A
new year has arrived and with it, many new jobs in the garden and a
fresh opportunity to create the garden you have been dreaming of.
Here are some of the things you might be doing this month:
Jobs In
The Vegetable Garden
-
Start chitting (sprouting) first early potatoes in egg
boxes on a cool windowsill.
-
Place cloches over the soil to help it warm up before
planting earliest crops (like peas) outdoors.
-
Continue to harvest winter veg such as parsnips and
leeks.
-
Late this month or next, sow peppers and tomato seeds
indoors in a warm spot or using a heated propagator for later
transplantation.
-
Order vegetable seeds for early spring planting.
Jobs In
The Fruit Garden/Orchard
-
Prune apple and pear trees while they are still
dormant.
-
Prune blackcurrant, redcurrant and gooseberry bushes to
keep them in good, productive health.
-
Continue to plant bare root raspberry canes.
-
Order fruit bushes to expand your fruit garden.
-
Force rhubarb by placing a bucket over the crown.
Jobs In
the Flower Garden
-
Cut back the old foliage of ornamental grasses before
new growth begins.
-
Cut down the old stems of perennial plants.
-
Prune rose bushes while they are dormant and plant new
bare-root roses.
-
Cut back summer-grown side shoots of Wisteria to two or
three buds.
-
Check plants for diseased or damaged material and
remove where necessary.
Jobs
Under Cover
-
Plant the earliest of first early potatoes in your
greenhouse or polytunnel.
-
Store water containers in the under cover space to add
thermal mass and stave off the frost.
-
Plant broad beans/ peas under plastic bottle cloches to
protect from rodents
-
Sow seeds in the heat indoors for planting out early
under cover.
-
Continue to harvest and care for winter under-cover
crops, giving extra protection from the cold when necessary.
General
Garden Jobs
-
Continue to plan and order seeds for the year ahead.
-
Continue to plant trees and shrubs while they are still
in their dormant phase.
-
Clean paths and patio areas and maintain garden
structures.
-
If you do not already have one, set up a rainwater
harvesting system.
-
Wash any empty containers and pots ready for the
spring.