What's happening in the mid-February garden

Daffodils in bloom

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Spring in our garden is accelerating as above normal temperatures abound.  Daffodils, forsythias, and Bradford pear are in in bud.  Now is a great time to start sowing seeds outdoors for the spring edible garden.  

Spring edible garden

When forsythias bloom, it is time to apply corn gluten for weed suppression in the garden and yard.  Corn gluten keeps seeds from sprouting and provides nitrogen.  It will also keep grass seed or garden seed from sprouting so use only where you don't want seeds to come up.

In the edible garden, shallots, onions, garlic, rhubarb, chickweed, tarragon and chives are all popping up in the garden bed.  Overwintering celery, sorrel, chard, arugula, cress, strawberries, and sprouting broccoli are growing again.  The garden is giving greens for fresh picked salads.  

Cool season crop transplants are not at the local nurseries and big box stores yet.  Likely be a few more weeks before they come in.  Now is a great time to get the garden beds ready for March transplants by doing a soil test, adding compost and mulching your beds.   

Overwintering cabbage and broccoli

I have planted parsley, Dragon's tail radish, snow peas and spinach seeds. All love the cool weather so now is a great time to get these seeds planted outdoors.  In a week or so, I'll start sowing lettuce seeds about every 3 weeks to keep salads going all summer.

Here is the list of edibles I have planted so far outdoors, all in pots:  

Snow peas-Avalanche (30" vine), Oregon Sugar Pod II (28" vine), Purple Snow Pea (24" vine)

Spinach-Giant Winter and Galilee.  Galilee is supposed to be very heat tolerant.

Radish-Dragon's Tail (grown for seed pods not the root)

Herbs-Curly and Flat Leaf Parsley

I will start the summer lovers indoors by next week end; 8 weeks before our average last frost.  I can move them into my pop up greenhouse before the last frost date to get them hardened off and move up the harvest date.

There are more seeds to start outdoors when the temperatures are warmer like beans, squash, cucumber, and melons.  I'll start them indoors about a month before the last frost date in peat pots.  They can also be directly sown in the garden after the last and when the soil is warm.