What do you plant in February?
For all the pain, grief, and economic hardship, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic has sown, a handful of green shoots seem to have taken root in its blighted soil. Happy last week of February! Despite this typically being one of our coldest months here in Central Florida (Zone 9b), February is an important month to get you growth on. If you’re looking to start your first garden, then you have hopefully come to a place where my aggressive pursuit of research will benefit us both. We are urban farmers in Central Florida and since have so much fun growing indoors I am ready to start growing outdoors. Keep on reading to learn what to plant in February in Central Florida – Zone 9b. Check your zone [here]
In February when you live in Central Florida a few things are understood. Zone 9 has a long growing season with hot summers. The average minimum winter temperature for a 9b zone is 25-30 degrees F. The growing season for this area extends for 9 months, although depending on the plant, extreme temperatures may be an issue. Start seeds indoors or outside: Arugula, Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard, Chinese Cabbage, Collards, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Endive, Lettuce, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leek, Mustard, Bunching Onion, Parsley, Peas, Peppers, Radish, Spinach, Tomatoes, and Turnips, as well as herbs and wildflowers.
Right now is the perfect time to start seeds indoors in zone 9b. It’s generally recommended that you give most plants about 8 weeks to get big enough to plant outside. If you’re a stickler for planting your vegetables after the last predicted frost date then you still have a couple of weeks to get your seeds started as our last frost date is usually May 1st.
Vegetable seeds that must be started indoors in zone 9b:
You can also start summer squash, winter squash, and cucumber seeds indoors but they grow so fast and do really well direct-seeded later in the season that I don’t bother with them. We at Vitality Farms Company have awesome seed starting kits remade that you can just purchase [here]. Other plants you can start now are flowers and herbs for your summer garden.
SEED-STARTING TIPS
1. Use a sterile seed-starting mix. This ensures that you’re starting off without any viruses or bacterias that can cause your seedlings instant death.
2. Find a good light source.
3. Use a bottom water tray
So why are we talking about planting a garden after all we are microgreen farmers are crops go from seed to consumption in around 7-10 days. We are providing this information for our community as we begin to see a seed shortage on the horizon we have taken every step to gather seed, to prepare in a way that all our customers show know that we will do everything to hinder any seed shortage. We even have some amazing crops coming on the horizon. We have even brought sprouts into our inventory so we will continue to meet the needs of the Lakeland community. Check out what True Leaf has to offer.
