February - this is what you can sow and cultivate

The frost sits deep in the ground, and the snow lies white and shimmering in the garden. At first glance, it seems like the entire garden has gone into hibernation, but that’s not actually the case. There’s always something happening in nature, and in the small pocket between the ground and the snow cover, there are still insects and tiny creatures crawling around, living their lives more or less as usual.

If you have plant lighting that provides your plants with the light they need, there should be no problem growing indoors even in the dark winter month of February. Among the many vegetables that thrive indoors with the right light, you'll find plenty of greens and other delicious options for your sandwich.

In February, you can also start pre-cultivating plants that have a long development time, as long as you provide them with extra light from a plant lamp or similar. It may seem early to start now, but the Norwegian summer is quite short, and many plants rely on an early start to develop properly in our latitude.

Read more:

• 5 tips for successful pre-cultivation

February is a great time to winter-grow plants that need a cold period to germinate or plants that typically self-seed in the fall. Examples of such plants include summer flowers and vegetables like spinach and dill. Growing under the snow can provide an early harvest, so it might be worth taking the chance with at least some of your seeds.

If you sow spinach in February, you might be able to harvest the first leaves as early as April or early May. This way, you can make use of the space to grow something else when the season really kicks off.

Winter growing can be done outdoors, in a greenhouse, or in plastic boxes, as long as you keep pests away. The most important thing is not to sow before it has truly gotten cold, because the seeds should grow as soon as spring arrives, not as soon as you plant them. If the plants start growing before the cold really sets in, there’s a good chance that the tender young plants will freeze to death when the temperatures really drop.

So, when winter-growing, you shouldn’t sow in late fall but wait until the cold has really settled in!

What you should avoid sowing outdoors now in February are seeds that cannot tolerate cold, such as flowers that are not hardy in our climate, cucumber seeds, pumpkin seeds, and beans – the time for this will come later in the spring.

You are here:

• Tips and tricks - Grow your own