Winter Tasks Indoors and Outdoors to Tackle in February

Outside there's a pleasant winter with thick snow, and February is about to begin. You've certainly settled yourself comfortably in front of the fireplace, but at the same time there's a feeling that you should be doing something productive, isn't there? February has a whole list of tasks that need to be done both indoors and in the garden. We've put them in order for you.

Let's start indoors.

Start gently fertilizing and repotting your houseplants

February is already the time when you can start fertilizing your indoor plants. If you notice fresh growth on them, it's a sure sign that the plant has woken up from its winter dormancy. Don't startle them too much with the first application, so make the fertilizer solution rather dilute than strong.

You can also begin repotting indoor flowers, so they'll be well adjusted to their new soil and pot by their growth period. After repotting, you don't need to fertilize them for a while, as fresh soil is sufficiently nutrient-rich and doesn't need extra boost.

Check over the plants on your windowsill

The sun is becoming increasingly intense, which of course brings joy to people, but this may not please all the green residents that are on your windowsill in direct sun. Check over the plants that you moved to a lighter place for winter.

Check your smoke detectors

We believe you do this regularly, but we'll remind you just in case to check the condition of your smoke detectors and whether the batteries are still full.

Use a humidifier

If your humidity meter doesn't show above 30%, you probably need a humidifier. In centrally heated apartments, dry air is a common problem and it's evidenced by dry eyes, itchy skin and nose, and chapped lips. A humidifier can also improve the quality of your sleep, so it's worth trying.

Start planning your vegetable and flower garden

Think about what vegetables or summer flowers you'd like to grow this year. Check over the seeds left over from last year and make a list of what needs to be purchased. As you know, more interesting seeds often sell out early, and so-called late risers have to settle for only the more common varieties.

Sow some seeds

Plants that need a longer growing period can be sown into boxes already towards the end of February. These include, for example, tomatoes, peppers, petunias, snapdragons, and some other summer flowers.

Next, let's go to the basement.

Check your garden produce

See if the apples don't have spots on them or if there are rotten tubers among the potatoes. Remove those. Break off the sprouts from potatoes so you can still use them. Found the last pumpkin from the basement? Make a delicious warm puree soup from it (recipe here) or put it in a jar as a salad.

Check over your flower bulbs

Some bulb flowers can't tolerate our cold winter and you probably brought them to the basement for winter. Look over the bulbs with an eye to see if rot has done them any harm.

Let's make a round in the garden too.

Have the birds been fed?

Once you've started feeding the birds, you can't stop until spring arrives, as you know.

Are your fruit trees still protected?

Go and check that the net around your fruit trees hasn't disappeared or whatever solution you set up around your fruit trees in autumn for protection against wild animals is still there.

Snow on berry bushes

If you haven't done this, you should tie the top branches of berry bushes together, otherwise a large pile of snow can break or flatten the bush's branches. It seems that snow will continue to fall from the sky for a long time this winter.

Snow on garden trees and shrubs

Shake off the heavier snow from other trees and shrubs growing in your garden, as heavy snow can damage their branches.

Push the snow off your roof

Heavy snow can do a lot of damage on a roof, so it would be a good idea to remove it yourself from flatter roofs. One clever way to do this is shown in this short video.

If you live in an apartment and have been thinking about moving to a house with a garden, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the offers. You can find them here.