January might be the middle of winter but as the days lengthen the garden starts to grow. Now is a great time to plan for the coming gardening year and to order seeds and plants.
Enjoy the fresh air, on dry sunny days, and check your winter protection, stakes, ties and supports are still working after any severe weather. Also put out food for birds and leave some garden areas uncut, a little longer, to provide shelter for wildlife in your garden.
Top 10 jobs this month
- Recycle your Christmas tree by shredding it for mulch
- Clean pots and greenhouses ready for spring
- Dig over any vacant plots that have not been dug already
- Disperse worm casts in lawns
- Inspect stored tubers of Dahlia, Begonia and Canna for rots or drying out
- Prune apple and pear trees
- Start forcing rhubarb
- Plan your vegetable crop rotations for the coming season
- Keep putting out food and water for hungry birds
- Make a polythene shelter for outdoor peaches and nectarines, to protect against peach leaf curl
Courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society are 10 jobs which need be completed this month.
