Blog

It may be wet and cold outside and the soil too wet to do much in the garden, but at least the days are gradually getting longer. This means February can be a busy month for seed sowing under glass or on a warm windowsill, a job that can be done whatever the weather.

1. If you have your heated propagator going it is wise to keep it as in full as possible, so this month I will be sowing some more Half-Hardy Annuals for my summer bedding display. This month I will be sowing Antirrhinums, Asters, Salpiglossis, Verbena, Stocks, Mesembryanthemum and two of my favourite summer bedding plants Gazania and Rudbeckia. When sowing remember that Asters, Gazania, Verbena and Rudbeckia can all be sown on the surface of moist seed sowing compost, then the seeds should only be lightly covered with fine grade vermiculite. The Antirrhinums, Stocks, Salpiglossis and Mesembryanthemum are all seeds that need light to germinate, so they are best sown on the surface of the compost and given no covering at all. If you haven’t got a propagator, you can still sow seeds on a warm windowsill indoors but germination may take a little longer. Always use a good quality seed sowing compost and water only with tap water.
   
   
2. February or March are the ideal times of year for starting Begonia corms back into growth. If like me, you kept your Begonia corms from last year, and stored them in a frost-free place over winter, you can now bring them out of hibernation. If you didn’t store any from last year all is not lost, as there some quality corms available for sale by mail order on our website. Starting corms back into growth is easily done; all you need to do is place them into seed trays of multipurpose compost. The corms should be inserted into the trays so the top of each corm is about level with the surface of the compost. Some gardeners have difficulty identifying the top from the bottom of a begonia corm, well an easy way to remember is the top will have a slight concave in it, whereas the bottom will be round with a few hairs coming from it. Once you have placed your corms in trays of compost give them a good watering and place the trays in a heated propagator or on a warm windowsill at a minimum temperature of 21C (70F).
   
   
3. If you like sweet peppers added to salads or chilli peppers to spice up your other culinary dishes why not try and grow your own, they are not as difficult as you may think. Peppers need sowing this month in heated propagator, at a minimum temperature of 21C (70F) and will germinate within 14-21 days. They are best sown on the surface of moist seed sowing compost and lightly covered with fine grade vermiculite. Sowing now will ensure you have big enough plants to produce fruit this summer going into autumn. Plants can be grown in a greenhouse or a Sunny patio in containers. If planting in containers, grow 3 plants per patio container, as they look attractive and are very productive when grown on a sunny patio. 
   
   
4. If you lifted your Dahlia Tubers from the garden last year and stored them in a frost-free place over winter, this month they can be started back into growth. I always pack the tubers into boxes filled with soil-less multipurpose compost and place them in a warm greenhouse. These tubers will soon start to shoot and in no time, you will have some new shoots that can be taken as cuttings, for this year’s plants. We also have a wide selection of dahlia tubers available on our website.
   
   
5. If you still have room in the heated propagator, at this time of year I like to sow a few seeds of hanging basket Tomatoes like Cherry Falls, Micro cherry or Tumbling Tom, Cherry Blast or Akoya with its unusual black fruits. Sown in a heated propagator set at 21C (70F), the seeds will germinate in 10-14 days. These young plants can then be grown on in the glasshouse until big enough to plant into baskets. The planted baskets can be hung in the greenhouse to grow on until they can safely be hung outside towards the end of May. If you follow my method of growing tomatoes, you could be one of the first to be picking outdoor tomatoes.
   
   
6. February is considered the best time of year to prune Pear trees. First if the tree is tall and established reduce the height of your tree by cutting back the leading shoot and some of the higher laterals to the height you want so it is manageable. Then the short stubby spurs from which the fruit grows can be thinned out as these often get overcrowded. Pay particular attention to any short shoots that are growing inwards towards the centre of the tree. These are best removed, to try and keep the centre of the tree open because this will give a better airflow and hopefully cause less problems later in the year with fungal diseases. But please remember to only prune the trees on days when the weather is not forecast as very frosty.
   
   
7. If you have pots planted with Pansies or Violas that have been outside all winter, check over the plants and remove any old flower heads or seed pods. This will help the plants keep on flowering as the days warm up rather than try to produce seed. This should keep your plants looking good throughout the spring into summer.
   
   
8. Many gardeners grow onions from Onion Sets, then often the head of the Kitchen moans the onions are too large as they can’t all be used at once. Why not this year grow bulb onions from seed, producing a smaller onion ideal for single use. This month is ideal to do this, simply fill modular trays with a seed sowing compost and sow 2-3 seeds per cell and cover the seeds with vermiculite. Sown trays can be placed in a heated greenhouse or on a warm windowsill. These seedlings will soon grow into nice plants ready for planting out on the veg Plot from mid-April. You can thin the seedlings in each module if you wish or plant as a small cluster, where you will get a small bunch of bulb onions to harvest in the autumn. Try growing good storing varieties like Bonus, Santero, Fasto, or the red variety Magnate.
   
   
9. Later this month I will be sowing some summer Brassicas under glass in the heated propagator. If you don’t have a propagator, just sow your seeds in pots on a warm windowsill. If you sow some cabbage like ‘Caraflex F1’ and Cauliflower ‘Skipper F1’ now, you will have plants ready for planting out in April. These will give you an early summer meal before there are any caterpillars about that can feed on them. Another Brassica that will benefit from being sown this month is Brussels Sprouts like Trafalgar or Brendan or our the red Brussels Sprout Ruby Crunch. I like to sow this crop early so my plants are large enough for planting out in April. These will then grow throughout the year and make tall stalks full of Sprouts in perfect condition for harvesting this autumn.
   
   
10. This Month is a good time of year to make an early sowing of Broad Beans and early Peas. These can be sown in a cold glasshouse or Polytunnel into pots or root trainers or modular trays filled with a Seed sowing or Multipurpose compost. Sown now they won’t need a lot of heat to germinate, as long as the growing area is just frost-free. Sow early varieties of Broad bean like Witkiem or The Sutton and early peas like Kelvedon Wonder or Avola or Douce Provence. Once plants are big enough, they can be planted in your plot in March or April and will give an early meal in late spring to early summer. Once sown I find it is always wise to set a few mousetraps near the pots or root trainers, because pea and bean seeds make a tasty meal on cold winter evenings for any of these little fury intruders