Plants develop different types of cells depending upon their environment. Those grown indoors are adapted to the inside conditions of warmth and limited candlepower. Set an indoors-adapted plant outside and it will suffer from sun and windburn as well as cold. Think of setting yourself out on a windy hillside in early May dressed in a tee shirt and shorts, and you'll realize what you're doing to your plants.
Does this mean you have to keep everything indoors until May 30th? Of course not! There are plenty of products on the market that provide protection for tender seedlings. Spun bonded fabrics like Remay and Walls 'O Water are familiar items to northern gardeners, but there are other ways to guard against the harsh elements of a New England spring.
One of these is a little gadget that's been around for centuries, the cloche. Invented by those master gardeners the French, the hot cap, as its known here, is a dome that fits over young seedlings and protects them from wind and cold. Early examples were made of glass and looked like bell jars. Modern equivalents are usually made of waxed paper and have a flat "brim" used to anchor them with soil or stones.
You can make your own hot caps by cutting the bottoms of clear two liter soda bottles. Leave the bottle caps off during the day for ventilation. Any closed cloche should be removed during the heat of day to keep from scalding the plant. Though some are fashioned like mini cold frames that have vent windows to open in the daytime.
Another trick you can use to shelter tender plants is a wind fence. Prop a cedar shingle or similar sized object upright next to your seedling. It should sit on the side of the prevailing winds. If you're not sure what the most common wind direction is box in the whole plant, being careful not to shade it.
Plastic mulch and planter's paper are wonderful inventions and there are many varieties on offer in the marketplace. Recent research has shown that < a href="http://www.suite101.com/external_link.cfm?elink=http://trine.com/GardenNet/SeasonExtenders/default.htm" target="_blank" >IRT mulch warms the soil better than regular plastic. It lets in infrared rays and some rain water.
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