What to do in the Garden: February

We are now into the 2nd month of 2015 and we’ve seen little, if any, “normal” circumstances. We saw a big fat zero inches of rain in January, and very few days of frost (not actually complaining about this- I hate the cold). By the end of this month, we will have gained an hour of daylight, and I’m looking forward to being able to walk though the yard, maybe even do a few garden chores, after I get home from work. With this changing environment, its hard to know what to do when, but here are the general tasks for February.

The Northern California & Sonoma County February Checklist:

• Plant flowering shrubs & vines. Now is the time to get jasmine, azaleas, daphne, hardenbergia, lilac, clematis, roses and the like in the ground.

A butterfly bush, hydrangea, and jasmine- needing to find a place in the garden. And photobombed by the elusive Gale. She disapproves. As always. 

• Prune summer blooming hedges & shrubs. Rejuvenate summer bloomers, like butterfly bushes, by cutting back woody stems.
• Plant summer blooming bulbs, like dahlias and gladiolus.
• Mulch before weeds take over. The warm weather and somewhat still-wet ground is prime weed conditions. Use sheet-mulching to prevent weeds colonizing on bare ground, or to kill current weeds.
• Feed. Give fall-planted perennials, established trees and shrubs a boost with a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Nourish citrus with special formulated citrus formula. Wait until azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons have bloomed to give them an acid loving formula.
• Plant spring flowers. Seed or plant starts of early blooming plants, like poppies, calendula and sweet peas. Kings Nursery has a great selection of sweet peas right now.

For May bouquets, plant sweet peas now!

• Divide perennials on summer and fall bloomers, like agapantha, aster and Shasta daises before spring growth starts.
• Watch for frost. With our mid-70 degrees we are having, its hard to imagine we could get frost, but we could! Despite the Spring-like weather, we are still technically still in Winter, and February can be one of the coldest months. Technically.
• Water if needed. Normally, February gets inches of rain, but so far 2015 is not looking good. Its sad to say this, but without rain, it may be necessary to water. Consider capturing water from the bathtub or from washing veggies to supplement irrigation. I’m watering the asparagus and strawberry bed, about once a week, but holding off on the brassica beds because they are almost finished. But I have faith, my birthday is at the end of the month and it has rained on 90% of my birthdays. And, the forecast also says we have a chance for later this week!
• Buy seed potatoes, for planting out in March. Buy locally from Harmony, or order online from Peaceful Valley for the best selection. Fancy varieties sell out fast, so as soon as they are available, stock up! Don’t try to plant potatoes from the store, as they are sprayed with an anti-sprouting agent, but ones grown last year or from an organic vendor at a Farmers Market are probably safe.

shopping for potatoes at Harmony Farm Supply, Feb. 10, 2014

• Plant Spring veggies, like lettuce, beets, carrots, spinach and peas, by either seed or starts.
• Start Summer veggies from seed inside. Perhaps the best part of February is starting seeds of tomatoes, eggplants and peppers! Most veggies need to be started around 8 weeks before the last frost, which for my area, is the middle of February. Later this week I’ll post a complete timeline & countdown on when to start seeds for the correct pre/post last frost date.

February started tomato seeds, 2014

Personal homesteading tasks include taking down the exterior Christmas lights (don’t worry, they aren’t still ON!), continuing working on the fence, continuing on weed control, getting gutters on the hen house, and preparing a space for rain barrels. I’m also accepting birthday wishes and drinks all month long!

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I grow plants for many reasons: to please my eyes or to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow. – David Hobson

Thinning the Seedlings

In mid-September, I sowed the seeds for the root and leaf bed. Combined with some spinach and leek starts from the nursery, I’m really happy with this bed. I have high hopes that it will get great growth done before the winter cold and dark comes, and provide me with fresh food though out the winter and into the awkward hunger-gap months of winter/spring.

The first seeds up was the arugula, then followed by the beets. Turnips, lettuce, kale, chard, carrots and kohlrabi make up the rest of the space. Just a few days ago, the parsnips finally emerged, after taking their normal sweet-ass time.

Arugula, always the first to sprout

I’m not going to lie, I don’t actually enjoy the gardening task of seeding. Especially when dealing with itty bitty seeds belonging to the brassica family. Don’t even get me started on how obnoxious carrot seeds are. Because of that, I make a small trench with a stick, then haphazardly sprinkle my seeds in. I don’t take the time to carefully space the seeds out, so when they emerge, I’m left with very thick rows of seedlings.

a dense row of beet babies

Which is why now, about 3 weeks after sowing, I’m spending time in the garden thinning the seedlings. Working with the baby plants and being surrounded by new life is much more enjoyable than the previous week’s seeds and blank dirt. For a long time, I resisted thinning, feeling horrible for killing these newly grown baby veggies. The decision on which plant to cull was ever challenging for the decision-phopia person that I am:  “What if I pull the wrong sprout, and the one I leave is actually weak and will DIE ANYWAYS!!!! What if the one I’m pulling would be the better producer. What if a bug comes along tomorrow and eats all the other ones!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH”. Seriously, these are the mind battles I deal with. Anyways, moving on.

beets, after thinning.

But plants can’t grow if they are to close together, so some must be removed. Instead of just pulling them out, I use scissors to cut the stems at ground level. This leaves the roots of the surrounding plants intact, and won’t disturb the rest of the row. You can also just use your fingers to pinch the stems off, but just don’t go pulling them out! I’ve learned the hard way, no matter how careful you are, you’ll pull out some of the seedlings you wanted to leave.

A cluster of beets, pre & post thinning

These beets, for example, I thinned to about an inch apart.  This will give an opportunity for each plant to grow a delectable baby beet about an inch big, which I will then harvest about every other plant, leaving me with a decent meal and the ability for the remaining beets to reach full size.

And not wanting to waste anything that comes from the garden, I make sure to save the thinnings. Or micro-greens, if you want to be fancy and pay a crap-load for in the store. They make excellent chicken treats or additions to meals. I used the arugula sprouts in a roasted butternut squash and wheat berry salad, and the beet and kale sprouts will likely go into tonight’s chorizo and black bean burritos. One more benefit of having cut out at the roots, there is little dirt to deal with.

Bacon, being a dick so helpful, supervises my work. I keep my beds covered in bird netting, not to keep birds out, but to keep perpetually annoying cats outs.

As always, I’d love to hear from you! What’s going on in your garden? What’s your feelings on seeding and thinning? Are you cats equally as helpful in the garden?