When it comes to sowing flowers, plants and vegetables, everyone immediately thinks of spring or autumn. These are often the moments to sow new flowers and plants. But you can get the year off to a good start in January to make sure you have a great garden in the spring. Do you already have a garden house or log cabin in your garden? That means you’ll go outside earlier in the season, so wouldn’t it be great if the garden looks fantastic in the spring? In this article, we want to offer tips about the possibilities of sowing new flowers, plants and vegetables in January.
Vegetables that can be planted as early as January
When you start sowing in January, you can start harvesting around the middle of spring. Some vegetables need a little more time. You can enjoy those at the beginning of the summer. Growing vegetables in the garden requires some patience and the plants will need to be well taken care of. However, it is fantastic to be able to use your own vegetables when cooking in spring and summer. In the colder climates such as England, the Netherlands and Germany, there are vegetables that can only be sown in January. These are vegetables like:
- Beets
- Broad Beans
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Kale
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Spinach
- Turnip
It may be that you have been advised not to plant these vegetables until February, but it really is fine to get started in January. Pay attention to frost, of course, and if you want to make sure it goes well, you can plant the vegetables under a transparent protective film. Furthermore, we would like to give some general tips when it comes to planting vegetables. You can cover the soil with a protective film before you start sowing. This will warm up the soil a little, making sowing easier. Try not to walk on the ground where you want to plant vegetables, as this will push down the soil and make it more difficult for the young plants to grow. Always work with natural soil and otherwise visit the garden centre to get special soil for vegetables. This way, you ensure that you will be able to enjoy the most delicious home-grown vegetables this coming spring.
Flowers that can be planted in January
It would probably surprise you, but flowers are more resilient than vegetables. That is why it is also perfectly possible to plant flowers directly into the ground as early as in January. So long as it’s not freezing, you can continue planting. Add some extra colour to the garden by, for example, planting winter heather or pansies in a border or planters. What is also ideal if you have one of our garden houses, log cabins or gazebos is that you can plant seeds in a smaller pot and place them in a protected spot. Ideally, the pot should be placed somewhere near a window so that it catches light. If you have planters, they can easily be placed inside a garden house during winter. This way, the flowers and plants stay protected against cold, wind and frost. Flowers that can be planted well in January are the following:
- Leguminosae or Lathyrus
- Dahlia
- Petunia
- Papaver
- Coleus
- Larspur
- Begonia
Sowing and planting fruits
January is basically a month during which nature is slumbering. Flowers and shrubs with bare roots can be planted well at this time. When the soil is not frozen, planting new plants in the garden is not a problem at all. When planting, make sure you have a good subsoil with garden compost or manure. It is also good to first submerge the plant in a bucket of water; you can easily leave it in water for an hour before putting it into the ground. Types of fruit that can be planted in January:
- Appletrees
- Blackberry bushes
- Grapes
- Raspberries
- Cherries
- Pears
- Peaches
- Plums
- White and black currant
General maintenance you can do with fruit trees and plants in January are checking tree stakes and bindings of shrubs, are they still firm and solid? Furthermore, lime and/or manure can be spread in the garden in January. If it is too cold in January, the soil may be too hard to cultivate. What you can then still do is clean up the garden house or barn. Would you like to read more of our tips for the first months of the year and, for example, how to prepare your garden house for spring? Then read the article ‘Get your garden and garden house ready for spring’. Do you not yet have a garden house, but intend to start working on this in the spring? Then get inspired and take a look at our popular products.