*The following information is designed for a temperate southern hemisphere garden – In particular it is designed for a Melbourne garden. This is meant as a general guide, indicating the type of things I plant, sow and harvest. If you have had success with doing things differently then I would love to hear from you and I can update these pages accordingly.*
February is generally when my mind starts to turn to my winter garden. What I want to grow, and where I want to grow it (ideally considering what I will grow where the following summer). February is when I usually sow my Brassica seeds (hopefully avoiding the worst of the ravages from cabbage moths). Most of February though is spent eating. Beans, Tomatoes, Eggplants, Basil and the first of the Capsicums if I’m lucky are all delicious at this time of the year.
Seeds to Sow (either direct in the garden or in punnets etc):
Beetroot, Beans, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Carrots, Celery, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Parsley, Radish, Silverbeet, Spring Onion, Turnip, Tuscan Kale
Garden maintenance I need to perform:
- Continue to harvest from herbs to ensure good growth.
- Continue to tie up the tomato plants as they grow.
- Mulch, mulch, mulch
- Clip, prune, cut off dying foliage, check for diseases and pests
Harvesting now:
Seasonal Plants: Basil, Beans, Cape Gooseberries, Capsicum, Chillies, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Strawberries, Thai Basil, Zucchini
It should be possible to harvest these plants all year round if correctly succession planted:
Broccoli (but it is very susceptible to pests during the warmer months), Beetroot, Carrots, Celery, Kale, Lettuce, Parsley, Radish, Sage, Silver Beet, Spring Onion, Thyme
Hello I just wanted to let you know I have found your site the best online for Melbourne/Geelong. I am actually harvesting vegetables for the first time in many years. In reading what to plant in February you mentioned white butterfly can you tell me what you do to restrict them from attacking the brassica plants.
Thank you
Julie
Hi Julie, Thanks for your feedback I really appreciate it. Fabulous to hear that you are harvesting vegetables. The best advice I can give about white butterfly is to try and avoid the caterpillars getting too rampant. To do that run your hands under the underside of the leaves. This knocks off the eggs. Then inspect the plants carefully for caterpillars – they can often be found on the spine of the leaves. The sooner you get rid of the caterpillars (or better yet the eggs) the less damage they can cause.