Fernhurst
Horticultural Society

 
Jules Watt
I wonder how many of you spent Christmas and New Year with the flu!  Well, that was me, my husband and several other members of the family.  Many people find these early months of the year pretty tough with the continuing bad weather and low light levels.  Personally,  although we are far from any decent weather, the promise of the new growing season and prospect of better weather, longer days and getting my hands dirty makes it an exciting time of year.

Here are some of the jobs that, weather permitting, I like to think about getting done.  Firstly, pruning and cutting back.  Roses, hydrangea, wisteria, buddleia, clematis, fuchsia and abelia are all shrubs which need a hard prune now.  These plants grow vigorously once the Spring gets going so now is a great time to do this.  While you’re at it, thoroughly mulch around the base of the plant and this should ensure a great display.  Cutting back grasses in the border right down at the base before new shoots appear, is best done now too. 

Ideally, onion and shallot sets should be planted out at this time of year.  I tend to start mine off in trays of cells in the greenhouse so that they get off to a good start, hardening them off in March before planting them out.  Broad beans are another thing you can sow early (if you didn’t sow in late Autumn).  Again, sow in cell trays in an unheated greenhouse before hardening off to plant out in early April.

February is not too soon to start chitting your first early potatoes.  I use saved egg boxes and keep them in a cool, light, frost-free place.  Vegetables which need a long growing season before harvesting in late summer/early autumn can be sown now and left to germinate on a sunny window sill or in the unheated greenhouse.  Chilli peppers, ordinary peppers, celery, leeks and onions can all be sown now.
There’s still time to feed your soil with well-rotted stable manure but make sure you don’t compact the soil by laying planks over the surface to spread your weight as you move around your plot.  If you didn’t cover any seed beds in the autumn, it’s not too late to cover some areas of your patch with black plastic, cardboard or old carpet.  This really help to warm up the soil and stop it becoming saturated from our seemingly ever wetter winters!

Here's to another successful growing year.

Fiona Davies

February