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| January on Mid-North Vancouver Island: The Gardening Tasks Resume |
Organic Granny has lived in a suburban community on Vancouver Island for the past 20 years. We reside on about a third of an acre lot and have been fumbling to handle all the tasks necessary to fruitful organic gardening. Our son has been staying with us and sharing out his energy, gardening skills, and tech know-how. We are so thankful for that.
In this new year we have decided to use a more organized system of managing all the tasks that precede a more successful growing season. For the months of January and February I provided the following prompts to get the information and schedule we will use to do the pruning, planting, and bed preparations in a timely manner for our specified plants. To do this, we provided the following instructions (prompts) to A.I.:
(1) I live in the mid-North area of Vancouver Island on the east side of the Island. I want to know what gardening tasks I should be doing in January and February.
(2) I am an organic gardener and want to know what I should be doing for the following plants that I have growing here: (I listed the plants you see below).
(3) Please list the resources you use to arrive at the tasks and schedule
What you see below is what A.I. customized as our January/February gardening schedule. You, too, can enjoy a customized schedule made up for your particular zone and list of plants you grow or want to plant. We used the (unknown) A.I. who answered the questions we'd typed into the search bar on our browser. You can, of course, use ChatGPT or other A.I. for the same process. After the schedule appears, go ahead and cut and paste it to a Word document, Google doc, or blog post. Or you could get A.I. to make and save it as a .PDF document with check boxes that you can print as a handy sheet to follow and check off as you attend to the various jobs. I intend to do that.
Organic Granny also offers other articles here if you are interested in our various forays into sustainable, organic gardening on our teeny chip of Vancouver Island.
In late January and February, gardening on the east side of mid-Vancouver Island focuses heavily on pruning and bed preparation while plants are still dormant. Because of the region's mild maritime climate (Zone 7-8), these months are the primary window for maintenance before spring growth begins in March.
Pruning and Care Guide
Roses: Perform major pruning in February as buds begin to swell. Remove dead or weak wood (thinner than a pencil) and thin to 5–7 strong canes. Cut canes at a 45° angle just above an outward-facing bud to encourage an open, "vase-like" shape.
Hydrangea: Pruning depends on the variety.
Panicle (H. paniculata) and Smooth (H. arborescens): Prune in late winter (February) as they bloom on new wood.
Mophead/Bigleaf (H. macrophylla): Do not prune hard now, as they bloom on old wood. Only remove dead, brittle stems or old flower heads to avoid cutting off this year’s blooms.
Sour Cherry Trees: Prune while dormant in late January or February to shape the tree and remove diseased wood. Apply a dormant spray (lime sulphur and dormant oil) by late February to prevent pests and diseases like brown rot.
Raspberries: Late winter is the time to prune. For summer-fruiting varieties, cut out the canes that fruited last year to the ground. For ever-bearing types, you can cut all canes to the ground in February for a single late-summer crop.
Grapes: Prune heavily in February before the sap starts to flow. Grapes produce fruit on new growth from one-year-old wood; remove up to 90% of last year's growth to maintain structure.
Blueberries: Prune in late winter to remove dead or very old (grey, peeling) wood to encourage new, productive red canes. Blueberries prefer acidic soil; top-dress with peat moss or acidic mulch now.
Lavender: Avoid heavy pruning until you see new growth in spring, but you can lightly tidy up dead stems in late February.
Lilacs & Peonies: Do not prune these now. Lilacs bloom on old wood and should be pruned immediately after they flower. For peonies, ensure old foliage was cleared in the fall; otherwise, remove it now to prevent fungal issues as new "red shoots" emerge in late February.
Planting
Bare-Root Plants: February is the ideal time to plant bare-root roses, strawberries, raspberries, and fruit trees.
Small Fruits: Container-grown blueberries and grapes can be planted if the soil is workable and not waterlogged.
Indoor Seeds: Start seeds for onions, leeks, and begonias indoors by February.
Preparing Beds
Soil Amendment: Spread compost or well-rotted manure over vegetable and flower beds. This allows nutrients to leach into the soil with late winter rains.
Weeding: Pull overwintering weeds like bittercress or chickweed before they go to seed in the early spring warmth.
Mulching: Apply a fresh layer of mulch (bark or leaf mold) around shrubs like hydrangeas and roses to suppress spring weeds and retain moisture.
Trustworthy resources for gardening on the east side of mid-Vancouver Island include regional nursery guides, specialized seed companies, and gardening almanacs tailored to the Pacific Northwest.
Dinter Nursery (Duncan, BC): A primary local authority for the Cowichan Valley and mid-Island regions. Their Early Spring Gardening Activities Guide details pruning schedules for roses, fruit trees, and berries, as well as timing for planting bare-root specimens in early spring.
West Coast Seeds (Ladner, BC): While based in the Lower Mainland, their guides are the industry standard for the South Coast and Vancouver Island. Their Preparing Garden Beds resource provides specific instructions on amending soil with organic matter and mulch during the dormant season.
The Old Farmer's Almanac (Regional Edition): Provides localized planting calendars for cities like Vancouver and Victoria, which are applicable to the mid-Island's maritime climate. These calendars specify indoor and outdoor start dates for lavender, leeks, and hardy perennials.
Edible Vancouver Island: This regional publication offers specific advice for island gardeners, such as the Winter Gardener's Guide, which covers outdoor seed starting for hardy greens in February and the "mini-greenhouse" method for starting perennials.
🥤 Article and photos © 2026 Cynthia Zirkwitz | Organic Granny
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