What to do in the garden calendar February week 3

WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN IN
FEBRUARY 15th to 22nd

Susan Explains How To Identify Seedlings
When vegetable seedlings emerge, so do weed seedlings and it can be very difficult to work out which is which! When you dig out the seed drill make it as straight a line as possible. Place a plant marker at either end of the drill with the name of the vegetable on it. Then lightly tie some string to a twig or stick at one end of the drill and tie the other end of the string to a twig at the other end of the drill. This will greatly help to identify the position of the vegetable seedlings.

Parsnips
Parsnip seed can be sown any time from early February onwards up till the mid April. Pick a day when the soil is not water-logged nor should it be frozen. Make a V shaped drill about 2 cm (ž inch) deep and drop seed into it at 2 cm (ž inch) intervals. Cover the seeds over with soil and water well if the conditions are dry. If you want to sow more than 1 row of seeds, space the rows 30-45 cm (12-18 in) apart. Parsnip seeds do not store well so make sure you use fresh seed.

When the seeds germinate and the seedlings emerge in three to four weeks time, thin them out so that there is only one healthy seedling every 15-23 cm (6-9 in). See "Susan Explains" above for how to distinguish the parsnip seedlings from weed seedlings.

Fruit Trees
February is the last month to prune apple and pear trees. Click here for the main article on pruning apple trees.

February is also a good month to plant apple trees but not when the ground is frozen or water-logged.

Herbaceous Perennials
A herbaceous perennial is a plant which dies back to the ground each year and then re-grows the next year. Examples of this plant group include anemones, astilbe, campanula, aster, penstemon and phlox. Late February is a good time to divide large clumps of herbaceous perennials. This should be done every four years or so because it will improve their vigour.

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