February 2023 vegetable garden advice
In the UK, we’re just having a few days of milder weather. It’s tempting to sow some seeds! Experience though has taught me to wait, play the averages and increase my chances of success. Do other jobs such as mixing some potting compost, as in my new video.
By the middle of February, days are quite a bit longer. The extra sun strength means that undercover structures warm up more by day, and for longer.
Even then I still use house warmth for germinating seeds! Because of the nighttime temperatures being so much higher in my house than out in the garden, even in the greenhouse or polytunnel.
See my advice for February in this newsletter, which you can subscribe to on the homepage and receive directly to your inbox. It has tips on making new beds, different types of compost, storing vegetables, and all my news plus upcoming events.
The photos below are from my trials page. It has a lot of harvester results for every year, and includes this microscope analysis of the dig, and no dig beds which are side-by-side. Do have a look at that page for more details about the trial.
Remember that you can subscribe to my weekly email, sent out every Friday morning. It has reminders about what you can sow plant, how to look after your plants, what you might be harvesting now, and whatever else is useful advice for the season. Also, there is Anna’s contribution, she is still in her first year of growing, after making beds last March.
Plus we have contributions from you! Anybody who wants to share stories about their no dig growing.
Hi Charles, I wonder if you might give some guidance on going into the new season in the face of drought. We’ve been no dig for some years and had really great results (we are lucky enough to be able to make plenty of compost). However, this month (in NW France) we’ve had just 2.4mm of rain over four or five days and the strong north easterly winds are taking the moisture out of the ground. I’ve always held to the mantra of resilience through diversity, but this year am nervous about what might be coming down the line. Hoping you might have suggestions. Thanks again for all you do.
Sounds bad, Carol and I think someone’s organising this anticyclone to stay there! Springs can be dry, just this could be more than normal and I have no specific remedy. Simply that we continue as we are and the dryness you are seeing now is not catastrophic, it’s mainly on the surface. Most moisture leaves soil when plant roots pull it out, compared to wind. Thanks to no dig, we are keeping moisture in our soil deeper down. And it might rain next week!
Thanks Charles. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. At least the soil structure is good, recently topped up and we’re starting from a good place, even if conditions (weather-wise) aren’t ideal. Keeping fingers crossed for next week – 4mm now promised in a week’s time…
Bionic soil? Perhaps I should describe it and let the people decide.
The soil is derived from what was called Glacial Boulder Clay when I was a schoolboy; now I believe it is known as a Glaciofluvial Sheet Deposit. It consists of stones, varying from grains of sand to rocks too heavy to lift, embedded in the most sticky clay imaginable; if it dries, it is hard as rock. It is almost impossible to dig with a spade. When we moved here, I was planning to make a series of raised beds as the only solution to growing vegetables; then I discovered Charles Dowding and his No-Dig method.
Despite its physical characteristics, the soil is very fertile; it probably contains all the minerals that
plants need. With the no-dig method, plant roots can grow down into the native soil to access those minerals; and they do – I’ve had parsnips 60cm long, which were sown in 10cm of compost over cardboard! Right from the start of my no-dig garden, it has cropped very well; my previous gardening efforts on sandy loam (with a rotovator) are a pale comparison.
Thanks to Charles sharing his experience and expertise, this most unpromising, intractable soil yields a bounty.
Thanks Kevin, that’s a really helpful description.
Yes, it’s the kind of soil that would be a fight if you were trying to cultivate it in any way! I am so happy that it’s working well for you.
The BBC is confidently predicting temperatures in my neck of the woods more akin to late April/early May than early February – 15-18C by day and 1-5C by night. Not just for one day – for over a week!
All I’ve sown so far is replacement Broad Beans which have all germinated. But I’m sure plenty would germinate even outside with the weather we are apparently due the next 7-10 days.
Unfortunately, the BBC forecast for our area (Merionedd, North West Wales) is totally unreliable, probably because of the influence of the sea and hills – there are so many microclimates.
The spell of very cold weather was very unusual for this area and completely demolished my purple sprouting broccoli (Rudolph and Claret). This is my wife’s favourite vegetable and she seemed to think the damage was my fault for sowing late, until I pointed out that Charles has lost a lot of his as well. Thank goodness for Brenden brussels sprouts! They are still good and such a heavy crop.
I usually grow Kelvedon Wonder peas, which are supposed to be a dwarf variety. Last year, the seeds from DT Brown grew to five and a half feet – surely that can’t be down to poor variety maintenance, there must have been a mix up. I think I’ll get some bigger sticks for this year’s crop!
Fascinating feedback Kevin.
I had similar with December forecasts and I think they were all caught out, as we were.
Half of my Claret look ok if not thriving. Yes that is gutting.
You are right, that must be mislabelling since KW is quoted as 18 inches high!
Or your soil is bionic. Nice problem.
We are forecast -4C on Sunday night Rhys, and every night a frost until the weekend.
Nice sun though.
Hi Charles, here is another tip that readers may find useful. If one needs to pick up or sow one very small seed use the bottom end of a moistened matchstick.
Hi Charles
I have just read your email regarding your plastic labels and nail varnish remover. I have a pot that I put all my used plastic labels in and when full use a solution of bleach and water which removes the permanent marker and is much quicker and working with one label at a time. Some of my labels are more than 7 years old.
Wow thanks Sharon, great idea! I hope others read this too.
I write on my plastic labels with a heavy pencil, and remove the writing later with an eraser. I’ll try the bleach or nail varnish remover on the ones with permanent marker, thanks for those tips.
Hi Charles, as i’ve Mentioned previously I only came to no dig later last year. Consequently I didn’t have enough compost for my beds so planted a green manure crop as well. I was also late sowing my winter veg, spring onions, Savoy cabbage and spinach. I planted out my small seedlings just before Christmas. I expected some slug damage but was surprised when some of the cabbage leaves were skeletonised and the spinach leaves eaten off at the base. It looked like a caterpillar attack, the last thing I was expecting, especially after the December cold snap. However after a few more night time vigils I caught a caterpillar on my cabbage and further searching resulted in several more caterpillars on the rye grass in my Mr Fothergill’s green manure. I think i’ve Identified them as Square spot rustic caterpillars. This is the first time i’ve grown winter veg and as I sowed them I thought to myself at least I won’t have caterpillar problems in the middle of winter! It just shows you’re never to old to learn, cheers Ian
Hi Ian, that is frustrating, and it’s a result of the warm autumn.
At least now that we’ve had proper frost, there should be less caterpillars! Best of luck.