January jobs for the garden

After the holidays, January can seem to be the longest month of the year, but you can take advantage of this. Seasonal bad weather is a good excuse to spend more time at home, and make a wish list for the year. Here’s what Greengage recommends as your garden jobs for January.

Indoors

Over a mug of tea, think about and write down what new plants you want to see in the garden and their location. One of the garden jobs for January is to make a work plan for the year. Order potatoes, shallots, garlic and onions to plant in the spring.

If you want to move from thinking to action, you can please your inner gardener without freezing, you can already start germinating onions, leeks and peas in a heated propagator.

Chili and aubergine are other seeds to sow indoors in January. Use individual pots, and keep the temperature in the propagator between 20-25°C.

Nothing brings joy in winter like bright greenery. Plants like spinach, arugula, kale, lettuce and some herbs will be a great addition to your menu as well as bringing that colour. Germinate them on a windowsill near a radiator, in a sunny area of the room, or anywhere else with plenty of light and ventilation.

After a few weeks, you will see the first leaves. Thin them out, leaving enough room for growth, and until spring you can feast on fresh herbs grown indoors.

Fancy add more bright colours? Among the flowers that you can already start growing indoors are Dahlias, Begonias, Sweet peas. If you still have a warm and brightly lit area for your Amaryllis bulbs at home, you should be able to see them bloom in 7-8 weeks.

Outdoors

The middle of winter is the time when we are ready for the cold, the house is heated and insulated. What about your garden? It’s time to check if all its inhabitants are sufficiently protected from hurricane winds, heavy rains and frosts.

Inspect all stakes, wires, ties, fencing, and other protection. Pay attention to peach trees. Cover them with polyethylene parallel to the support so that the tree is dry and fungus does not appear on it.
Insulate beds, containers, and greenhouses with polyethylene, cardboard, carpets, or bubblewrap left over from unwrapping Christmas presents.

Recycling your Christmas tree

As you know, in order to start the new, we need to let go of the old. With a Christmas tree, you may have several options.
Check with your local council if your tree can be disposed of as garden waste. The resulting compost can be used to enrich agricultural land. Also some areas of the country may have Christmas tree collection programs.
Cut the tree into short pieces. Whatever you do with it next, the main thing is not to burn this wood in the house, as it can clog the chimney and even start a fire. Stack the pieces of wood in a shady part of the garden. Within a year or two, they will decompose, improving the soil, nourishing plants, and providing a home for insects and other wildlife.
Chip the Christmas tree. Perhaps neighbors who also want to recycle theirs will join you in hiring a chipping machine. Rotting wood chips and needles make a good mulch for your camellias and rhododendrons.
Check your local facebook for ideas. We have donkeys in our village that love the trees and a local woods will take them of your hands for makeshift fencing.

Pruning

One of the most important garden jobs in January (in fact, it can be done any time between November and February) is pruning apple and pear trees and shrubs when they have no leaves, which means they are dormant.

For some reason, pruning is still considered a skill only for the most experienced gardeners. In fact, it is not so scary if you have good tools and keep in mind the result you want to achieve. Although give us an email if you would prefer to leave it to experts. Your aim is to cut a dead, diseased or damaged tree and give space for a new one to grow.

You need protective gloves, clean and sharp secateurs and saw, mild weather, enough energy and a plan for waste. If you ticked all this, then go ahead.

How to prune

Start by removing branches that are overgrown or interfere with each other. Try to ensure that the cut is at an angle down so that its surface does not start to rot from the winter humidity. Take your time, pause to take a few steps back and observe the result.

Not sure if it’s worth cutting? Then you better not do it. As Monty Don says, “It is better not to prune at all than prune for the sake of it.” Check out more words of wisdom on his site https://www.montydon.com/

Avoid peaches, plums, cherries and apricot trees. They are typically pruned only in late spring. Go ahead with Apple and Pear trees and Gooseberry and Currant bushes.

If you missed it in the Autumn, cut Grape Vines, Wisteria sideshoots, and Climbing Roses (not to be confused with rambling roses, which are pruned in summer as soon as they have faded). Flower pruning tip: to encourage new flower buds to grow, make a cut just above the bud.

Pruning

One of the most important January garden jobs (in fact, it can be done any time between November and February) is pruning apple and pear trees and shrubs when they have no leaves, which means they are dormant.

For some reason, pruning is still considered a skill that is subject to the most experienced gardeners. In fact, it is not so scary if you have good tools and keep in mind the result you want to achieve, although we are happy to come and do this for you if you prefer.

Your aim is to cut a dead, diseased or damaged tree and give space for a new one to grow.

Protective gloves, clean and sharp secateurs and saw, mild weather, enough energy and a plan for waste.. If you ticked all this, then go ahead.

Avoid peaches, plums, cherries and apricot trees. They are typically pruned only in late spring. Go ahead with Apple and Pear trees and Gooseberry and Currant bushes.

Digging, mulching, composting

In January it is already worth preparing the ground for the season of the most active garden work.

Start by clearing your garden of weeds and dead plants. The next step is digging (or cultivation), which will ‘ventilate’ the soil, enriching it with oxygen and making it easier for nutrients and water to reach the roots. As a bonus, these exercises will keep you warm and count as a full workout.

Dig up the garden on days when the ground is not frozen and not oversaturated with water. The same wish applies to mulching, which, at the same time, is also contraindicated in dry soil, because the mulch will not allow moisture to penetrate into the ground. As with everything, find a balance: the ideal weather for mulching is damp and warm, but not rainy.

Cultivate empty areas, but do not overdo it so as not to damage the soil structure, and do not dig around the plants so as not to damage their roots. At the same time as cultivating, you can mix compost, manure, fertiliser or lime if needed into the soil.

Planting

Earlier we mentioned planting indoors. As for outdoors, if you have already dug up and fertilized the ground, plant new bare-root trees and bushes. For raspberries of different varieties, choose sunny areas. Roses also love the sun and space, plant them before the end of winter.

Cheer up your mood and add some color to your garden by adding some winter flowering shrub to your garden, such as Hamamelis, Viburnum × bodnantense‘Dawn’ or Sarcococca confusa (Sweet Box).

Plant tulips in the first half of the month. They need cold weather for new shoots to emerge, and when they do, move the pots into the greenhouse.

Tidying up the greenhouse

January is the perfect time for work that you have been postponing throughout the year. Your greenhouse deserves to welcome the new season in its best condition.

Clean up your greenhouse by throwing out everything you don’t need and washing the glass to let in more light.
Check insulation and heating.
Ventilate the greenhouse on sunny days.

More things to do in January (if you’ve not had enough already)

If you have been thinking about removing something from the garden, do it now.
Move plants to more sunny areas to provide them with the maximum amount of light.
Repair lawn edges.
Check and clean pots, tools, seed trays etc.
Order seeds, bulbs, fruit trees and more for spring planting.
Chit your first early seed potatoes for planting in the next two months. You will need a well lit and cool, but not too cold place for it.
On cold days, everyone needs warmth and care. Remember to leave food and fresh water for the birds. Check bird baths and remove ice.

Words: Jude Eastick, Company Director & Head Gardener