We have been having unseasonably warm weather for early February here in Devon.

It's tempting to crack on with sowing lots of seeds but we will almost certainly have another cold snap before winter is through so do beware of this.

For a full list of seeds you can sow in February click the button below.

Our tried and tested method for sowing lettuce seeds

Feb is a good time to do an early sowing of lettuce seeds. As with all seeds there are as many ways to sow lettuce as there are gardeners.

Our recommended method for space saving is as follows:

• Take a standard size seed tray (with holes in the bottom) and fill at least half full of fine seed compost. Pat down to make sure there are no air pockets, and to flatten the surface.
• Using a pencil or other similar shaped stick, press shallow grooves into the surface of the compost
• Sprinkle seeds into the grooves at a spacing of no closer than 0.5cm - we sow a different variety in each groove
• Take the pencil again and press it down on top of the seeds to make sure they have really good contact with the compost
• Place the tray in water and wait for the surface of the compost to get wet through
• Cover with a clear piece of up-cycled packaging film, polythene, or glass and place on a window sill
• Do not water again until the seeds have germinated - check daily
• Once the seeds have opened their cotyledons they can be pricked out in to modules or small pots and grown on until they are ready for transplanting

We are very proud of our extensive collection of lettuce varieties, you can find them here. We also have made a detailed lettuce growing guide.

Tips for early pea sowing

Maincrop peas are best direct sown in March, but you can also do an early sowing in February under cover which will give you a nice early crop.

• Fill 9cm pots with seed compost and sow 3 or 4 pea seeds in each one about 2cm deep and give them some water (you can also pre-soak the peas over night for faster germination)
• Place under cover or on a sunny window sill
• The clumps of peas can be planted out at 25cm spacing outside once the soil has warmed up a bit in March
• Peas don't like having their roots disturbed so be careful when planting them out
• Keep the plants well watered after planting out to get them established in their new home

You check out our pea varieties here, and our more detailed pea growing guide here.

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Happy sowing :)

Fred, Ronja, and the rest of the team

P.S. if you have not seen them already you might find our monthly sowing pages and individual crop guides useful for planning your garden this year

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