Essential Gardening Jobs for Late Winter

As winter transitions to early spring, gardeners can begin preparing both outdoor and indoor spaces for the new growing season. Now is the time to address various tasks, from preparing sweet pea trenches and sowing seeds in well-prepared seedbeds to taking care of fruit trees and starting propagation efforts. For those with glasshouses or conservatories, sowing a variety of vegetables and tending to seedlings should be prioritized. In addition to these tasks, general maintenance such as pruning, mulching, and even light construction work can be carried out if the weather allows. This guide outlines the key activities to focus on for a productive and thriving garden in the coming months.

Ornamentals outdoors

• If the soil conditions are suitable, sweet pea trenches can be prepared now if they were not done in the autumn. Place plenty of well-rotted organic material or used compost into the bottom of the trench. This material is intended for moisture retention rather than as a feed.
• Outdoor sowings of sweet peas in well prepared seedbeds can be carried out now or in  early spring when soil conditions permit. 
• Fork over herbaceous borders and incorporate manure.
• Vegetables Lift any remaining parsnips and place them in store. 
• Fold the large outer leaves inwards to cover cauliflower and broccoli curds to protect  them from harsh or frosty weather.
• If the soil and weather conditions are suitable, sow kohl rabi, summer radish and spring onions in a sheltered, sunny spot. Cover the ground with fleece after sowing.
• Plant out garlic, onion setts and shallots.
• Harvest Brussels sprouts, kale, winter cabbage, sprouting broccoli and celeriac.
• Fruit Early forced rhubarb should be ready to start harvesting.
• Continue planting new trees and bushes as they arrive. Cut back raspberry canes planted in the autumn or winter to about 15cm (6in).
• Blackcurrants planted during the last four or five months should be pruned back to within  5cm (2in) of the soil.
• Remove the top 15-20cm (6-8in) from autumn-fruiting raspberries to allow for a small crop  in early/mid summer.
• Mulch established trees and bushes with organic matter or spent compost.
• For an early crop of rhubarb, place large pots or boxes over the crowns to exclude the light. Check regularly for slug damage.

Glasshouse (Including conservatories and polythene structures)

• In the glasshouse, sow seeds of bulb onion, cauliflower, celeriac and lettuce in cell trays, giving them some heat and as much light as possible after germination. Under cloches, sow seeds of peas (early varieties), broad beans, beetroot, bulb  onions, carrots, spinach and turnips.
• Prick off vegetable seedlings sown earlier in the season. Space them 5cm (2in) apart in  pots, trays or modular cell trays and place them in good light.
• Sow cucumber seeds in 8cm (3in) pots, provide some base heat 15C (60f) to boost germination. Keep them in the dark until they have germinated.
• Take cuttings of summer-flowering begonias and root them in a propagating frame with gentle base heat at15C (60f).
• Pot on young tomatoes from sowings earlier in the season, placing them individually into 7-8cm (3in) pots, at a temperature of 10C (50f).
• Sow celery and brassica seed in trays. Prick them out after germination and keep the seedlings in a temperature of 16-18C (60-65ff).
• Pelargoniums that have been overwintered indoors need to be pruned, repotted and  watered to start them into growth again. Pot on any rooted cuttings of these plants made in the previous summer. 
• Sow seed of main crop greenhouse tomatoes and keep an even, warm temperature once  the seedlings emerge. It is disastrous to check the growth of tomato plants by varying the  temperature. The best approach is to keep the young plants slightly dry to check the  growth rate and encourage  early flower truss formation.
• These young plants should be ready for transplanting in the greenhouse border or final  growing pots in mid spring.
• Bring dahlia tubers out of storage and place them in shallow trays of compost to promote new growth intended for softwood cuttings.

Ornamentals indoors

• Start begonia and gloxinia tubers back into growth, planting them close together in shallow pots of compost. Continue to remove any house plants from behind the drawn curtains on frosty nights.
• Spring bulbs which were placed indoors for early flowering can be moved out into cold frames or a sheltered spot after flowering has finished.

Propagation

• Any strong healthy shoots 25cm (10in) long from newly-planted blackcurrants can be used for hardwood cuttings.
• Continue taking root cuttings of herbaceous perennials. Place the cuttings in pots or trays of loam-based compost and cover the compost surface with a layer of sharp grit to  discourage slug damage when new shoots emerge. 

Maintenance