February Gardening

Do these things in february to have a great garden in spring. February Gardening! Don’t wait till spring for gardening, begin with things in February so that you’ll have a good start when the weather gets warm again.

February Gardening

The majority of the United States falls in between zone 3a. Which has a low temperature of between -40 and -35 degrees (F), and zone 8a, with a low of 10 to 15 degrees.

That means that most of us have some sort of off season during the winter months when most of our outdoor gardening is put on hold. By December, most annual plants have finished their cycles and been taken up, and many perennials are dormant.

February, right in the middle of the winter, is the perfect time to start strategy your garden for the upcoming spring. The following ideas are some things you can be working on now to have better results from your garden when the weather gets warm.

Map Your Garden!

Gardening is fun and rewarding whether you have a plan or not. There have been times where I planted seeds very late in the season because I forgot to earlier and still got results. To have the best turnout, however, a little planning goes a long way! An easy way to plan your garden is to map it out and divide it into square feet. Plan on including marigolds in your garden layout!

Order Seeds!

Now that you have your plan, you should have an idea of what seeds you are going to need. If you have been gardening for a while, you’ve probably signed up to receive seed catalogs from a few companies. If you’ve had a chance to look through them and have decided what you would like to plant. Now is the time to place your order. You want to may sure they get to you in time if you are going to be starting seeds indoors.

If you’ve saved seeds from last year’s crops or from organic veggies you’ve purchased at the store, that’s great! You’re one step ahead.

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Start Seedlings Indoors!

If you live in a more northern zone with an early first frost date like September or October 1st. That window doesn’t give your plants a whole lot of time to flourish if you are starting from seed. Many seedlings will fare better and will have more time to produce a full crop if started indoors first.

February is the perfect time to start seedlings indoors so they will be strong enough to harden off and plant outside once its warm enough.

To start seedlings inside, you’ll just need a seedling tray or small containers with drainage holes, sterile seed starter mix, some plastic wrap, and a sunny window.

Start Composting!

Composting is a garden project you can start in winter or any time of year. Having your own compost bin will save you money in the long run. Its cheaper than expensive fertilizer from garden stores. There are a lot of options for compost systems to try, depending on if you’re doing it inside or outside.

The decomposition process is slower in winter with the cooler temperatures, but there are a few things you can do to speed up the process if you start late and are going to want to start using your compost sooner.

Build a Hoop House!

A hoop house is a series of parallel hoops arching over your garden, covered in a heat retaining greenhouse material. If you are especially anxious to get some plants in the ground outside, you can consider building a hoop house.

It can extend your growing season by as many as 8 weeks in spring and fall. By the middle of February, you should be able to plant cold hardy plants in your hoop house!

Plant Fall Bulbs, If You Forgot Earlier!

Fall bulbs need a period of cold to bloom once the weather gets warm. Ideally, they should be planted between September and December, but many will still bloom just fine if planted later, as long as they have some time on the ground in the cold.

If you have spring bulbs like gladiolus, don’t plant those now! They will need to wait until the soil is warmer and there is no chance of frost, as they do not work the same way as for fall bulbs and won’t survive winter temperatures.

For devoted gardeners, winter can be a dull time. Its natural to be antsy when there’s not much you can do for your garden. After getting started planning and planting your seedlings, the last frost will be here before you know it.

Happy gardening!

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