February Is In the Bag

 March Madness Coming Up

🌿 Garden Talk | by Guy Saldiveri | February 25, 2026

Earlier this month I posted about Why I Don’t Start Seeds in February. I spent the month getting everything cleaned up and prepped for spring.

Thankfully I didn't get any seeds sown and plants started, because as expected, we got another hard freeze just a few days ago. It was down to 25°F and everything out there froze solid. I wouldn't mind a bit more of an early harvest now and then, but I do get enough to satisfy us, and hauling trays back and forth is just too much work these days.

Happily, March is just about here, and it looks like we'll be in an extended warm period. The chances of another freeze are low enough that I'm thinking I'll go ahead and get everything ready.

So, what's on the agenda now? Well, the beds have already been turned and amended, so now I have to work on the containers and growbags. I usually dump them one by one into my wheelbarrow, amend the soil, and fill them back up. This takes just a few minutes per bag, but when you have 50 or 60 bags it can take a while. You don't have that many? If I'm being honest, I probably have one or two—or 10—more. But, hey, who's counting, right?

I like to plant a wide variety of things, and an abundance of the things we really enjoy. The reasoning behind that is two-fold. For one thing, I don't like to use a lot of pesticides in my garden. Having an abundance of plants means the bugs can't get to all of them, and I get to keep more than enough. The other thing is, I enjoy being able to eat as much as we can, preserve or freeze for the winter, and give away some to our neighbors. That means a lot of plants.

So this month is the "get it all started" month. Growbags, containers, beds—they will all be prepped. I'll get some trays ready for my propagation area—I just love to propagate plants. 

Onion sets and sugar snap peas will be planted, and I’ll look at a few bulbs and odds and ends for the flower beds. The garlic has been in the ground since last year and is doing great. The Brussels sprouts we planted last October are about 3 feet tall and putting out buds. Not much I can do with any of that except water and wait it out.

I'll wait another two weeks or so just to make sure we aren't going to get clobbered again with the cold, then everything is fair game. Squash, peppers, and tomatoes will be directly sown into the containers. Okra will have to wait a few more weeks for more heat, but I can sure get some herbs in and the flower beds going. 

It's shaping up to be a banner year!

Happy Gardening 🌱