I'm Late, I'm Late for a Very Important Date!

Here it is, February already and I haven't even started preparing the garden! Usually in November, we would have tilled the old garden, turning in the remaining plants and adding compost so it would 'age' over the coming months. This year we are switching to a different style of garden and I am way behind on getting it set up!

Raised beds with intensive, companion planting methods is easier on the back and less time consuming once set up. I just can't keep up with the weeds anymore! This style of gardening, along with container methods, is easier to maintain. It also allows for more conservative water use by concentrating water where it is needed most rather than letting it leach out into the surrounding soil.

I will be container planting some lettuce, mustard greens and Swiss chard on the 18th and 19th of this month. That is when the moon is in Pisces and is good for planting above ground crops. These leafy greens like cool weather and do well here in the early spring and over the winter. In summer it is nearly impossible to keep them from becoming bitter and bolting due to the heat.

For those who use cold frames or start seeds indoors for transplanting outside, this is also a good time to begin for early spring plantings. A list of most beneficial planting days for February is provided below.

• root crops from the 7th through the 11th and the 14th and 15th
  
• herbs and flowers from the 7th through the 9th and on the 27th and 28th
  
• above ground crops like tomatoes on the 18th, 19th, 22nd through 24th and again on the 27th and 28th