February jobs when the weather brings snow or sleet, rain or wind, and if like me you are a fair weather gardener….
Washing pots labels and seed trays
When that seems like all you have been doing over Christmas and New Year festivities… or even an ongoing necessary day to day job…
I tend to wash plant pots as I need to use them but would like to get ahead with this job so having clean pots doesn’t stop me sowing things or potting seedlings on. I still need to sort out the chaos in the garage where my gardening items and tools are having removed the shed and replaced it with a greenhouse a few years ago. It needs rationalising and reducing. If I reduce to what I need - as opposed to what I would like, then it might make storage more manageable and look a little less chaotic.
Sharpening and maintaining tools
Secateurs, pruning saws and loppers both long and short - need cleaning to remove sap and grime, sharpening and then oiling to protect the blades and the mechanical parts. This will make jobs they are used for easier and give a cleaner cut.
It would also be lovely to have enough storage space for tools. Having lost the shed and then inherited some more tools from my mother, keeping them all accessible is a challenge. Do I really need two long-handled loppers?
Sorting old seed and planning and ordering fresh seed
From year to year I frequently buy things I’d like to try - then life happens and I don’t always get around to it. Checking seed dates helps to identify seed that may no longer be viable or where germination rates will be past their best. I tend to feed my rough compost with these seeds and recycle the packets. This year the plan is to be more conservative with what I grow and I need to plan my seed purchases accordingly but I may succumb to the odd new variety!
Ventilating and cleaning your greenhouse on warmer dry days
Yes, I know autumn is probably a better time to cleaning a greenhouse out, but I ‘didn’t get round to it’. I now have various fuchsias overwintering in there but I know that as the days lengthen cleaner glass will let more light through and benefit the plants.
Checking and sorting old compost
I am still pulling carrots that I grew in old recycling bins. They are still providing a tasty treat especially raw. They have turned out reasonably well with a bit of carrot fly damage due to not getting netting over one of them in time.
Houseplant renovation
My beautiful Christmas amaryllis - variety ‘Glee’ are now producing leaves. I have various orchids that need to be re-potted. A worthwhile job for this time of year and will hopefully encourage them to establish themselves more easily as we come into the warmer, brighter weather.
If you really want to get sowing then try some sprouting seeds or windowsill herbs - in my part of the country I leave sowing my tomatoes until end of March.
And when I’m finished I could put my feet up with a good book!