What to Plant in February in Zone 3
Here is what you can sow in February if you garden in USDA zone 3. Dates use typical zone 3 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
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Zone 3 in February
February in Zone 3: Onions and Leeks Start Indoors, Not Outside
Leeks need 10 to 12 weeks under lights before they ever see soil
Leeks and bulb onions are the crops on this month's table that actually start now, and they start indoors under grow lights, not in the garden. Sow leek seed thickly in a shallow flat, about 8 to 10 seeds per inch, and keep the lights 2 inches above the leaves as they grow taller.
Trim the tops to about 4 inches with scissors whenever they flop over. That haircut forces the plant to thicken its stem instead of stretching for light, and a thicker stem at transplant time becomes a fatter leek by the time frost returns in fall.
Celeriac and parsnip are a different kind of patience
Celeriac seed is slow and stubborn, often taking 3 weeks just to show a first sprout, so start it indoors this month if you want a root worth peeling by fall. Parsnip seed, by contrast, loses viability fast and should go straight into the ground once soil is workable rather than started early indoors.
None of these three crops tolerates a rushed spring. Give the onion family its 10 to 12 weeks under light now, and you buy back weeks that a short season otherwise refuses to hand over for free once the ground finally opens.
Keep the flats near a south-facing window as a backup source of light rather than relying on grow lights alone. A little natural daylight on top of 14 to 16 hours of artificial light each day keeps seedlings from stretching thin and weak by the time they are ready to move outside.
February in zone 3: common questions
What can I plant in February in zone 3?+
In February, USDA zone 3 gardeners can sow Parsnip, Leek, Celeriac. Dates use typical zone 3 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
What USDA hardiness zone am I in?+
Zone 3 is one band of the map, but planting time is set by your local frost dates, not the zone number. Enter your ZIP code in the free planner and it uses your actual frost dates, which can differ by weeks within a single zone.
Are these February planting dates exact?+
They are typical zone 3 windows. Two gardens in the same zone can be a week or two apart because of elevation and local climate, so treat these as a starting point and tune them to your ZIP code with the free planner.