Seeds to Sow in February

February is the month where it starts to get a little bit lighter and the promise of Spring is just around the corner. There are plenty of seeds that you can start to sow indoors as well as some hardier ones that we can direct sow outside in milder parts of the UK. Here are some ideas of seeds to sow in February.

Indoors
You can start these ahead of the main growing season, ideally in a greenhouse, cold frame or heated propagator:

• Tomatoes, peppers, chillies and aubergines. These are long season crops that often benefit from an early sowing.

• Lettuce, spinach and leafy greens.

• Onions. I’ll be started some mammoth onions in the hopes of getting whoppers later down the line.

Sow Outside
In milder parts of the UK or under cloches/fleece these seeds can be sown in February (just make sure your soil is workable i.e. not frozen or waterlogged)

• Broad beans outdoors or in cold frame.

• Early peas under cloche protection.

• Shallots and garlic (plant out where soil is not wet or frozen). I admit I have already planted out my garlic (I did that in December), but my shallots and onion sets will go out this month.

• Early carrots and radishes

• Jerusalem artichokes can be planted out.

Quick Seed Sowing Tips

• Use quality seed compost for pots and trays indoors.

• Label trays clearly with sowing date and variety. This might feel laborious but trust me you’ll thank yourself later!

• Sow tender crops indoors first and only plant them outside once the risk of frost has passed. Light levels are still low, so consider grow lights for indoor sowings. I use a grow light and it prevents leggy seedlings.

• Hardening off: before moving seedlings outside later, gradually acclimatise them to cooler temperatures.