Things I want to achieve in February 2025
How is February already a quarter over? And while we’re at it where has January gone? It isn’t that I haven’t been in the garden – far from it. I’ve been in it most days, working hard to whip it into some kind of start of year restart so it is easy going into the rest of the year, with little effort without sneaky weedy corners creeping in. So far so good, but it has been a whirlwind of activity.
Going forward into this month, towards the end of the growing season the ‘to do’ items have a different focus from the end of last year and it feels like there is a lot less to do… for now. But there are some old favourites still hanging in there. Some of the tasks must be done this month and others have the luxury of lingering longer so I can sort it out at my leisure. I’m pleased to say most of the things that have been on the list far too long have finally been crossed off and is cause for celebration. As always there are things on the list that seem like it will never be crossed off but are there as a reminder of things I want to do. Then there are the tasks that pop back up again even though I’ve already crossed them off and taken care of business because of the need to do some things again and again across the life of a garden.
GARDEN GARDENING
- Weekly weeding of all sectors.
- Harvest when necessary.
- Water regularly.
- Increase pest watch.
- Continue with bricks in paths.
- Trap possums.
- Feed growing crops.
- Sow cool season crops.
- Deadhead flowers.
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
Sector 1
- Harvest and process sweetcorn.
- Pull out tomatoes as they die.
- Harvest dried beans.
Sector 2
- Harvest Glass Gem Corn.
Sector 3
- Succession plant salad crops & carrots.
- Dig up potatoes.
- Clear sand along fence line.
Sector 4
- Greenhouse maintenance.
- Set up irrigation through this area.
- Repair rhubarb windbreak.
Sector 5
- Finish irrigation system.
- Protect from possums.
- Build a blueberry cage.
- Summer prune stonefruit and spray.
- There is a garden bed on my garden plan that is listed as “weeds.” This needs to change
THE PALACE:
Room 1
- Trim rosemary hedge – late month.
- Renovate bench.
- Add brackets to stairs.
- Clean up behind garden.
Room 2
- Install edging.
- Get plaque for time capsule.
- Train hedge.
- Refresh the bark mulch.
Room 3
- Keep moving forward with project.
BEYOND THE GARDEN
- Weedeat swingseat path.
- Weedeat backdoor area.
- Weedeat along fence line.
- Paint swingseat.
OTHER PROJECTS – for when I have time.
- Landscape around the swing seat.
- Weed around trees on windbreak hill.
- Plant more trees on windbreak hill.
- Office building maintenance.
- Weed Waterfall.
- Clothesline project.
- Investigate ‘hill art’ project.
- Frames around irrigation hubs.
- Build plants in pots station.
- Paint sheds.
KITCHEN GARDENING
- Make the most of every harvest.
- Store or process crops for the long term.
- Something from the garden in every meal.
“Trap possums.” and “Protect from possums.” sounds so simple. I would not be gardening if I needed to contend with terrifying critters like those! Summer pruning of stone fruit is a fad that I just can not get into. I do all their pruning during winter dormancy, as I learned to do it in the Santa Clara Valley. I do not care that they grow big through the summer. The fruit is still all within reach.
They’re not so terrifying as they only come out at night. I need to prune my stone fruit in the summer to avoid the risk of silverleaf disease which is more likely after winter pruning and I’m trying to train them on espalier wires. : o)
Night?! That makes them even scarier!
Sounds like a productive February ahead! Love the goal of having something from the garden in every meal. Hope the possums behave! 🌱✨
Soon enough we’ll have the cool season slow down and the freezer will be full of goodness. : o)