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What to Sow and Grow in January

by Adam Howarth, Editor
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What to Sow and Grow in January - Sweet Peas

What to Sow and Grow in January is the first in a two-part series of articles designed to help you get your garden off to the best possible start in 2021.

Many thanks to Thompson & Morgan for this handy information. Please pay their site a visit for some top deals and lots of great gardening advice.

When you’re making your New Year’s resolutions in a few weeks, don’t forget to include your poor neglected garden! It’s probably looking a little forlorn and sorry for itself at the moment so it’s time to take some affirmative action!

Jobs in the garden this month are mostly about keeping things trim and tidy and getting ready for the year to come. If you’re itching to get g(r)o(w)ing, there are a few things you can do besides the obvious planting bare root roses, chitting* first early spuds and starting your sweet peas.

* chitting is a method of preparing potatoes or other tubers for planting. The seed potatoes are placed in a tray (often in egg cartons) in a light and cool place, but shielded from direct sunlight. All but three or four of the “eyes” (sprouting parts) of the potato are removed, leaving the strongest growths only.

What to Sow and Grow in January

Flowers

What to Sow and Grow in January
  • Antirrhinums (snapdragons) – these plants need a long growth period before flowering so sow now in a propagator for good results.
  • Start growing begonia, geranium (pelargonium) and dianthus (carnations/pinks) from seed indoors as these are also slow to flower.
  • Sow lobelia under glass in gentle heat for fabulous beds, containers and hanging baskets in the warmer months.
  • Start sweet peas off in gentle heat this month.

Vegetables

What to Sow and Grow in January - Potatoes
  • Start chitting early potatoes – stand them on end on a or egg box and place them in a bright, cool, frost-free place.
  • Grow potatoes in containers undercover for a very early crop (Charlotte potatoes are good for this).
  • Sow celeriac and celery in a heated propagator.
  • Grow your favourite herbs on your windowsill and provide fresh greens all year round.
  • Give exhibition onion seeds a head start – sow exhibition onion seeds now to give the bulbs time to grow. Sow the seeds in module trays and place them in a propagator until germination. Grow them on in cool conditions until the frosts have passed and they can be transferred outdoors.
  • Grow salad leaves, cauliflowers, spring onions and spinach on a bright window sill indoors.

Fruit

What to Sow and Grow in January - Strawberries
  • Start rhubarb from seed in a heated propagator.
  • Grow strawberry plants under cover now to get an early summer crop
  • Plant raspberry canes and blueberries, providing the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged. Choose sunny sites with free-draining soil. If you’re looking for something a bit different to add to your fruit garden this year, try planting the nutritious blueberry pink berry.
  • Plant bare-root fruit trees in January, again, providing the ground isn’t frozen.
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Keep One Step Ahead – What to Order this Month

What to Sow and Grow in January - Asparagus
  • Second early and maincrop potatoes
  • Summer-flowering bulbs, including gladioli
  • Asparagus crowns

We’ve used Thompon & Morgan’s fantastic gardening site to bring you most of the information in this article. Visit it to get loads more great gardening tips.

We hope you enjoyed our article “What to Sow and Grow in January”. For more of our gardening articles, please click here.

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