![]() Start by setting plants in filtered light in a setting protected from strong breezes. About ten days before transplanting, set plants outdoors for a few hours each day to acclimate them gradually to outdoor conditions. For a good crop, it is important to direct the plants' energy into fruits, not flowers. Whether your plants are purchased or homegrown, harden off tomato seedlings before transplanting into the garden. Tomatoes are vigorous plants and once they get going, and the light levels are good, tomatoes grow quickly. It follows from this that almost all conservatories in the summer months are too hot for growing tomatoes. This means on very warm days it is essential to ventilate the greenhouse and perhaps spray the floor with water if it is very hot to cool the greenhouse. Equally too hot and the plants are not happy, ideally not above 35 C. If the weather turns unexpectedly cold, protect the plant with a fleece. Each day, increase the number of hours they. Temperature wise tomatoes are less than happy below 15 C at night, and below 10 C could damage the plant. The best way to harden plants is to put them outside for a few hours the first day and then bring them in at night. I like raffia as a plant tie, it's very strong and looks natural. To avoid this, use soft ties, check regularly and loosen as the plant grows. When the tie was put on, it probably looked Ok but as the plant has grown, the tie has tightened and damaged the stem. The image illustrates the wrong way to tie in a tomato plant. If you didnt grow your tomatoes from seed, but purchased plants from a garden store, harden off the plants for 5-7 days. Depending on the weather, sometimes two weeks are necessary. All upright tomatoes need to be tied to canes to support the plant and the fruit. Allow at least a week to harden off seedlings before transplanting to the garden. Upright tomato plants get quite large, around 1.5 m (5 ft+ ) so they need plenty of support, especially later in the season when the branches are heavy with fruit and can easily snap. Only leave outside overnight once the risk of frost has passed. If you intend to grow tomatoes outside, in late spring you will need to place the plants outside, starting on days when the weather is at its best, placing the plants outside for increasingly longer periods. This means getting the plants used to the cooler, less clement conditions outside, as opposed to controlled conditions in a greenhouse, lean to or indoors where the seedlings have previously grown. If you are intending to grow your tomatoes outside, you will need to "harden off" the plants before planting them outside.
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