Interrupted Hardening Off
MarniX
Posts: 28
Good afternoon, all.
Recently finished hardening off six Cobra French bean plants so they were outside overnight.
Then the cold snap on our Welsh mountaintop (only a small mountain) so I brought them back into the utility room, which is like an unheated greenhouse, as some of the leaves had started to shrivel, I assume, from cold & wind.
They've been in the utility room since Tuesday.
Do I have to start the 2 week hardening off process all over again?
Many thanks & hope you have a brilliant, warmer weekend,
Marni
0
Posts
I would do that if I was you Marni. They'll produce more leaves I think - hopefully!
If you can, it might be worth sowing a few more as back up anyway. They'll catch up quite quickly and won't take long to harden off as it would be end of May by the time they were any size, and it should be ok for them to go outside then. Having a bit of fleece to hand is useful for the nights that colder weather's forecast too.
This gardening lark's never easy is it?
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm guessing you'll have a bit of exposure there Marni. If that's the case it would be worth installing a bit of wind protection to combat that as well. Wind causes a lot of damage to young plants too.
Apologies if you already have a wind barrier in the garden!
scroggin - I sowed sweet peas in the third week of March, put in the cold frame. Sowed more in pots mid April and left outside. They all look the same now - the later ones caught up. It's why I rarely bother sowing early. I only did it this year to get a head start and because it was warmer in March than usual!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I will be sowing my french beans , runner beans and sweet corn this weekend. All will be germinated inside and planted out at the end of May.
Me too Fidget ......... well, that's the plan anyway
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Because of the cold I have not begun to harden off any of the plants in my greenhouse.. Ikeep thinking maybe next week...
but then its cold again..
WOW!! Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice. It's my first time ever growing veg, my mum wilk be coming on 10 May - it was meant to be a memorial veg garden in honour of my late dad who grew (& got mightily frustrated by) french beans.
I had hoped to plant some in our patch for my mum. O well, I hope she likes broad beans.
Sowed 6 spare cobras yest. so fingers crossed!
Your time and posts are *much* appreciated - I will know what to do next year - rich tapestry indeed :-)
Mxxx
You can buy purpose made fabric for a screen - it's green, but that's about as much as I can tell you! You could use heavy duty landscape fabric and attach it to some fence posts. That would probably be just as effective. It has to be something which will allow the wind to filter through, but the supports need to be strong enough.
If you really want to grow anything a bit tall or delicate - you need the right conditions. Normally, you'd plant a shelter belt of suitable hedging/shrubs/trees if you're in a windy, exposed site.
I don't grow anything too flimsy, and I keep young plants next to the house wall or tucked in among other plants until they're strong enough to cope. Things like clematis are well secured as they grow.
I installed a boundary fence here - double sided - to help with wind, as it gets funnelled down the road and hits the site full on. All the gardens I've had have been subjected to wind in various areas, so you learn to garden accordingly.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...