Page 33 - ALG Issue 4 2017

Regular
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
GENERAL
The rst of the winter snow usually falls during early January. In a hard spell, make sure that bird feeders are kept full and put out fresh water every day if possible. It will pay to inspect any produce in store. You may nd that a few unwanted visitors
have been attracted by the opportunity of a free lunch. Also, by now some will begin to be showing signs of stress and may need removing from the store. There will probably be seed potato tubers
on sale in the garden centres. Unless you can provide light, cool
and frost-free conditions hang on until the end of the month. Around
this time there are plenty of ‘Potato days’ held across the country. Try and get to one; they are a fun day out and
usually there is a wider selection of cultivars on offer. You can ‘Pick and Mix’
if you want to try out different potatoes. Set up the seed potatoes for chitting/
sprouting allowing around six weeks until planting time.
OUTSIDE
Don’t be too impatient to get out on the land. The soil conditions can be variable at this time of the year, all depending on which part of the country you garden in. Trampling over waterlogged and frozen ground on heavy clay can set you back at least a month. Better to lay walking boards over
the soil to wheelbarrow manure or garden compost to the area where it is to be used. Leave it in stacks to await your return in a couple of weeks.
GENERAL
February is a pivotal month in the garden. It can signal the start of the new growing season or force us to hold back a bit longer. The accepted rule is that as the sun climbs higher in the sky it warms the soil enough to make the rst early sowings
and plantings. Where a soil is heavy and water-holding it will take longer to warm up than free draining sandy soil. Also, further north the sun’s in uence is a lot later and there is always the arctic wind that gnaws away at anything and everything. Make haste slowly - always assessing the growing conditions. Your best friend is a soil thermometer. Take readings daily and you can consider sowing and planting early hardy cultivars when it reaches 7˚C over at least seven consecutive days. You can cover the ground with heavy duty plastic sheeting to help raise the soil temperature but always remember
to factor in the ambient day and night time air temperatures. Warm feet and freezing cold head do not make good growing conditions. Set up seed potatoes for chitting/sprouting.
OUTSIDE
Parsnips do not like cold, wet soil. Better to wait until next month or April. Modern cultivars grow quickly and produce quality roots from later sowings. If the soil can be kept warm it is worth risking early carrots although, like parsnips, they appreciate warm growing conditions. Round seeded
peas and hardy early broad beans can also be sown now. Give all of the plot a top dressing of a general fertiliser to give a good start to the new growing season. A spray application of liquid sea weed and another of liquid garlic will help to give the plants a boost as well.
PLANT
Fairly quiet on the planting front in January. There may be one or two opportunities to plant bare root fruit trees and bushes. But if you end up planting
a tree or bush where it will be exposed to hostile winter weather it is better to leave it heeled in and try planting out next month.
Inspect the area around the base of sprouts, kale, broccoli and established fruit trees and bushes looking for signs of wind rock. This is where strong winds have blown the plants around forming a crater that can ll up with water. If this water freezes in the hollow it can damage the roots of the plants. Carefully re- ll the craters and lightly press the soil level.
FRUIT
Check over trees and bushes that were planted before Christmas to see if they have been lifted
by hard frosts. The frozen loose soil will expand slightly, raising the ground above soil level. Wait until the soil has thawed out, then gently press the soil
back using the heel of your boot. Towards the end of the month, pick a day that is still and dry without the fear of frost in the forecast to spray the fruit trees with a winter wash. Use a garlic based preparation to knock back pests and to protect against canker.
GREENHOUSE
There can be warm, sunny days followed by clear skies and biting frosts throughout the month. Delay any early sowings until next month. The light levels are low just now which will have an in uence over successful germination and growth rates. Better to give the greenhouse/polytunnel a full MOT to make
sure that everything is ship shape and ready to go. If you have a heated propagator you could try sowing aubergines and peppers towards the end of the month.
PLANT
If conditions are suitable, from the middle of the month plant out shallots and garlic. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to plant out the tubers of seed potatoes. If the soil is too cold it will chill the tuber, setting it back weeks or possibly killing it. All of the chitting time will have been wasted. Seed of early
potatoes can be planted on free draining soils but check the soil temperature.
FRUIT
Complete the pruning of soft fruit this month. Push on with the planting of fruit trees and bushes. Even though the soil will be moist and we can expect rain don’t neglect to water the trees with 10 litres after planting and be sure to water them weekly for
the remainder of the growing year. A 5cm deep mulch will help to keep the young roots cool and moist.
GREENHOUSE
It should be safe enough to sow beetroot, lettuce, round seeded spinach, semi-round peas, summer broad beans in pots or modules now. They will be big enough to transplant outside next month. If you have heat, sow Brussels sprout, summer cauli ower, celeriac, celery, kale, leek,
spinach, tomato, pepper, aubergine, sweet peas. Ventilate on sunny days and close up by tea-time.
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