5 Gardening jobs for February
This month brings the end of what feels like a tough, dark and soggy winter and with it, the hope of warmer, sunnier days. February is a time of excitement for us growers, signifying the near start of the new growing season. As we start to sort through seeds, plan our spaces and even start sowing a few early crops or flowers, we feel the stirring anticipation of what the year ahead may bring. It’s easy to get carried away with sowing seeds, but with the sun still setting earlier than 6pm in the UK and the weather flitting between sub zero temperatures and spring like - warm enough to take your jumper off in the garden - kind of days, it’s still a little too early to sow most things if we want to ensure healthy, well-established plants. And so we turn our attention to the more preparatory jobs in the garden or the allotment. There are a number of jobs you can get ahead with this month while we wait patiently for the longer hours of daylight and warmer temperatures.
Prepare your paths.
Whether you’re a loyal woodchip path gardener or you prefer to use paving stones or alternative pathways, late winter is a great time to make sure your paths are accessible and refreshed ready for the impending growing season.
Over the years, I’ve switched between woodchip and grass paths and more recently have reverted back to the crisp and satisfying layer of woodchip for my paths. While the grass meant less cost implications and time spent sourcing fresh woodchip when the paths needed topping up, keeping on top of strimming back the grass (especially in the summer months when the grass grew at an alarming rate!) was quite frankly, a massive pain and meant that I had grass seeds and other weed seeds blowing into my beds and causing havoc amongst my veggies! Not only do woodchipped paths prevent this, but as the woodchip rots down, it can be scooped up and added to my beds as a layer of mulch, adding beneficial nutrients and improving the soil. To make my paths I simply put down a layer of thick plain cardboard over the grass and weeds and add an inch or two thick layer of woodchip. That really is all there is to it and the results are crisp, fresh paths with a wonderful crunch underfoot!
Freshly woodchipped paths at the allotment.
2. Weed and mulch your beds.
If you’re more organised than me then you may well have covered the beds you haven’t been using this winter to keep those pesky weeds at bay through the colder months. But if, like me, you neglected to do this, February is a good time to start clearing beds ready for spring planting. As the weather is still cold, weeds are growing at a much slower rate and so your beds should remain nice and clear between now and April/May when we start planting out our lovingly nurtured plants and direct sowing seeds into the warmer ground. When removing the weeds, be sure to pull up all of the roots to stop them growing back. Once you’ve clear your beds of those annoying weeds, or in my case, couch grass, it’s time to mulch! There are a wide range of things you can use to mulch your beds to add precious nutrients to and improve the organic matter in your soil; compost, seaweed, woodchip, well rotted manure, mushroom compost or shredded leaves to name but a few! Using a thick layer of mulch also helps to suppress weeds and should help to keep them under control. Mulching also helps to insulate the soil and keeps it warmer in the cooler temperatures, and helps retain moisture in the soil meaning less watering in the warmer months.
2 tonnes of local, organic, peat free compost ready for mulching beds.
3. Clean your greenhouse.
If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse to grow in, these cooler February days are a perfect time to have a good sort out, tidy up and to get it sparkling clean ready for sowing next month. There really is nothing more satisfying for a gardener than clearing out and reorganising the greenhouse! There’s a sense of excitement as you potter around the shelves, organising pots and seed trays, preparing for the abundance of seedlings that will be filling the space in a few short weeks. So to maximise the light levels and ensure healthy seedlings, crack out the bucket and clothes and get scrubbing!
I start this process by removing all my pots and shelves so that I have easy access to all the glass. Using warm, soapy water and a stiff brush, I scrub away all the dirt and grime, making sure I work the brush into the grubby corners of the frame. I repeat this on the outside of the greenhouse and on the roof. Then it’s time to rinse! I usually use a garden hose to rinse off the suds but you can use a bucket and clean water if you don’t have a hose, or to up the anti, use a pressure washer. Make sure you do this from a distance so as not to crack the glass.
4. Chit potatoes.
While we try and fight that strong urge to sow too many seeds too early, we can scratch the itch of wanting to get going with growing by chitting our potatoes! Potatoes are one of the easiest crops to grow in your garden and can be grown in the ground or in buckets or grow bags if you are short of bed space. Be sure to have bought your seed potatoes by the end of this month to make sure you have enough time to chit and prepare your seed potatoes ready for planting. While you can use your own home grown seed potatoes, buying fresh seed potatoes means they are more likely to be disease free, producing a healthier crop. Chitting involves placing your seed potatoes in a cool, light room to encourage the shoots, or ‘chits’, to start growing. In a few weeks you should start to see green shoots appearing. If your ‘chits’ are pale or spindle like, then the room is likely too warm or dark and you will need to move them to a cooler, lighter space. I chit my potatoes on my kitchen shelf but you can also chit them on a window sill or in a greenhouse as long as it is dry. You can chit your potatoes in a seed tray but egg boxes are perfect for chitting!
Potatoes chitting in a reused egg box.
5. Turn over your compost.
Having a compost heap on your plot or in your garden is a brilliant and effective way to recycle and reuse food and garden waste as well as a whole host of other items - cardboard, paper and even old jeans! Whether you have a compost bin, bays or simply a heap in the corner of your patch, making our own compost is a great step towards a more sustainable approach to growing. This time of year is a good time to turn over the pile of recycled waste we have been mounting up over winter. Turning your compost heap helps speed up decomposition by introducing air and mixing materials, and also ensures a more even decomposition of the materials. Turning your compost also enables you to check the moisture composition in your compost heap. If it looks too dry, you can add some water as part of this process.
There are a couple of different ways you can complete the process of turning your compost. If you have compost bays, the best way to do this is to turn your compost heap with a fork from one bay into the next. Many of us use compost bins and to turn the heap you can simply empty and then refill the bin. Whichever method you choose, be sure to take care not to disturb any creatures like toads or slow worms that might be hiding or hibernating in your compost heap.