Organic Gardening - what to sow in February

February is a good month to focus on seed sowing, pruning, and preparing your beds for a vibrant spring. Use this time to make sure your garden is well-nourished and protected from late winter frosts.

Flowering Plants

Flowering Plants

  • Sow sweet pea seeds indoors for a fragrant spring.
  • Start antirrhinums (snapdragons) in seed trays.
  • Sow hardy annuals like cornflowers indoors.
  • Sow cosmos seeds indoors for summer colour.
  • Plant hellebores in borders for early blooms.
  • Deadhead winter pansies to encourage new blooms.
  • Plant bare root roses in unfrozen soil.
  • Plant galanthus (snowdrops)'in the green'in shady beds and borders.

Vegetables

Vegetables

  • Sow tomato seeds & cucumbers in a warm indoor spot for an early start.
  • Sow beetroot seeds in modules indoors.
  • Plant garlic, shallot and onion sets if soil is frost-free workable.
  • Direct sow broad beans in prepared beds outdoors.
  • Begin chitting early seed potatoes.
  • Start spinach seeds indoors for salads.
  • Sow early carrots in containers.
  • Plant asparagus crowns in well-prepared beds, avoiding frost pockets or heavy clay soils.

Fruit

Fruit

  • Plant bare-root fruit trees if soil allows.
  • Remove dead leaves from strawberry plants and mulch.
  • Plant new raspberry canes in prepared ground.
  • Plant currant bushes in well-drained soil.
  • Mulch around gooseberry bushes with compost.
  • Place forcers on mature rhubarb crowns.
  • Feed fruit trees with organic potash.
  • Protect early-flowering apricots with fleece.

General Garden Jobs

General Garden Jobs

  • Prune ornamental grasses.
  • Cut back ivy and other invasive plants.
  • Cover vegetable beds with black fleece or membrane to warm soil.
  • Remove any dead plant material from beds.
  • Clear debris from greenhouses.
  • Clean and organise tools.
  • Check stored bulbs for signs of rot.
  • Tidy garden edges and paths.

Pots & Containers

  • Refresh compost in pots to feed roots.
  • Top up with mulch to protect plants.
  • Remove dead leaves from potted plants.

Wildlife

  • Fill bird feeders with high-energy seeds.
  • Keep water sources thawed for wildlife.
  • Add bat boxes to encourage natural pest control.

Pruning

  • Prune damaged or crossing branches on roses.
  • Cut back clematis and other climbing plants.
  • Cut autumn fruiting (primocane) raspberries back to a couple of inches above the soil.

Organic Gardening Tip: Make a nutrient-rich 'green manure' by sowing winter-hardy legumes. This enriches the soil and helps to prevent winter erosion.

Sophie Essex

Written by: Sophie Essex, garden writer

Sophie Essex is a freelance garden writer with a passion for horticulture and environmental conservation. She's qualified with a BSc in Botany/Plant Biology from the University of Plymouth and a MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants from The University of Edinburgh.

Sophie has also worked as a professional gardener and landscaper, developing her practical skills at Cornwall's Eden Project, the National Trust for Scotland, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.