A growing year, under glass.Practical advice for UK gardeners
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February in the greenhouse

Light is returning, but nights remain cold. Begin with a few manageable sowings and protect them after germination.

UK seasonal guidance · Reviewed September 2026

Start with your conditions. Dates are a guide. Northern and exposed gardens can be several weeks behind sheltered southern ones. A greenhouse without heat does not guarantee frost protection.
01

Sow

Sow chillies and peppers indoors with warmth if you can provide a bright growing-on space. Hardy lettuce can start in modules under protection.

02

Grow

Prick out early seedlings before they crowd each other. Keep tender plants in their warm growing space, not an unheated greenhouse overnight.

03

Harvest

Harvest overwintered leaves sparingly and remove damaged foliage. Clear any exhausted pots for spring.

04

Jobs this month

Check your propagator with a thermometer. Open vents briefly on mild bright days and close them before temperatures fall.

Make your own growing notes

Record what you sowed, your overnight minimum temperature and how the plants responded. Check the compost below the surface before watering: the same calendar date can bring very different conditions from one year to the next. Use the seed packet’s variety-specific guidance alongside this monthly plan.

For tender crops, distinguish the warmth needed for germination from the conditions needed after seedlings emerge. For winter leaves, choose varieties intended for the season and allow for slower growth as daylight falls.

Further reading: RHS greenhouse vegetable growing.

GROWERS’ NOTES

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FURTHER READING

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Explore useful books with reading levels, practical notes and links back to our growing guides.

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