February: Sowing For Springtime Prosperity

By Jordan Freytag

Last month, we talked about planning your garden and gathering the seeds you’d like to start growing this spring. Well, now is the time to get sowing indoors or in a greenhouse. We focused on preparing to sow tomatoes and peppers last month, but they are among several vegetable crops that must be started indoors to ensure their springtime prosperity.

Here is a list of those vegetable crops and varieties that we recommend:

Broccoli

• Waltham 29 – Produces large to medium heads and withstands cold temperatures well.

Brussels Sprouts

• Long Island Improved – A heavy set of firm sprouts produced over a long season

Cabbage

• Golden Acre – A slow bolting early cabbage with a 5 to 6-inch round head. Mild flavor. (pictured)
• Mammoth Red Rock – A vibrant red and purple color to the core. Great flavor and stores.

Cauliflower

• Snowball Y Improved – Produces 5 to 6-inch heads and is well adapted for short season areas.

Eggplant

• Black Beauty – Fruits are deep purple and egg-shaped. Flesh is smooth, creamy, and pale yellow.

Leek

• Large American Flag – Snowy white stems are topped with blue-green leaves resembling giant scallions.

Onion

• Utah Yellow Sweet Spanish – Large bulbs with a sweet mild flavor, sometimes weighing a pound or more. Walla Walla – Some have claimed this is the best tasting onion! Medium-sized and deliciously mild and sweet. (pictured)

When in the thick of starting our vegetable crops, we may overlook the other springtime plants that must also be sown this month: flowers. Ah! Yes, of course! Many annual and perennial flowers must be sown indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost date. For many of us in the U.S., that time is now. If started late and not allowed enough time to grow indoors, these plants will have a tough time all spring long. I’m guilty of starting late, and I’ve witnessed the flowers struggle to meet their full potential in the past.

Of course, you are probably thinking that you can just purchase already-started flowers from the store. You may find what you are looking for—you may not. But we think it’s best to start your flowers yourself because (a) you can control the conditions in which your flowers develop, (b) you tend to have a lot more unique varieties of flowers to choose from, and (c) it is a lot cheaper for the amount of coverage you get.

For instance, to fill a three to six-gallon Bloommaster Hanging Basket with, say, trailing petunias would become quite expensive, seeing as they are one of the more pricey selections at nurseries and stores; however, starting petunias yourself would cut the cost down to a fraction and give you a nice thick bloom with more than adequate coverage.

Check out our wide inventory of seeds for these spectacular varieties and so much more:

Annuals:

Browallia

• Bell Series – These large bell-shaped flowers are easy to grow and come in vibrant cool colors.

Impatiens

• Accent Series – Early flowering and uniform in in compact shape.
• Tumbler Series – A spreading series great for filling up growing baskets

Coleus

• Black Dragon – Dark, serrated, colorful leaves give an exotic feel. (pictured)
• Kong Series – This huge-leaved variety boasts five unique eye-catching colors.

Petunia

• Tidal Wave Series – A tenacious spreading growth habit, covering your garden bed in thick colorful blooms. (pictured)
• Double Madness Series – These compact flowers deliver masses of 3-inch flowers all summer long. Ideal for pots and growing containers.

Sweet William

• Wee Willie – This variety produces a colorful mix of single blooms on compact, well-branched plants.

Zinnia

• Crystal Series – Produces loads of small daisy-like blooms throughout the growing season.
• Pop Art Golden & Red – Summer-long shows of unique color! A great home garden cut flower! (pictured)

Perennials:

Columbine

• Swan Blue and White - This series boasts uniform size, large blooms and exceptional performance.

Coreopsis

• Early Sunrise – Dense and well-branched with lush warm hues. (pictured)
• Presto – Versatile, working as a pot plant, garden plant, or border plant.

Delphinium

• Magic Fountain Series – Eye-catching habits that grow in a spiked formation. A unique addition to any flower garden.

Lobelia

• Regatta Series – Earlier than other trailing types. Ideal for bedding and containers. (pictured)
• Palace Series – Adorns bronze foliage that contrasts well with blooms.

Lupine

• Sundial – Produces purplish-blue flowers, requiring low to moderate watering.

Statice

• QIS Series – A great cut flower with the utmost uniformity in color, flower size, and stem quality.