Hardening off

No matter how healthy your plants look, without gradual exposure to cooler outdoor conditions stems remain soft and sappy and are easily damaged by careless handling and can be killed off by a sudden drop in temperature is planted out without acclimatisation to outdoor temperatures, especially if an unexpected late frost hits the garden. Hardening off is a simple case of moving your plants out by day to a sheltered spot that receives good levels of sunlight and bringing them back under cover in late afternoon or early evening. If you are confident that warmer weather is here to stay do this for just a few days, but ideally do this for two weeks at least, as frosts can still hit by late May. Quick tip: Set a daily reminder on your mobile phone so you can't forget to bring plants back in at night ;