Garden Chores By Month: February

February is a hopeful time of year – it’s the end of winter and we can see spring on the horizon – at least the garden planning horizon. The garden chores are all about clean up, planning, and getting seeds started. If you need to plant, it’s a great time to get some deals on bare root roses, shrubs and trees. Of course everything you might get done outside hinges on the weather – I always like to take advantage of any mild days if I can!

Garden Chores for February

Vegetable & Fruit Garden:

• Traditional pea-planting date in the NW: president’s weekend (however, when compared with plantings a month later there was no difference in size for me, so you can wait without worry)
• Till in any cover crops
• Prune berries, fruit trees, and blues
• Prune and train grapes
• Plant early spring greens including spinach – in-ground if soil temp. 50-60 degrees or in a cold frame to harvest April to May.
• Fertilize overwintered onions and garlic w/blood meal or organic fertilizer
• Fertilize rhubarb

Flower Beds:

• Plant bare root roses, berries, and fruit trees
• Prune deciduous summer blooming shrubs
• Prune clematis and ornamental vines

Seed Starting Inside:

• Sow broccoli, early cauliflower and early cabbage (Cole crops) seeds indoors
• Can start tomatoes late month indoors to transplant out early in April with Wall-O-Waters or other cover
• Start peppers: sow in 4″ pots to transplant out late May
• Start parsley and autumn leeks

Note: These garden to-so lists are not comprehensive by any means, but meant to provide a jumping-off point to organizing your garden chores. Feel free to print the lists and add any of your own specific chores to the sections.