January can be a cold wet month that does little to inspire you to get outside into the garden. But apart from using this time to plan what you want to be doing in the coming year, remember now is the perfect time to sow many varieties of flowers, fruit, and vegetable seeds under glass or on a windowsill indoors. If seeds aren’t your thing don’t worry, we have other tasks you can be doing!
Seeds
At Creative Gardens we stock the long established and trusted seed supplier Thompson and Morgan as well as Fothergill’s seeds.
Among these you will find Chillies and Aubergines both of which can be planted in seed trays now, meaning you will have a much higher yield when the time comes to harvest.
Flower seeds such as Geranium, Sweet Pea and Dahlia also benefit from being planted in January to give you a head start.
We have all the tools you need from seed trays to seed compost and much more. We now stock fibre and bio -degradable growing pots to reduce our plastic usage and peat free compost discs which are much easier to handle if you don’t want to fuss with large bags of compost.
Check your plant supports
January is a good time to check up on your climbing plants to ensure their supports have kept secure and continued to hold your plants in place over the past winter months which may have brought strong winds and heavy snows.
Replace any broken tree stakes and ties add any extra bits you think your plants will benefit from. Even if these are just temporary to get you through to Spring when the weather will hopefully be a bit calmer.
Keep an eye too on the forecast in case you need to give frost protection to any Winter veg you have already planted and simply cover with fleece.
Continue to feed the birds with Henry Bell
Remember not to forget your birds, if you started the season with well stocked bird feeders then continue to do so as the same birds will have come to rely on you for their source of food, January can be particularly hard as the temperature drops. In return they will repay you by eating any insect pests that may be hiding among your plants.
Feed with seaweed or Fish Blood and Bone
In late January give established fruit trees a little attention and begin to feed. Use an organic fertiliser such as Seaweed or Fish blood and bone, as these release the nutrients slowly into the ground and thus prevents any sudden growth spurts making them more prone to winter damage.
So, ease yourself into the next season gently as before you know it there will be endless exciting jobs to be done!
