So for the things I like to raise, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and onions are plants that can go into the ground when the days are still cool and we get occasional frosts. Usually this means that I'll be putting these in the ground by mid-April. I like to bring these plants outside for a few hours during the day when the temps are in the 50s to harden off. This means exposing plants to the cooler temps, brighter light, and wind that they don't experience in the basement under grow lights.
As you can see, I just put them on an old cookie sheet and set them on a chair or table out in a sunny spot on the lawn.
Eventually, I will leave them out overnight for a few days, and then plant them into the ground.
Usually, right about the time the cold-tolerant plants are going into the ground, I bring up the tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and basils and begin the process of hardening those seedlings off. I put them outside for a couple hours to start on a day when the temps are in the 60s, gradually increasing outside exposure until frost risk is over when I leave them out overnight a few days and then put them into the ground. The earliest this generally happens is Mother's Day weekend, but sometimes the weekend after that.
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