What Seeds To Start In February

February is a bit of a bridge month when it come to growing veg. The days are getting longer, you’re itching to get seeds started, but outside it’s still cold and gloomy. We still need to proceed with some caution as conditions in late winter continue to demand our patience.

February is the month where controlled sowing pays off, starting crops that benefit from an early start, without overwhelming yourself.

Most sowing this month is done indoors or under cover, with plenty of protection, care and attention given to each seed. Nurture them now for healthy, happy plants later in the season.

Below are five popular, reliable vegetables well suited to February sowing in the UK and other temperate climates. They are also crops that can be used as ‘cut and come again’ like spinach or lettuce, harvesting little and often. Stored in the ground in the case of carrots (at least until early winter with a heavy mulch) or stored as ferments and pickles for cabbage and beetroot.

If you missed my what to sow in January blog – you can find it here What Vegetable Seeds to Sow in Late January: A planting Guide for Beginners But don’t worry if you didn’t start all the seeds mentioned in that post, it’s not too late, you can still start them all in February.

Lettuce (Indoors or Under Cover)

Lettuce is one of the easiest and most rewarding crops to start in February and is ideal for practising little and often sowing. Little and often ensures you have a succession of salad crops rather than a glut

How to Sow

• Planting depth: Surface sow and very lightly cover with seed or general quality compost. No deeper than 1-3 mm.
• Germination temperature: 10-18°C (50-65°F) A warm windowsill should be fine but if temps drop indoors overnight you can cover with some fleece
• Use seed trays or modules
• Light is important for germination which is why you don’t plant these seeds too deeply

Germination Time

• 5–14 days

Potting On

• Not usually necessary
• If overcrowded, prick out carefully into modules

Planting Out

• When plants have several true leaves plant them outside after hardening them off
• Soil temperature ideally should be above 5-7°C (41-45°F)
• Harden off for 7-10 days

Hardening off is the gradual process of acclimatising indoor-grown seedlings to outdoor conditions so they don’t suffer shock from cold, wind, or strong sunlight.

Plant Protection

• Use fleece or cloches for early outdoor plantings
• Protect from slugs once outside – slug are particularly partial to lettuce so protect them as much as you can.

To protect young plants I cut the bottom from an old plant pot slightly taller than the young plant then use copper tape wrapped round the plant pot a few times. I also use very finely crushed eggshells around the base of the plant and around the outside of the plant pot.

I plant mostly in raised beds and this also help to deter slugs.

Cabbage (Indoors)

Cabbages benefit from an early, cool start and are very suitable for February sowing. I love using my own cabbages in sauerkraut, the taste is far superior to anything you would buy in the supermarket.

How to Sow

• Planting depth: 1 cm (½ inch)
• Germination temperature: 12–18°C (54–65°F)
• Sow into individual modules to reduce root disturbance

Germination Time

• 7–14 days

Potting On

• You can pot on if roots fill the module (this just means planting in a slightly bigger post)
• Handle seedlings by their leaves, not stems and pot on carefully

Planting Out

• When plants have 4 – 6 true leaves
• Soil temperature needs to be above above 7°C (45°F)
• Harden off for about a week before planting out to it’s final position

Plant Protection

• Protect young plants from pigeons with netting
• Slugs and rabbits are also partial to young cabbages to protect them well – the plant pot trick with copper tape can work well.
• Fleece helps during cold snaps

Spinach (Under Cover)

Spinach is cold tolerant and ideal to start in a greenhouse, polytunnel or a cold-frame. It’s quite hardy but doesn’t like continual frosts so when started in February.

How to Sow

• Planting depth: 1 inch (2 – 3 cm)
• Germination temperature: 7–15°C (45–59°F)
• Sow directly into modules or final containers

• 7–14 days

Potting On

• Usually not needed
• If sown in modules, plant out promptly

Planting Out

• Once seedlings are established they and are big enough to handle they can go outside
• Harden off for about a week
• Can tolerate light frost once hardened off

Plant Protection

• Minimal protection needed if planting in a greenhouse or polytunnel
• Fleece useful for outdoors in very cold weather
• Some sort of closh will help protect young plants – I very often use a big clear plastic 5 litre water bottle with the bottom cut off and holes poked around the sides for airflow.

Beetroot (Indoors or Under Cover)

Beetroot responds well to early sowing, especially bolt-resistant varieties. Beetroot is a good all round veg. It’s lovely pickled, or roasted and is an all-round workhorse veg in the kitchen.

How to Sow

• Planting depth: 2–3 cm (1 inch)
• Germination temperature: 10 – 18°C (50–65°F)
• Sow one seed cluster per module

Lots of people will also sow two or three seeds per module. Once the seeds are developed they don’t need to be separated to plant out. They can be planted together and will gently push each other apart as they grow. This is called multi sowing and is a planting technique often used for spring onions, leeks, radishes and beets.

Germination Time

• 10–21 days

Potting On

• Beetroot transplants well if roots are kept intact
• Avoid teasing apart seedlings

Planting Out

• When plants are 2 – 4 inches (5–10 cm) tall
• Soil temperature above 7°C (45°F)
• Harden off for a couple of days before planting

Plant Protection

• Fleece in cold weather
• Netting may be needed later for leaf miners

I don’t have time to go in-depth into the problem of leaf miner now – but if you want to read more the RHS has some excellent information on beet leaf miner https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/beet-leaf-miner

Carrots (Under Cover, Final Position)

Carrots can be sown early but only if they can stay in their final growing position.

How to Sow

• Planting depth: 1 cm (½ inch)
• Germination temperature: 7–16°C (45–60°F)
• Sow directly into:
  • Grow bags
  • Raised beds under cover
  • In the ground if very well protected – they will need a large closh with airflow to keep soil temps around 7 – 16 °C

Germination Time

• 14 – 21 days (sometimes longer) Carrot are notoriously slow to germinate.

Potting On

• Plant in final planting spot and protect.
• Carrots dislike root disturbance, which causes forking

Planting Out

• Sow in their final growing space

Plant Protection

• Keep compost evenly moist during germination
• Protect containers with fleece
• Later, use mesh to protect against carrot fly

For more detailed information on carrot root fly see the RHS (Royal Horticultural society) website here https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/carrot-fly

Disturbing carrot roots at any stage can permanently affect the crop.

Some people will put a plank of wood over newly sown carrot seeds until they start to show through the soil. The wood helps with moisture retention and can keep the soil warm enough for germination. Just make sure the wood has not been treated with any nasties that might leach into the soil.

A Final Note on February Sowing

Broad beans and peas for shoots can also be sown in February – however these are quite hardy so shouldn’t need special treatment. Keep them indoors or under cover until they are large enough to handle, harden them off for a few days then plant out. It’s always worth protecting them form beasty damage with a closh or netting until they are well established plants.

Don’t be tempted to plant everything at the same time – assess your space and take your time.

Smaller sowings on a regular basis will help reduce overwhelm, reduce waste, and ensure you can plan where you are going to put all your precious young plants when it comes time to plant them out into their final growing space.

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