by Linda Carloni
February can seem like a pretty dismal month for the gardener. Sometimes (thank goodness) it rains a lot, and the ground is really soaked. Sometimes it’s very chilly. And always, the days are short, at least at the beginning of the month. But for the flexible gardener, you can still plant!
Indoors
One option for working around the weather is to start some of your summer vegetables indoors. In Alameda, January through March is the time to start seeds indoors for summer vegetables – for example, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. But why? Why not just wait and put in seedlings?
- A packet of seeds is very inexpensive – so your vegetables will be lower cost! If you don’t need all the seeds in a packet, share or split with a gardening friend.
- Seeds are available in a greater number of varieties than the seedlings available in local nurseries. This greater variety allows you to pick seeds for your microclimate and your pest or disease issues. Also, you can pick the varieties you really like to eat.
- You can time your planting to have seedlings when you want to plant.
- Starting the seeds indoors avoids the problem of birds, snails, squirrels or other critters munching up the seeds or the tiny green plants before you even get a chance to see them.
- Starting from seed indoors does require more advance planning and time from the gardener, and you may need some equipment.
What You Need
- Soil. When starting small seeds (tomatoes, peppers) in containers you should use seedling mix soil blend available at any garden center. Many commercial seedling mixes are sterilized, which kills pathogens and weed seeds. Standard commercial potting soil is fine if your seeds are large (squash, cucumber, etc). Soil dug from your garden is a bad seed-starting medium – it can contain pathogens or weeds.
Containers. You can plant seeds in many things: plastic six packs, other small pots, old food containers or drinking cups with drainage holes punched in them, and a variety of commercial options. If the container has been used previously, wash it, and then sterilize with a solution of nine parts water to 1 part bleach. Rinse well. - Light. Unless you have a perfect spot near a window that is warm and gets sun during all the spring daylight hours, a dedicated electric light on a timer is essential. You can purchase a grow light or a shop light commercially or assemble your own. You want to keep the lights 2″ to 4″ above the seedlings so you’ll need to adjust the light as they grow. Some seeds need light to germinate (your seed packet should note that), but light is particularly important after the seeds peek out. Seedlings will grow better if you provide 16 hours a day of light. Not enough light will make the seedlings spindly and sparse.
- A Seed Germination Heat Mat is very helpful, but not critical, so long as the seeds get the warmth they need another way. This chart provides the optimum germination temperature for common vegetable seeds, as well as the length of time germination typically takes at various temps (as you might guess, warmer is faster, up to a point). Be careful not to overheat your seeds. A heating pad used for aching muscles is too hot.
When to Plant
You’ll need to work backwards from when you want to plant the seedlings outside. With a seed germination mat and good dedicated light, generally tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and basil require 4 – 8 weeks of growth and cucumbers and squash require less than 4 weeks. The seedlings will take longer to sprout and grow if it’s cooler or you have less light.
How to Plant
Finally, how to get the seeds going! Fill the containers with moist seedling mix. Your seed packet will tell you how deep to plant the seed in the soil. Typically, seeds are planted down 2 – 3 times the seed diameter, and sometimes less. The video on this page featuring Birgitt Evans, an expert Alameda vegetable grower, shows you the seed-planting process in detail. Tip: for small seeds, try folding an index card in half lengthwise, and putting the seeds in the fold. A careful tilt and tap can give you just the number of tiny seeds you need in that cell. Adding two seeds to each cell, spaced apart, gives you a greater chance of successfully germinating at least one.
Care and Feeding
Keep the soil mixture moist but not wet. Some gardeners water from the top (misting will keep the seeds from getting displaced). Others put their containers on a tray with warm water in the bottom and when saturated, move them so they can drain. Don’t leave the containers sitting in water all the time – the seeds can rot. Check the containers often. Small containers dry out rapidly and both the lights and the heat from the germination mats really dries out the soil.
Most seedling mixes contain few nutrients. If your soil mix does not contain a fertilizer, apply a complete liquid fertilizer for vegetables at half the strength indicated on the package as soon as the second set of true leaves appears (these are the ones that look like small versions of the plant you are growing). Note: A complete fertilizer is one that contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).
Outside
There are a surprising number of delicious vegetables you can plant from seed outdoors, so long as your soil is not too cold and wet. BUT: working wet soil, particularly if the soil contains a lot of clay, can damage the soil structure, compacting the pores, which decreases the movement of air and water through the soil that plants need. Check the soil before you start cultivating. Also, if the soil is too chilly, it will take longer for the seeds to germinate and they may rot instead. If we have a chilly late winter/early spring, waiting until the soil temp is at least 45 – 50 degrees F is a good idea. The seeds will sprout sooner, reducing the chance that the seeds will rot.
These are good bets for starting in February:
- Asian greens, like bok choy, Chinese or Napa cabbage, cabbage, mizuna
- Beets
- Cilantro
- Carrots
- Other greens (arugula, chard, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard)
- Peas (green or sugar)
- Potatoes (use seed potatoes to minimize possible diseases)
Is it really OK to start seeds outside in February? For the vegetables listed above, yes. Consult this guide from the UC Master Gardeners of Alameda County for the coastal areas of the county (you don’t get much more coastal than the island of Alameda). Many of the links in the vegetable list above have really good information about how to grow these veggies, but they are from other counties, where you don’t want to start some of these until March.
Before you start your seeds, be sure to prepare your soil by working in compost. You may also need to add fertilizer, especially nitrogen sources. Much of the city has sandy soil, and nutrients get washed out quickly. Plant the seeds at the depth and as far apart as the seed packet specifies.
It’s really important to monitor and protect the seeds planted outdoors. Covering them with a layer of compost keeps them from dislodging. An additional loose cover of straw can protect them from hard rain or wind. Once the seedlings emerge, they are still very vulnerable. Protect them from pests by using a plastic milk container that surrounds them and has the top and bottom cut off. Or use a mesh or very lightweight fabric row cover to protect them. Anything that covers the plant needs to allow light to get to the plant. If you see any sign of snails or slugs (shiny trails), take action to manage them quickly.
Indoors or out, February is a great month to kick-off your veggie garden for the spring.