Top gardening tips for February.

1. General Clean up and Chuck out!!

Tidy up your Shed, Greenhouse or Garage. Sort out all those flowerpots into different sizes, brush them out then wash in a mild solution of Jeyes fluid. This will prevent pests and diseases spreading to next years plants.

Check all those boxes and bottles of insecticide and herbicide are still permitted substances.

Check fertilisers are in dry containers.

Check for signs of mouse or rat invasion.

Clear out your greenhouse, dig out the top layer of soil and discard it on your compost heap. Wash down the glass panes and benches with Jeyes fluid, then replace the soil with fresh compost from a ready batch, top soil or bags of compost.

2. Help the Pets clean up their Act

Pet mess is never pleasant in your garden and can be a health hazard, especially if you have young children. The best idea is to try to ensure cats and dogs have their own particular ‘loo area’ in a site that suits you.

Dogs prefer to relieve themselves in slightly longer grass and if there like mine, nearly always go in the same spot. So give them a wild area at the bottom of the garden. If your dog is male, avoid large pots, pencil conifers etc on corners as these will be used for scent marking. Why not have a nice post in your dog’s wild area! Put a bird table on top and nobody will know its true use!

I have found the best way of keeping my cat off my borders, was to dig a small sandpit under a conifer. The area was nice and dry, so she didn’t get her feet wet and periodically I remove the waste. She thinks its her own personal loo!

3. Erect permanent support for your soft fruit.

Now is an ideal time to invest in some good stout poles, hammer them well into the ground and attach lines of wire. Raspberries, Loganberries and Blackberries can be tied in to this framework, making the fruit harvest much easier. Late fruiting Raspberries such Autumn Bliss, should be cut back to the ground this month.