Page 19 - Thrapston Life May 2025

HALF
HARDY
PLANTS
Let’s venture outside
May is a busy time in the garden as it usually
signifies the end of frosts which means that
all the half hardy plants can now be moved
outdoors. Depending on your area the last
frosts normally occur in mid to late May unless
you live in a frost pocket in which case
wait until June.
The half hardy plants includes
vegetables like tomatoes, sweet corn,
pumpkins, squash, runner and French
beans and also a wide range of summer
bedding plants like petunia’s, impatiens,
begonia’s and fuchsia’s etc.
If you have grown your own plants
from seeds or cuttings, ensure you
harden them off before planting out otherwise
they may be damaged by cold or winds.
Hardening off means gradually acclimatising
the plant to cooler outdoor conditions. Do this
by moving the plants to a cold frame with the
Depending
on your area
the last frosts
normally
occur in mid
to late May
top closed and slowly open the lid more each
day but shut at night. Over a 10 to 14 day period
the plants get used to the outdoor temperatures
and weather conditions. If you do not have a
cold frame place the plants adjacent to a south
facing wall each day and move them
back indoors at night. Although this is
a bit of a hassle it is better than losing
the plants to cold weather.
If buying plants from a garden
centre, it is wise to treat them the
same way as they may not have been
hardened off but kept in a greenhouse
or polytunnel before being sold to the
garden centre.
If you have space, it is well worth growing
many half hardy vegetables in the garden or
containers on the patio. Plants that will give
a good harvest include tomatoes, courgettes,
dwarf French beans and if a warm site peppers.
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