It has been insanely cold this winter. Only one other time in my life has it snowed in North Florida, but even that wasn’t enough to actually leave a mark. And now there’s 9 inches of snow in Pensacola?!?! The previous record was 4 inches in 1954! That’s crazy guys. Good news, though, is that this is rare, whew… Now, on to what seeds to sow in February.
Even though it’s cold now, the warm weather is right around the corner and there’s plenty of seeds we can get started right now. Even if you have to sow indoors for the time being. 🙂 Soon guys, we will be warm soon. 😊
Growing Conditions In February
The average temperature this time of year ranges from 44-75°F. Obviously, as we are all experiencing right now, it does get colder than that from time to time. Some years are also a bit warmer. Plus the beginning and end of the month can vary greatly in temperature, so some warmer weather suggestions might be best to sow at the end of the month.
We average about 2 inches of rain during this month, with more of that rain up north, while the south is a little drier. Keep keeping an eye on the plants to make sure they are getting enough water, and protect any warm loving crops from freezing night air.
The UV index will be at 6 in north and central Florida, and 7 in the south.
When looking to see what seeds you can sow in February, look at the seed packets. What is the recommended growing temperatures? Is it frost tolerant? That’ll give you a good idea wither or not a crop will do well this time of year.
What seeds to sow in February
Leafy Greens
Keep it going on these guys, if you sowed some in January start prepping to succeed them with more. Any loose leaf lettuce, spinach, or arugula are great this time of year. All are frost tolerant as well, making them a great choice for cold winters.
Brassica’s
Collards, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, yod fah broccoli, mustard, kale, cabbage, chijimisai are all great to get started now. Again all are frost hardy :). If you are in south Florida it may be too late in the season to do long season brassica’s like cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage, but the faster growing greens will do great for you. And I’ve heard of people keeping their yod fah broccoli crops going into July under the canopy of beans and tomatoes.
Cucurbits
Cucumbers, melons, squash, and gourds are easy to grow plants. Not all do well into our summers, but things like cucumbers, melons, and summer squashes will do well during late winter and early spring. Gourds, such as luffa and kikinda will thrive through our summers, literally growing six inches a day. It’s pretty cool to grow your own sponges 😀
We also have a native pumpkin, the Seminole pumpkin, that thrives through our summers. They taste like a butternut squash and produce fruit that’s about 5-10 pounds each.
All of these plants love to sprawl, so if you’re low on space put in some trellises for them to climb.
Trellising Options
T-post stakes are a great option. They last for a long time, don’t get knocked over by the wind, and can be pretty inexpensive, especially if you use them to do the Florida weave. To make them even more sturdy and long lasting, you can use them with cattle panels to make a bean tunnel.
Bamboo stakes also work for trellising but they easily get knocked over by the wind and only last for two seasons at the most. The heat and humidity causes them to decompose quickly. They still have their uses even if they don’t make perfect stakes, and they are cheap if you need something quickly.
Root Vegetables
Beets, carrots, potatoes, radishes, and even spring onions and leeks all do well this time of year, with the added benefit that you won’t need to protect them from cold weather. Who wants to go outside when its below 60°F??? (Native born Floridian here… I don’t handle the cold well :D)
You might not get the biggest carrots if you start them at this time. The longer they grow the bigger the root will be, however, baby carrots are just as beneficial in the kitchen and the tops make a wonderful addition to a compost heap.
Beets and radishes are fast growing, so you should be able to get a decent harvest of those if you start them now. Plus, you can harvest the greens and/or the roots! Two harvests in one :). Both of these crops can make for good cover crops if you’d like to boost your soils fertility before summer rolls around.
Corn
Corn is easy to grow and surprisingly can handle a bit of below freezing weather. Make sure to only grow one variety at a time if you have a small area. Corn is wind pollinated, and you’re harvesting the seed. If the corn crosses with another variety the seeds will not be what you expected at all.
You can grow two varieties at the same time so long as their days to maturity are different. The pollen should appear weeks apart if you grow a fast growing variety along side a long season variety. You can also separate your plantings by a couple weeks to make sure your corns aren’t crossing.
Corn also works as an excellent trellis for climbing things like squashes and beans. Free trellises are great 😀
Legumes
The best, hands down, bean that I’ve ever grown through our spring and summer is the Puerto Rican Black Bean. That thing just took off when the warm weather hit. The bee’s and hummingbirds loved it’s flowers and the frogs loved it’s large leaves. It increased the population of frogs in my garden… by a lot. I’d almost touch a frog every time I harvested the dried bean pods. That’s free pest control! And non toxic, too! Win, win.
Another great bean that does well year round is the Chinese noodle, or yard long beans. These beans make a great replacement crop for the typical green beans we’ve grown accustomed to. They taste just like any green bean does, are stringless, and you produce so much more from one plant due to the long pods.
For the northerners here, peas are your best bet. They love this cold weather we’ve been getting. We love sugar snap peas, no shelling required. But you can grow whatever kind you prefer. Shelling peas do require a longer growing season then sugar snap and snow peas, but not by much, so if you love them, go for it.
Peppers
Peppers are slow growing crops. Give them a head start by sowing them now so they can produce at their fullest once the hot weather is here. You can start these indoors if you’re in the tundra up north or sow them outside if you are in south Florida.
Tomatoes
It’s not too late to get your tomatoes started, especially for central and north Florida. Because it will get hot fast over the next couple months, pick small tomato varieties instead of beefsteak. The heat wakes up the bugs and the larger tom’s are more likely to get targeted by caterpillars and fruit flies.
Herbs and flowers seeds to sow in February
This is a great time to start many wonderful herbs, from cool loving to warm loving. The summer rains don’t usually set in until June, so many Mediterranean herbs love the warmth but hate humidity are great to grow now. Things like oregano, marjoram, dill, parsley, mint, fennel, cilantro and cumin are good candidates for this time of year. All of the plants will produce flowers that pollinators love. Grow these interspersed throughout your crops to attract beneficials to every nook and cranny in your garden.
Cosmos, black eyed susans, blanket flower, nasturtium, marigolds, and sunflowers are great easy to grow flowers. They are beautiful and help bring balance to your garden’s ecosystem. By growing a diverse garden you will have built in pest control. You will have some damage on your plants here and there but not enough to hinder the plants growth and production. You do need some of those pests there to feed your insect allies, after all. 🙂
Tropicals
Tropical plants have long growing seasons, some requiring at least 11 months or more for a harvest. Start these guys indoors now, if you are up north, or put them outside if you’re down south. Good role of thumb is to wait until the threat of frost has past before binging them outside. Usually frost threats end by the end of February.
Sugar cane, ginger, turmeric, sweet potato, banana and pineapple are all easy to start inside. You’ll start with cuttings or rhizomes instead of seeds, so you can spend these last few cold weeks getting them well rooted before transplanting outside. Once established you shouldn’t have to worry too much about cold weather in subsequent years. So long as the roots don’t freeze, they will come back year after year. So, pile up the mulch thick 😀
If you’ve been hoping to get a garden going in the beautiful sunshine state, but didn’t know where do start, I hope this list gives you some good ideas to get started. It’s never to late to start a garden here, we can grow all year long 😀
Let me know in the comments what seeds you like to sow in February? What has done well for you in the past? Any gardening wisdom is always appreciated. If you are new to gardening and you have any questions, I’d love to help in any way I can. 😀
Happy sowing!
Check out these other posts on gardening in Florida, and if you haven’t already, grab yourself a free copy of my Florida Garden Guide E-book!
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