Plant out without hardening off?

[Newbiegrower1970]

My cucumbers, squash and corn have been in an unheated conservatory for a few weeks. It is off the kitchen but the back door is open most of the time. Would it be bad to just plant them out? Does anyone plant out without hardening off? I'm in Surrey, it's mostly above 10 degrees at night now.

[bramble]

Hi Newbiegrower. Cant tell you anything about suash as i never grow them but I would be very slow to put your cucumbers out. They hate the cold.
I think you should be ok with the corn.
Good luck.

[Martin H]

I wouldn't risk it. Do it the traditional way: a few days of bringing them out in the morning and taking them in again before bedtime. Then a few days sat out in their pots overnight as well.

As Bramble says, corn is a bit more rugged, you could just stand the pots outside for a week then plant out. That's what I'm doing with mine, as it happens

[Newbiegrower1970]

There's just too many pots inside and no room in the garden. Argh...

[vixylix]

I wouldnt risk it unless you're willing to take the chance of them struggling / not making it. Its the one thing I do force myself to do, but its no fun!

[TrixC]

I find cucurbits are particularly vulnerable to sun damage if they haven't been properly hardened off, they often shrivel up and die. Agree corn will be ok.

[Yasai]

I have a plastic 'greenhouse' contraption in my garden. I sowed cucumbers the Sunday before last (and kept the pots indoors) and they are up already. I've whacked them in the greenhouse. It's up to them if they live or die. I remember my first year of gardening (four years back, I believe) I was neurotic about doing everything just so. Now I just go with the flow. They're already threatening to get leggy so I could either leave them indoors where they'll do just that, or put them outside and encourage them to spread out rather than up. If they die on me, I'll sow again later on (which is what I usually do... but I fancied a gamble) when I can sow them outside and won't have to deal with the faff of hardening them off. I don't know about squash and corn but there's loads of time to sow more cukes if they die on you. I usually sow mine in June actually.

[Penellype]

I think following hard and fast rules regardless is probably not necessary - the thing to do is to use common sense. Currently nights are very warm and its not going to do anything any harm to be out in an unheated greenhouse. However towards the end of the week things cool down quite a lot and you may need to bring vulnerable plants in at night. Minimum temperatures are very variable at this time of year and it is impossible to give one-size-fits-all advice.

[Newbiegrower1970]

I put them outside and forgot to bring them back in, they were still alive so I've left them out.

[vixylix]

I forgot to zip up my blowaway last night - lowest temperature on the thermometer was 11 so I think I was lucky!

[Penellype]

Definitely cooler tonight than the last couple of nights have been.

[Katnap]

When planting out from windowsill to outdoors I usually cloche the plants with 2 litre pop bottles with the bottom cut out. It seems to work except where the seedlings were too big to fit. I take the bottles off after a week or before if the leaves start touching the sides.