Peas (Pisum sativum)
Nothing beats home-grown peas for their tenderness and taste.
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.
So, what should you do in the garden in January? Get your gardening year off to a good start this month - whether you’re planning for a garden full of flowers this year or looking forward to huge harvests of tasty fruit and vegetables, choose a category that interests you and read our top gardening tips for January.
Nothing beats home-grown peas for their tenderness and taste.
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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:
Chit first early potatoes by leaving them in a bright, frost-free place for a few weeks to sprout shoots.
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:
Provided the ground isn’t waterlogged or frozen, January is a good month for planting fruit trees and fruit bushes. The plants are in their dormant state, so planting them now gives the roots time to settle in and establish themselves before growth starts again in spring.
You can often buy fruit trees and bushes as bare root plants in January, which is a very cost-effective solution if you’re intending to grow lots of fruit this year. If you are planning to plant bare root fruit trees or bushes, prepare the ground ahead of time and plant the bare root plants as soon as you get them, to avoid the roots drying out.
These fruit trees and bushes can all be planted in January:
At this time of year, most of the flower and bulb planting goes on indoors, but there are still a few flowers to plant outdoors in January, especially if your garden needs some winter colour.
Plant outdoors:
Sow indoors in a propagator