Hardening off

[Rob the Radish]

I have grown a few things in my greenhouse and looking to harden them off after losing my french beans from planting straight out !

I wanted to know how long do i put them outside for before they are considered hardy enough to go in the ground.

I have..
sweetcorn
Broad beans
sprouts
cauliflower
peas

I have just started putting them outside during the day.

Thanks Rob.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Think most things go out after you've had your last frost. When that is, is contingent on where you are geographically. For example, brummie land frosts occur til the end of may. To make tender plants robust enough, I will be throwing them into the Wendy house for two weeks from next week. By which time yet should be acclimatised. From what I've read on here, your plants should go from being soft and squishy to firmer.

[rustylady]

Out during the day and in at night for between a week and ten days.

[Currysniffa]

I tend to start hardening off 10-14 days before I intend to plant them.

[SarzWix]

I usually aim for about ten days, but also judge by the weather - if at the end of ten days it's freezing or extremely windy, then I wait a day or two. Or, if at the end of a week we're forecast a warm, calm spell, then I'll plant out a bit sooner. You soon get the hang of it, as HH says, you can see the foliage start to look a bit tougher

[Kaiya]

I can't do the out and in shuffle as I'm not with my plants during the week, so I move them from the warm closed blowaway (can reach almost 40 degrees), to a cold draughtier blowaway (6 inch gap in door), then I open the door for a week, then they go out, weather permitting (delayed until this weekend, then put the entire contents of the cold blowaway out yesterday). Seems to be working.

Re: "I wanted to know how long do i put them outside for before they are considered hardy enough to go in the ground." - where is outside? It should be somewhere sheltered - the equivalent of a cold frame, rather than just knocking about outside somewhere.