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Gardening in January

January is the start of an exciting new year in the garden. The weather may be cold, but if you look, you can see the first signs of spring outdoors, with bulbs poking up out of the ground and the days growing ever so slightly longer. Indoors there are seeds to sow, and January is also an ideal month to plant bare-root shrubs and trees. It’s time to get ready for a great year of gardening.

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vegetables What vegetables to plant in January Even in January there are still vegetables to sow, and luckily this is something you can do indoors where it’s warm and dry. If you don’t have a greenhouse, it’s worth investing in a windowsill propagator with a heated mat to get warmth-loving seeds off to a good start. Here are some vegetables to sow in January: Sow indoors or in the greenhouse: Celery Celeriac Broad beans Salad leaves Spinach Spring onions Turnips Chit first early potatoes by leaving them in a bright, frost-free place for a few weeks to sprout shoots. What Vegetables to harvest in January Wrap up warm and head out to your vegetable bed to pick some winter vegetables for soups and stews. Vegetables to harvest in January include: Parsnips Leeks Brussels sprouts Swede Celeriac Turnips Vegetable plant maintenance in January Put cloches down to warm the soil for early seed sowings. Remove any yellowing leaves from Brussels sprouts, kale and other brassicas, as they can harbour pests. If you haven’t mulched your vegetable beds yet, there’s still time to do it. Spread a thick (5cm/2in) layer of well-rotted farmyard manure, compost or other mulch over the beds to improve soil structure and nutrient levels. Buy your tomato and chilli pepper seeds now, as you’ll need to start sowing them in a few weeks’ time Towards the end of the month, order first and second early seed potatoes.

Fruit what fruit to plant in january January is a good month for planting fruit and fruit trees, as long as the ground is not flooded. The plants are dormant, so planting them now gives the roots time to settle and establish themselves before starting to grow again in spring. You can usually buy fruit trees and shrubs as bare root plants in January, which is a very cost-effective solution if you plan to grow a lot of fruit this year. If you plan to grow bare-root fruit trees or shrubs, prepare the ground ahead of time and plant as soon as you have bare-root plants to avoid drying out the roots. what fruits are harvested in january Papaya, red banana, cherry, tomato, carambola, mandarin orange, green dates, cane cane, strawberry, guava, milk plantain, mandarin orange, ornamental squash, fig January Fruit Plant Maintenance Prune pear trees now, but save cherries, plums, and apricots for summer to avoid the risk of disease.

Flowers and bulbs What Flowers and Bulbs to Plant in January At this time of year, most flower and bulb planting takes place indoors, but there are still some flowers that can be grown outside in January, especially if your garden needs some winter color. Outdoor planting: Snapdragon Lobelia sweet peas what flowers to cut in january Wisteria: Winter pruning of this climber in late January reduces last summer's growth to 2-3 buds off the main frame. flowering in january Removing old leaves to stop the spread of black spot and make the flowers easier to see also promotes a second bloom in early spring. Winter flower violets to ensure they bloom in mild weather. Remove any old soggy leaves from perennials, but leave some dead stems. Cut off the dead leaves of deciduous ornamental grasses. Wait until early spring to cut back Miscanthus and Pennisetum, which need more protection from winter frost. If you have pots of daffodils and hyacinths blooming indoors for the winter, keep them in a bright spot until the leaves die back, then store the bulbs in a frost-free location for replanting next fall. Hyacinth bulbs can now also be planted outside and should bloom again in a year.

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