Alan said winter represents a time where it feels like we can outpace nature, a season for us to “catch up”, and advised us to complete a crucial job “right now”
Alan Titchmarsh recommends a task that will help you “get on the soil as early as possible”(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
Alan Titchmarsh has urged gardeners to do a crucial job “right now” so they can complete the earliest possible sowings in spring. Alan suggests that winter represents a time where it feels like we can outpace nature, a season for us to “catch up” and attempt to “beat” her at her “own game”.
Even though the warmer days of spring may feel like an eternity away, they’re only a matter of weeks (March 20). As we begin to thaw out and consider how to prepare our gardens, it could be a good time to focus on our soil.
Alan certainly thinks so. In addition to cleaning his plant pots to eliminate pests and diseases, he recommends another important task – one that will help you “get on the soil as early as possible.”
In a video about winter gardening tasks for the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine YouTube channel, the renowned horticulturist advised that we cover our soil “right now”.
Alan Titchmarsh advised gardeners to do a crucial job “right now” (Image: Getty Images)
He said: “If you want to make sure you can get on the soil as early as possible with sowings come spring, then the way to do it is to cover it right now with thick black polythene like this.
“What this does is to warm the soil up, not a tremendous amount of degrees, but enough to enable you to get on there rather earlier because you’re keeping a lot of the rain off.
“So it’s not quite so wet, which means it’s not quite so cold. And the blackness of this absorbs heat and so prepares that soil just that little bit earlier. It means you can get out there and get sowing quicker than you could on bare soil.
“And for the implements that you’re going to be using, make sure they’re all in fine fettle. Things like hoes need to be sharpened. All your tools need to be cleaned of mud.”
Alan says we should cover our soil with thick black polythene(Image: Getty Images)
He added that, in this way, you can ensure they’re ready to use once you “come to use them”, providing they’re “oiled and ready and hanging on the wall”.
In other news, at the end of last year, Alan shared the frank response that he gives to people who ask him if he’s going to “retire”. In September 2025, Alan put the four-acre home that he shares with his wife, Alison, on the market for £3.95 million.
Speaking to Gardeners’ World, he explained that the reason was to take on a “new challenge”. He noted that he and his wife hadn’t originally planned to move, and moving forward would be a “wrench” when you’re in a situation where you’ve poured in your “heart and soul”.
He continued: “But when you are knocking on a bit (which I refuse to believe, despite what the numbers tell me) you do muse on the future – a future which I hope will be long and fulfilling.”
Alan added: “‘Are you retiring?’ I am asked. ‘Er, no!’ Consolidating more like. Looking after four acres and a Grade-II listed house has been – and still is – a treat beyond measure, but the day will come when it starts to be overwhelming, and I’d rather move on to fresh pastures before that becomes the case.”
You can next catch Alan on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh on ITV on Sunday, February 22, from 9.30am to 11:25am.
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