February can be a mild month and bring an early spring, or it may turn very cold slowing the appearance of early spring bulbs. Your garden activities will be very much dictated by the temperature.
As the soil starts to warm outside weed seeds will start to germinate, this is nature’s signal to gardeners that spring is starting, the soil is warm enough to start growing seeds outside and it’s time to go gardening.
Even so, the odd cold snap can still have us reaching for the fleece to protect early sowings. Always make sure you have a contingency plan, never sow the whole packet of seed in one sowing just in case the weather takes a downturn and you have a crop failure. With more seeds in the packet you’ve always got a second or third chance for success. We have a full range of seeds in stock that can be grown on easily.
Other things to do in the garden this month:-
- Don’t forget to feed the birds to sustain them through the winter
- Buy seed potatoes and chit them ready for planting.
- Prune back summer flowering Clematis.
- Prune autumn-fruiting raspberries and feed with Sulphate of Potash plant food.
- Give established blackcurrants their annual prune, aim to prune out a quarter of the old stems
- Finish planting any bare root fruit canes, bushes and trees
- Plant out onion sets.
- Sow outdoors veg. seeds such as broccoli, early carrots, cut and come again lettuce, parsnips
- Sow peppers, aubergines, chillies and tomatoes indoors to give you the earliest plants for growing in the greenhouse
- Sow broad beans individually in 3in pots and leave to germinate on the windowsill
- Top dress containers by replacing top inch with new compost
- Mulch beds and borders with a Chipped Bark