Top Tips for: February

February in the garden...

February is one of those months where we really haven't a clue what the weather will do. Most years it's the coldest winter month but some years you would think it was spring already. Whichever way it goes we have to cope.

Often you will see advice about sowing parsnips in February but popping seeds into wet and cold ground is pointless. Perhaps that's why parsnips have such a reputation for poor germination.

However, if you want to sow early in the season you can cloche the ground for a week before, it will warm up a little and allow the soil to dry off as well. One crop that will benefit from an early sowing is the broad bean.

Once again, cold wet ground means patchy germination at best but if you start them off in 3" pots in a cold frame, you can steal a few weeks on Mother Nature.

Onions from seed do best started early. They are one of those crops that won't catch up if you are late because they are sensitive to day length and once we reach 14 hours of daylight the onion will mature, small or large.


My favourite method is to sow into modules (15 to the seed tray) in the greenhouse, preferably at around 15 degrees. Once the onion seedlings are about 6" high you can get them out onto the plot. Once again cloching if the weather is against you.


Early peas are another crop that you can get going under shelter. Peas don't like having their roots disturbed so a product like the Rowplanter is ideal. You can also use real guttering in the greenhouse to get them started; the square shape is better than the rounded style as you get better root depth.

If it's a warmish February, then sow direct outside but once again, cloching will dramatically improve germination. And it helps keep the mice away. Mice can be a real pest eating beans and pea seeds. Luckily we have a number of rodent control operatives on our plot, the tabby is particularly effective.

This is a really good month to double check and repair if needed your greenhouse. Check for loose panes of glass and replace any broken or missing panes. If a pane is missing a strong wind will get into the house and wreck it.

I've seen a heavy greenhouse literally blown across a plot and turned into a mangled heap of aluminium and broken glass just because a couple of panes were missing where my own greenhouse was fine, the wind going round and over.





It's always worth having some spare glazing clips and the Z or lap clips handy. I've no idea where they go to, but every time I check my greenhouse you can bet a few have sprung out and you never find them.


February is a month where the coldframe is great for getting the summer cabbages and cauliflowers off to a good start. Those few degrees of extra warmth get them away well and when they're out of the coldframe it will be used for hardening off greenhouse-sown plants prior to planting out.

It's a good job the nights are drawing out now, for we are getting busier on the plot. But it's just getting you into the swing of things because March is when we get really busy.

Copyright © John Harrison 2008
Author of the Best Selling "Vegetable Growing - Month by Month Guide"  and Editor of the Allotment Website: www.allotment.org.uk