When does wild garlic appear?

In Ireland and Britain the first leaves show in damp woodland from mid-February, and the patch is at its best through March and April, before it flowers.

What can I sow in February?

Indoors: chillies, tomatoes, aubergines. Outdoors under cover: broad beans, onion sets, early peas. Chit your seed potatoes now.

What's harvested in February in the southern hemisphere?

Grapes above all — February is harvest month in southern Brazil, Mendoza and South Africa's Cape — plus figs, melons and sweetcorn.

Season guide

What's in season in February, around the world

February. First stirrings, forcing and sowing under cover in the north; grape harvest, figs and peak abundance in the south.

February at a glance

Climate band	Ripe now	Being foraged	Going in the ground
Northern temperate40–60°N	Forced rhubarb, purple sprouting broccoli, stored roots	Wild garlic tips, nettle tops, scarlet elf cup	Chillies and tomatoes indoors, onion sets
Mediterranean & warm temperate30–40°N/S	Blood oranges, lemons, artichokes	Wild asparagus, borage	Potatoes, carrots, peas
Southern temperate30–50°S	Grapes, figs, melons, sweetcorn	Rosehips in Patagonia, blackberries	Winter brassicas, leeks
Tropical & subtropical0–25°N/S	Mango, pineapple, soursop	Wild honey, bamboo shoots	Second rice crop

In the north

The first stirrings. Wild garlic pushes through in damp Irish and British woodland from the middle of the month, nettle tops are at their tenderest, and scarlet elf cup studs the mossy deadwood.

Under cover the year starts properly: chillies and tomatoes on a windowsill, onion sets, early potatoes chitting on a cool bright shelf. Forced rhubarb — grown in the dark under a bucket — is the one genuinely luxurious thing in a northern February.

Imbolc on 1 February is the first day of spring in the Irish calendar, and it is not wishful thinking: the light has visibly changed and the ewes are milking.

What's in season in Ireland in February

In the south

Peak abundance. The grape harvest runs through February in southern Brazil, Mendoza and the Cape, and figs, melons and sweetcorn are all at once.

Carnaval falls in the thick of it in Brazil — the harvest and the party overlapping is not a coincidence. In the southern temperate band, gardeners are already sowing winter brassicas while the summer glut is still going.

Marked days

Imbolc / St Brigid's Day
Ireland, 1 February
The first day of spring here. Rushes are woven into crosses, butter and milk are set out, and the year is considered turned.
Carnaval
Brazil
Falls in the thick of the southern harvest — the grapes are in and the country stops.
Lunar New Year
China and across East Asia
Food symbolism throughout: whole fish for abundance, uncut noodles for long life, tangerines for luck.
Tu BiShvat
Jewish calendar
The new year of the trees, sometimes falling in February — a seder of fruits and nuts.

From the community

No entries for February yet — yours would be the first.

Tell us what's ripe where you are, and what your place does with it.

Find somewhere near you

3 places on the map are in season in February.

Douro Wild Olive & Almond Slopes
Wild almonds & olives · Pinhão, Douro Valley, Portugal
Yarra Valley Berry & Stone Fruit
Berries & stone fruit · Yarra Glen, Victoria, Australia
Hawke's Bay Stone Fruit Trail
Peaches & nectarines · Hastings, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Open the map

This month in the Harvest Club

February's Gathering is Counter-Season — a live broadcast from a harvest in southern Brazil.

Join the club →

Questions

When does wild garlic appear?: In Ireland and Britain the first leaves show in damp woodland from mid-February, and the patch is at its best through March and April, before it flowers.
What can I sow in February?: Indoors: chillies, tomatoes, aubergines. Outdoors under cover: broad beans, onion sets, early peas. Chit your seed potatoes now.
What's harvested in February in the southern hemisphere?: Grapes above all — February is harvest month in southern Brazil, Mendoza and South Africa's Cape — plus figs, melons and sweetcorn.