Moon Planting calendar of February

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for sowing, under shelter, monthly cycle radish; mix the seeds with those of carrots (for forcing); you'll harvest the radishes in a month and at the same time work on thinning the carrots out / If not done yet, either in the open (for warmer climates) or under shelter, sow spring and summer turnip; protect your sprouts from slugs and thin after the sprouting / In a tunnel, sow white onion sparsely to eat raw in spring; also include colored onion and leek.

LANDSCAPING: If not freezing, plant climbing vines (trumpet vine, honeysuckle, wisteria, clematis...), settling them right below a lattice that matches their growth rate; remember to tilt the clump in the planting hole / Plant ornamental almond (Prunus triloba), one of the first shrubs to bloom in spring / Plant primrose and pansy / Divide snowdrop bunches now that blooming is over, while foliage is still green / On camellia, remove wilted flowers regularly (deadheading) to increase further blooming / Prepare fuchsia, chrysanthemum and pelargonium cuttings / In mild regions start pruning oleander before vegetation sets in / Prune perovskia, plumbago, shrubby sage, tree mallow, bush clover: cut all branches back to the ground, leaving only two alternate buds on the stem / Trigger sprouting for tuber begonia and canna lily bulbs by bringing them indoors (60-68°F or 16-20°C), bury the roots in shallow soil mix and water from time to time / If you've sown annuals indoors, thin the seedlings.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Transplant January-sown cauliflower; keep indoors.

INDOORS: Repot phalaenopsis orchids (repeat every 2 or 3 years).

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day, if not freezing, to plant climbing vines (trumpet vine, honeysuckle, wisteria, clematis...), settling them right below a lattice that matches their growth rate; remember to tilt the clump in the planting hole / Plant ornamental almond (Prunus triloba), one of the first shrubs to bloom in spring / Plant primrose and pansy / Divide snowdrop bunches now that blooming is over, while foliage is still green / On camellia, remove wilted flowers regularly (deadheading) to increase further blooming / Prepare fuchsia, chrysanthemum and pelargonium cuttings / In mild regions start pruning oleander before vegetation sets in / Prune perovskia, plumbago, shrubby sage, tree mallow, bush clover: cut all branches back to the ground, leaving only two alternate buds on the stem / Trigger sprouting for tuber begonia and canna lily bulbs by bringing them indoors (60-68°F or 16-20°C), bury the roots in shallow soil mix and water from time to time / If you've sown annuals indoors, thin the seedlings.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for transplanting January-sown cauliflower; keep indoors.

INDOORS: 2nd day for repotting phalaenopsis orchids (repeat every 2 or 3 years).

Don't garden before 2 PM (14:00) – moon is at apogee at 8:54 AM

VEGETABLE PATCH: Transplant January-sown lettuce.

LANDSCAPING: Keep pruning deciduous trees, if it isn't freezing / Clean tree trunks to remove moss and lichen that might be growing on it: brush with a medium-stiff brush and lather with clay; carefully gather and burn fallen debris.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for transplanting January-sown lettuce.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for pruning deciduous trees, if it isn't freezing / Clean tree trunks to remove moss and lichen that might be growing on it: brush with a medium-stiff brush and lather with clay; carefully gather and burn fallen debris.

ORCHARD: If the weather is mild, prune (3-buds or eyes) trained and espalier apple, pear, apricot and peach trees; if not done previously, remove mummified fruit, dead or unhealthy branches, and spray bordeaux mixture / Also prune olive, grapevine and actinidia / Finish pruning small berry shrubs and use the trimmings to start cuttings (gooseberry and red currant).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Ridge faba beans if they've reached 8 inches already (20 cm).

ORCHARD: 2nd day, if the weather is mild, for pruning (3-buds or eyes) trained and espalier apple, pear, apricot and peach trees; if not done previously, remove mummified fruit, dead or unhealthy branches, and spray bordeaux mixture / Also prune olive, grapevine and actinidia / Finish pruning small berry shrubs and use the trimmings to start cuttings (gooseberry and red currant).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for ridging faba beans if they've reached 8 inches (20 cm).

ORCHARD: 3rd day, if the weather is mild, for pruning (3-buds or eyes) trained and espalier apple, pear, apricot and peach trees; if not done previously, remove mummified fruit, dead or unhealthy branches, and spray bordeaux mixture / Also prune olive, grapevine and actinidia / Finish pruning small berry shrubs and use the trimmings to start cuttings (gooseberry and red currant).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for ridging faba beans if they've reached 8 inches (20 cm).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Plant garlic (purple and white garlic for mild climates, pink garlic in colder area) and shallot in loose soil that you didn't fertilize in the year before; don't water / Keep harvesting winter carrot, parsnip and winter radish / Start ridging asparagus in light soil by mulching or with a clear sheet of plastic to speed growth up / Also make the best of today to prepare the soil according to your spring planting program / Thin turnip sprouts.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing garlic (purple and white garlic for mild climates, pink garlic in colder area) and shallot in loose soil that you didn't fertilize in the year before; don't water / Keep harvesting winter carrot, parsnip and winter radish / Start ridging asparagus in light soil by mulching or with a clear sheet of plastic to speed growth up / Also make the best of today to prepare the soil according to your spring planting program / Thin turnip sprouts.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for sowing garlic (purple and white garlic for mild climates, pink garlic in colder area) and shallot in loose soil that you didn't fertilize in the year before; don't water / Keep harvesting winter carrot, parsnip and winter radish / Start ridging asparagus in light soil by mulching or with a clear sheet of plastic to speed growth up / Also make the best of today to prepare the soil according to your spring planting program / Thin turnip sprouts.

Don't garden before 12:35 PM (12:35) – lunar node at 7:32 AM

LANDSCAPING: If not freezing, plant climbing vines (trumpet vine, honeysuckle, wisteria, clematis...), settling them right below a lattice that matches their growth rate; remember to tilt the clump in the planting hole / Plant ornamental almond (Prunus triloba), one of the first shrubs to bloom in spring / Repot phalaenopsis orchids (repeat every 2 or 3 years) / Plant primrose and pansy / On camellia, remove wilted flowers regularly (deadheading) to increase further blooming / In mild regions start pruning oleander before vegetation sets in / Prune perovskia, plumbago, shrubby sage, tree mallow, bush clover: cut all branches back to the ground, leaving only two alternate buds on the stem / Trigger sprouting for tuber begonia and canna lily bulbs by bringing them indoors (60-68°F or 16-20°C), bury the roots in shallow soil mix and water from time to time / If you've sown annuals indoors mid-January, thin the seedlings.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Transplant cauliflower sprouts sown earlier, keep them indoors until ready for transplanting to the vegetable patch.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day, if not freezing, to plant climbing vines (trumpet vine, honeysuckle, wisteria, clematis...), settling them right below a lattice that matches their growth rate; remember to tilt the clump in the planting hole / Plant ornamental almond (Prunus triloba), one of the first shrubs to bloom in spring / Repot phalaenopsis orchids (repeat every 2 or 3 years) / Plant primrose and pansy / On camellia, remove wilted flowers regularly (deadheading) to increase further blooming / In mild regions start pruning oleander before vegetation sets in / Prune perovskia, plumbago, shrubby sage, tree mallow, bush clover: cut all branches back to the ground, leaving only two alternate buds on the stem / Trigger sprouting for tuber begonia and canna lily bulbs by bringing them indoors (60-68°F or 16-20°C), bury the roots in shallow soil mix and water from time to time / If you've sown annuals indoors mid-January, thin the seedlings.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for transplanting cauliflower sprouts sown earlier, keep them indoors until they're ready for transplanting to the vegetable patch.

LANDSCAPING: Prune boxwood edges / If not freezing, plant a deciduous foliage hedge shrubs (container or bare root) / It's also a great time to transplant deciduous shrubs and plant Virginia creeper and ornamental ivy (and other leaf ornamentals, especially ground cover).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Divide rhubarb clumps if the weather is mild / Repot and marcott herbs and spices / Till green manure into the soil, like alfalfa and vetch sown last fall, after shredding it beforehand with a mulching lawnmower / If you plan to start an asparagus patch, now is the right time to get the soil ready.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day to prune boxwood edges / If not freezing, plant a deciduous foliage hedge shrubs (container or bare root) / It's also a great time to transplant deciduous shrubs and plant Virginia creeper and ornamental ivy (and other leaf ornamentals, especially ground cover).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day to divide rhubarb clumps if the weather is mild
Repot and marcott herbs and spices / Till green manure into the soil, like alfalfa and vetch sown last fall, after shredding it beforehand with a mulching lawnmower / If you plan to start an asparagus patch, now is the right time to get the soil ready.

Before 2:33 PM (14:33), the moon begins to descend:

ORCHARD: If the weather is mild, prune (3-buds or eyes) trained and espalier apple, pear, apricot and peach trees; if not done previously, remove mummified fruit, dead or unhealthy branches, and spray bordeaux mixture / Also prune olive, grapevine and actinidia / Finish pruning small berry shrubs and use the trimmings to start cuttings (gooseberry and red currant).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Ridge faba beans if they've reached 8 inches already (20 cm).

After 2:33 PM (14:33), moon begins to ascend:

VEGETABLE PATCH: New opportunity to sow tomato indoors (65-68°F or 18-20°C) in peat mini-clumps (removes one transplant step) or in trays - repot miniclump sprouts to individual nursery pots when plants are 2 inches tall (3-5 cm). / Keep sowing bell pepper, chili pepper and eggplant indoors in trays; cover with a slab of glass that you flip over every day to remove condensation water / If not done yet, sow early round pea and mangetout / Prepare soil for sowing: 1/4 ripe compost, 1/4 sand and 1/2 soil mix.

ORCHARD: You can still collect scions from fruit trees for grafting later on in spring.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing tomato indoors (65-68°F or 18-20°C) in peat mini-clumps (removes one transplant step) or in trays - repot miniclump sprouts to individual nursery pots when plants are 2 inches tall (3-5 cm) / Keep sowing bell pepper, chili pepper and eggplant indoors in trays; cover with a slab of glass that you flip over every day to remove condensation water / If not done yet, sow early round pea and mangetout
Prepare soil for sowing: 1/4 ripe compost, 1/4 sand and 1/2 soil mix.

ORCHARD: 2nd day to collect scions from fruit trees for grafting later on in spring.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing, under shelter, monthly cycle radish; mix the seeds with those of carrots (for forcing); you'll harvest the radishes in a month and at the same time work on thinning the carrots out / If not done yet, either in the open (for warmer climates) or under shelter, sow spring and summer turnip; protect your sprouts from slugs and thin after the sprouting / In a tunnel, sow white onion sparsly to eat raw in spring; also include colored onion / Sow kohlrabi indoors in trays (55-60°F or 12-15°C), to transfer in nursery pots when they have 2 real leaves and then in the ground in May without burying them too deep / Under a cold frame, sow short and half-long carrot / Sow leek under a cold frame or on a hot bed (transplant in April, harvest in summer) / If you're going to plant potato, store tubers upright and touching each other with buds facing upwards in a crate in a sheltered spot.

Don't garden before 2:05 PM (14:05) – moon is at perigee at 9:05 AM

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing, under shelter, monthly cycle radish; mix the seeds with those of carrots (for forcing); you'll harvest the radishes in a month and at the same time work on thinning the carrots out / If not done yet, either in the open (for warmer climates) or under shelter, sow spring and summer turnip; protect your sprouts from slugs and thin after the sprouting / In a tunnel, sow white onion sparsely to eat raw in spring; also include colored onion / Sow kohlrabi indoors in trays (55-60°F or 12-15°C), to transfer in nursery pots when they have 2 real leaves and then in the ground in May without burying them too deep / Under a cold frame, sow short and half-long carrot / Sow leek under a cold frame or on a hot bed (transplant in April, harvest in summer) / If you're going to plant potato, store tubers upright and touching each other with buds facing upwards in a crate in a sheltered spot.

LANDSCAPING: Sow annuals directly in flower beds: love-in-a-mist, cosmos, Virginia stock, California poppy... / Indoors (68-72°F or 20-22°C), in a bright spot, sow pelargonium, clove pink and semperflorens begonia in trays (don't cover the begonia seeds).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Sow cauliflower and broccoli cabbage under a cold frame.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for sowing annuals directly in flower beds: love-in-a-mist, cosmos, Virginia stock, California poppy... / Indoors (68-72°F or 20-22°C), in a bright spot, sow pelargonium, clove pink and semperflorens begonia in trays (don't cover the begonia seeds).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing cauliflower and broccoli cabbage under a cold frame.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Sow headed spring lettuce and batavia for early harvests, directly in the plot under shelter (or in a nursery) / Sow headed summer and fall cabbages under shelter or in a cold frame, you'll transplant them in May / Sow white cabbage indoors, transplant to a well-exposed nursery when they grow 2-3 real leaves for a transfer to the ground early April (harvest in June-July) / Sow cardoon indoors 65-68°F (18-20 °C), for a harvest in June / Also sow, directly in the ground, garden cress, parsley, chervil, corn salad, arugula, dandelion and purslane under a sheet of winterizing fleece in a protected area of the garden / On the balcony, sow chive seeds in a garden box; thin when they have 3-4 leaves / If applicable, harvest the last heads of lettuce sown in last autumn and keep corn salad, spinach and winter lettuce under a sheet of winterizing fleece to extend the harvest even if it freezes again.

INDOORS: Sow different basil varieties indoors (68°F - 20°C).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing headed spring lettuce and batavia for early harvests, directly in the plot under shelter (or in a nursery) / Sow headed summer and fall cabbages under shelter or in a cold frame, you'll transplant them in May / Sow white cabbage indoors, transplant to a well-exposed nursery when they grow 2-3 real leaves for a transfer to the ground early April (harvest in June-July) / Sow cardoon indoors 65-68°F (18-20 °C), for a harvest in June / Also sow, directly in the ground, garden cress, parsley, chervil, corn salad, arugula, dandelion and purslane under a sheet of winterizing fleece in a protected area of the garden / On the balcony, sow chive seeds in a garden box; thin when they have 3-4 leaves / If applicable, harvest the last heads of lettuce sown in last autumn and keep corn salad, spinach and winter lettuce under a sheet of winterizing fleece to extend the harvest even if it freezes again.

INDOORS: 2nd day for sowing different basil varieties indoors (68°F - 20°C).

Don't garden after 1:55 PM (13:55) – lunar node at 6:57 PM (18:57)

ORCHARD: If the weather is mild, prune (3-buds or eyes) trained and espalier apple, pear, apricot and peach trees; if not done previously, remove mummified fruit, dead or unhealthy branches, and spray bordeaux mixture / Also prune olive, grapevine and actinidia
Finish pruning small berry shrubs and use the trimmings to start cuttings (gooseberry and red currant).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Ridge faba beans if they've reached 8 inches already (20 cm) / If needed, transplant tomato seedlings.

ORCHARD: 2nd day, if the weather is mild, for 3-bud pruning of trained and espalier apple, pear, apricot and peach trees; if not done previously, remove mummified fruit, dead or unhealthy branches, and spray bordeaux mixture / Also prune olive, grapevine and actinidia / Finish pruning small berry shrubs and use the trimmings to start cuttings (gooseberry and red currant).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for ridging faba beans if they've reached 8 inches (20 cm) / If needed, transplant tomato seedlings.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Sow kohlrabi indoors in trays (55-60°F or 12-15°C), to transfer in nursery pots when they have 2 real leaves and then in the ground in May without burying them too deep / Sow colored onions in soil that hasn't recently been fertilized with manure, depth about half an inch (1-2 cm), form rows directly in the growing bed, for a harvest between July and September (thin after sprouting to one plant every 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) / Under a cold frame, sow short and half-long carrot and round or cylindrical radish / Sow leek under a cold frame or on a hot bed (transplant in April, harvest in summer) / If you're going to plant potato, store tubers upright and touching each other with buds facing upwards in a crate in a sheltered spot.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing kohlrabi indoors in trays (55-60°F or 12-15°C), to transfer in nursery pots when they have 2 real leaves and then in the ground in May without burying them too deep / Sow colored onions in soil that hasn't recently been fertilized with manure, depth about half an inch (1-2 cm), form rows directly in the growing bed, for a harvest between July and September (thin after sprouting to one plant every 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) / Under a cold frame, sow short and half-long carrot and round or cylindrical radish / Sow leek under a cold frame or on a hot bed (transplant in April, harvest in summer) / If you're going to plant potato, store tubers upright and touching each other with buds facing upwards in a crate in a sheltered spot.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for sowing kohlrabi indoors in trays (55-60°F or 12-15°C), to transfer in nursery pots when they have 2 real leaves and then in the ground in May without burying them too deep / Sow colored onions in soil that hasn't recently been fertilized with manure, depth about half an inch (1-2 cm), form rows directly in the growing bed, for a harvest between July and September (thin after sprouting to one plant every 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) / Under a cold frame, sow short and half-long carrot and round or cylindrical radish / Sow leek under a cold frame or on a hot bed (transplant in April, harvest in summer) / If you're going to plant potato, store tubers upright and touching each other with buds facing upwards in a crate in a sheltered spot.