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Here is our round-up of news, top tips and ideas for the month of February!
The first signs of spring are in the air, despite a surprisingly snowy start to the year! The days are getting longer once again, and many bulbs are beginning to bud.
February often brings frosty but clear days, making it the ideal time for preparation and planning for the year ahead!
• Chit your seed potatoes – If the ground is still cold to the touch, hold fire on planting seed potatoes. Instead, there is a huge benefit to chitting first early potatoes – essentially bringing them into bud before planting. This process should be undertaken about 6 weeks before you want to plant them.
• Prune deciduous ornamental grass – Using sharp secateurs or shears, cut back straw-like grasses, such as miscanthus, hakonechloa, and panicum. Leave less-hardy varieties for another month.
• Plant lilies in pots – Fill a pot with potting compost and plant each lily bulb, leaving about 5cm between them. Add a layer of compost atop the bulbs – the depth of this compost layer should be similar to the height of the bulbs. Soak the compost with water, then wait for the shoots to emerge in spring.
• Ventilate your greenhouse – Whenever possible, open up the windows, doors, and vents of your greenhouse for an hour or two in the afternoon of mild days. This helps to reduce mould growth and the spread of disease throughout the winter months.
• Put up a nest box – Encourage a variety of birds to your garden by providing a nest box. Place one 1-3m above the ground, in a relatively sheltered spot and out of reach of cats and squirrels. Discover our entire birdcare and wildlife range here.
• Cut lawn edges – Though it’s not quite time to get your lawnmower out, trimming the edges of your lawn using an edging tool will instantly neaten up your garden.
• Feed fruit bushes – Ensuring the soil is moist and weed-free, sprinkle high-potassium plant food around the base of fruit bushes. This will ensure they have enough nutrients for the year ahead and won’t need feeding again.
• Warm the soil with cloches – Prepare for planting early crops by adding cloches to the areas that you plan to utilise. Be sure to remove any weeds or old roots first.
Visit either of our centres to pick up essential gardening tools!
National Hedgehog Day takes place on the 2nd of February each year! In the UK, it’s currently hibernation season, and unfortunately our spiky little friends are becoming increasingly endangered – but there’s always plenty to be done to protect them.
Take a look at some of our top tips below:
• Create a log pile – Log piles provide shelter for insects and, therefore, make the perfect foraging place for hedgehogs. Create your log pile in a shady area of the garden, replenishing the logs every now and again as the wood begins to rot down.
• Add variety to your garden – Having a mixture of plants, shrubs and trees in your garden may be a long-term strategy but it aids massively in provided shelter and food for hedgehogs and a variety of other animal species.
• Create a wildlife pond – Don’t let the word “pond” be a worry, as you can simply use a shallow container or a water-tight structure like a sink in order to create a pleasant drinking place for hedgehogs. Plants will colonise here naturally, and rainwater can be used to fill it up!
• Add a hedgehog home to your garden – Provide a safe place for hedgehogs to rest by placing a hedgehog home somewhere peaceful in your garden. View our range of animal houses here.
• Create a compost heap – Compost heaps are rife with worms, slugs and earwigs which provide essential sustenance for hedgehogs. Build your compost heap on soil rather than solid ground to ensure easy access for these creepy crawlies.
• Broad beans – Sow broad beans in modules, ready for planting out in spring.
• Garlic cloves – Planting garlic now means it still has time to develop by summer. Split a bulb into cloves and set the cloves on the soil, leaving about 15cm between each. Plant them with the pointed tip upwards at a depth of 6cm, then firm the soil down.
• Jerusalem artichoke – Opt for a sunny spot with plenty of space and prepare the soil by weeding and adding compost. Plant the tubers 30cm apart and 15cm deep. They can also be grown in a large tub.
• Tomatoes – Fill a small pot with seed compost, water well, then sow three or four seeds on the surface. Cover with vermiculite and keep at around 18°C or cover with a clear plastic bag and place on a warm windowsill. As soon as seedlings appear, uncover the pot and place it in as much light as possible, to prevent the plant growing thin.
• Chillies – Plant chilli seeds using the same method as tomatoes, planting a few extra seeds than required, in case of losses. When the seedlings reach 2.5cm tall, move each one into its own small pot filled with multi-purpose compost.
The BBC Gardeners World Spring Fair will be returning from the 2nd – 4th of May! If you book your tickets before the 16th of February, you can save 15% off the standard price!
Whether you’re an experienced gardener, a novice, or simply someone who appreciates the beauty of nature, this event has something for everyone – offering garden design ideas, a variety of stalls, and specialist horticultural knowledge from top gardening experts!
Find out more here.
There’s still a winter chill in the air, so take advantage of our three hot offers on firewood and stock up now!
If you’re starting to stock up for next winter, seasoning our air-dried hardwood or softwood logs in one of our Stocksmoor, Heritage, Midgley or Wortley log stores will ensure they are in perfect clean-burning, low moisture condition.
Our log stores are essential for anyone wishing to store large amounts of firewood, and are available in a range of stock sizes, with larger bespoke sizes available to be built to order.
This February half term, why not visit our Midgley Centre with your children?
Our Little Acorn coffee stop at Midgley is a lovely destination for all the family to enjoy!
Housed in a converted vintage horse box, we serve a variety of hot drinks that are sure to warm you up in this chilly weather! A children’s hot chocolate is also available – smaller and slightly cooler than our regular hot chocolate, with plenty of cream and marshmallows!
We also serve cold drinks and cakes, including gluten-free and vegan options.
Whilst you’re here, why not have an adventure with your children on our two nature trails of differing lengths? There are historical facts about the area dotted throughout, so you can explore and learn at your own pace!
Discover our nature-themed fairy trail at Midgley – Let your children run, explore, and learn about local nature!
Each fairy represents a woodland species, with unique wings designed by artist Lanson Moore. Find hidden fairies, discover top tips, and uncover interesting facts along the way.
• Leeks – This hardy vegetable can be harvested as and when required throughout the winter months, even after severe frost.
• Swedes – Though swedes can survive the cold, they should be harvested this month to avoid them becoming too coarse to eat.
Members of the brassica family can continually be harvested as and when required, including:
• Cauliflower – Cauliflowers will have stopped growing by the time they are picked and should last for a while after harvesting.
• Cabbage – If harvesting and storing winter cabbages, hang them in a cool place. Otherwise, they can be left in the ground until needed.
• Broccoli – Harvest broccoli spears regular to stimulate further growth.
• Brussels sprouts – Pick one by one as they mature.
Tough Plants: Garden Gladiators That Pack A Punch In Extreme Weather by Val Bourne
Featuring over 40 beautiful, hard-working species, Tough Plants will ensure your garden withstands even the most extreme weather.
Available from Amazon here.
“In the coldest February, as in every other month in every other year, the best thing to hold on to in this world is each other.”
– Linda Ellerbee
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