Inspired by the various home and garden and flower and garden shows this is a month for great excitement and anticipation for the coming growing season. Although many activities are still indoors this moth holds the promise of at least a few balmy days that beckon the winter weary gardener to the earth. But just as there always seems to be a stretch of balmy weather in February there is also the potential for bone chilling weather as well. The objective is to be flexible and take advantage of good weather when you can.
Those of you inspired to grow plants for yourself should invest in growlights or be buying new replacement bulbs if you are already have fixtures. My old standby is still a shoplight with two 40W fluorescent bulbs. Using one warm white bulb and one cool white bulb has worked well for me and with the money I save on buying full spectrum bulbs I can usually get all the seeds I will need for the year. I have an online video demonstration of using shoplights to grow plants that also may be usefull. You can also find a full line of garden seeds.
You can also grow plants outdoors by building or buying a coldframe and/or hotbed. Both are like miniature greenhouses. A cold frame can be as simple as an old window sash hinged to a wooden frame or as complex as a self-ventilating unit made from lightweight plastic materials. A hotbed is just a coldframe with heating cables buried underneath to provide additional heat. They can be used to start seedlings or get a head start on cool weather crops like lettuce. Coldframes are also used in the hardening off process that acclimatizes the plants grown indoors to outdoor temperature fluctuations. For those on a smaller budget you can use a cloche or hotcap like the Season Starter Cloche which provides individual protection for plants.
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