February Seedling Essentials: Agronomist's Tips

February may not be the busiest month for sowing seedlings, but a few important crops should not be forgotten. First of all, we are talking about bell peppers or sweet peppers and, of course, eggplants. Sowing dates may vary depending on the growing location. We have prepared an important calendar for gardeners for February.

Agronomist, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Lyudmila Shubina explained what to prepare for seedlings in the last month of winter. We publish her advice.

What to sow for seedlings in February

In February, you need to sow late-ripening varieties of peppers and eggplants for greenhouses. For open ground, these crops are sown from the end of February to mid-March.

You can sow throughout February: celery, leeks, garden strawberries. Among flowers: petunias, lobelias, violas.

According to the gardener«s lunar calendar, favorable days for sowing seedlings in February: 1, 4, 8, 10, 11, 14, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. It is better not to touch seeds on February 16 and 17.

When to sow peppers and eggplants for seedlings

Peppers and eggplants can be grown both in a greenhouse and in open ground. In any case, the age of the seedlings at the time of planting should be 65–75 days. Note that it is counted from the moment of sowing, not germination. There may be deviations due to the variety, so it is important to pay attention to the information on the package.

— Both overgrown and undersized seedlings — this is bad. Many people plant plants with small peppers. There is no point in this. Only loss of yield, — warned Lyudmila Shubina, agronomist, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences. — Overgrown peppers and eggplants take root worse, they often have problems with the root system. Yield loss can be more than 30%.

Late-ripening varieties are planted in greenhouses, so they should be sown approximately from mid-February to the end of the month. Early-ripening crops are suitable for the garden. They are sown from the end of February to March 20.

According to the gardener«s lunar calendar, the best days for sowing seedlings of peppers and eggplants in February: 10, 12, 17, 19, 26, 27.

When to sow leeks and onions for bulbs from seeds

In February, you can work on onion seedlings. This way you can get an earlier and stronger harvest, saving, for example, on sets.

Onions for bulbs must be sown in deep pots. The height should be at least 10 centimeters so that the root system develops well.

— They also call it onion blackseed because the seeds are that color. Growing seedlings is easy. You can place it on a windowsill or in partial shade. They sprout quickly. Sow to a depth of up to a centimeter. Sets are very expensive now, so seedlings are an excellent option, — noted the specialist.

The same applies to leeks. They can be sown for seedlings throughout February, but it is better to finish before the 20th, so as not to waste extra time later when you need to work on other crops.

According to the gardener«s lunar calendar, the best days for sowing leek and onion seedlings in February: 1, 4, 8, 10, 11, 14, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28.

What flowers to sow for seedlings in February

You can safely engage in sowing petunias all February. Both seedling pots and peat tablets are suitable for growing. Depending on the variety, petunias bloom on the 60–80 day after germination — this is what you need to base your sowing dates on.

Among annuals with a long development period before flowering, it is worth sowing in February: lobelia, viola, calibrachoa, gazania, verbenas. Among perennials: daisies, delphiniums, aquilegias.

It is still better to postpone sowing marigolds and asters to March and April so that the root system develops well after planting in a permanent place.

According to the gardener«s lunar calendar, the best days for sowing flower seedlings in February: 4, 25, 26.

Earlier, we also published a gardener«s plan for 2026.