February is finally upon us, spring has almost sprung, and every day brings a little more sunshine. But even though mother nature has not quite woken up from her winter hibernation just yet, we have got plenty of veggies you can sow this month to get a head start on this year’s harvest
Broad beans
February is a great time to sow broad beans since they will be well-matured long before the bugs that arrive later in spring. If your ground is still waterlogged, or you suspect a few more frosts to come, start them in seed trays in a greenhouse or cold frame. They’ll be ready to plant out in late March or early April.
If you’re sowing broad beans directly into the ground, place a cloche or some horticultural fleece over the planting site a week or so beforehand to warm the soil in advance and speed up germination. Keep them covered until the seedlings emerge, and stake them with a garden cane as they begin shooting upwards. These emerald gems are super low-maintenance and will thrive in pots too if you’re short on space. Plus, they taste so much sweeter when they’re homegrown!
Carrots
The bright days and cool temperatures of February are ideal for starting carrots. Although they can be sown pretty much year-round, they’re really a cool season crop and can taste a little bitter when grown in the high heat of summer.
Carrots can be sown directly into the ground in a full sun position and covered with cloches until young seedlings appear. Don’t forget to thin them out after a few weeks, since carrots hate being overcrowded. They’re a fab food crop for gardeners with sandier soils that other veggies struggle to thrive in. Your early carrots should be ready in three to four months, but you can continue sowing them from now until autumn for a year-round supply!
Aubergine
Aubergines need a long growing season to produce their glossy purple fruits, so get them started now for a bumper crop. They need to be sown and grown somewhere warm to thrive, so a heated propagator, greenhouse, or centrally-heated conservatory is ideal. You could even start them in an airing cupboard, just remember to move them somewhere warm and bright as soon as seedlings appear.
Aubergines are tender vegetables, so don’t move them outside until the last frost has long since passed. They’re real sun-worshippers, so they’ll need a sheltered full-sun position to produce fruits. Keep them regularly watered as the temperature increases, and watch out for those thorns as they grow!
Radish
Radishes are the true superheroes of any veg patch. They mature quickly, they’re a great companion plant for pest-prone crops, and every part of the plant is edible, from roots to leaves! As members of the Brassica family, radishes are prone to bolting in high temperatures, so start them now to beat the heat!
Radishes hate being overcrowded, so instead of planting in rows, dot the seeds around between your other crops. As they grow, their pungent scent will repel cabbage whites, bean aphids, and all manner of other pesky predators. Since they take just three weeks to mature, you can continuously sow new seeds every couple of weeks for long-lasting pest protection and a constant crop of fiery scarlet jewels of course!
If you are ready to get a head start on this season’s harvest, you can check out our huge range of early-season veggie seeds in-store now!
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