Gardeners' notes - jobs to do in February
Sow sweet peas
It’s never too early to sow sweet peas - those started in autumn or winter are generally stronger and flower earlier than spring-sown, but you do need a bit of space somewhere to raise them until it’s time to plant out.
Some people soak sweet pea seeds first, but this isn’t essential. For sowing, use a mix of general purpose peat-free compost with a couple of handfuls of horticultural grit and perlite. You can either sow one seed each into long, thin rootrainer modules or three seeds into 9cm pots. Place them on a sunny windowsill or alternatively into a cold frame or unheated greenhouse - they might take a little longer to germinate here depending on the weather, but they will pop up eventually.
When the seedlings have developed three or four pairs of leaves, pinch them out by snipping or squeezing off the top of the main stem, leaving one or two pairs of leaves. This means side shoots will develop, leading to bushier plants and more flowers. They’ll be ready to plant out in a couple of months, and don’t worry if there’s a cold snap in the meantime - sweet peas are tougher than they seem and although a touch of frost may nip the youngest leaves, it shouldn’t do anything more than naturally pinch out the top growth.
Chit potatoes
If you’re considering growing potatoes this year, now’s a good time to get started with chitting your chosen varieties. Chitting gets them ready for planting out and can mean an earlier harvest: spending a few weeks on a bright windowsill encourages their shoots to grow, which means they’ve got a good head start when they go into the soil in spring.
Stand the tubers upright in an egg box or similar. One side will have a few more ‘eyes’ present, or tiny buds that look like they want to develop shoots - position the potato with this end upright. Once these shoots are 2-3 cm long they can be planted out. It’s best to rub off all but three or four strong shoots - this will ensure a good number of large spuds, instead of many small ones.
Maincrop potatoes don’t need to be chitted, as they’re in the ground longest; first and second earlies benefit from chitting because they’re much quicker to mature.
Top dress containers
You may have mulched your borders and beds by now - but have you also remembered to mulch your containers? Top dressing pots keeps plants healthy and provides the same benefits: fresh nutrients, locking in moisture and restricting weed growth.
If there’s a top layer of gravel or bark, scrape this away and use a trowel to gently loosen the compost underneath, taking care not to disturb or damage any roots. Remove an inch or two of soil from the top, and replace with fresh compost. Firm this down gently and water using a watering can with a fine rose.
Finally, add a fresh layer of gravel, bark or decorative stone at the top of the pot. Your container plant is now all set for the year ahead, weed-free and looking neat.
