February Vegetable and Herb Gardening Calendar for Cool & Alpine Climate Australia

February is the last month of summer, and it’s still a fairly dry time of the year in Victoria. Weather is hot and humid in NSW, and rain falls for around half the month. There can be strong winds along with the heat, so water deeply and less often during dry periods to encourage roots to grow down, making plants less vulnerable to heat and drought.

Things to Do This Month:

• Summer pruning of fruit trees, cut new green growth by half to maintain size.
• Feed citrus trees and top up mulch (use compost or old manure) over roots, keeping clear of trunk.
• Cut and dry herbs for winter use.
• Collect ripening seeds for plants you wish to propagate.
• Divide perennials towards the end of the month, or if in drought, leave till March.
• Sow cool season green manure crops, such as Broad Beans, Fenugreek, Linseed, Lupins, Mustard, Oats and Vetch, then dug in during autumn before flowering.
• Last chance to sow warm season green manure crops, such as Buckwheat, Cowpea, Japanese Millet, Mung Bean, Mustard, Soybean.
• Prune summer fruiting raspberries – after fruit is picked, cut out old canes and tie new canes (that have grown this year) to supports.
• Keep an eye on water gardens and ponds, water levels can get low due to evaporation. Aquatic plants can become overgrown and require thinning at this time of year.
• Propagation of semi-hardwood (semi-ripe) cuttings is done in mid-late summer, use rooting hormone, and plant in moist commercial propagation mix, or make your own with one-part coarse propagating sand (washed river sand) and one part peat or coconut coir.

Vegetables and Herbs to Grow in February (Cool & Alpine Climate)

February Seeds to Sow and Seedlings to Plant (Cool & Alpine Climate Australia)	Sow/Plant	Harvest (weeks)
Basil	t	10-12
Beetroot	dst	7-10
Broccoli	st	10-16
Burdock	d	17-18
Cabbage	st	8-15
Carrot	d	12-18
Cauliflower	st	15-22
Chicory	st	16-24
Chinese Cabbage	st	8-10
Chives	dst	7-11
Collard Greens	st	8-11
Coriander (Cilantro)	dst	30-45
Corn Salad	d	5-8
Daikon	d	8-10
Dill	dst	8-12
Endive	dst	10-11
Fennel (Florence)	dst	14-20
Horseradish	plant root pieces	16-24
Kale	dst	7-9
Kohlrabi	dst	7-10
Leeks	dt	15-18
Lettuce	dst	8-12
Marrow	t	12-17
Mizuna	dst	5-7
Mustard Greens	dst	5-8
NZ Spinach (Warrigal Greens)	dst	8-10
Pak Choy	dst	6-11
Parsley	dst	9-19
Radish	d	5-7
Rocket	d	21-35 days
Swedes (Rutabaga)	dst	10-14
Salsify	d	14-21
Silverbeet (Swiss Chard)	dst	7-12
Spring Onions (Bunching Onions)	dst	6-10
Squash	t	7-8
Turnip	d	6-9
Zucchini (Courgette, Marrow)	t	6-9

Key:
d = sow seeds directly into ground
s = sow seeds into seed tray
ds = sow seeds directly into ground or seed tray
t = transplant seedlings (small plants) into larger pots or plant into ground
*= frost tender
**= sow after frost

Download printable PDF version of Gardening Calendar (Australian Cool & Alpine Climate) – February

To help improve these garden calendars, feedback and additional information from readers is greatly appreciated! Australia’s climate varies considerably, and local knowledge of when particular things need to be done in the garden are most helpful to others living in those area, so please feel free to share.