Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

16 AMATEUR GARDENING11 MAY 2019

D

O notbeimpatienttomoveall

yourtendererplantsoutdoors,

orplantthemoutin theopen.

If thesehavebeengrownin a

nice,warm,shelteredplace,thinkhow

bleakthey’regoingtofeelouttherein

thewindy,coldairandchillysoil!This

willcomeasa realshockandcanset

backyourplantsbyweeks– thatis, if

it doesn’tkillthemoffentirely.

It’sfarkinderandmoreeffectiveto

hardenthemoffbeforeleavingthem

totheperilsof theBritishsummer.This

meanshelpingthembecomeslowly

adjusted,ratherthan having to survive

a suddenshock.

Thestandardmethodis tomoveyour

plantsoutdoorstoa sunnyspoteach

day and return them under cover each

Don’trushtenderplantsoutsidewithouthardeningoff,

warnsBob. Sensible transitionsleadtohappiertenders

“Bewaretheperilsof

the British summer!”

night,forat leastthreeorfourdays,

beforeleavingthemoutpermanently.

Analternativeis tostandthemall

togetherin a warmspotoutdoorsand

thentocoverthemoverwitha plastic

sheet(ora blanketonextracoldnights),

helduponstickseachnightforthose

threeorfourdays.Eitherway,you’llbe

helpingtheplantsacclimatisebefore

havingtofendforthemselves.

A thirdoptionis toplantoutthose

needingit, andtogiveeacha cloche,

mini-clocheorplastictentimmediately,

thenremovethisin a fortnightorso

whentheplantshavebecomewell

established.Evenbetteris toputthose

clochesin placea fortnight beforehand

topre-warmthesoil.

Indeed,thisis ideal,andyourplants

willsurelythankyouforit byestablishing

farmorequicklyanddoingbetterforit.

Andthereis evenmoreadvantagetobe

gainedbycoveringthoseclocheswitha

blanketonreallycoldnights.Keepthem

snugger,andyour plants really will be so

much happier.

1

WeedsgrowlikeTopsynow,

sohoe,hoe,hoe!Sharpen

theedgeofyourhoewitha

carborundum stone or file.

All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited

Bob’s top tips

for the week

w, AG’s organic gardening expert

2

Movecitrusplantsandtough

houseplantsoutforsummer,

andkeepthemtogether– then

youcaneasilythrowcovers over

them on cold nights.

3

Checkwall-trainedfruitsfor

newshootsheadingtowards

thewall,andrubtheseoffbefore

they mature and waste resources.

4

Sowturnips,bettergrownfast,

keepwateringwelland,forbest

results, mix in a little bone meal.

Getplantsslowlyadjustedtotheoutdoorsby

hardeningofftenderssuchassquashand

bedding marigolds in the sun each day

Movingplantsoutfora fewhourseachdayandreturning

indoorsatnight,aswiththesebutternutsquash

plants, is the standard way to harden off

Youcanusea mini

clochetohardenoff

pelargoniums in May