January
The days are still punishingly short, but thankfully the nights grow shorter with each passing day bringing the hope that lighter evenings are on their way.
As we leave the past year behind and enter 2022 with mixed feelings about how this year will pan out, I turn to my faithful and dependable garden. Soggy from all the recent rain and rather brown from all the cutting back we didn't do last autumn to try and provide the precious wildlife with some winter cover.
Yet precious new signs of life are stirring. Bulb shoots are definatly pushing up through the heavy soil, signalling new blooms are on their way to brighten up dreary old January.
It's tempting to bunker down inside, hibernate and peruse seed catalogues, but there are things that need doing in the garden and I know that accomplishing even one or two tasks will not only benefit the garden this year, but my recently expanded waist and lethargic mood.
So where there's a break in the weather, wrap up warm, appreciate the snowdrops and hellebores and receive some precious vitamin D with some of these ideas of what you could be doing in the garden this month:
What to do in the garden this month:
Sow/plant:
Broad beans direct outside.
Bulbs for spring, it's not too late!
Plant out bare root roses and hellebores.
Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs and fruit bushes.
Mulch heavy clay soils with organic matter to improve structure and drainage.
Harvest/Pick:
Kale, sprouts, spinach, leeks, cabbage, parsnips.
Snowdrops, hellebores,
Secature/lopper jobs:
Prune vines, currants and Japanese acers that are now dormant.
Remove yellow brussels sprout leaves.
Cut back tall asparagus foliage once yellow and brittle and mulch with manure or compost.
Pinch out autumn sown sweet peas.
Cut back autumn fruiting raspberries.
Winter prune apples and pears.
Other Jobs:
Clean out and disinfect greenhouses and coldframes.
Sweep pathways.
Wash pots and labels.
Start ordering seeds.
Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years. – Unknown