As we move into January, it’s time to put down that tinsel and pick up the trowel, as there is plenty for us all to be getting on with in the garden!
Ignore the dwindling temperatures and constant threat of rainy weather and get outside – you and your garden will certainly appreciate the effort now when the warmer spring and summer months approach.
So, if you are primed and ready to plough on and get out into your garden now, here are a few tasks and chores you could be getting up to!
Home-grown potatoes are a taste sensation, far better in flavour than any spuds available to buy in shops. To enjoy your own, snap up some seed potatoes – miniature tubers – for planting in pots or the ground.
Before planting, encourage the tubers to form shoots using a technique known as chitting. Place individual tubers in the empty cups of an egg carton.
Place the carton in a cool, light, dry place for about six weeks until they have produced lots of 2.5cm long, stubby green shoots. Avoid putting them in a warm, dark place or you’ll end up with lots of spindly white shoots that will snap off easily.
If you’ve never grown potatoes before, try The Complete Starter Patio Potato Growing Kit. It contains everything you need to raise the perfect crop.
Give your beds and borders some attention
Tie wayward stems of climbing plants to prevent any wind damage and give a light maintenance prune to shrubs before vigorous growth in the spring.
Plant bare-root roses, shrubs and fruit to allow them time to establish before flowering or fruiting this summer.
Begin to plant lily bulbs now for displays this spring – we highly recommend the tremendous Jumbo ‘Skyscraper’ Lily for incredible towers of flowers!
Moving into the garden kitchen…
Cut back all stems of autumn fruiting raspberry plants to ground level.
Rewrite fading plant labels in the herb garden before names fade during rain and snow.
Order vegetable seeds and organise varieties by their sowing date.
Prune apple and pear trees whilst still dormant over the winter but leave other fruits such as plums and cherries unpruned until the summer to avoid silver leaf infections.
Around the garden
- Comb your hand through soft-leaved ornamental grasses to remove dead or dying foliage.
- Remove decaying plants and old leaves from ponds by twirling them out with a garden cane.
- Tie in wayward shoots of climbing plants to prevent damage by wind.
- Keep off lawns in frosty weather.
- Recycle your Christmas tree by turning it into compost, shredding it into mulch or remove the branches and use to lay over the soil of tender plants to keep roots warm.
- Remove ice from birdbaths and top up with fresh water.
Have you done anything you are proud of in the garden this month? Share it with us here!
