February

Tree fruit

• Protect almond, peach, apricot and nectarine blossom from frost, but make sure insects can access the flowers for pollination.
• Untie festooned fruit tree branches that have set into position.
• Prune citrus trees.
• Harvest citrus fruit when ready.
• This is your last chance to winter prune apples, pears, medlars and quinces.

Soft fruit

• Cover outdoor, soil-grown strawberries with cloches for an earlier crop.
• This is your last chance to prune established autumn-fruiting raspberries.
• Prune back newly planted raspberries back to 30cm (12in) if not done already.
• Tip back summer-fruiting raspberry canes to 15cm (6in) above their top support wire.
• This is your last chance to winter prune red/white currants and gooseberries.

General

• Take delivery of and plant fruit trees, bushes, canes and vines if the soil isn’t frozen.
• Apply a top dressing of sulphate of potash to all fruit if not done last month.

Sowing and planting

• Chit seed potato tubers as soon as you have them.
• From mid-February onwards sow tomato and cucumber seed for greenhouse growing.
• Plant out garlic and shallots in light soils only; heavy soils need longer to warm up.
• If you have light (sandy) soil and live in a mild part of the UK, you can sow broad beans, carrots, parsnips, early beetroot, bulb onions, lettuces, radish, peas, spinach and summer cabbages outside under cloches.
• Peas can be sown in the greenhouse in old (but clean) guttering that has had drainage holes drilled in the bottom.
• Plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers.

General care

• Cultivate and prepare seedbeds, covering them with clear polythene, cloches or fleece to warm up the soil before sowing.
• Plan a crop rotation system for your vegetable plot.
• Rake in lime if you have acid soil.
• Prepare new asparagus beds.
• Feed spring cabbages with high nitrogen feeds.
• Dig over new beds, but try to avoid digging in wet weather.