Things To Do In January In Your Garden

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.