they never get that slow introduction to wind and sun. Now I do the same as you, start everything on my back porch in March with a little fan blowing on them from day one. Makes a huge difference.

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chen.james4mo ago

@lilys81 I get your point and I respect your old neighbor's experience, but I've actually had the OPPOSITE luck with big box store plants. I grabbed a flat of Bonnie basil from Home Depot last June and they EXPLODED. Still going strong in October, no hardening off, straight from the rack into my raised bed. Maybe it depends on when you buy them. Early spring starts at the big stores sit inside for weeks and get leggy, but by May they've been through some wind already. Your fan trick is SUPER smart though, I might steal that for my pepper starts next year.

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