Written by Lyn Brooks, Staff Writer
It's February 2nd, and the sun is out, shining in all it's glory. Based on the weather today, it looks like winter is coming to a fast end. Several legendary groundhogs seem to concur with Mother Nature's mood today. According to a news report by NPR, neither the infamous Punxsutawney Phil, nor Staten Island Chuck, or General Beau Lee, saw their shadow, which reportedly means that spring is only two weeks away. So, if you are like me you are probably tempted to get started digging and planting in your garden.
If you live in the upper middle to high latitudes, the following is my best gardening tip for the month of February:
Don't. Trust me, just don't. I know the dirt is calling your name, just as surely as it is mine, but don't give in to your gardening lust! Not yet.
As tempting as warm, sunny days, and elderly groundhogs may be, science is a more trustworthy guide.
While I have seen the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map be off by a couple of weeks, in general, it is a far more reliable guide than local weather trends, or animals, as to whether or not it's safe to begin sowing your favorite plants.
Many gardeners are already well acquainted with the map, which was recently updated in 2012. If not, just find your area on the map and match the color of your area with the table. If you have a broadband connection, you can interact with the map online, or simply enter your zip code to find out your zone.
Most commercial seed packets will tell you when it's safe to plant a specific fruit, vegetable, herb or flower based on your local zone. You can also look up zone and date recommendations for specific plants by conducting an online search.
My garden is located in Zone 6b. Veggie Harvest has a nice Zone 6b Garden Calendar and Graph showing what is safe to start inside and outside throughout the year for my zone. They have recommendations for the other zones as well.
There are several seeds that I will be able to start from seed soon INSIDE, to be set outside and planted later. But, for plants and seeds directly sown in the garden, there is nothing, NOTHING that is SAFE to plant outside right now.
Nothing! No matter what today's sunshine and those groundhogs say!
If the groundhogs are coincidentally correct, and it warms up a bit earlier than normal, if we are very, very lucky, it might be safe to put out a few onion sets towards the end of this month. But, other than that, N-O-T-H-I-N-G.
Unless you just happen to enjoy wasting seeds and killing plants. If you are a serial plant killer and enjoy having a black thumb, go on ahead - plant away!
If, however, you enjoy gardening because you enjoy planting things and watching them grow, keep the following facts in mind: Sunshine and Mother Nature are moody and fickle! Groundhogs lie!
Photo Credit: Flickr, Carly & Art
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