Riz
25th April 2010, 07:45 PM
Tender young plants raised indoors , need to be 'gently' introduced to the outside climate found in the garden, this process is known as 'hardening off' and normally takes about 2 week period.
Hardening off is especially important if the plants have been grown from seed in peat compost as this tends to produce tender, soft, lush growth - plants grown in soil based compost tend to be more hardy but a degree of hardening off is still necessary.
Whether the plants are flowers or vegetables, the general principles of hardening off are similar. Keep a careful watch on the plants during the hardening off period; if the plants seem to be suffering, reduce the daily period of exposure or even return the plants indoors or underglass until the weather warms up a bit.
just put outside
The simplest method of hardening off requiring no special equipment (i.e. cloches or a cold frame), is to just put the boxes or pots of plants outdoors in a sheltered position every day during the warmest part of the day for increasing periods. After about 10 days, if there is no risk of frosts, the plants can be left outside all the time.
Hardening off is especially important if the plants have been grown from seed in peat compost as this tends to produce tender, soft, lush growth - plants grown in soil based compost tend to be more hardy but a degree of hardening off is still necessary.
Whether the plants are flowers or vegetables, the general principles of hardening off are similar. Keep a careful watch on the plants during the hardening off period; if the plants seem to be suffering, reduce the daily period of exposure or even return the plants indoors or underglass until the weather warms up a bit.
just put outside
The simplest method of hardening off requiring no special equipment (i.e. cloches or a cold frame), is to just put the boxes or pots of plants outdoors in a sheltered position every day during the warmest part of the day for increasing periods. After about 10 days, if there is no risk of frosts, the plants can be left outside all the time.