February is the month of having patience till we can get into the gardens.

image from Lushome 

     Good morning.  It is warmer out by the thermometer so that is good.  It is cloudy out, but it looks like the clouds are getting less so we will see that sun. At 8:30 AM the wind still has a feeling of -3F. There still is dampness in the air. High today is 23F(-5C).  stay warm for sure. 
 
Australia family and friends for Tuesday Feb 3 will have 81F(27C) with higher humidity. So, it is still summer for them.  Stay cool, and I am sure you are watering your gardens.  
 
I found this article about waiting.  With all the snow, cold and winter we are having the idea of working outside in the gardens is such a great thought.  Feb. is a month we know it will be spring soon, but still, it is winter.  For me the waiting will be in the planting and taking care of the little plants are they grow.  If you saw the greenhouse today, you would wonder how that is going to happen.  I have lots of cleaning and organizing to do.  When Larry had to rebuild the north end of the greenhouse last fall, I moved lots of stuff.  Now I need to finish where to store it and get ready for the planting of the plug trays.  I am getting the first plug trays next week.  The temperature is going to get warmer so that will help.  It is the extreme cold temperatures at night that is hard on the growing cycle.  I will start this week, and work on the cleaning and organizing.  Here we go.  But for you, the gardener you are still waiting but I promise you spring will come. 
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The Work of Waiting
February reminds us that rest, planning, and trust are essential parts of every successful garden.
February settles over the garden like a long, patient pause. Snow still blankets the beds, the ground remains firm with cold, and bare branches stand quietly against a pale winter sky. At first glance, it may seem as though nothing is happening at all. But February is not empty—it is expectant. This is the month when the garden teaches us how to wait, how to trust that rest itself is a form of work.
As gardeners, February asks for a different kind of attention. The flurry of New Year’s possibility has softened into something steadier and more deliberate. Beneath the frozen soil, roots are holding fast, microorganisms are quietly at work, and the earliest hints of spring are already being arranged out of sight. This is the season of patience, when progress is measured not in growth you can see, but in faith that the cycle is still moving forward.
February evenings invite reflection: a simmering pot on the stove, seed catalogs within reach, and the reassuring knowledge that every garden begins long before the first seed is sown.
Though winter still holds the landscape in its grip, February carries a quiet promise. The light lingers just a bit longer at day’s end. The garden, like the gardener, is gathering strength. And in this waiting—this steady, hopeful pause—we are reminded that growth does not rush. It arrives exactly when it’s ready, and it will be worth it when it does.
Taken from the food gardening network
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa [email protected]  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365  Beckysgreenhouse.com  Facebook Becky Kerndt Litterer or Becky’s Greenhouse