I'm no Groundhog; But

Paxatawny Phil saw his shadow in Pennsylvania on groundhog's day. He obviously did not go back in his hole; because the officials were holding him. I did not see my shadow. Experience teaches in Charlotte, NC that on when February comes we still have 6 more weeks of winter anyway. It is March that comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.

There may be some blooming bulbs and the grass may green up a little; but winter is still going to be here. There are some garden things we can do in February, however. During the last week, the mulch can be pulled back in a few places and some cold tolerant seeds can go into the ground. We will plant sugar peas, romaine, mesclun, arugula, spinach, turnips, mustard, onion sets, kale, radishes, carrots and beets. Potatoes could be planted at this time too. We are not planting potatoes this year. At least I don’t intend to do so.

Any bulbs that require a certain number of cold days should go in the ground fast if they aren’t already there. Otherwise they can be put in the freezer. Anything that needs to be started indoors needs to be in the pots this week.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com/ , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/