Jobs in the Garden for February 2021

With February still being firmly sat in the midst of the winter weather, many of us are still reluctant to get out into the garden, especially when we look out and see frosts or rain. However, there’s still a number of jobs that you can get your hands stuck into this month.

Post frost care

February can be a very difficult month to judge the weather. So while we are talking about removing your frost protection, please keep an eye on the weather and future forecasts to ensure that you are not exposing your plants too early. Head over to our article about recovering from frost for more information.

Ground preparation

For those seeds and bulbs that are due to be planted soon, now is a great time to start to prepare the ground for these to go into. While it might not yet be the right time, starting your preparation early ensures that they will have the best chances. Providing that your ground it not frozen you can start to cultivate it, allowing air into the soil. If you see that more frost is forecast get some fleece or closhes down to help keep the area warmer.

Seed and bulb preparation

It’s still too cold at the moment to start sowing your seeds and planting your bulbs, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t plan them out! Grab yourself some paper and write out your planting chart. Packets of seeds will have dates on which they are best to start sowing, note all these down so you know what you can sow and when. Similar to this you have the bulbs. For those that are seeds from old plants you may need to research these if you are unsure. Remember to make a note for next year!

Start the prune

Once the worst of the frost is truly behind us, you can start to look at pruning away some of the overgrowth and dead heads from your winter plants. Making sure that the frost is out of the way helps to encourage the survival of the plant. Premature pruning allows the frost to get into the fresh cut and can cause frost damage where it may not have been before.

Other things to remember in February

There are a number of other things to remember throughout February, even if you want to limit the time spent in the garden:

• Keep off the lawn where possible. Frost is still around and your grass can still be easily damaged when walking across it.
• Snails are prominent at this time of year and will be making homes out of your empty pots. Look at washing these out and getting them ready to be planted up in the months to come.
• Continue to feed the garden wildlife. With frost and snow still around they will need extra help to get the nutrients and bedding materials that they need.

Here at Abingdon’s we know that the bad weather means you want to stay indoors, so why not get in touch with us to get your gardening underway and blow away the winter cobwebs and prepare for the upcoming spring. Check out our article on decking to get your garden ready to welcome guests when the weather gets warmer!