3D Printed Plant Umbrellas for Plant Hardening

Video: A Care-Free Way to Harden Plants: Plant Umbrellas

Plant Umbrella Details

I’ve come up with a novel process of hardening plants, that I want to share with you. I grow plant starts indoors from seeds in a controlled environment. Before planting them outside, they need to be "hardened" to withstand the harsher outdoor conditions.

Hardening involves gradually introducing plants to outdoor conditions by moving them outside for a few hours daily, then increasing their outdoor time by an hour or two each day. The main concern for plants during summer is the scorching sun, which can sunburn them. Just like humans have melanin in their skin that creates a tan when exposed to UV rays, plants have pigments like anthocyanins and carotenoids that protect them from the sun. However, plants grown indoors lack these pigments and need gradual sun exposure to build up their levels.

As an engineer who applies technology to gardening, I wanted an easier and more forgiving plant hardening process. With my busy schedule running my company Vegetronix, I often forget to bring my plants indoors, causing them to get scorched by the sun or wilt from lack of water. As a result, I came up with the idea of 3D printed Plant Umbrellas.

I designed these in my cad program, and then printed them on my 3D printers. These umbrellas have a 3D printed canopy attached to a piece of ½” PVC. The canopy can be raised or lowered to control the amount of sun exposure the plant gets.

This is how they work:

Immediately plant the seedling outside and place the umbrella over it, so the plant is covered for most of the day. Noon is the worst time for plants because UV rays are strongest overhead. In the mornings and evenings, the UV rays are more filtered due to the thicker atmosphere.

The plants are shaded most of the day initially. Every couple of days, raise the umbrella slightly to allow more direct sunlight until you can eventually remove the umbrella entirely.

This method is much easier and forgiving than moving your plants in and out each day. If you forget about the plant, it will naturally seek the light and move out from under the umbrella when it's ready.

How to Get Your own Plant Umbrella For Free

Don't have a 3D-Printer, not a problem, we'll print one for you. You just need to pay the shipping costs, and we'll print one, and send it to you so you can try it out.

Set up an account on Vegetronix, so we know where to ship it.
Send us an email through our contacts page, letting us know that you want one.
We'll create a payment link so you can pay for shipping ($7.95 for USA, contact us for international rates.)