Hardening off plants in Spring

This is my first thing in the morning and last thing in the late afternoon task.

I’m hardening off my climbing beans, courgettes, cucumbers and sunflowers.

I feel like sitting all the plants in a circle and imploring them to slow down.

Stop growing so rampantly. Just go a bit slower as it’s still cold out there.

But the climbing beans (borlotto) are taking absolutely no heed and are twining themselves around everything they meet.

If I placed the plants closer to the cat they would bind her in a day.

She loves this warm sunny potting shed right now. As do I.

Except there is absolutely no place to sit and admire. It’s squeeze in around the citrus fruits, mister in hand and watering like mad.

And because it’s so warm and lush in there I am giving the big plants days out in the windy sunshine in front of the potting shed to toughen up.

I have in mind a date around the 1st of May to do the big plant out. It feels auspicious. Labour Day.

But until then, the plants are getting daily blasts of the real world and comfy nights inside.

And I labour on.