February is great in that there is much more of a variety in what seeds can now be sown. How early to sow your seeds will depend on your last frost date in your area. You can view more information on this here.
Below are some ideas for what seeds can be sown in February in Ireland. Underneath the information is all of the varieties mentioned.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes can be started toward the end of the month if you have an early last frost date. The seeds will need heat to germinate, so starting them inside at room temperature is best. Starting tomato seeds early will give them the benefit of the long growing season they need. They are heat loving plants that won't tolerate frost, so just make sure you don't start them too early if you expect late frosts in your area.
Peppers
Peppers, just like tomatoes can be started toward the end of the month if you have an early last frost date. Pepper seed germination can be erratic if they don't get enough heat. Starting them indoors is essential. Leaving them in the warmest room in the house to germinate will help. A heated propagator or a heat mat that your seed tray sits on will also help.
Pepper plants will also benefit from a long growing season. They also won't tolerate frost, so again, be careful not to plant these too early.
An interesting fact about pepper plants is that they are actually perennials. If you were to take your pepper plant inside at the end of the season before frost, keep it growing inside on your window sill or under grow lights through the winter, you could put it back in the greenhouse the following year and it would continue to produce peppers!
Foxgloves
There are lots of flower varieties mentioned later in this post, but a really nice one to start now is Foxglove. Foxglove is a biennial plant, meaning it usually doesn't flower until it's in its second year of growth. But if you start Foxgloves now, there is a good chance they will flower before the end of this season. If not, you'll definitely have flowers early next year.
Foxgloves are a native wildflower of Ireland, and bees love them as they are an important source of pollen for them. Be careful not to eat them yourself though, as they are highly poisonous!
Vegetables for Baby Leaves
The following seeds can be planted under protection in a greenhouse, polytunnel, cold frame etc. something where the frost won't get into, and grown for their baby leaves. These are Spinach, Lettuce, Rocket, Rainbow Chard, Pak Choi, Mustard, Chicory, Cress.
Growth will be a lot slower this time of year due to lower temperatures and the lower amount of sunlight. If you really like any of these varieties, plant a little more than you usually would to make up for the slower growth. Providing you have the space.
Other Vegetables
The following vegetable seeds can be sown this month. Starting them in a polytunnel would still be best at this time of year as it can still get very cold. Radishes, Broadbeans, Peas, Calabrese Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Onion, Spring Onions.
Herbs
Some herbs can be grown inside on your window sill in small pots. Good choices for this are Parsley, Coriander, Lemon Balm, Dill and Chives. A south facing window that gets the most amount of sunlight is best. Just make sure to take the plants away from the window at night time if frost is due. These can also be sown in a polytunnel or greenhouse.
Seed Potatoes
Early varieties of seed potatoes can be planted in February. Our seed potatoes can be viewed here. Everything that is in stock on the website is now available to be sent straight away. You can view our full collection of seed potatoes here.
Raising Annual & Perennial Flowers Under Cover
If you want some strong plants with early flowers this summer, some can be started now under protection. Sow these seeds in pots or trays. To get them to germinate quickly, leave them inside at room temperature.
That way they will germinate quickly. Once they germinate and develop two sets of leaves (cotyledon leaves and first true leaves) they can be kept in the greenhouse until frost risk has passed, or under whatever type of outdoor protection you can provide. Maybe there’s a sheltered corner in your garden that doesn’t get hit with frost.
These plants will grow slowly over the next couple of months and be ready to plant out in when the risk of frost has passed. They will be strong and vigorous plants that will produce early flowers this summer. The following varieties are good choices for this - Pansy, Sweet Pea, Herb Robert Geranium, Doubtful Knights Spur, Corncockle, Lupin, Aquilegia, Cornflowers, Delphinium, Love-In-a-Mist, Pot Marigold, Bellflower, Clematis, Foxglove, Lavender, Mallow, Scabiosa.
Grow Microgreens
Microgreens are great to grow at this time of the year. If you’re not familiar with what they are, they’re baby plants usually only grown for 1 to 3 weeks after their seeds have germinated. Then they are harvested and eaten. They can be grown indoors all year around on your window sill. If you haven’t done it before, growing pea shoots is very easy and also very rewarding as you will get a good harvest from them and they taste great. You can see our collection of microgreen seeds here. Or you can see in detail how pea shoot microgreens are grown here.
Sprouting
Sprouting can be done all year round. If you're not familiar with it, sprouting seed is where you grow sprouts from seed in a jar. It is very simple to do, and all you need is seeds, a jar with a straining lid and water.
All you do is put a couple of spoonfuls of sprouting seed in a glass jar. Steep the seed for a few hours and then strain it and rinse it. After this you just keep rinsing and straining the seed each day until the sprouts are ready. some can be ready in as little as 3 to 4 days.
They taste great and the best thing about sprouts is that they are full of all the nutrients that the seed contained to make germination happen, making them very nutritious.
Our list of sprouting seeds can be found here and if you need a sprouting jar, they can be found here.
