February 2022 Garden Update

Welcome to the February 2022 garden update! The cool season crop continued to grow this month as temperatures started to rise, getting close to 90°F! 😬

February 2022 Gratitude

At the beginning of each garden update, I like to include a moment of gratitude. While looking back at how my garden did the past month, I also like to look back at my month as a whole. I take a little time to count my blessings and realize just how much I have to be thankful for. I encourage you to join me in taking a moment to look back on this past month and reflect on a few things that you’re thankful for as well. 🙏

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” – Zig Ziglar

This month I was thankful for the time I got to spend in nature with friends and family. Whether it is just in my backyard garden, or at the beach 🌴, I count myself blessed when I’m outside with great weather and bare feet. And this month I got to make a new friend who likes hammocks just as much as I do!

I’m thankful for the opportunity to become physically stronger. I got a gym membership for the first time this month. I’m starting at the bottom, but I’m already seeing improvements. Soon those 50lb bags of compost won’t stand a chance. 💪

I’m also thankful I got to launch my first gardening course this month. Back in 2018 I left a very nice career to pursue my own business as a gardening instructor. And while life never ends up being quite what we expect, in a way, it feels like even more. I am thankful for every single person in my life who encouraged me along the way, and I’m thankful for everyone reading these words. 🥰

February 2022 Garden

This month was exceptionally warm for a February. January was actually colder. I still ended up using my frost blankets a couple of times. My basil plants and peppers got touched with a little bit of frost, as did a couple of my Mexican heather plants, but the only thing that didn’t survive this winter was my basil plant. Some seasons my Mexican heather has to be cut down to the base and it has to grow again, but this year I only need to trim a few bushes down about an inch or two.

My vegetable raised garden bed did well this month. The broccoli is getting close to being ready to harvest, and my cabbage still has more time to go.

This was a different kind of broccoli that I grew and I wish I could recall the variety. I got a starter tray with 6 broccoli plants. I decided to use starter plants because I started my cool season a bit later than I usually do, and I didn’t think I’d have enough time to start from seed.

This month I harvested spinach, mustard and collard greens from my vegetable bed.

I also harvested a lot from my herb bed. Everything has grown quite a bit from last month, especially the herbs in the mint family.

The strawberry plants are continuing to blossom and fruit, although the cold weather seemed to damage the strawberry fruit that had already started to form. I ordered the strawberry plants on Etsy and they came as a variety pack. I’m looking forward to March and hoping to have some edible strawberries then.

I also have pineapple and citrus growing. I continued to harvest lemons and limes this month, and the key lime tree is covered in buds.

What’s Growing?

Here’s what was growing in February 2022 in hardiness zone 9b:

Vegetables: bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, jalapenos, mustard greens, spinach, and tomatoes.

Fruit: honey tangerines, Key Lime, limequat, Meyers lemon, Persian lime, pineapple, and strawberries.

Flowers: marigolds, Mexican heather, and pentas.

Herbs & Spices: basil, dill, chives, cilantro, oregano, garlic chives, lavender, lemon balm, lemon thyme, parsley, peppermint, sage, and sweet mint.