Painful decisions on what to turn out first

We'd be lost without the greenhouse when it comes to making an early start with frost prone edible and ornamental crops.

- BY TOM PATTINSON

Seed germination can be achieved in the warmth of your home within a temperature band of 15-20C but what follows is crucial to the development of many plants.

They need good light conditions and moderate warmth to achieve normal growth, before their transition to the open garden.

This hardening-off is something an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel can provide if we remain alert to the possibility of overnight frost throughout May and keep the daytime effect of solar heat under control.