Tucson Planting Calendar - February

Table of Contents:

Planting
Harvesting
Weeding
1. Weeds to Pull
  1. Grasses
  2. Spiny Sowthistle
More Tucson Planting Guides

February in the Tucson garden continues the harvesting and planting of cool season root crops and leafy greens.

It's not yet time to start the spring indoor seedlings, rather to keep doing what's working and don't stop harvesting and preserving the abundance.

Last frost could come as early as February 2nd, though it's not very likely. You'll probably want to wait until at least March to begin sowing warm season crops outdoors and risking it.

tucson average temperature chart february highlighted — *Tucson average daily high rises from 67F to 72F over the month of February.*
*Overnight average lows rise from 43F to 47F during February.*

The cool season is a long marathon to keep up with all the leaves, roots, and peas, so try not to get burned out. You can keep harvesting most cool season crops through April in Tucson.

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Hotter parts of the Sonoran outside zone 9a will stop producing earlier.

You may start seeing a few aphids in February as temperatures warm up. This is just a sign that your plants are struggling a little to adjust to the increased heat, and the aphids are taking advantage.

Focus on soil-building to improve plant health and they should be able to fight off the aphids themselves for another couple months.

Healthy plants produce plenty of chemotoxins to make them taste pretty gross to pests, but unhealthy plants will struggle bigly with the heat and bugs.

I see aphids as an indicator of plant health, not a foe worth wasting time on.

Soil health and prepping to start warm season seedlings indoors are my focus in February.

Planting

Cover Crops & Forage

I always like to stress the importance of cover crops in regenerative agriculture.

Cover crops are crucial for soil-building, so I list them here first and always consider my cover crops for each season before thinking about main crops.

1st Half of February

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Crimson Clover, Forage Radish, Hairy Vetch, Lentil, Oats, Oilseed Radish, Red Clover, Rye, Tillage Radish, Yellow Sweetclover, Wheat, White Sweetclover

DIRECT SOW / DRILL IN FIELD:

Chickpea, Fava Bean, Lentil

2nd Half of February

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Crimson Clover, Forage Radish, Hairy Vetch, Oats, Oilseed Radish, Red Clover, Rye, Tillage Radish, Yellow Sweetclover, Wheat, White Sweetclover

DIRECT SOW / DRILL IN FIELD:

Herbs

1st Half of February

SOW INDOORS:

Basil, Catnip, Chives, Epazote, Lemon Balm, Lemongrass, Mint, Roselle Hibiscus, Sage, Terragon, Thai Basil

HARDEN OFF & TRANSPLANT TO FIELD:

Caraway, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme

2nd Half of February

SOW INDOORS:

Basil, Catnip, Chives, Epazote, Lemon Balm, Lemongrass, Mint, Roselle Hibiscus, Sage, Terragon, Thai Basil

HARDEN OFF & TRANSPLANT TO FIELD:

Caraway, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme

Fruits & Vegetables

1st Half of February

SOW INDOORS:

Cannabis, Eggplant, Endive, Escarole, Lettuce, Mizuna, Spinach, Sweet Pepper, Roselle Hibiscus

DIRECT SOW IN FIELD:

Artichoke, Cardoon, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Beet, Carrot, Chickpea, Collard, Lentil, Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Potato, Radish, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Turnip

HARDEN OFF & TRANSPLANT TO FIELD:

Artichoke, Cardoon, Collard, Chickpea, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Spinach, Swiss Chard

2nd Half of February

SOW INDOORS:

Amaranth, Basil, Cannabis, Cucumber, Eggplant, Hot Pepper, Jerusalem Artichoke (Seed), Okra, Roselle Hibiscus, Sweet Pepper, Tomato, Tomatillo

DIRECT SOW IN FIELD:

Artichoke, Endive, Escarole, Beet, Cardoon, Carrot, Jerusalem Artichoke (Tuber), Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Potato, Radish, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Turnip

HARDEN OFF & TRANSPLANT TO FIELD:

Artichoke, Cardoon, Endive, Escarole, Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Spinach, Swiss Chard

Grains, Seeds, & Cereals

1st Half of February

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Quinoa

2nd Half of February

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Quinoa

Flowers

1st Half of February

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

2nd Half of February

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Harvesting

Produce

1st Half of February

Beets, Boccoli Raab, Broccoli, Broccolini, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Cilantro, Kale, Kohlrabi,Lettuce, Lovage, Mustard, Parsley, Peas, Radish, Romanesco, Rutabaga, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Turnip

2nd Half of February

swiss chard bright lights organic learn dirt gardening — *Bright Lights Swiss Chard February harvest in Tucson.*

*Great winter harvest should continue for another couple months - production may even increase as the desert warms.*

Seed Saving

1st Half of February

2nd Half of February

Cut Flowers

1st Half of February

2nd Half of February

Weeding

Weeds to Pull

Grasses

Various grasses are also a problem, such as bermuda, needle grama, and goosegrass. I highly recommend staying ahead on weeding grass from the garden unless you plan to smother it.

Mulch, hay, cardboard, tarps, or dense cover crops all work well to smother our grasses if they do overtake an area of your garden.

Weedy grasses are wily, and I find February to be one of the few months of the year where it really pays to be diligent in weeding.

I barely pull a thing in the second half of the year (Jul - Dec), but the grasses in the first half of the year (Jan - Jun) can really get ahead of you and cause you big problems if you don't keep up.

I knew I messed up with my grass weeding when gardeners started complementing how nice of a lawn I had growing in my garden plots 😭

Don't make my mistake, keep up with the early season grass!

Spiny Sowthistle

Spiny sowthistle is still a prickly annoyance in February. Grab a pair of leather gloves and a weeder to pull this, or let it hang around and flower for the pollinators if it's out of the way.