February
In The Vegetable Garden This February
Start chitting early potatoes, place them in a bright, cool, frost-free place.
Prepare vegetable seed beds by removing all weeds and forking in plenty of compost. Cover prepared soil with sheets of black plastic to keep it drier and warmer in preparation for spring planting.
Mulch perennial vegetables such as asparagus and artichokes with well-rotted manure or garden compost.
Build raised beds now, before the growing season gets underway. Raised beds allow you to make an early start in the garden, the soil warms up faster and raised beds drain quickly too.
Rake lime into acid soils.
Tidy up vegetable plots, removing any remaining plant debris.
Continue controlling against slugs.
Top Tip:
Remove yellowing leaves from brassicas, including brussel sprouts, to prevent brassica downy mildew and grey mould from spreading.
This Month's Key Tips
- Prepare vegetable seed beds and sow some vegetables undercover.
- Net fruit and vegetable crops to keep birds away.
- Prune winter-flowering shrubs if they have finished flowering.
- Prune wisteria and hardy evergreen hedges.
- Cut back deciduous grasses left uncut over winter.
