How to use the online alarm clock
As you hand the allotment greenhouse frost check to the next person, set the alarm for 1:20 am and make clear what needs inspecting: the thermometer reading, tender plants and any covers that may have shifted. That leaves another checkpoint available at 2:00 am if the cold deepens or the incoming person needs to report back.
A handover works more smoothly when the greenhouse frost alarm has already been heard once, so test it now at a nearby time and confirm that its tone is loud enough for the room where the next person will wait. Restore 1:20 am after the trial and leave the volume at the tested level. Keep the browser alarm active and the computer awake, or the greenhouse check will receive no sound when it is due.
Returning indoors from a dark plot can make a bright screen feel particularly harsh at 1:20 am. Before passing over the watch, lower the display brightness to a comfortable level and use the warmer night setting if the computer provides one. Place the screen where the alarm remains visible without shining directly towards the person waiting, while keeping a small torch ready for reading the greenhouse thermometer outside.
Common questions
Can I change the sound?
Yes, there is a short list of tones to pick from before you press Start. Softer sounds are easy to sleep through, so a firmer bell tends to be the safer choice for anything early in the morning.
Will it still be right when the clocks change?
Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.
Can I use this on a phone?
It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.
Does the alarm still work if I close the tab?
No. Everything runs inside this page, so closing the tab — or quitting the browser altogether — ends the countdown there and then. Leaving it open in the background is all it asks, and switching to another tab makes no difference.
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