January is a month of taking stock, getting ready for the coming season and generally trying to keep warm. Nothing has started growing yet and there is very little to do in the way of sowing yet.
However it won’t be long before the growing season will be gathering speed so take some time now to ensure that your soil, your tools and seed store are ready for the busy months ahead.
- This month is usually a quiet time for working on flower beds and borders – most herbaceous plants are dormant at this time of year.
- Tidy up herbaceous borders by removing dead foliage and cutting away any decayed vegetation
- Plant lilies this month
‘Stargazer’ lilies make gorgeous cut flowers and smell delightful. If you remove the pollen, the flowers will stay beautiful longer. The unique, pink shade of the flowers combined with white makes lily ‘Stargazer’ a must have for your garden, patio or decking. Stargazer lilies are best grown in areas that have good composted soil, healthy drainage, lots of humidity and a strong rainy season.
- Germinate half-hardy annual seeds under cover
- Inspect bulbs, dahlia tubers and gladiolus corms that have been stored away for the winter
- Dig some manure into your beds
- Order your seed Potatoes ready for chitting next month
- Trim back Sage to give it a new lease of life
- Winter prune Apples, Pears, Currants, Blackberries and Raspberries
- Force Rhubarb
- Sow Spring Cabbage, hardy Lettuce and Broad beans in the cold-frame
- Sow early Carrots and more Garlic in situ under cloches
- Clean your tools
- Harvest the last of your winter vegetables
- Keep adding kitchen waste to your Runner Bean trench
In preparation for gardening season, Allen talks tool maintenance and demonstrates how to deal with corrosion on improperly stored tools.