January is the perfect time for gardening, and is particularly invigorating on a cold, sunny day.
It’s the time for pruning, cutting back, transplanting
and planting. So let’s hope for some crisp, sunny
days to encourage us to get busy outside as well as indoors.
GENERAL
Dig up perennial weeds such as dandelions and mulch the beds in your garden and allotment.
Cover empty beds with a sheet of cardboard, layer of well rotted manure or homemade compost as this will help protect and improve the soil over the winter and warm it for planting in early spring.
Keep composting! The bigger the pile, the warmer it will get, chop up plant matter as smaller vegetation will compost more quickly. Pick up a compost bin from Freecycle, the Shepperton community recycling centre shop has a good supply or make one from pallets.
Plan your allotment - draw out and plan the beds with what you’re going to plant and where. Think about what went well last year, what new crops you’d like to try and what isn’t worth growing again. Once spring arrives it can then be all systems go!
VEGETABLES
Harvest any root veg you still have in the ground and store in a dry, cool dark place such as a garage or shed.
Continue to harvest sprouts and kale. Remove any yellowing leaves so that fungal diseases don't take hold.
Salad crops including rocket and spinach are still available to harvest.
Broad beans planted in autumn may need some support.
FRUIT
For an early crop of rhubarb, cover one of your crowns with an upturned terracotta pot. This environment will result in very pink, sweet stems of rhubarb. Don’t force all your rhubarb in this way otherwise you won’t have any for later in the season.
It’s the perfect time to plant bare root fruit plants, such as raspberries, blueberries currant bushes, fruit trees. Blackmoor Nurseries are tried and tested for online purchases. You can also move fruit plants now, while they’re dormant. This gives the plants a chance to develop a strong root system to support the needs of the plant in spring and summer.
PRUNING
Cut autumn fruiting raspberries to the ground, prune currants into a goblet shape. Weed around the plants and mulch.
Prune apple and pear trees now.
Figs trees can be pruned. They need to be thinned to allow good airflow, and keep them to a size which allows easy harvesting of the fruit.
Stone fruit trees, such as plum, peach and cherry, should be pruned in late spring/early summer after flowering.
Roses can also be pruned now, they are hungry plants, and will benefit from a good mulch. Other summer flowering shrubs can be pruned now, but leave spring flowering bushes until they have flowered. However, Wisteria has a specific pruning regime to ensure it flowers well, and should be pruned in February, though late January is also fine!
Cut back herbaceous perennials such as penstemon, rudbeckia, persicaria and leucanthemum. Tidy up around the plants and mulch in a doughnut style around the plant.
SOWING & PLANTING
Unless you have a heated greenhouse, hold off sowing for the time being. Get ready for the next growing season by going through your seed packets and buy any new seeds in readiness. Clean seed trays and cloches, and sort out pots for potting on.
It’s the perfect time to plant bare root hedging and trees. Do plan tree planting carefully, looking at the final height and spread. A native hedge provides good carbon capture, and benefits wildlife, so might be a good low cost alternative to a tree, and is easy to maintain with annual pruning - no tree surgeons required! A common mistake is planting trees too close to a fence, allow at least a metre from the boundary to ensure the plant has a chance to grow on all sides.
WILDLIFE
In the garden leave out high energy food for birds such as fat balls and sunflower seeds. A clean bowl of fresh water is very welcome for birds as a bathing and drinking spot. Try not to disturb wood and leaf debris as these may be housing overwintering insects, toads, and perhaps even a hedgehog. Put up bird boxes now so the birds get familiar with them before nesting season.
*******************
Comments