It has been a very very long time since we had a February as warm as this one. Over the past decade, February was usually the coldest month of the year, with constant cold winds, temperatures below zero, and snow and ice, but this year things are different. February started with early spring sun and mild temperatures. Although there are still big chances this will change, I’ve decided to use the warmth and start sunbathing the seedlings that don’t mind the cold. Chard, leeks, onions, tatsoi, and a part of cabbages have been moved outside to the balcony. I’m still moving them indoors each evening since the morning temperatures are still a bit cold, but during the day they will stay outside. The rest of the seedlings are staying indoors as the temperatures are still too low for them.

The situation on the shelves is good, most of the seedlings are growing without any problems. I’ve dealt with too high temperatures by turning off the heating wires and keeping the cabinet doors open. Now, the temperature inside is around 23°C(73°F), which is quite nice. I’ve transplanted some of the flowers to the bigger pots. These are the ones that are still too cold to be left outside, and I’ve taken the rest outside. There’s no need for the less delicate flowers to stay indoors when temperatures on the balcony are well over 0°C.

I was planning to transplant the tomatoes to bigger pots, but after inspecting one of the containers, I’ve realized that there is still plenty of space for the roots to grow, so I gave up on that idea. I’ll leave them like this for a while, and I’ll see in the next couple of weeks if they need transplanting. 

Peppers also still have plenty of space to grow and there’s also no need to transplant them now. I want to keep them in the first pots as long as possible to prevent transplant losses. 

After moving some of the seedlings outside, there’s again plenty of space inside the shelves, so now I can sow more in late February. I’ll probably start some of the garden flowers so that they would get an early start, like Zinnias and Asters. My garden is usually too cold for them to germinate until June, and they never have time to flower. Also, maybe I’ll start some peas and sugar peas so that I could transplant them in early March and harvest before the end of June. June and July are definitely getting too warm for the peas here, and there’s no point in growing any if the harvest is past June. 

One thing is certain, we love this warmer weather we’re having.