Begin sowing cool season crops in the third week of February, sixty to seventy days before your last frost date. These plants tolerate light frost and transplant well into cool soil.
Sow indoors:
Broccoli and cauliflower: six to eight weeks before transplant, thin to one plant per cell, harden off two weeks before planting out
Cabbage: six to eight weeks before transplant, keep soil evenly moist, provide consistent temperatures
Kale and collards: five to six weeks before transplant, very forgiving of cool conditions
Lettuce: four to five weeks before transplant, succession sow every two weeks for continuous harvest
Onions and leeks: ten to twelve weeks before transplant, keep trimmed to pencil thickness, plant deeply
Celery and celeriac: ten to twelve weeks before transplant, require consistent moisture and fertility
Herbs: parsley, cilantro, dill, chives, four to six weeks before transplant
Flowers: snapdragons, pansies, violas, for early pollinator support
February is ideal for soil testing, before spring rush, while labs have capacity, while you have time to act on results. Test both garden beds and pasture areas, test pH and macro minerals and micro minerals and organic matter.
Collect samples:
Garden soil: take from four inches depth, combine from five locations in each bed, air dry before sending
Pasture soil: take from three inches depth, note compaction, test separately from garden
Compost: test finished compost for nutrient content and pH
Send to agricultural extension or private lab, request full mineral panel not just NPK, ask for recommendations specific to your crops.
Amend based on results:
If pH below six point zero: add lime at five pounds per hundred square feet, incorporate in early spring
If pH above seven point zero: add elemental sulfur or peat, incorporate gradually
If nitrogen low: plan cover crop termination, add compost, consider feather meal
If phosphorus low: add rock phosphate or bone meal, slow release
If potassium low: add greensand or wood ash, monitor sodium if using ash
If organic matter below five percent: prioritize compost addition, reduce tillage, maintain living roots
Complete your infrastructure ordering in February, receive materials by March, install before spring work peaks. Order fencing, irrigation, tools, season extension supplies while suppliers are not yet overwhelmed.
Priority purchases:
Fencing materials: T posts, wire panels, hog panels, electric fence components, gate hardware
Irrigation: drip tape, soaker hoses, timers, filters, pressure regulators, fittings
Season extension: row cover fabric, hoop house materials, cold frame glass or polycarbonate
Tools: broadfork, wheel hoe, flame weeder, harvest totes, measuring equipment
Storage: food grade buckets, canning supplies, freezing containers, root cellar shelving
Install what you can in February:
Post holes dig easier in unfrozen ground, set fence posts now
Drip lines can be laid on bare soil before planting
Cold frames can be positioned and tested
Tool shed can be organized before spring clutter
February brings breeding season for many species. Decide now: will you breed, will you cull, will you wait. Consider your infrastructure capacity, your feed budget, your market plans, your own energy.
Pigs: if keeping breeding stock, introduce boar to sows now for fall farrowing, if raising for meat only, plan harvest for late February or March before heat stress
Poultry: select breeding pairs based on conformation and production, separate from laying flock, provide extra protein, expect eggs in six to eight weeks
Goats: if bred in fall, expect kidding in March, prepare kidding pens now, gather supplies, learn dystocia signs
Sheep: lambing season approaches, check ewes for udder development, prepare lambing jugs, have colostrum ready
Rabbits: can breed year round with proper housing, consider pausing in extreme cold, plan for spring litters
As temperatures rise slightly, your compost piles begin to awaken. Turn winter piles, add fresh greens, check moisture, inoculate with finished compost if needed.
Compost management:
Turn cold piles: mix thoroughly, add nitrogen source if brown, add carbon source if wet
Build new piles: layer greens and browns in three parts brown to one part green, water each layer, aim for four foot cube minimum
Monitor temperature: active piles reach one hundred thirty degrees, turning spreads heat, cooling signals maturity
Feed worms: if using vermicompost, add kitchen scraps buried in bedding, maintain fifty to seventy degrees
Sift finished compost: screen out unfinished material, return to pile, use finished for seed starting and transplanting