What to plant in February in the Northeast and Midwest

Worked out for 67 cities from their own weather and frost dates, by zone.

What to sow and plant in February in the Northeast and Midwest, by zone: frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F (Evansville, Dodge City and 1 more): broad bean, lettuce, cauliflower, Swiss chard, beet and 7 more; frost possible, highs below 50 °F (New York, Chicago and 62 more): cabbage, parsley, celeriac, celery, chayote and 1 more.

In the Northeast and Midwest, February is winter.

Frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F: Evansville, Dodge City and Joplin

In February, on average, these cities have highs of 50 to 52 °F and lows of 26 to 32 °F, 0.6 to 4.7 in of rain on 3 to 10 days; the day lasts 10 h 47 min to 10 h 50 min (on the 15th).

February falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait.

How	What	Where
start indoors, plant out in March	Broad bean, lettuce, Swiss chard, arugula, chamomile	Evansville and Dodge City
start indoors, plant out in March	Spinach	Evansville
start indoors, plant out in March	Cauliflower, beet, kohlrabi	all
start indoors, plant out in April	Tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, chili pepper, Florence fennel, moringa	Joplin
start indoors, plant out in April	Parsley	all
start indoors, plant out in May	Celeriac, celery, chayote	all

Compared with January: new — broad bean, spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, Swiss chard, beet, tomato, bell pepper and 7 more; no longer sown — cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Not starting in February: zucchini (April, started indoors), green beans (May, sown direct) and peas (March, sown direct) — dates for Dodge City.

Frost possible, highs below 50 °F: New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and 60 more

In February, on average, these cities have highs of 22 to 49 °F and lows of 3 to 34 °F, 0.6 to 4.3 in of rain on 4 to 15 days; the day lasts 10 h 14 min to 10 h 48 min (on the 15th).

February falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait.

How	What	Where
start indoors, plant out in March	Broad bean, kohlrabi	New York, Boston, Philadelphia and 15 more
start indoors, plant out in March	Spinach	New York, Boston, Philadelphia and 14 more
start indoors, plant out in March	Lettuce	New York, Boston, Philadelphia and 13 more
start indoors, plant out in April	Cabbage	Chicago, Boston, Detroit and 33 more
start indoors, plant out in April	Broccoli	Rochester, Portland, Maine, Augusta and 5 more
start indoors, plant out in March	Cauliflower, Swiss chard, beet, arugula, chamomile	New York, Philadelphia, Kansas City and 8 more
start indoors, plant out in April	Parsley	New York, Chicago, Boston and 60 more
start indoors, plant out in May	Celeriac, celery, chayote	New York, Chicago, Boston and 56 more
start indoors, plant out in April	Brussels Sprouts	Chicago, Boston, Detroit and 32 more
start indoors, plant out in March	Kale	New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and 3 more

Compared with January: new — broad bean, spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, Swiss chard, beet, celeriac, celery and 5 more; no longer sown — leek.

Not starting in February: tomato (March, started indoors), bell pepper (March, started indoors), zucchini (April, started indoors), green beans (June, sown direct) and peas (April, sown direct) — dates for Rochester.

How we work it out

For each city we use its average weather in February and the months after (highs, lows and rain for 2016–2025, ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo) and its average frost dates. A crop starts in February if the month's mean temperature reaches the minimum soil temperature for germination on its card (we use the mean air temperature as a stand-in for the soil's) and if, over its first months (up to three), the average highs stay within its group's range, with no frost for crops that cannot take it. Crops started indoors count from the month they are planted out.

Temperature groups from Colorado State University Extension: cool-season crops prefer 60–80 °F and lose quality in heat; hardy ones grow in days as cool as 40 °F, semi-hardy ones from 40–50 °F (we use 50 °F); warm-season crops need days above 55 °F, and the most tender (tomato, pepper, eggplant, melon, watermelon, squash) above 60 °F, up to 95 °F. Crops the guide does not name go into the stricter group by their frost hardiness. Fava (broad) beans, which the guide does not name, count as hardy: hardy varieties are sown in fall and overwinter (RHS). Garlic and bulbs: a month before the first frost, and later only while the ground is not frozen (as on each city's page).

Cornell Cooperative Extension sets the season here: hardy crops from about four weeks before the last frost, warm ones after it, heat lovers about 18 days after; the last plantings from 3 weeks (radish) to 16 weeks (melons) before the first frost — counted from each city’s own frost dates.

This is a general rule from averages: your garden can be a week or two earlier or later, and a greenhouse or a cold frame brings the season forward. Greenly works out the dates for your location.

What to plant in February in the Northeast and Midwest

Frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F: Evansville, Dodge City and Joplin

Frost possible, highs below 50 °F: New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and 60 more

How we work it out

Other months in the Northeast and Midwest