Vegetables to sow in February

Some crops can take a little longer to mature, so starting them off early can help them – but only if you have the right equipment to help them grow. Others are fuss-free and don’t need planting as early, so sowing now should give you the advantage of been able to pick your crops early. Here are some of the top five vegetables you could be planting now.

Onions

Growing onions from seeds isn’t easy; it is much easier to plant them from blubs. If you sow onion seeds now you stand a good chance of having decent sizes onions by the autumn. Remember any cold temperatures will results in your onions failing to grow, it will just make them flower. Use a warm environment to help encourage them to grown, so a heater in the greenhouse or placing them in the conservatory until May will work, after this they can be planted in the garden in a weed-free area. Feed your blubs on a regular basis with high-nitrogen feed.

Microleaves

Microleaves are the quickest way to get fresh greens, in just under a week you can have a variety of pea shoots, radish greens, rocket, watercress and celery. All you need is a seed tray, a little compost, a windowsill and a lid. Scatter the seeds thickly, pop on the lid and place in a bright spot, water if they get too dry and then just chop off and eat. This is a great way to save money and enjoy fresh produce.

Broad Beans

We have all bought broad beans from the shops before but you can never beat home-grown ones. Broad beans love being in cooler soil, so these are the types of seeds that you can begin to sow now. When the warmer weather sets in the broad beans fail to grown and will drop. If you have a sheltered area with perfect draining from the rain water, plant them now, or you can place them into the greenhouse. You can also sow more of the seeds again at the end of February, this will give you further success of the growth and you will have plenty to pick over the spring and summer months.

Chillies

A popular seed to plant at this time of year, chilli seeds do like to be planted over the colder months, if you prefer to have a hotter chilli make sure you help it along by supplying it with heat in the greenhouse. You can also sow further seeds in mid-March which will develop over the spring and summer months.

Baby Carrots

Baby carrots are a great spring vegetable; again either a conservatory or a greenhouse will help your carrots grow. They won’t be ready until May but when you pull them they will be root free. Carrots need plenty of water and decent soil for them to progress, you will need to keep a close eye on them to check their development, put if kept in an average temperature of 10-12C you will have nice home grown carrots come spring.

Published February 6th, 2014 by Jordan. Article ref 2307

Tags: baby carrots, broad beans, chillies, february, microleaves, onions, seeds

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