If you don’t feel like going outside
If the weather doesn’t make you want to go outside, you can anticipate the new season in the garden while staying warm. Here are some activities you can engage in that will help you save time afterwards:
- Well installed in your chair, you can think about how to redesign your garden. Why not take the opportunity to redesign it?
- You can devote yourself to checking and maintaining your tools. If this was not done in the fall, you can clean, disinfect or repair them if necessary.
- It is also the ideal time to take inventory of your seeds and check their expiration date. This will allow you to list the ones you will need to purchase.
In the vegetable garden, in January, it’s time to…
In January, the days start to get longer and some days may be sunny enough to allow you to undertake some work in the vegetable garden, especially if you live in a region where temperatures remain mild enough and the ground is not frozen. Here’s what you can do in your vegetable garden in January:
- Add compost or manure to enrich the soil: To do this, work the soil using a grelinette, for example. At the same time as integrating your compost, this will allow you to loosen the surface. It is important not to leave your land bare.
- Prepare trenches in which you can plant asparagus in spring.
- Always if temperatures permit, butter the beans and, if necessary, force the endives.
- Divide the sorrel and rhubarb.
- In any case, if you have leeks in the ground, now is the time to protect them by installing mulch.
- Start sprouting your potatoes in anticipation of their future planting, especially if you live in a region where the climate allows planting quite early in the year.
- Cleaning up the vegetables in the ground : if you have cabbages in the ground, for example, eliminate the wilted or fallen leaves that clutter the ground. This will allow you to prevent them from rotting and to have a better view of possible diseases or pest attacks.
- Consider opening tunnels, frames, etc. when the weather is mild.
In the orchard, in January, it’s time to…
Here are the tasks to undertake in the orchard when the weather permits:
- Remove dead branches from fruit trees and remove the mummified fruits.
- If it doesn’t freeze, carry out training and fruiting pruning : in fact, you can prune fruit trees, such as adult pear and apple trees, and cut back small fruit shrubs, such as gooseberries and blackcurrants, by half. On your fruit trees, do not hesitate to prune branches that seem weak to you.
- Pre-sow the peach and cherry stones to allow them to soften and thus promote rising.
- Lightly dig the surface soil and add compost if necessary.
- Repair or change, if necessary, the espalier wires.
In the ornamental garden, in January, it’s time to…
After checking that winter protection is still in place on your ornamental plants and shrubs, you can also start preparing for the return of spring:
- You can put compost at the base of shrubs and rose bushes.
- It is also a good time to maintain your garden paths.
- You can clean your rose bushes to prepare them for spring pruning. This means eliminating dead branches, as well as unnecessary ramifications.
- Outside of frost periods, you can prune wisteria to give it volume.
- If you have a deciduous magnolia, now is the time to prune it by cutting its branches about sixty centimeters from the ground.
Sowing and planting in January
We are still far from the season when sowing and planting are in full swing, but you can still start sowing and planting.
Vegetables
- If you have a heated shelter: you can do the first sowing of the year. You can sow carrots, spring lettuce, mint, batavias and radishes to force.
- If you live in a region with a mild climate : you can sow comfrey, spinach, broad beans, parsley and watercress in the ground.
- If the ground is not frozen: it is possible to plant garlic, shallots and onions.
Flowers
- If you have a heated shelter : you can start sowing summer flowers, such as carnations, cosmos, snapdragons, etc.
- If the ground is not frozenyou can plant certain flower bulbs, such as allium oreophilum, and rose bushes.
Trees and shrubs
If the ground is not frozen, you can plant fruit trees or shrubs.