Gardening in February: what to do now

Gardening Tips
Shorten, ventilate, sow: The 3 most important gardening tasks in February

In February, many allotment gardeners are slowly looking forward to the new season. To ensure that your own fruit and vegetable harvest in 2023 does not turn out to be a flop, a few things should be tackled now.

The first snowdrops stick their little white heads out of the ground in February. The buds of the imposing and colorful rhododendron are also getting thicker and thicker. In short: Spring sends the first tender messages and lures one or the other allotment gardener outside. And that’s good. Because in February there is a lot to do, especially for those who fruit trees have in the garden. Also perennials and hedges want to be taken care of. In this article you can find out what other small but important work is due in February.

Gardening in February: The most important things in brief

1. Shorten fruit trees

The apples from the weekly market are delicious. But the ones from your own garden taste even better. And so that it stays that way and that the harvest in the 2022 gardening season does not turn out to be a flop, February should start apple and pear trees to the so-called maintenance cut be scheduled. This includes capping all competitive instinctsthe pruning of all vertical ones water shots and the removal of overhanging fruitwood. And in that exact order. If you are unsure, you should take a look at the relevant specialist literature such as “Everything about pruning” (Helmut Pirc) throw. The most important and indispensable helper for the waste is a high quality secateurs. If thicker branches have to be removed, it is better to use slightly more powerful (geared) pruning shears, such as this one Fiskars model or a small one pruning saw. The maintenance cut is intended to slow down excessive growth and stimulate fruit set.

2. Aerate compost

Allotment gardeners should already devote themselves to their compost heap in February. Around the turn of the year, rain and other precipitation compacted the decayed material. For this reason, the compost should be thoroughly rearranged and thus aerated. This stimulates the millions of microorganisms to become more active again. To the Loosen up and ventilate it is best to use a spade or digging fork. Here’s one Spade fork from Gardena. Half-ripe compost can also be distributed and worked into the planned vegetable beds in February.

3. Prepare and sow the kitchen garden

Tomatoes and peppers are among the most popular vegetables among hobby gardeners. And they want to cultivate the nightshade family from the seed to the ripe fruit themselves. For this to succeed, the seeds can be sown as early as February. Important: Nightshades are freeze cats and should be given plenty of warmth from seed to harvest. A heatable greenhouse is ideal (here is a miniature version) or cold frame. Develop under a transparent hood tomatoes, chili or paprika but also magnificent in pots or multi-pot pallets on the windowsill at home. With the right one potting soil normally you only have to wait about ten days until the first cotyledons “see” the light of day. Here’s one Mini greenhouse for the windowsill with a transparent hood.

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