February Garden Plans

 

Today here is Pennsylvania, we are enjoying a balmy, sunny day. The children are outdoors at the moment reveling in the sunshine and mud. On a day like this, I can imagine that spring is right around the corner.

But in a few days, we will likely have a change of weather and return to the frigid temperatures again. It will be weeks before it is safe to plant, even if it dries out enough to dig in the soil..

But February is a perfect time to make some garden plans. If you spent some time last month evaluating your garden, you are now ready to make some decisions.

Here are the tasks I'm doing or planning this month in my Zone 6 garden.

1. Check old seeds for germination.

I have had good success keeping seeds for several years. The key is keeping them cool and dry. My mother-in-law taught me to keep seeds in the freezer. But even though I have kept seeds for years and still had them grow very well, I don't want to risk a bad crop on old seeds. So I check the germination of any seeds that I'm unsure of – especially corn seeds. If I'm planting early corn, I don't want to find out three weeks later that the seeds never came up and now I only have time to plant a late corn crop. Or worse, the stores may be out of corn seed and I'll lose my whole garden crop.

To check for germination, I choose the seeds I want to test and mark the name on paper towel. Then I sprinkle ten seeds on the paper towel and cover the seeds with a wet but wrung out paper towel. I want it very damp but not soggy. Place the paper towel in a plastic bag and set it in a warm place.

This year I had several kinds of seeds I wanted to germinate so I placed them on their paper towel, one on top of the other, on a pizza pan and covered them with plastic wrap. I placed the pan on top of the fridge.

One week later I check the seeds for germination. (If it takes longer than a week in this perfect warm, moist environment, they are not worth growing.) Since I used ten seeds I can quickly figure out the germination rate. If eight seeds sprouted, it has a 80% germination rate. If the germination was very poor, I throw them out and buy new seeds. If the rate was fair (maybe 70%) I may choose to still use the seeds, just plant them closer together to make up for those that don't sprout. But usually, when in doubt, I buy new seeds.

This year, all the seeds I tested, including some that were over five years old, had a 90-100% germination rate.

2. Place a seed order.

I sometimes buy seeds at my local garden center but by buying by mail order I can get good qualities seeds and a much larger variety.

A seed catalog can be like a walk through a candy store. I typically enjoy perusing the pages of the catalog, reading the descriptions, and circling anything that I'm considering purchasing.

If you don't receive any seed catalogs in the mail, it sure an easy problem to remedy. Many companies send a free catalog on request. Check out their website for a request form.

A few years ago, I narrowed down my seed companies to one–Stokes Seeds. I'm sure there are many other good companies out there but I have been very pleased with Stokes. I chose them because of their fast service, great selection, good prices, and (probably most of all) because they have extensive trial gardens in Pennsylvania, New York, and southern Canada. I figure that a company that is in my growing zone will have seeds that our best for me.

So wherever you garden, look for a company that is growing seeds for your climate and growing conditions.

My method of placing a seed order is to lay out all my old seeds, my list of garden plans, and the seed catalog. I check off all the seeds I already have. Then I flip through the catalog checking all my scrawled notes. I begin to make a list of seeds to purchase. This is when I try to remember to be realistic. Probably half of the items that first caught my eye don't make it to this list. It is easy to dream of a perfect garden in February but I try to remember August. Most of us gardeners are far too optimistic about our energy and our time. It is demoralizing to plant a garden that is too big to keep after.

Stokes has a very quick and easy way to order online, so after I've made my selection, and checked it twice, I place my order online instead of actually using the mail order form. And before hitting “send” I again go over my list and delete a few items. I really do have a problem of too big of dreams in the winter!

And then the fun of waiting for a package in the mail (which for Stokes was about four days—I am honestly not paid by this company to advertise but I do like them.) All that potential in a few packs of wrinkled seeds. Now I can really dream of spring.

I've done these first two items so far this February, but the rest of these items are yet to be done.

3. Prune grapes.

Pruning is best done in late winter before the sap is running in the branches. It is also much easier to see what you are doing before the branches are leafed out.

There is a right and wrong way to prune but don't ask me for hints. I study pictures in my gardening books, check online pruning sites, and then jump into the project hoping for the best. In almost ten years, we have only had one good grape harvest. We have had numerous problems, so I don't blame my lack of pruning skills. But neither do I know that I'm doing it right.

Do not prune any of your spring blooming shrubs or you will lose your blooms this year. Shrubs, such as lilacs, should be pruned immediately after they finish blooming. Fruiting plants, such as grapes, apples, and peaches are pruned in the spring so that more strength goes into fruit production. For other plants, such as clematis, the proper pruning time can vary by type, depending upon whether they bloom from old or new wood.

4. Start early seeds indoors.

I don't start a lot of plants indoors. I don't have a very good place to put seedlings. But maybe since I worked at a greenhouse before my marriage, every February has me itching to put some seeds in the soil. Early flowers and vegetables such as pansies, snapdragons, broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce, can be started in February indoors. Other flowers and vegetables such as tomatoes are not started until March so they don't get lanky waiting for the weather to warm up outside. Fast growing plants like vine crops, basil, cosmos and zinnias, should be started in April or just sown directly in the ground.

5. Roto-till the garden as soon as it dries.

Most of us gardeners are rather impatient to get those first early seeds in the ground. But tilling up wet ground will only cause problems, so I try not to rush. Our garden lays low and stays wet a long time. We typically don't get into the garden until March and sometimes it has been April.

6. Force some flowering branches.

I have enjoyed forcing some spring blossoms indoors. I cut some branches of our forsythia. Other options include spirea, plum, cherry, or apple. Cut a two inch slit up the bottom of the stem and place in warm water. Change the water every week and wait for blossoms! It is a perfect way to add some spring cheer when there is still snow on the ground.

What are your plans for your garden this month? (Feel free to say "ignore it.")