February Garden Checklist

I have to admit, February is a hard month for me.  It has been entirely too long since I have last dug my hands into my garden dirt.  In February everything is hard and frozen.  Nearly everything green is deep in a sleep and it is hard to see any life at all.   But, every now and then a beautiful day comes along just to tease me and make me antsy for spring.   The garden centers tease me by stocking their beautiful displays of seeds, bulbs and roots.  By the time February gets here I still have to wait another 6 or 8 weeks before I can plant anything in my garden.  Oh, the torture of waiting through February!

Oh wait! There is something I can plant in February...
Here is my checklist of things to do for the garden in February (zone 5):

• Plant poppies and larkspurs outside, between snows.  Some seeds need the cold temperatures before they will germinate.
• Plant a garden inside! I keep oregano, basil, chives, sage and rosemary growing in a window. Loose leaf lettuce varieties can be planted inside now as well.
• Start the following indoors to be planted in the garden later: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, pansies and daisies.
• Check your perennials for heaving.  This means that the roots are moving up out of the soil.  If they are you should cover them again with a good layer of dirt.
• Prune your fruit trees.  I have an apple, pear and peach that all need pruned!
• Draw out a plan for your gardens.  Decide where you want everything planted.
• Order your seeds and start picking them up at the garden centers. Remember to grab extra for a fall planting.  Sometimes stores won't restock late in the summer.
• Continue adding scraps to your compost pile.  Your garbage will be turning into black gold before you know it!