What to Plant in Your Houston Garden in February

This is the month we celebrate LOVE, and you’re going to love everything that’s happening in your garden. You’ve got Cool Season plants to harvest, plus you’ll get a little teaser of the Warm Season right around Valentine’s Day.

February brings us to the end of the Cool Season as we anticipate the warmer days ahead. You’ll see a shift right in the middle of the month when the veggies we’ve been growing are coming to a close and we’re trying to maximize their growth before the temps rise.

Even though our main focus in February is harvesting, we can still be planting and thinking ahead to the upcoming Warm Season.

Most of the things you planted in December and January will be ready to harvest this month. You’ll enjoy loads of salads, fresh kale and swiss chard greens, snap peas, fava beans, carrots, radishes, and as always, lots of herbs. This is the month to fall in LOVE with fresh greens and the most nutritious meals you can find in the city-right in your own garden.

You Can Plant a Lot in Houston in February

Harvest Delicious Greens in Houston in February

You Can Plant All Kinds of Lettuce in Houston in February

Our greens season continues this month! February provides the perfect temperatures and conditions for delicious lettuces in your garden.

You can plant romaine, butter crunch, spring mix, and more this month. Planting earlier in the month is a good idea, considering the fact that Houston temperatures will begin rising in the latter part of March and beginning of April.

Lettuces need about 45 to 60 days to grow from seed to full harvest. So, by starting your lettuce and greens plants by seed early in February, you’ll be able to full enjoy harvests from each plant before the warmer weather sets in.

Enjoy Dill, Cilantro and Parsley from your Houston Garden in February

If you’ve never tasted dill, parsley or cilantro just harvested from the kitchen garden, you just haven’t fully experienced the flavors.

These herbs grow so well throughout the late winter and early spring in Houston’s climate and we can’t get enough.

These herbs all are a little slow to begin growing from seed so you may want to consider buying plants, we recommend using a local nursery such as Buchanan’s or Wabash or Cornelias.

Choose an organic, naturally grown plant and you can start harvesting from the outer leaves the day you plant it!

You can also grow these herbs from seed but beware that germination can take as much as 14 days. And these herbs are sensitive to heat. They’ll actually begin to bolt-producing a thick center stem and flower when the temperatures pass 80 or 85 degrees fahrenheit.

So, getting a jump on the warm weather with health plant starts is probably the way to go with these delicious herbs.

You Can Actually Plant Tomatoes in February in Houston!

If you’re not from Texas or you’re used to following gardeners from the UK or the Northeast, it will likely surprise you to know that we can plant tomatoes as early as February 14 in Houston!

This is the month to install healthy and locally grown tomato plants in order to have a great harvest before the heat of summer sets in.

The first year I gardened in Houston, I headed to the hardware store in the summertime and saw tomato plants for sale. Having gardened in other places around the US, I assumed summer was the time to grow these beautiful red fruit.

But as soon as I dug in and watered in my tomato plant, I could immediately tell that the timing was way off!

Tomatoes prefer temperatures below 90 degrees and also enjoy cooler evenings. As soon as evening temperatures don’t dip below 70 or 75 degrees Fahrenheit, tomatoes will continue to produce leaves, but drastically slow down their flower and fruit production.

So, how do we get tomatoes in Houston?

We plant early!

When you plant tomatoes in mid February, you do tempt fate a bit. There is a possibility that there will be one more frost or cold spell. But, if that happens, simply cover your tomato plants with milk jugs, a garden cloche or even a warm blanket for the night.

As soon as the temps warm, your plants will keep growing.

Most years, there is not a cold front after February 14, so planting tomatoes earlier in Houston makes sense.

By mid March, your plants will be well established and beginning to flower. By mid April, you’ll have your first fruits and by mid May, your plants should be covered with ripe fruit, finishing up their production before summer weather arrives.

Plant Potatoes in February

This month is also the month to plant potatoes in Houston.

I highly recommend planting potatoes outside your raised beds, as potatoes can take up a lot of space and time in the garden that you might otherwise want to commit to crops you can harvest from more often.

Nonetheless, it’s definitely worth growing your own potatoes. The magic of planting a small potato now and then returning to the plant in mid May to find that 5, 6, 7 potatoes grew in its place is beyond magical.

Houston has great weather for spring potatoes but getting the timing right is critical.

So, be sure to plant your potatoes as soon as possible this month.

Plant Kale, Swiss Chard and Mustards in February

Though temperatures are sure to rise this month in Houston, there’s still time to plant some greens that will last for many months to come. Swiss Chard, Kale and Mustards are biennial plants and the kale and Swiss chard have proven time and time again in our client’s gardens that they can hold up even in our hottest summers if they’re planted early in the spring season.

So, take this opportunity this month to plant your garden with these greens so that you can have garden fresh salads even in the middle of the summer.

You can plant these plants by seed but we also recommend starting these plants directly with a healthy, locally grown transplant. Using a transplant ensures that you’ll get to harvest from these plants right away and is also worthwhile since you’ll be able to enjoy these plants for months, if not years, in your Houston garden.

Want garden inspiration? Download the Rooted Garden Catalog here.

We’d love to Garden with You

After creating more than 300 raised bed kitchen gardens in Houston, we know what it takes to have success in our unique climate and we’d love to help you in your garden too.

We’re now booking consults for spring garden installations and would love to meet you in your space soon.

Click here to learn more about our consults and book the spot that works best for your schedule here.

Together, let’s make the most of February in the Houston garden. There’s so much to grow and enjoy when you get the timing right—which you now know exactly how to do!