What to Do in the Kitchen Garden in February

What a cold winter we’ve had in the DMV! If you tried your hand at gardening over the winter and the frost got the best of your plants, don’t worry. This month we can officially start our spring gardens. If you didn’t find time to start seeds last month, all hope is not lost. So many spring veggies do best when you plant their seeds directly in the garden. So let’s take the next 4 weeks to make sure you have something started for spring.

February Checklist for the Kitchen Garden

Here’s what you can do in the garden this February:

1. Add compost to your beds. If you haven’t done it already, add a thick layer of mature compost to all of your beds to prepare them for planting.

2. Harden off cool season seedlings. Move seedling trays outside to a partially sunny location once the coldest part of the morning has passed. Keep the plants in partial sun throughout the warmest part of the day and move them back indoors before the sun sets.

3. Transplant cool season seedlings into the garden. Start with the border. I love the Gardenary style of intensive planting, which recommends planting a border of herbs and flowers around your beds first. That way no matter what stage the rest of your bed is at, it will still look beautiful. After that, plant large plants (like broccoli and kale) followed by medium plants (like fennel and larger lettuces). Finally you…

4. Fill in blank spaces with seeds. After you’ve transplanted any seedlings, you can go through and direct sow seeds for things like carrots, lettuce, and spinach. If you didn’t start seedlings, you can directly sow the entire beds.

5. Start warm season seedlings. If you want to start your own tomatoes from seed, the time has come! It’s actually time to start all of your warm season seedlings. See below for a list.

Timing is one of the keys to garden success.

You may know our frost dates, but did you know we have three growing seasons in the DMV? Download this guide to our local growing seasons so you can save time and money by planting the right plants at the right time.