Since January I have been growing alder seedlings under light - and
all the time awaiting the gentle touch of a policeman on my shoulder
concerned about my electricity bills! The plan is to grow them up to a
size where they could be grafted onto the cone-bearing spurs of adult
trees.

I have started to reduce the lighting from 24 hrs to something nearer
12 hrs. The temperature inside the light box is about 22 °C. The
seedlings are now about 20 cms high and about 3 leaf pairs down from
the top the stems are about 2 mm across. The seedlings are growing
individually in a seed-tray with cells 4 x 4 cm x 8 cm deep.

Obviously I now have to think about hardening them off to survive
outdoors. Any suggestions? I remember my mother used to use cloches in
such circumstances, but she's long dead now. Would they be of use?

Michael Bell

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