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Home / Guides & Advice / February Gardening 2025: Tips and What to Plant

February Gardening 2025: Tips and What to Plant

Posted on 9 April 2025

Its February, and the end of winter is in sight; have you seen any snowdrops popping up? Do you still have snow where you live? Despite it still being cold, damp, and windy, you can still get ahead by sowing seeds now and prepping your garden and beds for spring (see below…)!

We hope everyone had a great start to their year! Our January has been full on, even though winter is a slower time for us; Chris and Jo attended the UKLCA conference last week, with Chris doing a presentation on lawn dressing (more specifically, discussing if it is dull). We also turned 15 (!!!!!), and celebrated by sharing our story and history with our followers, and by hosting a giveaway (which closes on the 2nd of Feb so hurry up!!).

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February is the perfect time to sow seeds; it is best to use a heated greenhouse, a warm light space indoors, or a heated propagator to start seeds off before planting out once the risk of frost has passed in May.

  • Start off cucumbers, leeks ad tomatoes indoors, ready for a tasty crop of home-grown veg.
  • If you have a heated propagator or grow lamp, start sowing chillies, aubergines and sweet peppers.
  • Use Field No.23 Professional Peat Free Potting Compost, or our Field No. 7 Seed Compost (please call or email us). Use one of these based on the size of seed and nutrient sensitivity; lots of annuals can be sensitive to nutrient content during the early stages of growth so No.7 is a better choice here.

Prepare vegetable and flower beds and borders so the soil is in good condition by the time you are ready to put plants in; weed thoroughly and then cover with mulch, e.g. our Field No.1 Organic Soil Improver or No.12 Nutrimulch.

General Garden Maintenance:

  • Clear algae from paths if they start to become slippery.
  • Go through your shed and remove any old and out-of-date chemicals.
  • Winter is a great time to put pen to paper and design ideas for new garden projects; you will now have a bare skeleton of a garden, before all perennials and new leaves emerge, to plan out designs. Garden contractors are less likely to be busy before March, so may be available for major jobs like paving, fencing, building and pond digging.

Greenhouse:

  • If you have experienced snow, gently remove it from greenhouse sand conservatories to prevent damage to glass and allow good light penetration.
  • Check that glass insulation is still secure for the remainder of the cold weather.
  • Ventilate the greenhouse on sunny days to reduce the risk of fungal infections.

Lawns:

Maintenance:

  • Worm casts are a sign of a healthy soil, but if you do not like them: brush them off with a hard broom once they dry out.
  • Mow your lawn if the weather is warm enough (grass starts to grow at temperatures above 5°C). Set your cutting height to its maximum and mow only when the grass is dry. Avoid mowing or walking around areas where bulbs (like snowdrops or crocuses) have been planted. Also consider leaving areas un-mowed for wildlife to thrive; the contrast between freshly mown and long grass is striking and provides scope for creativity.

New Lawns:

  • Start preparing the ground for sowing a new lawn in spring: fork over the area, weed thoroughly, rake it level, and firm lightly. Doing this several weeks in advance gives the soil time to settle, so you can have an even surface for sowing in March or April, when the weather is warmer.
  • You can lay turf now if the ground isn’t frosty or very wet. Use our Field No.26 Turfing soil, and see the specification sheet for directions.

lawn

Flowers:

Jobs:

Prepare your beds and borders for planting:

  • Clear up weeds before mulching to make the task of weeding much less intensive later in the year.
  • As the ground gradually warms up, plants can start using the nutrients in the soil to start growing . So, give your borders an early season “boost” by adding some Field No.1 Organic Soil Improver.
  • There are many benefits to mulching at this time: earthworms will incorporate the organic matter from the soil improver into the soil, gradually improving its structure to help roots grow and spread. Mulch also helps to conserve moisture when things warm up in the spring and suppress the growth and spread of weeds.

Containers:

Check whether your pots need watering, as sheltered pots can miss out on rainfall. Check the compost at hand depth to see if it feels dry; aim to keep pots moist not wet. Our Field No.23 Professional Potting Blend compost is perfect as it is made from bark fines and coir; these hold onto water for longer and release it more slowly than peat. Check out our page on alternatives to peat-based composts.

earthworms

To Plant:

Use our:

 

  • Sweet peas: these can be sown under cloches, in a cold frame, or in a cool room in the house. Any sweet peas sown in autumn can now be planted out.
  • Lily bulbs can be planted in pots placed indoors or in a cool greenhouse. Plant the bulbs in rich well-drained soil, and place in a sunny spot, for flowers in summer.
  • Sow summer bedding and tender annuals, like lobelia and snapdragons. Cosmo seeds need lots of light to germinate. Dahlia tubers, that have been stored over winter or bought this year, can be started into growth. Place the tubers in a light, warm place to sprout before planting.

Fruit & Veg:

Jobs:

  • Start prepping your beds and borders so that the ground is decent enough to start putting plants in; weed thoroughly then cover with lots of Field No.1 Soil Improver, followed by Field No.12 Nutrimulch.
  • Chit potato tubers: allow seed potatoes to start sprouting shoots by standing them in trays in a light, frost-free place.
  • Net fruit and veg crops to keep birds off.

To Plant:

Use Field No.23 Professional Peat Free Potting Blend Compost.

  • Kale: start off indoors during winter and keep on a sunny windowsill.
  • Tomatoes: they need a minimum temperature of 10°C to germinate, so start them off in a heated propagator. If you don’t have one, you can put them on a sunny and warm windowsill at the end of the month, which should be enough to encourage germination.
  • Chillies: these have a long growing season so by sowing earlier in the year give you a chance of a strong plant developing. A heated propagator or heated mat is suggested as most varieties need at least 20°C to germinate. Once germinated, give them as much light as possible (in a greenhouse or on a windowsill). Remember to turn the trays frequently if placed on a windowsill, as they will lean towards the light.
  • Broad beans: unlike the others, broad beans can be sown outdoors if conditions are mild or if the soil has been prewarmed by cloches or fleece. If it is cold, use a greenhouse or cold frame and plant out when temperatures increase.
  • Mustard and cress: sow in a small seed tray on a warm windowsill. Sieve your Field No.23 compost to 4mm as these are smaller seeds.

vegetable-planter

Trees & Shrubs:

Jobs:

  • Prune hardy evergreen hedges and renovate overgrown deciduous hedges to promote fresh growth.
  • Check tree ties and stakes: replace, tighten, or slacken them where necessary, before new growth. Firm back newly planted trees and shrubs if they have been lifted by frost heave or by strong winds.
  • Mulch and feed shrubs, trees, hedges, and climbers after pruning to give them energy for extra growth. Use our Field No.1 Organic Soil Improver. This contains plenty of potash, which is perfect for feeding fruit trees and bushes. Mulch in a doughnut shape around the base.

To Plant:

Use Field No.1 Organic Soil Improver or Field No.16 Tree and Shrub Soil Improver mixed with soil from the planting pit.

  • Continue to plant hedging plants, trees, shrubs and climbers.
  • Also continue to plant roses but avoid planting where they were previously growing to avoid replant diseases.

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