February 2021

Can you feel the days getting longer? I’m preparing dinner during daylight now and it feels wonderful! It’s February!

It’s just about time to get serious about starting seeds. The first thing you need to do, if you’ve never done it before, is find out the average last frost date for your area. You can find it by looking here: https://www.veseys.com/ca/canada-hardiness-zones-frost-dates

This date is important because you use it to count backwards to know when to start seeds indoors. Tempting as it is, don’t start your seeds too early; they’ll stretch out indoors, getting leggy without full, natural sunlight and they’ll perish when they get the real stuff come spring.

Here’s what you can do in February:

• Get ready to plant seeds indoors by digging out seedling trays and containers and giving them a good scrub. They need to be disinfected. For tips on starting seeds indoors, click here.
• Order your flower and vegetable seeds. Not sure who to order from? Check out our seed catalogue review here.
• Plan your garden designs for this year. Consult our latest issue for inspiration. [Click here to oder the magazine.]
• Keep your watering of houseplants to a minimum and don’t feed them yet. Most are still dormant.
• On the West Coast, you can use dormant spray on your trees and plant some peas and bare-root roses if the ground is clear and thawed. Elsewhere in Canada, leave this another month or two.
• February 12-15 you can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Visit birdcount.org to find out more.
• Did last spring break your body? You can prevent that this year by starting to stretch now. Here are 5 basic stretches everyone should do: https://www.popsci.com/story/health/basic-easy-stretches-mobility/