What to Do on Your Allotment in February

February is when impatient allotment holders get rewarded. The days are noticeably lengthening, the first purple sprouting broccoli is ready, and with a heated propagator you can get tomatoes and peppers away to a strong start.

What to sow in February

Indoors with heat (18–21°C): - Tomatoes — sow now if you have a heated greenhouse or reliable propagator. Sow into small pots or module trays, 1–2 seeds per cell, 6mm deep. - Peppers and chillies — these need the longest growing season of any UK crop. February is the right month. They germinate slowly at lower temperatures, so bottom heat helps. - Aubergines — if you grow them, start now in a heated propagator. - Onions — mid to late February is the ideal window for onions from seed. They take 20 weeks to bulb up, so late sowings produce smaller bulbs. - Leeks — sow in trays for planting out in May.

Outdoors under cloches: - Broad beans — sow in double rows under cloches where not already done. - Peas — a first early variety under a polythene tunnel can go in now in mild areas. - Shallots and garlic — if you didn't plant in autumn, do so now. Push into prepared soil so the tips are just below the surface.

What to harvest in February

• Purple sprouting broccoli — the star of February. Cut the central head first, then side shoots will follow for weeks.
• Leeks — continue harvesting through the month.
• Kale and chard — cut young leaves regularly; the plants will keep producing.
• Forced rhubarb — if you covered a crown in January, you should see tender pink stems ready to harvest.

Key jobs for February

Prepare potato beds. Choose your bed and add a good layer of well-rotted compost or manure. Potatoes are hungry feeders and will reward a rich, well-prepared bed. If the soil is compacted, dig to a spade's depth.

Continue chitting potatoes. Check trays and ensure they are in a cool, bright, frost-free spot. Shoots should be short and dark green — leggy pale shoots mean not enough light.

Prune autumn-fruiting raspberries. Cut all canes to ground level. They will fruit on new growth this year.

Apply mulch. A 5–8cm layer of compost, woodchip, or well-rotted manure around fruit trees, soft fruit bushes, and asparagus beds feeds the soil and suppresses early weeds.

Pests to watch

• Slugs become more active as temperatures creep up. Check under mulch and debris.
• Aphids appear on early sowings in warm greenhouses. Check the undersides of leaves on propagator sowings.
• Pigeons will target brassicas relentlessly. Ensure netting is secure.

Quick win: check your onion seed stock

Onion seeds lose viability quickly — seeds more than 1–2 years old will have significantly lower germination rates. If you're using saved seed, do a germination test by placing 10 seeds on damp kitchen roll. If fewer than 6–7 germinate after 10–14 days, buy fresh.