by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Work to do in the garden now in February:
Cut back long roses to avoid the wind catching them - save full pruning for, say, March
Stop wall climbers being a problem by cutting them back now
Ensure colour all year with plants like crab apples which produce fruit into winter
Give your shed a good clean before the spring gardening season starts
Dig over bare areas of soil and add compost to improve drainage and to provide organic material for worms, etc.
Put netting over newly sown shallot sets to stop birds eating them
Fancy burning off a few calories? Give your potato bed a good dig over if the soil allows and thus make planting earthing up easier end of March to April.
Don’t forget greenhouse borders when digging compost and manure into beds and plots. Your summer tomatoes, squashes and peppers will love it!
The sun has begun to shine in many areas in the UK in the last day or so and thus get out there into the garden and make it ready for a head start.
Also, not to forget, get some plants started now indoors – in plug pots (use a paper Potter to make your own compostable posts from newspaper) – such as onion sets and others.
© 2011
