Winter Sow Your Spring Garden Now!

Winter sow your garden now, in February, to get a jump on the growing season. You'll harvest greens and root vegetables weeks ahead of schedule.

Reader Contribution by Sheryl Campbell
Updated on February 18, 2022
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Sheryl Campbell
Winter sown lettuce seedlings growing in March

It’s February, it’s cold, and it’s time to get out in your garden and plant! Now!

I’ve been on a three-year journey learning to winter sow my vegetable garden the lazy way. Now I’ll share what I’ve learned with you; warn you of mistakes not to repeat and share successes you’ll want to try in your own early garden.

Early to mid-February has proven to be the best time for winter sowing in my zone 6b garden here in the northern Shenandoah Valley. In a cold winter like this one the seeds will wait a little longer to germinate but still come in strong by March. In a warmer winter like 2021 they will take off quickly late this month.

What Worked

These are the vegetables I’ll be sowing in February from now on. They reliably gave us a several week jump on harvest dates. How big a jump depended on when regular sunny days in the 40’s got started each year.

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