Everything I Sow in February
Good news: spring is just around the corner. By the time the ground is warm enough to start accepting flowers, vegetables and herbs, the race will be on to see how much produce you can get from these plants before the season ends. The larger the plant you start with, the better. That’s why I give my plants a head start by starting seedlings inside. Here’s everything I’m starting indoors this month, plus a few seeds you can sow outside too.
(If you’ve never started seeds indoors before, don’t be intimidated . It’s incredibly rewarding , saves money , and will give you the level of gardening you need while the weather is still terrible.)
Start growing long-lasting flowers today
Summer flowers may be hard to imagine right now, but some take forever to germinate. In such cases, it makes sense to start them inside in January or February. Tall, spiky flowers such as lupines, snapdragons, foxgloves, hollyhocks, hollyhocks and delphiniums all need extra time inside to prepare to bloom this summer. You can also plant perennials such as coneflowers and coneflowers now so they will be large and healthy by the time you put them in the ground in late spring.
Spring vegetables should be ready in four to five weeks.
Sometimes people forget that it will be a whole season before summer tomatoes and eggplants are harvested. With proper planning, you can have a productive (albeit short) spring harvest. Start eating vegetables including cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, chard, fennel, cabbage and kohlrabi now. In many places, spinach and mustard greens only thrive in the spring and fall, so get busy with these seedlings as well. All onions, leeks and celery should be planted indoors in February as soon as possible as they take time to prepare for planting.
Although most people buy three-year-old crowns of asparagus and plant them, you can grow asparagus from seed. Growing the tender French varieties is possible from seed only, but keep in mind that it will be years before you can harvest a harvest. Artichokes can also be grown from seed, although most people simply transplant a “baby” from an existing plant and grow it into a full-size plant. Either way, the artichokes and asparagus will go into the ground in early spring.
Hardy grasses need a head start too
Tender herbs like basil and cilantro can wait, but woody-stemmed herbs like sage, lavender, winter thyme and rosemary need to start cooking now. You can grow them from seeds or take cuttings and try to grow them. These seedlings will go outside as soon as the ground is warm enough, but will overwinter outdoors next year.
Sow these seeds now
There are several seeds you can sow outside right now. Poppies traditionally don’t transplant well, so the best course of action is to simply toss the seeds outside and hope that a small percentage of them will germinate. Now you can also plant peas outside – both edible and non-edible sweet peas. Don’t mix them together—sweet peas are highly toxic (though they’re worth it for the smell and beauty). Edible peas need to have their own patch, and both sprout in early spring. You should plant carrots while it’s still raining for them to benefit from germination, while beets, radishes and turnips can be sown directly as soon as the ground is workable.
Also keep in mind that tomato, pepper and summer planting will begin next month. Make sure you have the required seeds and you are ready.