What to do in the garden in February

[Jason]

The weather might still be hot, but February is a good month to start planting your winter vegies like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, Brussels sprouts, parsnips and parsley.

Tropical areas are ready for planting leeks, chilies, cabbage, silverbeet, lettuce, sweet corn, tomatoes, mangoes, bananas and pineapple. You can brighten up your garden, and attract helpful insects, by planting marigolds and sunflowers.

In sub-tropical areas, you can plant beans, capsicum, carrots, chilies, cucumbers, lettuce and zucchinis in your vegie patch. Sunflowers are also good to add a splash of colour.

In temperate climates, it’s also time for winter vegies like beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, leeks, lettuce and parsley. Companion plants like nasturtiums, verbena, petunias and marigolds add colour and attract insects, keeping them away from your vegies.

In colder regions, it’s mostly about vegies. Start planting, beetroot, broccoli, Asian greens, carrots, cauliflower, leeks, lettuce, onions, silverbeet and parsley. For that burst of colour, look for stocks, violas, pansy, dianthus, verbena and ageratum.

Check out Garden Corner on the Bunnings website for planting advice tailored to your area and climate. 

What are you planting in your garden this month?

Jason

[Kermit]

Weeds growing like crazy at our place at the moment. So the first priority is to get rid of them before planting anything new.

[Kellie]

I only have pots but what I'll be doing most in Feb is watering. They can dry out really quickly in the heat. I won't be planting anything new until it gets cooler. 

[tetris36]

Adding compost to feed the existing zucchinis & tomatoes but also bulking up the soil for autumn planting. Desperately trying to lower my garden's pH levels & compost is supposed to help.

[Jason]

Be good to see your tomatoes @tetris36. I posted a photo of ours on this discussion. We've also got more cucumbers than we can eat in the Vegepod. 

Jason

[tetris36]

Morning Jason. I saw your picture last week & it puts my shabby tomato plant to shame. Melbourne had 44mm of rain dumped on it last night so the tomatoes have probably drowned. In fact it hasn't been the best summer for tomatoes - been a bit cooler than expected.

[Jason]

Proof's in the eating @tetris36! Hopefully the rain will do wonders for all of the garden.

Jason

[Jason]

Hope everyone is managing to keep their plants alive and their lawn green despite the very hot temperatures in most of the country. 

Feel free to share your tips or ask for advice by replying below. 

And don't forget that the Bunnings team provides specific garden diary advice for your state. There's guides for Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Jason

[Jason]

Hi everyone, 

Hope you garden has coped OK with the recent hot weather in much of the country. 

The new guide from @Adam_W on How to protect your plants from the summer heat should be helpful, as well as How to water your garden.

At our place, we've recently had an abundance of zucchini and cucumbers, and my favourite jalapeños are coming along nicely. Hope your garden has been as bountiful. 

Let us know if you need a hand with anything and feel free to share photos of your crops.

Jason

[Jason]

There's been some crazy weather around Australia and New Zealand in recent months. 

How is everyone's garden looking? What are you harvesting at the moment? What are you planting?

Tagging some of our resident green thumbs: @bergs, @mich1972, @Wheats and @Grub80.

Jason