Plant calendulas in February for future color and tasty salads.
Ready to get your hands dirty? Our February to-do list might make you hungry with all the goodies we get to plant.
Before we start, there are a couple of conditions to check:
- Does the space where you are going to plant have proper drainage? Without proper essential drainage, plant roots might become water-logged, which can lead to root rot. Not good.
- Test your soil. Even if you tested your soil last year, we highly suggest testing again. The extreme weather conditions we experienced over the summer might have directly affected your soil's health.
TO-DO LIST
- February is one of the best months for planting trees, shrubs, ground cover, perennials, and vines.
- Veggies to plant: artichokes, asparagus, onions, greens, lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, beets, bok choy, collards, kale, peas, turnips, leeks, broccoli, shallot bulbs, cabbages, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, English peas, Swiss chard.
- Tasty herbs to plant at this time: calendula, chervil, cilantro, chives, dill, parsley, feverfew, oregano, sorrel, thyme, and garlic. If/when the weather drops below freezing, protect your chives and cilantro.
- February fruit plants from which to choose: apples, peaches, pecans, pears, pomegranates, persimmons, figs, almonds, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
- Did you sharpen your pruning tools last month? Prune dormant perennials, rosemary, oregano, and roses.
- Pretties to plant: Alyssum, calendulas, cannas, daylilies, daisies, gladiolas, poppies, larkspur, pansies, petunias, pinks, primrose, and snapdragons.
- Have you seen bluebonnet sprouts everywhere? Raise the deck of your mower so the blades spin ABOVE your sprouts. Mow OVER your bluebonnets to remove dead or competing invasives so your wildflowers can flourish. All the conditions and variables are in place to have a bountiful wildflower spring!
- Do NOT fertilize your bluebonnets. We’ve already made this mistake for you! Interesting fact: Bluebonnets disperse a three-year supply of seeds each time the pods spring open. Within one pod, some of the seeds will germinate the next year, some in two years, and some in three.
NATIVE PLANTS
Native plants are the most important factor in helping the birds. Only native plants play host to the insects they need. Native plants need little water, except when incredibly young, and do not need pesticides. So please, whether you have a small city lot or a farm/ranch, make a resolution to do more in the next year, even if you just make a small start. Check the Audubon Native Plants Database and enter your ZIP code for a list of about 300 suitable plants, just for your area.
SIDE NOTE: We are excited about the above Native Plants Database. Not only will it give you a list of native plants for our area, you can also filter for particular species of birds.
Keep your souls and soles in your garden!
Remember the True Master Gardener: Jesus said, “I am the vine; my Father is the Gardener.” John 15:1
"In the Garden" is written by daughter-father gardening team Martelle and Bill Luedecke. If you have gardening questions, contact Martelle at 512-769-3179 or luedeckephotography@gmail.com or Bill at 512-577-1463 or bill@texasland.net. Read more "In the Garden" columns in the 101 Lawn & Garden Guide.
