WAHGA Jobs for January

After a wet December we’ve had a cold start to the year.  January is the perfect time for gardening, and is particularly invigorating on a cold, sunny day.   It’s the time for pruning, cutting back, transplanting and planting.  So make the most of any dry, crisp, sunny days! 

If you’re not tempted to go outdoors, check over your seeds, and read up on some new hints and tips for the upcoming season.

GENERAL 

• Mulch your beds now. Cover empty beds with a sheet of cardboard, layer of well rotted manure or homemade compost as this will help protect and improve the soil over the winter and warm it for planting in early spring. 

• Keep composting!   The bigger the pile, the warmer it will get, chop up plant matter as smaller vegetation will compost more quickly.

• Plan your allotment - draw out and plan the beds with what you’re going to plant and where.   Think about what went well last year, what new crops you’d like to try and what isn’t worth growing again.   Once spring arrives it can then be all systems go!

  
  

VEGETABLES

• The frost is not great for root veg, so harvest any you still have in the ground and store in a  dry, cool dark place such as a garage or shed.    

• Continue to harvest sprouts and kale.   Remove any yellowing leaves so that fungal diseases don't take hold.

• Salad crops including rocket and spinach are still available to harvest - though my rocket seems to have suffered due to recent cold weather.

• Broad beans planted in autumn may need some support.

  
  

FRUIT

• For an early crop of rhubarb, cover one of your crowns with a large upturned terracotta pot, with the drainage hole blocked, or a bespoke rhubarb forcer.  This will result in very pink, sweet stems of rhubarb.  Don’t force all your rhubarb in this way otherwise you won’t have any for later in the season.

• It’s the perfect time to plant bare root fruit plants, such as raspberries, blueberries currant bushes, fruit trees.  Blackmoor Nurseries are tried and tested for online purchases.   You can also move fruit plants now, while they’re dormant.  This gives the plants a chance to develop a strong root system to support the needs of the plant in spring and summer.   

  
  

PRUNING

• Cut autumn fruiting raspberries to the ground, prune currants into a goblet shape.  Weed around the plants and mulch.

• Prune apple and pear trees now to promote better fruiting.  The RHS website has excellent short videos on fruit tree pruning.  I’ve seen some dreadful ones on-line so be careful who you follow!   

• Figs trees can be pruned.   They need to be thinned to allow good airflow, and keep them to a size which allows easy harvesting of the fruit.  

• Stone fruit trees, such as plum, peach and cherry, should be pruned in late spring/early summer after flowering.

• Roses can also be pruned now.   They will benefit from a good mulch. Other summer flowering shrubs can be pruned now, but leave spring flowering bushes until they have flowered.  Wisteria has a specific pruning regime, twice a year, to ensure it flowers well, with the next pruning in February, though late January is also fine!

• Cut back herbaceous perennials such as penstemon and rudbeckia.  Leave hollow steamed plants such as sedum for insects to hibernate.  Tidy up around the plants and mulch in a doughnut style around the plant. 

  
  

SOWING & PLANTING

• Unless you have a heated greenhouse, hold off sowing for the time being.  Get ready for the next growing season by going through your seed packets and buy any new seeds in readiness.  Clean seed trays and cloches, and sort out pots for potting on.

• In the garden it’s the perfect time to plant bare root hedging and trees.  Plan tree planting carefully, looking at the final height and spread.   A native hedge, or mixed hedge, provides good carbon capture, and benefits wildlife, so might be a good low cost alternative to a tree, and is easy to maintain with annual pruning - no tree surgeons required!  A common mistake is planting trees too close to a fence, allow at least a metre from the boundary to ensure the plant has a chance to grow on all sides.  

WILDLIFE

In the garden leave out high energy food for birds such as fat balls and sunflower seeds.   A clean bowl of fresh water is very welcome for birds as a bathing and drinking spot.   Try not to disturb wood and leaf debris as these may be housing overwintering insects, toads, and perhaps even a hedgehog.  Put up bird boxes now so the birds get familiar with them before nesting season.

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