February is here. What a season of love, cold, still icy, love. You know what I really love the most. That’s right… My garden! Some zones are lucky enough for spring to be emerging now. Some of us colder zones, might still be facing a lot of winter ahead of us.
So today’s post is going to focus on what you can do in the garden in February.
- Yard clean up
- Fruit tree protection
- Seed starting
- Soil Health
Yard Clean Up
Hopefully your snow is gone but if you were still covered in snow in January then now is a great time to start adding extra mulch and insulate the plants. Soon the temps will be warming up and the roots will appreciate the extra protection for those nights that are still hitting freezing temperatures.
Compost
Add that compost to the lawns and any empty beds. This will help them as they begin to awaken on those warm days. Even in some of the colder zones, the weather of spring can be a little unpredictable.
Pruning
Colder zones this is the perfect time to prune many of your plants. Giving them the healthiest start to a new season. Always check your specific plants needs.
Rose bushes can be trimmed during dormancy as well. Also doing this in the late winter early spring before new growth appears makes it easier to avoid thorns as you prune.
For Blackberries and raspberries you can cut the canes that produced blackberries the previous year. This allows for room and nutrients for all the new canes that will come in this year and allow the canes that will produce fruit to get the nutrients they need.
Many trees like to be pruned while dormant. Check your specific plants needs before cutting.
Warmer zones need to wrap your apple trees at the base to prevent worm holes. This should be done before the flower buds appear on the plants, which might still be a few months out for the cooler zones. Wrapping the trees will help prevent the moth worms from climbing up the base of the tree and corrupting your fruit before they’ve ever begun.
Garden Florist
Soil Health
If you are seeing days in the 50s it’s a great time to check the PH of your soil. See what you might need to replace for the season. There are many ways to fix your soil naturally through companion planting. Before you replant any vegetable beds it’s a good idea to make sure you are rotating your crops so that the plant replacing it will add nutrients back into the soil. Adding compost and manure to the garden beds now will help them be healthy and ready for the coming season.
Seed Starting
Seed starting is so much fun because it’s a great way to start gardening without having to go out into the cold temperatures yet.
Knowing your zone is important so check that first so that you know your last expected frost date. Many plants need to be started 8 weeks before your last frost but there are a few that take even longer.
Some seeds even require stratification- where they have several days of a freeze for them to germinate. A lot of herbs and flowers need and even longer grow time. Now is a good time to start anything that takes a long time to get going.
– If you just can’t wait to get your hands in the soil then seed starting is a great alternative. Nearly every zone can find an awesome plant to start.
Zones 3-4 onions, leeks, and celery.
Zone 5-6 start your Cole crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, and herbs like parsley, oregano, sage and thyme.
Zones 7-9 Peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants. Many early spring flowers such as zinnias and petunias. Herbs like cilantro and dill. There are many more options when you look up your specific zone and area.
Fruit trees!
Protecting your fruit trees
Wrapping your trees in October can help but if you missed that opportunity it’s a good idea to wrap the trees now before they have to face warm days and then hard freezes.
If your fruit trees are less then 4 inches in diameter it’s a good idea to wrap your trees to help them in handle the temperamental spring temperatures.
You can use burlap or cloth to wrap the tree starting at about 4-6 inches about the ground and working your way up the tree.
If you are already seeing days in the 50’s then you need to be protecting your apple trees from the coddling moth. To do this wrap sticky tape on the base of the tree. You can also spray orchard spray to help deter these destructive pests.
I hope you are getting as excited about the upcoming season as I am.
Happy Gardening
~ Growing Wild Things~