Finish winter pruning and prepare for sowing
Plant new fruit trees, bushes, canes and vines if the soil isn’t waterlogged or frozen. If you’ve ordered bare root fruit trees, they should be delivered this month if not already.
Chit early seed potato tubers as soon as you have them.
From mid-February onwards sow tomato, chilli, cucumber and aubergine seed for greenhouse growing.
If you have light (sandy) soil and live in a mild part of the UK, you can sow broad beans, carrots, parsnips, early beetroot, salad onions, lettuces, radish, spinach and summer cabbages outside. Otherwise, it’s best to wait until the soil has begun to warm up in March or April.
Peas can be sown in the greenhouse in old (but clean) guttering that has had drainage holes drilled in the bottom.
Plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers.
Prune citrus trees, thinning out any overcrowded branches and improving the shape of the canopy.
This is your last chance to winter prune apples, pears, medlars and quinces.
This is your last chance to prune established autumn-fruiting raspberries.
Prune back newly planted raspberries to 30cm (12in).
This is your last chance to winter prune red currants, white currants and gooseberries.
Check netting is secure over brassicas to avoid pigeon damage.
Pick yellowing leaves off Brussels sprouts and other brassicas promptly, to prevent spread of grey mould and brassica downy mildew.
Remove any dead plant material from the previous growing season from the vegetable plot.
Check stored fruit and remove any showing signs of rot.
Harvest citrus fruit when ready (once they have reached full size and developed a rich skin colour).
Cover outdoor, soil-grown strawberries with cloches for an earlier crop.
Tip back summer-fruiting raspberry canes to 15cm (6in) above their top support wire.
Plan a crop rotation system for your vegetable plot.
Rake in lime if you have very acidic soil (below pH 5.5) and are growing brassicas.
Prepare new asparagus beds.
Feed spring cabbages with an organic liquid feed high in nitrogen, such as poultry manure pellets or homemade nettle liquid fertiliser.
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