Monthly Tasks
Elder Stubbs Charity allotments is a member of NSALG (National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) and their website gives a lot of useful information (www.nsalg.org.uk). This monthly task list is based predominantly from information from them.
February
Overview: Early signs of Spring appear this month. The soil begins to warm up around mid-February and we can see buds beginning to swell on fruit trees and bushes. Overwintering vegetables start to show signs of life again producing new growth. These are signals that it is now safe to think about sowing a row of early, peas and broad beans using a hardy cultivar.
Sowing and Planting
After the middle of the month it is safe to think about the sowing the seeds of some early vegetables. When the soil is suitable to enable a seed bed to be prepared early sowings can be tried for early types of lettuce, possibly cut and come again could be best for cuttable leaves. Spring onions ‘White Lisbon’.
In a greenhouse or windowsill early sowings can be made of a range of crops to include, Lettuce, oriental leaves, Leeks, Tomatoes, Sweet & Chilli Peppers.
February is also a good month to plant out garlic & Shallots. Prepare the bed first as a seed bed and plant using a trowel rather than pushing into the soil which can cause damage. Plant just below the surface about 5cms (2 inches) deep.
General
Apply a mulch around fruit trees and soft fruit bushes.
Check over fruit trees and bushes for damage and disease problems and take appropriate action.
Complete any outstanding Winter pruning of fruit trees and bushes.
Cover the soil with cloches or sheets of plastic to warm it up in readiness for the next batch of sowing and planting. Don’t overdo it. Little and often is the best plan over the coming weeks.
Check over chatting potatoes and begin to rub off any eyes that are unwanted leaving 3 or 4 well spaced shoots. Keep some fleece or newspapers ready to cover over during clear frosty nights to avoid possible damage at this stage.
Keep checking the condition of any produce in store it will begin to wake up after its winter dormancy and start to regrow.
Elder Stubbs Charity Allotments 