Hardening Plants

[valentino]

I am really struggling to put my plants outside during the day as it is so windy. It seemed ok this morning so I put my tomato plants on my outside windowsill and green beans and courgettes in what I thought was a sheltered spot. Just looked out of the window and all my tomatoes have been blown off and the green beans blew over as well. I managed to salvage the tomatoes but some of the stems on the beans have bent as they are quite tall about 8 inches high - can I save them? I have tried to prop them up using the other plants. My courgettes are getting really big and starting to flower. If I cannot put them outside will this cause problems when they are planted out in pots.

Anther question about feeding - my tomatoes and green beans are in small pots only 3 or 5 inches I did not want to repot them as I will be planting them out in baskets and containers soon but the pots are looking a bit small now similar thing with the courgettes. Can I get away with not repotting them and would you recommend feeding them.

[WendyC]

Hardening off can be quite time consuming. I have a cold frame which has the lid propped open and unless a really cold night is forecast I leave it open after a time in here I reckon plants hardened off. I also leave the greenhouse door open during the day so stuff isn't too soft.
You said plants blew down, can you not put them on the floor so even if they blow over they haven't so far to fall! I've got some Tub Trugs which I also stand plants in so they don't blow over. They can then all be moved in and out all in one go.
As far as feeding goes a liquid feed wouldn't be a bad idea. Depending on whether you're organic or not Miracle Grow do a liquid feed to dilute (comes in a yellow bottle) but I also use Seaweed Extract ( comes in a brown bottle) which would give them a boost and save you potting on unnecessarily. Tomatoes are pretty good at telling you they need feeding as they look yellow quite quickly.
Beans should be fine if the main stem is broken they should sprout again from further down.
For another year it would be worth noting when you sowed seed this year and do them a week or two later next year. I've only just sowed beans as they were always at they're prime when we're on holiday so hopefully I've got them ready for when we get back now. But then it depends on the weather!!
Good luck.

[valentino]

Thanks Wendy, I have repoted everything as the roots were showing on top of the soil. I have decided to invest in a plastic greenhouse but it is quite exposed and windy where I live so need to do a bit of researh first.
Lorraine

[buzzingtalk]

I repot once I see roots coming out the bottom of the pots - pot one (or two if you don't have the right pots) size up at a time. A lot of shop bought compost has approximately 4-6 weeks of nutrition in it, but with fast growing plants like toms and cukes I find it runs out quite quick - but if you're potting on as above, they shouldn't need feeding until they start flowering and setting fruit

I put my plants outdoors on the floor in a tray and move them about to get the most sun. They haven't fallen foul to the wind yet, and they most probably wouldn't break if they did! Maybe put them on the floor and they'll be OK? Not sure about the beans, they are tough little things though so they might just grow back

[Two_Sheds]

it is quite exposed and windy where I live

Same here. Can you provide some kind of shelter belt? Trellising is good, to filter & slow the wind down (solid panels will create even more turbulence)

[chris]

i plan on using debris netting to create a low enclosed area - pretty much for the same reason that TS points out, and also so my chickens can't poke their heads in and eat the plants!

[pipscariad]

i plan on using debris netting to create a low enclosed area - pretty much for the same reason that TS points out, and also so my chickens can't poke their heads in and eat the plants!

Going off the track of the original post a bit here, but I just thought I'd report that I put a fence of debris netting (4 foot high, 'cos that's how tall the original fence was) around my plot, and it works brilliantly. It is very, very windy there much of the time as it is in an exposed coastal location, but the netting makes a huge difference.

A smallish enclosure of netting would, I'm sure, be great for putting hardening off seedlings inside. It's pretty cheap too, which is a bonus!

[valentino]

thanks very much for the advice. I bought a mini greenhouse from homebase yesterday and have secured it to a fence at the bottom of the garden. I have't had the courage to put my plants in it yet but they do need to start to go out the courgettes now have quite a few flowers on them not sure but think they are male.

[chris]

The ones with the long stems are male, they usually come first, basically to attract insects to the location of them, so they know to return as they'll be more flowers there.