What to do in the garden in February
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Zone 1
❄️ Zone 1 · Min −51 °C · Northern Alaska, Yakutsk, Siberian far north. Almost no outdoor growing season.
- 🌱 Start onions and leeks indoors (18 wks before outdoor planting)
- 💡 Run grow lights 16+ hrs/day; maintain 18 °C for seedlings
- 📦 Finalize all seed orders — remote delivery takes weeks
- 🔧 Service cold frames and hoop house for spring
Zone 2
🥶 Zone 2 · Min −45 °C · Interior Alaska, Northern Canada, Norilsk.
- 🌱 Start onions, leeks indoors (16 wks before last frost)
- 💡 Run grow lights 16 hrs/day; use heating mats
- 📦 Confirm all seed orders received
- 🔧 Clean cold frames and repair glazing
Zone 3
🌨 Zone 3 · Min −40 °C · Winnipeg, Northern Minnesota, Surgut. Very short season (90–120 days).
- 🌱 Start onions, leeks, celery indoors (14–16 wks)
- 💡 Run grow lights 16 hrs/day; use heating mats at 21 °C
- 🔧 Clean and repair cold frames
- 📦 Confirm seed orders; test seed viability
Zone 4
🌧 Zone 4 · Min −34 °C · Minneapolis, Calgary, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg. Season ≈ 140 days.
- 🌱 Start onions, leeks, celery indoors (12–14 wks)
- 💡 16 hrs light/day; use heating mat at 21 °C
- 🔧 Inspect and repair cold frames and row cover
- 📦 Test seed viability; swap old stock
Zone 5
🌥 Zone 5 · Min −29 °C · Chicago, Montreal, Moscow, Helsinki. Season ≈ 160 days.
- 🌱 Start onions, leeks, celery indoors (12 wks)
- 💡 16 hrs light/day; heating mat at 21 °C
- 📦 Test seed viability; confirm all orders
- 🔧 Clean cold frames; check row cover stock
Zone 6
⛅ Zone 6 · Min −23 °C · Denver, Toronto, Warsaw, Oslo, Kyiv. Season ≈ 180 days.
- 🌱 Start onions and leeks indoors (10–12 wks)
- 📦 Confirm seed orders; test viability
- 🔧 Clean cold frames; prepare seed-starting trays
- 💡 Run grow lights 14–16 hrs/day
Zone 7
🌤 Zone 7 · Min −18 °C · New York, Berlin, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Seoul. Long season ≈ 200 days.
- 🌱 Start tomatoes and peppers indoors (8–10 wks)
- 🧅 Plant onion sets outdoors
- 🫛 Direct sow peas, spinach, radishes outdoors
- 🥔 Chit potato seed pieces in cool, light spot
Zone 8
☀️ Zone 8 · Min −12 °C · Seattle, Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Amsterdam. Near year-round growing.
- 🌱 Start tomatoes, peppers, aubergines indoors
- 🧅 Plant onion sets and shallots outdoors
- 🥔 Plant potatoes — soil warm enough
- 🫛 Direct sow peas, spinach, carrots
Zone 9
🌞 Zone 9 · Min −7 °C · London, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes, Rome, Madrid. Year-round outdoor growing.
- 🍅 Transplant tomatoes and peppers outdoors
- 🌽 Direct sow warm crops: beans, squash
- 🥔 Plant potatoes — ideal timing
- 🌿 Interplant companion flowers
Zone 10
🌴 Zone 10 · Min −1 °C · Nice, Lisbon, Athens, Southern California, Southern Florida. Subtropical.
- 🍅 Transplant tomatoes, peppers, aubergines outdoors
- 🌽 Direct sow beans, squash, cucumbers
- 🧅 Plant onion sets and shallots
- 🌿 Interplant companion flowers; mulch beds
Zone 11
🌺 Zone 11 · Min +4 °C · Hawaii, Hong Kong, tropical coasts. True tropics, frost-free year-round.
- 🌿 Sow cowpeas and pigeon pea as green manure
- 🍅 Transplant tomatoes and peppers (year-round possible)
- 🌱 Plant sweet potato slips in new beds
- 🌸 Propagate perennial herbs by division
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