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I adore gardening and am lucky enough to have my own patch on my parent’s allotment. So I thought sharing what to plant and prepare each month would be fun, and a useful new series to start on my blog. My go-to advice (apart from my parents) is ‘The Green Gardening Handbook’ by Nancy Birtwhistle*. She has great tips on protecting your crops from pests using natural methods, rather than using weed killers or pesticides. Onto the February gardening jobs to add to your to-do list!
The benefits of gardening
There is an abundance of reasons as to how and why gardening benefits us, here are a few.
- Mental Health: Gardening is a brilliant activity to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, with GPs now prescribing it. The act of looking after a plant or seedlings can give us a purpose and a sense of achievement. Plus, there’s the benefit of beautiful flowers and tasty vegetables when it fruits!
- Exercise: There are plenty of different gardening jobs to undertake, each using slightly different muscles which results in a balanced workout.
- Vitamin D: We are a lot like plants as we need sunlight which helps our body to create vitamin D. This vitamin has lots of health benefits such as fighting disease and reducing inflammation. Whilst February isn’t the best month to create an abundance of it, there is the occasional sunlight glimmer.
- Relaxation: I find gardening very relaxing, especially weeding which I find so satisfying (might be on my own there!). Being in nature and listening to the bird song is so good for me.
- Healthy eating: Growing fruit and vegetables yourself encourages healthy eating, as we are always more inclined to eat something that we have grown ourselves. Homegrown is always going to be healthier, as you know exactly what you have/haven’t put on the plant. Opt for organic!
- Sustainability: It is so much more sustainable to grow your own food which you know is in season, rather than relying on supermarkets. Supermarkets tend to sell ‘perfect’ veg that has been sprayed with pesticides or additives. There are also the food miles that shop-bought food has to allow them to sell it all year round. As well as this, they are often in plastic to preserve them longer, whereas growing your own means you can pick it when you need to, ensuring the freshest food.
- Wildlife: Planting pollinator-friendly plants is a brilliant way to attract wildlife into your garden or allotment. By attracting wildlife, they can act as natural predators of the pests you encounter. For example, ladybirds are great at reducing the number of aphids on broad bean plants.

Gardening jobs in February
There are fewer February gardening jobs than there are in the summer months, but there are still several important things to do to prepare your growing space.
Prepare your beds
One of the biggest February gardening jobs is to prepare your growing beds! Avoid doing this task if the soil is frozen or wet. You will want to have a good go at weeding through the soil. This could be done little and often or in one go. Personally, I prefer to do it all at once but I know lots of people who dislike weeding! Once you have done this, add some compost to aid plant growth and soil health.
Harvest kale and chard leaves
Kale and chard make great overwinter crops! These are still available during February, and new shoots will be beginning to show with extending daylight hours. They go great in stir fry and pasta dishes – yum.
Continue reading: Gardening jobs in February – What to plant and prepare this month
Divide snowdrop plants
You may have planted some snowdrop bulbs in October, or maybe you have some already in your garden. Snowdrops are still available to plant during February and March in their green form. This is a successful method and is favoured over snowdrop bulb planting. The native habitat of snowdrops is woodland, therefore they do best in well-drained soil in light shade. Divide the snowdrop plants every few years to promote new growth.

Organise your seed packets
This is less of a physical gardening job and more of a way to keep organised. February is a great time for sorting through your seed packets and checking the use-by dates. Some seeds may be alright and still come up after this date.
I keep my seeds all in one box so that I don’t lose them. If you have lots of seeds, you could have different boxes for different categories such as vegetables and flowers. Within the box, you will want them to be organised as well. Alphabetical may seem like the best idea, but I prefer to order mine by when I need to sow them. This makes it so much easier to stay on top of and I’m less likely to forget something! Again, if you have lots of seeds you could put up monthly dividers, and within that have them alphabetically. It is all down to personal preference and what keeps you on track!
Sow sweet pea seeds
You can sow sweet pea seeds in both autumn and spring, but they will need to stay in a frost-free location if planted in the autumn. If you haven’t planted them in autumn, or want to plant some more, sowing sweet pea seeds can be added to your list of February gardening jobs. You will want to sow the seeds in cell trays, with about 3-4 seeds per cell. I think my mum and I have about 13 varieties this year! Plus, I saved some from my plants last summer so will be sowing a mix of seeds. Plant these out in late May.
Sow vegetable seeds
You can grow a selection of vegetable seeds under a propagator in February. Alternatively, you could wait until March or even April. I would recommend buying a propagator as they are so useful throughout the growing season and are around Β£15-Β£20. Sowing your seeds early also means that you can extend the growing season.
Vegetables to consider growing in February:
- Tomatoes (under a propagator)
- Peas – could grow in toilet rolls
- Chillies (under a propagator)
- Broad beans – could direct sow, I prefer to sow the seeds in trays and plant them out as plugs
Which February gardening jobs are on your to-do list?
Caroline β‘
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