February is one of the best months for laying the groundwork for the upcoming gardening season. In the vegetable garden, it's time to decide what to plant where and when. Refer to your gardening notes to remind you of successes and problems from past seasons to help you decide what you want to grow, then draw a layout to help you with the planning process.
Having a list of the tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables you plan to grow this season will help you decide which ones you’ll sow directly, which ones you’ll start indoors from seed and which plants you’ll purchase.
Once you’ve decided on what to grow from seed, it’s time to head to The Flower Bin for our fresh stock of seeds from local suppliers including Botanical Interests, Lake Valley and Beauty Beyond Belief.
Next, check out the seed starting supplies, including domes, trays, inserts, greenhouse kits, heat mats, seed starter soil, grow lights and more.
As far as when to start warm weather crops, plan to start your tomatoes and peppers 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost date, which is usually mid-May here in Longmont. A good start date would be the first or second week in March.
In the outside garden area, now’s the time to begin to clean up, treat wintering over insects with dormant oil and prune trees and shrubs.
Pruning now allows the tree to direct all that stored energy into the remaining health branches and limbs resulting in a more vigorous growth come spring.
Take advantage of some of these warmer late winter days and walk through your garden, looking for broken branches or limbs, diseased branches, branches and twigs that crisscross or rub against one another. Removing these twigs, branches and limbs will open the center of the tree allowing light and air to get through and improve the tree’s overall health and vigor.
Once you’re done pruning, consider applying a dormant oil for insect control. Dormant oil helps to control insects, larvae, and eggs that may be wintering over in the bark of trees and shrubs. The “dormant” part of “dormant oil” refers to the timing of the oil’s application, rather than the type of oil. Avoid using dormant oils on Blue Spruce.
Toward the end of February is a great time to prune those shrubs that bloom after June 15. It is important to get this task accomplished before these plants break dormancy. This includes summer blooming shrubs such as butterfly bush, blue mist spirea, potentilla, and others.
Winter watering is important. Trees don’t go into total dormancy during the winter. Underneath January’s snowfall, tree roots are actively looking for moisture and while this storm helped, it did little to hydrate the soil your trees, shrubs and perennials are growing in. You may not see the damage right away, but trees that don’t receive supplemental watering during the winter may experience smaller leaf production, branch dieback and chlorosis through spring and summer. This is especially true of trees planted this past season that haven’t had time to establish.
Consider watering when the temperatures are above 40 degrees with no snow cover at midday to allow water to soak into the lawn, trees and shrubs. Water at the dripline of the tree, applying five gallons per inch of diameter.
Now’s a good time to test the soil in your vegetable garden. The Jar Test is a quick, easy way to help you determine the structure and physical makeup of your soil.
You’ll need a clean jar with a lid, in this case a peanut butter container. Put 4-5 ounces of soil in the bottom of the jar. Add enough water to fill the jar 2/3 full. Add a drop or two of dishwasher soap. Put the lid on and shake well, then let the jar sit undisturbed for 24 hours. You’ll see that the soil has settled into layers. Bring us the results and we help you determine what to do next. Avoid working the soil in your vegetable garden at this time. It’s too wet.
