Plans for February Gardening

Repost from Febuary 2021: 

Location:  Vancouver, Washington   USDA Zone 8a

February Gardening Tips and Ideas
From Michael P. Garofalo

February Gardening Tips from Tsugawa Nursery

Here are my gardening chores for February:

Rake up fallen sticks and fir cones
Rake up all deciduous leaves
Fertilize plants and lawns
Add topsoil as needed
Add pea gravel and regular gravel as needed
Lower the level of the walking by east side of house
Scoop up all dogshit in walking areas
Keep work areas and supplies neat, covered, and out of sight
Make sure all garden pots drain properly
Water permanent indoor plants and over-wintering potted plants
Water any outdoor plants that need water
Browse seed racks in stores and catalogs
Plant shrubs when available
Look at outdoor furniture on display
Read gardening books
Add artistic touches to the garden
Repair and improve fencing
Secure the fence edge so my dog can't dig under and escape
Add level bricks and pavers for walkway paths in the garden


Here is where I shop in the Vancouver, Washington, area: 

Tsugawa Nursery, Woodland, Washington

Yard'n Garden Land, Salmon Creek, Highway 99 and 102nd Street, Vancouver, Washington

Shorty's Garden Center, Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver, Washington

Lowes, 76 Street and 117th Ave (Lewisville Highway 503), N.E. Vancouver, Washington

Home Depot, Andresen and Paden Parkway, N.E. Vancouver, Washington

February Gardening Chores
Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9

Typical Seasonal Weather for Our Area, USDA Zone 9 Normally, in February, we have high daytime temperatures of 59ºF, low nighttime temperatures of 40ºF, and get 3.4 inches of rain.

Red Bluff Gardening Notebooks of Karen and Mike Garofalo

Cloud Hands Blog Follow the seasons in the Northern California garden of Karen and Mike with their notes, links, resources, quotes, poems, and photos.

February Garden Activities and Chores in Red Bluff
USDA Zone 9

February: Quotes, Sayings, Poems.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo.  


February Gardening Chores

Browsing and ordering from seed and garden catalogs.
Pruning leafless trees and shrubs.
Weeding and tending the winter vegetable garden.
Relax and read books.  
The soil is usually too wet and cold for much digging.
Keeping cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
Make sure that the cuttings in protected areas do not dry out.
Repair fences.
Put straw mulch over fertilized vegetable garden areas not planted.
Distribute fertilizer and minerals.
Weed the sunny vegetable garden.  
Prune and mulch dormant perennials.
Planting bare root trees and shrubs.  
Remove dead trees, shrubs, branches, and twigs.
Enjoy the bulbs and rosemary in bloom.
Repair and sharpen tools.
Construct gardening boxes and flats.
Write a poem. Keep a gardening journal.
Fertilize with 20-9-9 or 15-15-15.
Trees without leaves need little or no watering.
Take a walk in your garden.
Sit and observe.
Turn the compost pile.  
Burn piles of gardening cuttings saved since last February.

Here are some photographs of our yard and gardens in February:

Gardening in Vancouver, Washington

Gardening Information

Understanding your gardening environment is essential to success.  What are the climate conditions in your area during a year's cycle?  What is the soil like?
What kinds of plants are grown successfully in your area?  What nurseries are nearby.  

Vancouver, Washington, USA, Zip Code: 98662

Hardiness Zone:  Zone 8a: 10F to 15F

Average First Frost:  October 21 - 31

Average Last Frost:  April 1 - 10

Koppen-Geiger Climate Zone:  Csb - Warm-Summer Mediterranean Climate

Ecoregion:  3a - Portland Vancouver Basin

Palmer Drought Index:  Extremely Moist

Average Annual Rainfall:  43.55 inches

Heat Zone Days:  Rare Over 86F 

Elevation:  171 feet above the Pacific Ocean

Soil:  

Nurseries:  Yard and Garden, Shorty's, Tsugawa in Woodland, Lowe's and Home Depot.  

General Geography: 

The Pacific Ocean and Astoria, Oregon, is 100 miles to the West from Vancouver.
The south side of the City of Vancouver is the Columbia River, and across the river is Portland, Oregon.  The Cascade range and Columbia Gorge is to the East.  Looking north: 165 miles to Seattle, 494 miles to Vancouver, Canada; 105 miles to Olympia, and 45 miles to Mt. St. Helens.  

January Average: 33F low, 46F high, 6" Rain

February Average: 35F low, 50F high, 4.99" Rain

March Average: 37F low, 56F high, 4.38" Rain

April Average:  40F low, 60F high, 3.28" Rain

May Average:  45F low, 67F high, 2.67" Rain

June Average:  50F low, 72F high, 1.88" Rain

July Average:  53F low, 79F high, .8" Rain

August Average:  57F low, 82F high, .5" Rain

September Average:  49F low, 75F high, 1.91" Rain

October Average:  42F low, 64F high, 3.41" Rain

November Average:  38F low, 52F high, 6.49" Rain

December Average:  34F low, 46F high, 6.68" Rain

Yearly Averages:  42F low, 62F high, 43.55" Rain


The Spirit of Gardening

Gardening in Red Bluff, California

Colors in the Garden: Vancouver, WA

January Gardening Chores

Location:  Vancouver, Washington   USDA Zone 8a

January Gardening Tips and Ideas
From Michael P. Garofalo

January Gardening Tips from Tsugawa Nursery

Here are my gardening chores for January:

Applying manure to the empty vegetable garden.
Mulching with fallen leaves.
Panting a Fuyu Persimmon and Columnar Apple Tree
Pruning back roses and dead plants
Raking up fallen leaves in the back yard.
Finishing the back yard wood shed.
Improving the side porch, weeding, reorganizing.

Taking care of indoor plants.
Reading gardening books.
Helping Karen.

Here is where I shop in the Vancouver, Washington, area: 

Tsugawa Nursery, Woodland, Washington

Yard'n Garden Land, Salmon Creek, Highway 99 and 102nd Street, Vancouver, Washington

Shorty's Garden Center, Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver, Washington

Lowes, 76 Street and 117th Ave (Lewisville Highway 503), N.E. Vancouver, Washington

Home Depot, Andresen and Paden Parkway, N.E. Vancouver, Washington

January Gardening Chores  
Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9 

Typical (Average/Normal) Seasonal Weather for Our Area   Normally, in January, we have high daytime temperatures of 54ºF, low nighttime temperatures of 37ºF, and get 4.2 inches of rain.

Red Bluff Gardening Notebooks of Karen and Mike Garofalo

January Gardening Activities and Chores in Red Bluff
USDA Zone 9

Pruning leafless trees and shrubs.
Adding compost, ashes and fertilizer to the vegetable and flower gardens.
Taking cuttings from dormant figs, grapes, and other shrubs.
Spraying dormant fruit and other trees.
Weeding and mowing where needed.
Burning piles of gardening cuttings.
Fixing wood and metal fences.
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas outdoors or indoors.
Sharpening and oiling garden tools.
Protect tender plants from frosts.
Checking for and repairing any leaks in sheds.
The soil is usually too wet and cold for much garden digging.
Indoor activities: sorting seeds, planning, reading, writing, etc.
Caring for indoor plants.
Weeding the winter garden.
Watering potted plants as needed.
Adding Ironite and other soil supplements.
Fertilizing under trees and shrubs. 
Keeping tools and equipment out of the rain and moisture. 
Browsing seed and garden catalogs.
Reading gardening, botany, and agricultural books.
Planning garden improvements for the new year.
Fixing any leaking roofs or rain gutters. 
Keep a journal.  Write a poem.
Take a slow walk in the garden.  

January Gardening Chores and Tips for Other U.S.A. Zones


Oak Hill January Tips - Georgia

Oregon State University January Tips

Earth Wise Creations January Tips - Zone 9

Seasonal Garden Chores - Links

Top Garden Projects for January by Ed Hume in the Pacific Northwest

52 Weeks in the California Garden by Richard Smaus

The Gay Gardener - Monthly Chores

Monthly Gardening January Tips from Ortho 

Monthly Garden Tasks in an English County Garden

Winter Rose Care

The Garden Helper Tips for January - Northern U.S.

Fruits and Nuts - January Tips - Virginia

Gardening Tips - January - New York Botanical Garden

Master Gardeners Tips  

Snowing in Vancouver

It has been snowing since Thursday (2/11).  There is now 10 inches of snow in our area.  Snow will continue until Monday.  This is the most snow we have ever seen around any of our homes. 

Our west side garden covered in snow.
This picture was taken on 2/12

The west side garden on 2/9.

Winter Gardening in Vancouver WA

 Gardening Chores in Vancouver, Washington

January – April

Washington State University in Vancouver
Master Gardener WSU Clark County
https://extension.wsu.edu/clark/gardening-tasks/#month

  

January

• Check stored bulbs and dahlia tubers. Discard the soft or rotted ones. Sprinkling with water will plump up shriveled tubers.
• Water overwintering geraniums and fuchsias just enough to keep them alive.
• Spray cherry trees for bacterial canker. Apply dormant spray to apples and pears.
• Apply a dormant spray of lime sulfur on roses.

February

• When soil becomes workable, prepare vegetable gardens for planting.
• Plant peas in well-drained soil.
• Prune fruit trees when the temperature is above freezing.
• On mild days, plant bare-root roses, berries, grapes, kiwis, and fruit trees.
• Pull mulch partly away from emerging bulbs and perennials. In mid-month, hunt hidden slugs.
• Start broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower indoors.

March

• Prune and fertilize summer blooming clematis.
• Divide perennials that will bloom after mid-June.
• Trim heather and heaths after blooming, just back to below the point where blooms form.
• Fertilize established roses when they begin to leaf out.
• Bring over-wintering fuchsias and geraniums out of dormancy.  If needed, put fuchsias in larger pots with fresh soil. Check for circling or damaged roots.
• Apply dormant spray on cane berries before or just after buds swell.
• Spray peaches and nectarines with lime sulfur to control peach leaf curl.
• Control slugs around newly planted seedlings.
• Fertilize blueberries, blackberries and raspberries with 5-10-10 fertilizer.

April

• Remove and destroy tent caterpillar larvae and nests.
• Knock aphids off roses with a stream of water.
• Set out transplants of hardy annuals such as primroses, dusty miller and pansies. Direct sow snapdragons, sweet alyssum, cornflower, clarkia, calendula, larkspur, and Shirley poppy.
• Plant dahlias, ranunculus, gladiolus, iris and cannas.
• Dispose of fallen camellia blossoms to control the spread of botrytis or petal blight.
• Control brown rot on nectarines, apricots, peaches and cherries.
• Control spittlebugs, aphids and slugs on strawberries.
• Protect dogwood trees from anthracnose.
• Use floating row covers to protect plants in the cabbage family from egg laying by cabbage root maggot flies.

 

 

Plans for February Gardening

Location:  Vancouver, Washington   USDA Zone 8a

February Gardening Tips and Ideas

From Michael P. Garofalo


February Gardening Tips from Tsugawa Nursery

Here are my gardening chores for February:

Rake up fallen sticks and fir cones
Rake up all deciduous leaves
Fertilize plants and lawns
Add topsoil as needed
Add pea gravel and regular gravel as needed
Lower the level of the walking by east side of house
Scoop up all dogshit in walking areas
Keep work areas and supplies neat, covered, and out of sight
Make sure all garden pots drain properly
Water permanent indoor plants and over-wintering potted plants
Water any outdoor plants that need water
Browse seed racks in stores and catalogs
Plant shrubs when available
Look at outdoor furniture on display
Read gardening books
Add artistic touches to the garden
Repair and improve fencing
Secure the fence edge so my dog can't dig under and escape
Add level bricks and pavers for walkway paths in the garden


Here is where I shop in the Vancouver, Washington, area: 

Tsugawa Nursery, Woodland, Washington

Yard'n Garden Land, Salmon Creek, Highway 99 and 102nd Street, Vancouver, Washington

Shorty's Garden Center, Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver, Washington

Lowes, 76 Street and 117th Ave (Lewisville Highway 503), N.E. Vancouver, Washington

Home Depot, Andresen and Paden Parkway, N.E. Vancouver, Washington

February Gardening Chores
Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9

Typical Seasonal Weather for Our Area, USDA Zone 9 Normally, in February, we have high daytime temperatures of 59ºF, low nighttime temperatures of 40ºF, and get 3.4 inches of rain.

Red Bluff Gardening Notebooks of Karen and Mike Garofalo

Cloud Hands Blog Follow the seasons in the Northern California garden of Karen and Mike with their notes, links, resources, quotes, poems, and photos.

February Garden Activities and Chores in Red Bluff
USDA Zone 9

February: Quotes, Sayings, Poems.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo.  


February Gardening Chores

Browsing and ordering from seed and garden catalogs.
Pruning leafless trees and shrubs.
Weeding and tending the winter vegetable garden.
Relax and read books.  
The soil is usually too wet and cold for much digging.
Keeping cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
Make sure that the cuttings in protected areas do not dry out.
Repair fences.
Put straw mulch over fertilized vegetable garden areas not planted.
Distribute fertilizer and minerals.
Weed the sunny vegetable garden.  
Prune and mulch dormant perennials.
Planting bare root trees and shrubs.  
Remove dead trees, shrubs, branches, and twigs.
Enjoy the bulbs and rosemary in bloom.
Repair and sharpen tools.
Construct gardening boxes and flats.
Write a poem. Keep a gardening journal.
Fertilize with 20-9-9 or 15-15-15.
Trees without leaves need little or no watering.
Take a walk in your garden.
Sit and observe.
Turn the compost pile.  
Burn piles of gardening cuttings saved since last February.

Here are some photographs of our yard and gardens in February:

Not Much Yard Work Today

It snowed about 3" last night here in Vancouver. 

A day for staying indoors.  I enjoy reading, sipping coffee, playing my harmonica, playing computer Bridge or Spades, coloring or drawing, watching television, doing yoga, napping, daydreaming, reflecting. 

A Gardener's Memories

The Spirit of Gardening

Months and Seasons

Our Gardens in Red Bluff, California, 1998-2017

Bare Root Planting Time in January and February

Red Bluff, California

Pulling Onions

January Gardening Chores

January Gardening Chores
Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9 

Typical (Average/Normal) Seasonal Weather for Our Area Normally, in January, we have high daytime temperatures of 54ºF, low nighttime temperatures of 37ºF, and get 4.2 inches of rain.

Red Bluff Gardening Notebooks of Karen and Mike Garofalo
January - Quotations, Poems, Lore   Compiled by Mike Garofalo.  

January Gardening Activities and Chores in Red Bluff 
USDA Zone 9

Pruning leafless trees and shrubs.
Adding compost, ashes and fertilizer to the vegetable and flower gardens.
Taking cuttings from dormant figs, grapes, and other shrubs.
Spraying dormant fruit and other trees.
Weeding and mowing where needed.
Burning piles of gardening cuttings.
Planting bare root trees and shrubs.
Fixing wood and metal fences.
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas outdoors or indoors.
Sharpening and oiling garden tools.
Protect tender plants from frosts.
Checking for and repairing any leaks in sheds.
The soil is usually too wet and cold for much garden digging.
Indoor activities: sorting seeds, planning, reading, writing, etc.
Caring for indoor plants.
Weeding the winter garden.
Watering potted plants as needed.
Adding Ironite and other soil supplements.
Fertilizing under trees and shrubs.
Keeping tools and equipment out of the rain and moisture.
Browsing seed and garden catalogs.
Reading gardening, botany, and agricultural books.
Planning garden improvements for the new year.
Fixing any leaking roofs or rain gutters.
Keep a journal.  Write a poem.
Take a slow walk in the garden.  

January Gardening Chores and Tips for Other U.S.A. Zones

Oak Hill January Tips - Georgia

Oregon State University January Tips

Earth Wise Creations January Tips - Zone 9

Seasonal Garden Chores - Links

Top Garden Projects for January by Ed Hume in the Pacific Northwest

52 Weeks in the California Garden by Richard Smaus

The Gay Gardener - Monthly Chores

Monthly Gardening January Tips from Ortho 

Monthly Garden Tasks in an English County Garden

Winter Rose Care

The Garden Helper Tips for January - Northern U.S.

Fruits and Nuts - January Tips - Virginia

Gardening Tips - January - New York Botanical Garden

Master Gardeners Tips  

January - Quotations, Poems, Lore

Busy Gardening

Karen and I have been busy at home working in our yard and gardens.  We started major projects at our home last June. 

The Spirit of Gardening: Over 3,500 quotations arranged by over 100 topics, compiled by Mike Garofalo, 1999-.

The Garden in October

The Garden in November 

We have together:

Cleaned, dug, fertilized and rototilled two sunny garden areas.
Been planting and watering our winter garden vegetables. 
Been cleaning out ditches.
Hiring people to fix walls, paint, and clean up the south field.
Repairing broken poles and fenceposts.
Cleaning up up our Sacred Circle Garden.
Making a new compost bin.
Celebrating harvest and Halloween events.
Watching the University of Southern California (USC) vs The University of California football game.  Cheer "We Are .. SC!"  My dad and I graduated from USC. 

Here are some recent photographs:  

 

Building a Cold Frame in the Garden

We have a number of perennial plants that are not cold hardy.  Most are in pots setting on the front porch or back porch.  These plants needs to be protected during the winter months, e.g., bougainvillaea, ginger, succulents, cacti, etc.

We decided to build a cold frame structure to protect our tender plants.  It is located in our sunny garden and gets sunshine all day.  It is approximately 5 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 5 feet high.  I used treated lumber and used concrete around each post for stability.  The structure will be covered with plastic sheeting.  It will be filled with straw and then pavers and bricks will be placed on top of the straw.  If temperatures drop below 25F we will place a light bulb inside the structure - making it into a hot bed.

I will add more pictures as this project is completed during the upcoming week.  

"A cold frame is a protected plant bed. It has no artificial heat added. The temperature difference between the inside and outside of the frame is generally not more than 5 to 10 degrees. A mat or blanket may be placed over the frame on cold nights to conserve heat, but this increases temperature by only a few degrees. There are times, however, when a few degrees can be very important.
A cold frame is used to provide shelter for tender perennials, to "harden off" seedling plants or to start cold-tolerant plants such as pansies, cabbage or lettuce earlier than they can be started in open soil. It may also be used to overwinter summer-rooted cuttings of woody plants.
A hotbed basically is a heated cold frame. In many ways it is a miniature greenhouse, providing the same benefits with limited space at minimal expense. It is a means for extending the growing season. It is most often used to give an early start to warm-season vegetables such as tomato, pepper or melon. It may also be used to root cuttings of some woody plants.
Hotbeds and cold frames should have a southern exposure to receive the maximum amount of sunlight. To reduce the cost of heating, use a north or northwest windbreak. This may be provided by a building, bales of hay or straw, tight board fence or evergreen hedge. Bundles or bales of straw could be used on the north for temporary windbreak."
-  By Denny Shrock, Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri



Images for Cold Frames

How to Build a Cold Frame

Building and Using Hotbeds and Coldframes

The Spirit of Gardening:  Quotes, Sayings, Poems, Information.  Over 3,500 quotations arranged by over 200 topics.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo. 

Months and Seasons: Quotes, Sayings, Poems, Information.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo. 

A Northern California Garden in November

Here are some photos of our backyard gardens in November.  We harvested all of our remaining pepper plants yesterday.  Our winter vegetable crops are coming along fine: Swiss chard, lettuce, cabbages, onions, garlic, and kale.  

We have had some gentle rain the past few weeks.  The weeds and grass are quite a lush green.  Temperatures range from 50F to 65F. 

"Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed."

-  Walt Whitman

 

"I wake up some mornings and sit and have my coffee and look out at my beautiful garden, and I go, 'Remember how good this is. Because you can lose it.' "

-  Jim Carrey

 

"Everyone can identify with a fragrant garden, with beauty of sunset, with the quiet of nature, with a warm and cozy cottage."  

-  Thomas Kincade

 

"Complexity excites the mind, and order rewards it.  In the garden, one finds both, including vanishingly small orders too complex to spot, and orders so vast the mind struggles to embrace them."

-  Diane Ackerman

 

"Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it."
-  Rumi

 "Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are."
-  Alfred Austin


A Winter Vegetable Garden in Northern California

The Winter Vegetable Garden in Warm Climates

The Spirit of Gardening:  Quotes, Sayings, Poems, Information.  Over 3,500 quotations arranged by 200 topics.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo. 

Months and Seasons: Quotes, Sayings, Poems, Information.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo.