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.