February is a month that both excites and frustrates me as a gardener. Daylight is reaching a crucial number of hours this month, some seeds can be sown but it’s important to remember it’s still winter.
I’ve not sown anything over winter. I know many people will have sown chillies and tomatoes and onions in January, but I think it requires much more resource and doesn’t offer any significant advantage. For me, finding the most efficient way of doing things is important because it reduces stress and means our time (often limited) is better used.
What I’m sowing
When February arrives I’m thrilled to finally scratch that gardening itch and sow the first seeds of the year. But I’m cautious in what I should actually be sowing. I use Charles Dowding’s Vegetable Growing Diary, which outlines the crops he is sowing and the jobs to be done each month of the year. It’s a fantastic resource for those of us who often thumb through their seed packets and struggle to decide on when particular crops should be sown. Just let an expert tell you.
Charles’ diary starts in February.
“The diary starts now because it’s a lot about sowing dates, and mid-February is top time for the first action under cover. Light levels are suddenly improving, and on sunny days, the warmth builds fast under glass or polythene.”
Charles Dowding, Vegetable Garden Diary.
Temperature and day length are two primary environmental factors that affect plant growth. Plants have varying levels of temperature requirements to grow, but day length (actually it’s the length of the dark periods) has a much more universal effect. And when it comes to plant growth, the magic number is ten hours.
The benefit of waiting until February to start sowing seeds then, is down to the
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