'Hardening off' tomato plants

[JimmyMcNulty]

Have read I'm supposed to do this - have got some tomato plants about 20cm high in pots on my windowsill and thought I'd put them outside for an hour or so today... after half an hour they were all keeled over! Brought them back inside and propped them up and they seem to have recovered OK and are standing on their own. But is this supposed to happen?!

They will need supported shortly anyway...

Were they supported/ propped up outside? Maybe moving them out could have disturbed them?

I only do tumbling ones, so not sure exactly!

The instructions on mine (first year of gardening!) say I should gradually get them used to being outdoors so I moved them into a greenhouse (just one of those cheap mini ones) outside and they seem to be doing OK.

Thanks for replies. Instructions say they can be grown as 'bush' types so shouldn't need supporting (unless I'm supposed to prune them to grow them that way, but it doesn't say so).
Just wondering if it was actually too hot - they were in the sun.

Toms need tonnes of water so if they were in direct sun they may have wilted. They normally love lots of sun though.

Stake them, ut them outside during the day and bring them in at tea time for a couple of weeks or so then maybe by the end of May they can go out permanantly once the chance of the last frosts have passed.

i have a sheltered garden and a big sunny windowsill. i don't harden off at all and keep them in until flower buds have formed. then into ground / container, late may usually.