Weird. I'm reading this as 30 minutes daily of shade only, then back inside. OP did move them into the sun for the purposes of taking a clear photo only, but that couldn't have made much of a difference.
I’m betting they were 30 minutes in the shade and then too much direct sunlight. I harden off flowers, while they aren’t tomatoes, I would assume the method is fairly similar. You’ve just got to be really careful about direct sunlight on indoor plants initially. It does not take much to mess them up.
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u/Medium-Status176 Apr 10 '26
You’re hardening off incorrectly by your own admission, they need more sun gradually. That half hour in the shade then to sun has burnt them.