What Do You Plant in February?

Plant? In February?! I'm sure that's what some of you are thinking, especially those of you who live in colder climates.

One of our main planting strategies here at Gardenary is to start early, like before any of your neighbor gardeners are starting. Raised beds are a major resource that allows us to do so because the soil in a raised bed will be workable sooner than the soil in the ground.

So, yes, we plant in February, whether that means direct sowing or starting seeds indoors in preparation for upcoming warmer temperatures.

And while I’d love to give you a simple list of everything you can plant in your raised-bed kitchen garden in February, the truth is it will vary depending on where you live. Look up your last anticipated frost date. (Click here to find your last frost date in the US.). You're in a warm climate if your frost date is in the next 45 days (or if you typically don't experience frost). You're in a mild climate if your frost date is roughly 45 to 75 days away. And you're in a cold climate if your frost date is more than 75 days from now.

Scroll down to find your climate to learn everything you can plant this month!

What Can You Plant in Warmer Areas in February?

If you're growing in a warm climate, then you either don't have frost at all or you can anticipate your last frost in the next 45 days. That means this month might just be the month to plant warm season plants outside. That's right! Back when I lived in Houston, Texas, I transplanted my tomato and pepper seedlings on Valentine's Day.

Your warm season (when the average high temperature is between 65°F and 84°F, or 18.3°C and 29.4°C) will last throughout spring, and then you'll transition to a hot season (when the average high is 85°F, 29.4°C, or above).

My top 5 plants to start this month in a warmer climate:

• Eggplant
• Okra
• Thai basil
• Sweet potatoes
• Zinnias

Now let's dive into the best leaves, roots, fruit, and flowers you can plant in February.

Herbs

You can start basil seeds indoors or go ahead and direct sow seeds as soon as you've passed your last frost date. Since you're headed toward a hot summer, you might think about basil types that can thrive in warm climates. My favorite is Thai basil, which can hang in there even in triple-digit temps. I grew this beautiful herb every summer when I lived in Houston. Thai basil is wonderful in Southeast Asian dishes. You might not find Thai basil plants at your local nursery, so you'll definitely want to grab your own seeds.

Your last frost date is also a great time to plant any of the perennial herbs in your garden (oregano, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, rosemary, and lavender). Consider buying these plants if you haven't started your own.

Leafy Greens

It's already growing a little too warm for lettuce and spinach, but you can still grow more heat-tolerant greens like arugula, mizuna, and mustard greens.

Roots

It's time to start sweet potato slips so you can grow these tuberous roots this summer. Look for sweet potatoes at your famers' market or buy an organic one from the grocery store. Place the sweet potato in some compost or stick some toothpicks through the middle and suspend the tapered end in a glass of water. Within a few weeks, your sweet potatoes will start to grow little roots and shoots. Move your sweet potatoes out to the garden about 6 weeks after starting them indoors. Now you're on track to grow pounds and pounds of sweet potatoes this summer!

Fruit

As soon as you've passed your last frost date, you can transplant tomato and pepper seedlings. (If you haven't already started tomatoes and peppers indoors, it's best to buy these plants as starts from your local nursery. That way, you'll be able to plant them outside soon and maximize their time in the garden before it gets too hot outside for them to thrive.) You can also begin direct sowing cucumbers, squash, and zucchini once the threat of frost has passed. These plants will do well in your garden throughout the spring. But once you hit summer, you'll need to switch to more heat-tolerant fruiting plants.

One such heat-tolerant plant is okra. Okra is a great fruit to grow during the hottest part of the year, and you want to start those seeds indoors now so they're ready to go out into the garden before it gets too hot, around April or May.

Eggplant is another fruiting plant that can withstand really high temperatures. There are so many fun varieties of eggplant to grow, like Japanese eggplants and fairy tale eggplants. Right now is the time to start eggplant seeds indoors so you can transplant seedlings to the garden before the heat settles in.

The trick to having a packed, productive garden during really hot summers is getting all your fruiting plants into the soil at least a month before the temps rise above 90°F.

Flowers

Zinnias are a great flower to grow through the heat of the summer. You can direct sow zinnia seeds outdoors as soon as your last frost date has passed or start them inside right now so you can move them out in March or April. Zinnias aren't just beautiful and heat-tolerant, they also support the bees and butterflies.

Another great flower to plant this month is marigolds. These are one of the best things to add to your garden to help with organic pest control.

What Can You Plant in Cool Areas in February?

Mild climates, like mine here in Nashville, Tennessee, experience the four seasons every year. Even though your technical last frost date may not be until April, it's probably starting to warm up in your area by late February or very early March. You'll enjoy the cool season for your spring months. The cool season occurs when your average high temperature is between 31°F (-0.6°C) and 64°F (17.8°C) and there's a likely chance of frost.

There are lots of seeds you can be starting indoors this month to prepare for your spring and summer garden.

My top 5 plants to start this month in a mild climate:

• Basil
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Pumpkins
• Tomatoes

Now let's dive into the best leaves, roots, fruit, and flowers you can plant in February.

Herbs

Start basil seeds indoors now in preparation for your upcoming warm season (which will begin on your last frost date). Basil is super easy to start from seed indoors. By starting seeds now, you'll have basil seedlings ready to move out at the ideal time, which means you'll maximize your productivity throughout the spring and summer months.

You can also start perennial herbs like chives, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, rosemary, and lavender indoors this month, though these herbs are slow to get started. I recommend waiting until your last frost date and buying your favorite herbs from your local nursery so that you can begin harvesting from them ASAP.

Cilantro, parsley, and dill are frost-tolerant annual herbs (parsley is technically a biennial) that can be direct sown this month, as soon as your soil is workable.

Leafy Greens

You can direct sow lettuce, spinach, and arugula as soon as your soil is workable. You can also plant out kale, cabbage, and Swiss chard plant starts.

Roots

It's time to get potatoes (technically tubers) ready to go out into the garden. You'll plant seed potatoes in the ground as soon as your soil starts to warm up. Order your seed potatoes online or buy organic potatoes from your farmers' market. Chit your potatoes, meaning let each of the eyes grow a bit, and then it's time to bury them. You want to plant potatoes before spring arrives, before even your last frost date has passed. Don't worry—your potatoes will be nice and protected in the soil.

As soon as your soil is workable, you can direct sow seeds for radishes, beets, and carrots. These plants are frost-tolerant, so you don't need to wait for your last frost.

Fruit

If you haven't already started peppers (jalapeños, bell peppers, shishito peppers, etc.) indoors, it's definitely time this month. Peppers take a really long time to grow from seed.

Like peppers, tomatoes need a long head start indoors. Growing your own tomatoes from seed means getting to grow more varieties than may be available to buy at the store. Last year, I missed my window to start tomato seeds indoors, and by the time I checked out my local nurseries, they only had types I wasn't super interested in growing.

Finally, it's time to start any large gourds that you want to grow in your garden this summer. Large gourds include pumpkins, spaghetti squash, and butternut squash. These plants need a long time to mature in the garden when the weather is nice and warm, so give them a jump start this month. That's how you achieve the huge pumpkin you've been dreaming of growing.

I like to give these plants 6 to 8 weeks to get started indoors. So subtract about 45 days from your last frost date, and that's when you should ideally be starting peppers, tomatoes, and gourds. If your house is kept on the cooler side, you might need a heat mat to go under your seed trays. These plants will like a lot of light kept very close to their leaves as they get growing. You'll move your pepper, tomato, and pumpkin seedlings out to the garden as soon as you pass your last frost.

You can direct sow seeds for sugar snap peas, snow peas, and fava beens about 60 days before your last frost date. Make sure you plant climbing varieties near a strong trellis.

Flowers

If you start easy flowers like marigolds and zinnias from seed now, you'll have tons of seedlings to move outside as soon as the weather warms. You can also direct sow seeds for flowers like calendula and chamomile, which prefer cooler weather.

What Can You Plant in Cold Areas in February?

If you live somewhere super cold, I know you're looking for something to warm you up in the middle of February, and I've got just the thing: starting seeds for plants that you can move out to the garden next month. Focus on frost-resistant and frost-tolerant plants that can hang in there over the coming months. These plants don't mind the temps dropping below freezing.

Note: You'll still be in your cold season during this month if your average high temp stays below 30°F (-1°C). You can look forward to entering your cool season in a couple months.

My top 5 plants to start this month in a cold climate:

• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Spinach
• Sugar snap peas
• Swiss chard

Now let's dive into the best leaves, roots, and fruiting plants you can plant in February.

Herbs

Let's start with parsley. Parsley is a wonderful plant to have around during cold and flu season because its leaves are full of vitamin C. Parsley is slow to germinate, so it's wise to start these seeds indoors right now. By the time your soil is workable, you'll have healthy parsley plants to move out.

Cilantro and dill aren't quite as slow to take off as parsley, but they're still great candidates for indoor seed starting in February. Like parsley, these plants are frost-tolerant, but unlike parsley, they bolt as soon as the temps warm up. Starting cilantro and dill indoors will give you harvests way before you could if you put seeds in the cold soil. That way, you'll get as many tasty leaves as possible before warmer weather.

You can also start perennial herbs like chives, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, rosemary, and lavender indoors this month, since these herbs are slow to get started.

Leafy Greens

Spinach is a wonderful leafy green to grow when it's cold outside. It's frost-resistant, and it's leaves will keep you healthy during these long wintry months. Spinach is fast growing, but I like to start it indoors to get a head start on the harvests. If you start your spinach now, you can move out seedlings in just 4 to 6 weeks.

Swiss chard plants that you start this month will give and give some more during your upcoming cool season. Start Swiss chard early so that you have semi-mature plants to move out to the garden as soon as your soil is workable in the spring, probably in the next month or two. Growing your own means you end up with all those brightly colored varieties that look so vibrant in your garden (and are packed with antioxidants) but are hard to find at the store.

The same goes for kale. If you start kale plants now, you'll have fairly mature plants to move out in late March. You should be able to enjoy these plants all the way through the growing season and beyond.

Roots

If you have cold frames, you can use them to warm up the top couple inches of soil and then direct sow carrot seeds. These carrots will start to grow all snug inside those cold frames.

You can also start onions (technically bulbs) indoors. Onions may take a long time to grow from seed, but homegrown onions are so tasty that it's well worth the time and investment to start them indoors.

Fruit

Sugar snap peas, snow peas, and fava beens can be started indoors now to get a head start on your spring garden. I recommend starting peas in root trainers to give them plenty of room to grow their delicate roots. Transplant your peas next to your garden trellises as soon as the soil is workable.

It's still not quite time to start your warm season fruiting plants indoors, but go ahead and stock up on seeds before all the good ones are sold out!

Finally, let's talk about those large veggies that I sometimes lump in with fruiting plants because of their size and long time to harvest: broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. You'll start these by seed about 90 to 100 days before your last frost date. Back when I lived in Chicago, I started these plants the first week of February. You'll move them out to your garden about 45 days before your last frost date. That way, you'll be able to grow full heads before it warms up in late spring or early summer.

Bonus: Vegetables to Plant in February No Matter Where You Live

We can all grow sprouts and microgreens this month. Sprouts can be grown in a matter of days and require no light source.  Microgreens take just a bit longer and need a light source and a little more setup. Growing these tiny veggies is a great way to bring those garden-fresh flavors into your kitchen even when your raised garden beds are covered in 6 inches of snow.

What Are the Best Flowers to Plant in February?

Zinnia seeds, calendula seeds, strawflower seeds, and marigold seeds can be planted outdoors once your final threat of frost has passed, or you can start them inside now. Wait a few weeks after your last predicted frost to direct sow your nasturtium seeds.

If you're going to enjoy cool/cold weather for a while longer, you can buy frost-tolerant pansies, pink dianthus, or violas from the nursery and use them to add some bright color to your raised beds before it's time to add spring flowers.

Don't Stop Planting in February

And there you have it: all the things that you need to be planting this month—yes, in February—to be sure that your spring and summer garden are beautiful and productive. I'm making it a goal of mine this year to plant seeds every single week, and I hope you'll be out there planting seeds right alongside me.

Here's to maximizing your growing time this spring!