Your seedlings are just about ready and now we want to begin hardening them off prior to permanently planting them into the garden, this should be done one week before you plant.
I myself like to harden off gradually by first taking the seedlings outdoors for part days, say from 10:00a.m. to about 3:00p.m. then stretching that by an hour every day there after. For some this is not possible (ie. Work etc.) Just keep in mind this is not a must just a personal preference, as long as you make sure to bring them in at night and keep an eye on the days temperature, if it is expected to be hot outside you may want to keep one of your mini-greenhouse ends open as not to cause heat stress to your little giants.
Once your plants are hardened off then it is time to plant. First make sure to keep space between your pants as mentioned earlier, draw sq. ft. lines out in the dirt and mark the planting spots. I usually take my black plastic ground cover off at this point (ground is usually warm enough) and store it in the shed. If you prefer to leave it on, just punch holes through the plastic were you will plant. (a tape measure works good to find your planting spots)
Dig a hole a little wider than your peat pot and about 11/2 times deep, some people at this point pinch off all but the top two leaves, or x number of length up the main stem, just keep in mind the leaves are on the plant for a reason and I would avoid causing to much shock to your plants as transplanting does enough of that, however pinching the bottom set of leaves off is alright and the extra depth helps in building even stronger roots.
Now, once the hole is dug place the plant (peat pot and all) into the hole, just make sure that your plant is buried right up to the bottom most leaves, if you pinched of the bottom set this would be the next set with the rest below ground level.
Next you will want to feed your plant so take a watering can and mix in 10-52-10 at full strength as directed on the label for the correct ratio to water. (usually 5ml per 1 litre of water) Once you have this done give your plants a good drink, don’t soak so it is soggy though.
Finally you will want to put mulch on your beds. (leaves, straw, paper etc. works good) This helps in keeping weeds at bay, your soil cool and as well helps retain moisture, 2"-3" should do it.
Well that’s it your plants are on there way. Don’t forget to keep an eye on temperature in your mini-greenhouse opening end flap when needed.
