After a month’s worth of digging, digging and a little more digging for most it’s time to put down the fork and spade and begin to sow your first crops of the year. There are still plenty of jobs to do around the garden however so don’t think you’re out of the woods just yet! If January turned into a bit of write off, worry not! It’s not too late to turn your patches and get you pruning done, and then crack on with the jobs listed in this post later in February.
Planting
February is the month that the planting of your new season of crops can begin in earnest. Tomato seedlings can be started in a heated greenhouse although a south facing window ledge is just as good (possibly better, depending on the temperature of your house) and can offer a crop in early July. If you are companion planting now is also a good time to start of your African Marigolds, the odour of the flowers repels white and black fly away from your tomatoes! If you’ve got cloches get them on your patch and start sowing broad beans, carrots and parsnips in the warmed soil. Other things that can be started off in February include: Turnips, Summer Cabbage and Brussel Sprouts.
Jobs
If you’ve not got round to it already it’s time to sort your seeds. With the early sowings already in it’s now time to get the rest of your seeds in order ready for the new growing season. If you didn’t chit your potatoes or turn your plots last month now is the time to do it! Any slipped panes of glass in the greenhouse need to be fixed and if you’ve got any heaters it’s time to see if they’re in good working order. Cold frames can also be filled up, warming the soil to help your seedlings along. The final job for February is weeding the beds! If you start early, as the weeds are just popping up, you can get ahead of yourself for the rest of the season.
That’s all for February, we’ll be back in March when we’ll really be at the start of the new growing season! In the meantime, get down to one of our Green Gyms, learn some more about growing your own and get fit in the process.