February might not be the most glamorous month in the garden, but it's one of the most important. While the soil's still cold and the days are short, there's a handful of jobs that, if you tackle them now, will save you hours of work and headaches come spring. Think of it as gardening's equivalent of meal prep: a little effort now pays off massively later.
1. Sharpen and Clean Your Tools
When was the last time you actually looked at your spade? If it's caked in last autumn's mud and the blade's duller than a butter knife, now's the time to sort it.
Clean tools work better, last longer, and make every job easier. Scrub off the dirt, use a wire brush on any rust, then sharpen edges with a file or sharpening stone. Spades, hoes, secateurs, shears: they all benefit from a good edge. Finish by wiping metal parts with an oily rag to prevent rust.
Do this in February and you'll breeze through spring digging and pruning. Leave it until March when you're frantically trying to get seeds in the ground, and it becomes another thing on an already overwhelming to-do list.
2. Prepare Your Seed Bed
If you're planning to direct sow anything in spring (carrots, parsnips, salads, beans), preparing the soil now will give you a serious head start.
On a dry day (crucial: never work wet soil), dig over the beds you'll be using, removing any weeds and breaking up large clods. If your soil's heavy clay, adding some sharp sand or well-rotted compost now helps improve drainage and structure. Don't worry about making it perfect yet; frost will do some of the work for you, breaking down clumps naturally.
Come March, a quick rake over is all you'll need to create a fine tilth ready for sowing. If you wait until spring to do all this digging, you'll be racing against the calendar while your competitors are already sowing.
3. Sort and Test Your Seed Collection
Be honest: you've got seeds from three years ago lurking in a drawer somewhere, haven't you? February is the perfect time to sort through them.
Check use-by dates, but don't automatically bin old seeds. Many remain viable for years. Do a quick germination test: place 10 seeds on damp kitchen roll in a sealed bag somewhere warm. If 7 or more germinate within a week or two, the packet's still good. If only 3 sprout, you might want to sow more thickly or grab fresh seeds.
While you're at it, make a list of what you need to buy or swap for. Ordering seeds in February means better availability and plenty of time for them to arrive before sowing season kicks off properly.
4. Get Your Compost Heap Back in Action
Compost heaps tend to sit quietly over winter, but a bit of attention now gets them cooking again ready for the spring rush of garden waste.
Turn your heap if you can – it aerates everything and redistributes moisture. Add some nitrogen-rich material if it's looking dry and slow (grass clippings, kitchen scraps, or even a bucket of diluted wee if you're feeling brave). If your compost is nearly ready, sieve it now and you'll have beautiful stuff ready to use when you're potting up seedlings or top-dressing beds in a few weeks.
If your bin's overflowing and nothing's breaking down, consider starting a second heap or investing in another bin. Spring produces mountains of weeds and plant material – trust me, you'll need the space.
5. Plan Your Planting Schedule
This one doesn't involve getting your hands dirty, but it's possibly the most valuable job on this list. Sit down with a cup of tea, your seed packets, and a calendar, and actually plan what you're sowing when.
Work backwards from your last frost date (mid-May for most of the UK). Tomatoes need 6-8 weeks indoors, so that's late March. Brassicas can go out earlier, so start them mid-March. Beans hate cold, so wait until late May for outdoor sowing. You get the idea.
A simple planting calendar prevents the chaos of realizing you should have sown something three weeks ago, or starting things too early and ending up with leggy, pot-bound plants with nowhere to go. It also helps you stagger sowings for continuous harvests rather than a glut followed by nothing.
Bonus: this is the fun bit of gardening. You get to dream about summer abundance while the rain hammers the windows.
The Payoff
These jobs won't give you immediate satisfaction like pulling your first carrots or cutting fresh flowers. But they make everything else easier.
Do these five jobs in February, and when spring hits you'll be ready. Your tools will be sharp, your beds prepared, your seeds organized, your compost cooking, and your plan in place. When the busy season arrives, you'll have time to actually enjoy the growing instead of playing catch-up.
A little groundwork now means a smoother, more productive season ahead.