WHAT TO PLANT IN
February

Central and Midwest Region

“The ability to save seed is probably one of the most valuable tools for self-sufficiency that I know of. In fact, it’s a logical next step for anyone who’s honed his or her gardening skills to a high degree – and another way that people can ‘unplug’ themselves from our economic system.” 

The Plowboy Interview: Kent Whealy

Founder, Seed Savers Exchange, January/February 1982

If you're not sure how to start seeds or when to set out transplants, see the Resources section below.

If you have any tips for how to cope with regional conditions where you garden, please share them with other gardeners in your area by posting a comment below. 

To read more about what to plant in other months and regions, visit our What to Plant Now home page.

Top Crops for Central and Midwest Gardening:
 

Here are the Top Ten crops for Central and Midwest gardens, followed by other recommended crops, as rated in our National Survey of Most Productive Garden Crops. (The criteria for selection include ease of culture, efficient use of garden space and time, ease of storage and desirability at the table.) The recommended crops are sorted by plant family to help you plan rotations so that the same plant families are not grown consecutively in the same area, as much as possible.

Top 10 Crops:

1.   Tomatoes (slicing)
2.   Peppers (sweet)
3.   Tomatoes (cherry)
4.   Onions
5.   Snap beans (bush)
6.   Carrots
7.   Garlic
8.   Tomatoes (paste)
9.   Peas (snow or snap)
10. Lettuce 

Other Highly Recommended Crops:

Cabbage family:  broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi 

Cucumber family:  cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkin

Leafy greens:  spinach, mustard (all types), turnip greens, chard, arugula, pac choi, sorrel

Legumes:  snap beans (pole), peas (shell), dry soup beans, Southern peas

Root crops:  potatoes, garlic, turnip, beets, radish, parsnip, shallot, rutabaga

Tomato family:  peppers (hot), tomatillo

Miscellaneous:  asparagus, rhubarb, leeks, scallions, sweet corn, okra 

VEGETABLES 

Sow Indoors   

Sow Outdoors  

Transplant 

Broccoli  

XXX 

Cabbage  

XXX 

Celery  

XXX 

Leek  

XXX 

Mache  

 XXX 

XXX 

Onions, bulb  

XXX 

Radicchio 

XXX 

Scallion (green onion)  

XXX 

CULINARY HERBS  

Sow Indoors   

Sow Outdoors  

Transplant 

Fennel, leaf  

XXX 

Marjoram  

XXX 

Parsley  

XXX 

Savory, summer  

XXX 

RESOURCES

* To learn more about when to sow seeds (indoors and outdoors) or when to transplant your seedlings to the garden, see: Know When to Plant What: Find Your Average Last Spring Frost Date.

* To learn more about how to start seeds, check out Seed-starting Basics. For a primer on how to transplant seedlings, see Garden Transplanting: Expert Advice.

* Find garden seeds from great mail-order companies with our Plant and Seed Finder.

* Learn more about high-quality seeds and great seed companies in Best Seeds for a Bigger, Better Garden and Best Garden Seed Companies, or through our seed company directory. 

* You might also try swapping seeds locally.

* For tips on growing everything from apples to zucchini, see our Organic Gardening homepage.