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Hardening off and weather

GunStreetGirlGunStreetGirl Posts: 62
in Plants
I've started to harden off some plants in the last week. They've had a few hours outside every day in the last week. Today they were out 10am until 3pm, it has been very warm but they were in shade most the day. We are forecast lots of rain over the next week....do I still get them out for most the day in heavy rain? I have cosmos, nasturtium, rudbeckia, marigolds, swan river daisy, candytufy and some I've forgot.
I have been terrible hardening off in the past, and really want to get it right.

Posts

  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Heavy rain can flatten baby plants so it's best to keep them under cover if you can. It'd be a great shame if the weather damaged them just when they are on the verge of being planted out.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Always better to wait if you're unsure. Heavy rain/wind does as much, if not more, damage than a light frost, to small plants, as @Ceres says.
    I often put mine under a bench, which protects them from bad weather, but still allows them outdoor conditions, and lets enough rain/light through. 
    Unless they're big enough, just wait and keep doing what you're doing - if the weather is calm and steady. A bit of basic protection helps [ as in my bench] like a couple of planks or a sheet of plastic/glass over bricks/pots,  under a table if  you have one, or anything similar. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GunStreetGirlGunStreetGirl Posts: 62
    Thanks @Ceres @Fairygirl I don't think I have any way of getting them out, but covered unfortunately. Our wonderful unreliable weather eh.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited May 2023
    Hardening-off is hard work without cold-frames.  It's easy on TV.

    Don't move the plants, have a  cover you can move over them.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited May 2023
    Have you not got any outside chairs or a spot against a house wall?
    The eaves also help excess water, and if you pick a spot out of the wind, that makes a huge difference.  :)
    You can also put them under existing plants - I do that over winter with cuttings or small plants in small pots.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GunStreetGirlGunStreetGirl Posts: 62
    I have a small unheated greenhouse, but there are other plants in there that are not ready for hardening off yet. The ones I am trying to harden off have been in that for weeks so should at least be "harder" than windowsill house seedlings.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I've just seen you have nasturtiums - they're pretty tough [they often self seed]  so really could be outside now. It's only a problem if they're tiny. They're best sown direct later on, or even in small pots later on, then planted out   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GunStreetGirlGunStreetGirl Posts: 62
    @Fairygirl I potted most my nasturtium last night and left them out. They have had a few afternoons out over the last week as I'm desperate to get them out the greenhouse. They get big quickly!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They do indeed, but they'll get bigger if they're getting a lot of  protection.
    It's the same as any plant undercover - it forces them to mature [and flower] more quickly, and that isn't always ideal, depending on the plant  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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