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| Daffodils blooming in February |
Sunday, February 2, 2025
With the days lengthening, plants know that spring is just around the corner. In our garden, the daffodils have buds, the "Surprise" lilies, irises and daylilies have broke ground, edible greens growing under cover are growing taller, and my apple tree buds are swelling. Indoors, plants are increasing uptake of water, my New Zealand spinach plant is flowering, all plants are putting on more growth. It won't be long before the forsythias are in bloom and edible perennials are breaking ground.
Since the spring bat signal has gone out, now is a great time to test your soil and add amendments so they are fully incorporated when you start planting and to support the rapid growth coming of your edible perennials. You can buy a kit for testing, take a soil sample to your local extension office or send off a sample for a more rigorous soil analysis. The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals... If you don't want to go to the trouble of a soil test, add a well balanced, organic fertilizer to your garden bed, cover with compost, and top with mulch.
February is prime time to start seeds indoors and sow cold hardy seeds outdoors. You can get a jump on garden harvest by starting seeds indoors. It is easy and a budget friendly option that allows you to get spring and summer harvests sooner and to grow many varieties not available at your neighborhood nursery or big box store. Besides, it is fun to watch green things grow!
Below is a calendar of what to start indoors and outdoors during the next month to get a jump on spring and summer harvests. This is the earliest to start seedlings. It is fine to start your seeds anytime after this timing as well. To find your last frost date: Frost date look up
Indoor seed starting dates (with an April 3 last frost date)
10-12 weeks prior to last frost (mid/end Jan in our Zone 7 garden)
Catnip
Endive
Escarole
Fenu
Horseradish
Leek, if starting from seed
Mache
Mint
Mizuna
Rhubarb
Shallots, if starting from seed
Summer savory
8-10 weeks prior to last frost (end Jan/early February in our Zone 7 garden)
Bee balm
Celeriac
Lovage
Marjoram
Oregano
Scallions, if starting from seed
Thyme
Outdoor plantings in February
Asparagus, fruit trees and bushes, garlic, grapes, shallots, spinach and peas seeds can be planted in the garden as soon as the soil can be worked. Outdoor seed sowing seed starting times If gardening in mulched flower beds, I clear a small slit in the mulch and then sow the seeds and cover with potting soil. Most seedlings are not quite strong enough to break through mulch. As soon as they are fairly sturdy, I bring the mulch back in around the plants.  |
| Seedlings in Aerogarden seed starting system |
Seed Starting Tips
What are the tricks to successful indoor seed starting? The most surefire I have found with a gadget is the Aerogarden with the seed starting tray. I have almost 100% germination rate with it.
When starting in coir/peat pots, the key is using sterile seed starting mix, pots and containers. You can make your own seed starting mix with peat moss or coir (renewable), compost, and vermiculite. Just be sure to heat the compost to at least 150 degrees for 20 minutes to kill any pathogens before using to start seeds.
After filling the pots with sterile seed starting mix, plant the seeds at the recommended depth and water at the bottom (watering from the top can dislodge seeds). After the mix has absorbed the water, the pots are ready to put in a catch pan. Make sure any catch pan that you use has been thoroughly washed in a bleach solution so all pathogens are killed. You want the soil mix moist and not sopping wet.
This year, I started my onion seeds in biodegradable peat and coir pots under grow lights in the basement. Keep soil moist, but not wet, with the heating pad on during the day and off at night if using until seedling emerges. You can use a spray bottle to spritz the soil to keep it moist. Once seedling emerges, remove the heating pad. If you don't have a grow light, place the tray in a south facing window for the best light. I will use a heating mat when I start the summer lovers.
Make sure you label your seedlings as soon as you plant them; you may think you will remember 2 months from now what was where, but likely not. I put the plant marker in the coir pot with the name on it when I planted the seed. You can also keep a piece of paper under the seed starter that has captured for each cell what is planted in the cell.
Your seedling’s first leaves are not “true” leaves; think of them as baby teeth. The second sets of leaves are their true leaves. They are ready to be hardened off when they have their first set of true leaves. Seedlings must be hardened and not just thrown outside. You take them out a little at a time, gradually increasing their exposure to sun and cold, only during the daytime. I try and plant when there is a warm spell with clouds forecasted to minimize the shock.
There are great selections of herbs and veggies at nurseries and big box stores nowadays so you have many options just waiting until spring is officially here and picking up what looks good at your nearby store in a couple of months. This is also a great back up if your first seed starting adventure goes a little awry...........
I put together my 2025 garden plan early last month. I'll continue to have my edibles in the flower beds and to also combine flowers with edibles in pots. Since our addition work and landscaping is complete, we put in our south facing bed in the fall so I will have a lot more seeds to start and potentially plants to buy this year. For that bed, I have a planting plan for the perennial "bones" of the bed that I'll plant edibles around. I plan on having deer and vole repelling plants around the perimeter, then an interplanting of flowers, herbs and annual edibles. Battle of the voles Quick tip-how I keep the deer away I'll also have tall perennial edibles like asparagus and artichokes at the back of the bed.
Here is what I definitely have in my garden every year or make sure I still have enough in the freezer to last another year: herbs, chives, onions, spinach, lettuce as well as summer greens for salads, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, summer and winter squash, green beans, snow peas and lots of flowers!
Hang on, Spring is almost here!
