February Temperate and Warm Regions Planting and Garden Checklist

Filed under: In The Garden, Tagged as: in the garden, vegetable garden

Here is a vegetable and fruit planting guide for temperate and warm regions for the month of February and a food garden checklist. The danger of frost continues in temperate and warm regions this month. Temperate and warm regions include:

USDA Zones 9 and 10
(Zones 9 and 10 in the United States include the Gulf and South Atlantic Coasts and the Pacific Southwest and Desert states.)

Vegetables:

In Zone 10, plant out cool- and warm-season vegetables and herbs. Plant asparagus, beets, beans, cabbage, carrots, casaba, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, kale, lettuce, melons, okra, onions, onion sets, parsley, parsnip, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, radishes, roselle, salsify, summer spinach, squash, tomatoes.

In Zone 9, set out cool-season vegetables and herbs. Plant perennial vegetables such as globe artichokes, asparagus, horseradish, and rhubarb.

Here is a list of vegetables that you can plant or sow outdoors as soon as the ground can be worked in spring: kale, peas, early potatoes, spinach, mustard, asparagus crowns, rhubarb roots, onions sets, radishes, lettuce.

If you have limited time and space to devote to vegetables, choose six varieties that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Good choices include tomatoes, snap beans, and beets, carrots, radishes and greens such as chard and lettuce and New Zealand spinach.

Plan and plant a succession of crops to provide fresh vegetables over a long period of time.

Rhubarb roots should be planted now in fairly rich soil and spaced 3 feet (90 cm) apart. Choose and open, sunny location. Rhubarb likes plenty of water all through the growing season and is a heavy feeder.

Prepare beds for spring planting if the ground is friable. Spade a rich compost into areas to be planted at least a week in advance of planting. For tomatoes, select a location where they have not been grown for a year or more.

Continue to water regularly.

Fruit Trees and Berries:

Now is the time to transplant deciduous fruit trees. Young trees that are dormant will get a good start if planted now. Give plenty of water, both at planting time and afterwards, and occasional fertilizing with balanced plant food for at least 6 months.

You can plant perennial berries and small fruits now, including: blackberries, dewberries, loganberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, and grapes.

Continue bare-root dormant planting for fruit trees and berries and grapes this month.

Pruning: continue winter pruning and removal of storm-damaged limbs.

Fertilize established trees, citrus, and vines.

Cherry and crabapples will bloom this month.

Cleanup the garden, remove winter mulches, and start a compost pile.

Cold frame and Hotbed: Start warm-season vegetables in the cold frame. Here is a list of vegetables for the cold frame: cabbage, Brussels sprouts, celery, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes.

Here is a list of early starters for the hotbed: lima beans, lettuce, turnips, radishes, beets, carrots, muskmelon, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, eggplants, watermelon, squash, balm, basil, borage, caraway, lavender, clary, fennel, dill, sweet marjoram, rosemary, thyme, New Zealand spinach.

Posted by Stephen Albert on February 01, 2007 under: In The Garden , Tagged as: in the garden, vegetable garden
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