Tomatoes - when to put outside??

[blue411]

Good evening fellow grapes!

A quick question....
Ive been growing tomatoes for the first time and i currently have 6 plants ( yay)!
My tallest is currently about 6-7inches tall, they are all still in the house and have not yet been haredened off...
Thus the question at what point should i be putting them outsdie to harden off and at what height should i be looking at planting them outside???

I also have 3 pots full of garlic - happily growing away
2 orange B&Q buckets of carrots - 2 tiny seedling have appeared today
4 Troughs of mixed lettuce leaves happily growing away
3 Tiny basil getting there...
6 sweet pepper plants - doing very well
3 Tiny chilli plants also just about getting there!

Not too bad for a first timer i thought ( could be wrong though LOL)!




Any help is gratefully received

[Cutecumber]

It's no good worrying about the height of the plant - yours, as mine - have been grown indoors and are therefore much taller than they would be if grown hard.

A better idea is to harden them off (any time you like) and keep potting them up until they start to set their first truss of fruit. This is a good time to put them in their final position.

Do you have any kind of protected outdoor space - greenhouse or cold frame? You need some wind-protected area to harden them off and where they can then remain until the weather is more clement.

[Flummery]

However, whether they have set a truss of fruit or not - you will kill them if there's a sniff of a frost. Here in Yorkshire they reckon the last frost date to be mid-May. The plants need a couple of weeks out in the day and back at night to toughen them up before you put them out.

[blue411]

Great, thanks for the info guys, ive put out one plant today as it is quite mild today here in Cheshire.
I have purchased two plastic mini green house things - the ones that fit nicely over the grow bags and have no shelves etc... and these will be placed against my garage wall in a nice sun trap area, and pinned down.
At least im on the right track, very nerve wracking when your a first timer and youve watched your seeds grow so big them have to put them outside to harden off!
Yikes!!
Thanks guys

[Cutecumber]

Sounds like you're taking care and have a good place for them to grow - good luck.

[Alison]

I'm in Warrington also and my toms are currently growing on in the conservatory which is pretty cool and obviously very light. They're quite small at the moment, but I'm envisaging giving them some greenhouse space in the next few weeks, possibly early May and then planting them into their final spots a few weeks after. I've got greenhouse and outdoor ones but obviously I can give the greenhouse ones more protection. Good luck with all yours.

[smallblueplanet]

... and these will be placed against my garage wall in a nice sun trap area, and pinned down...

Be careful that your small plants don't get too hot and wilt or fry, in your 'suntrap' of a g/h! Even the mini g/hs get very warm inside them.