How to Vegetable Garden

How to vegetable garden in January, garden ideas for the month of the year when the weather can be dark, bleak and cold. Let us be honest, the inclement weather of winter gardening does not encourage us to do much in the vegetable garden.

The garden soil may be frozen or too wet to work and is best left alone and preferably not even walked on. Instead of working with your spade revisit your vegetable garden design perhaps incorporating a raised bed garden especially if your garden is too heavy to work or has sandy soil that does not hold water and nutrients. A raised bed vegetable garden involves planning, preparation and work in the first year but all that work pays for itself in the subsequent years.

Revisit your vegetable garden layout and rotation system to ensure the same crops are not grown in the same beds year after year which will help prevent disease build-up.

It is not too late to order garden seeds so take out your seed catalogues and choose the vegetable seed varieties that you intend to grow and put in that order.

As part of your disease prevention plan clear up any remaining crops that are now over.

Should the ground be workable incorporate as much compost and / or well rotted manure as you have available when digging over your vegetable plot.

Remember that slugs, snails and mice will still be looking for a feast so be vigilant around any growing or stored vegetables.

Brussels Sprouts

Carry on harvesting Brussels Sprouts and remember that they do not just have to be boiled or steamed, there are many ways to cook sprouts.

It pays to stake or earth up Brussels sprouts to prevent wind rock or the danger of them being blown over. There is nothing worse than going down to the vegetable garden or garden allotment and seeing Sprouts lying on the ground getting full of soil and grit not to mention being chewed by slugs.

To prevent the spread of grey mould and brassica downy mildew remove yellowing leaves.

Unless you are growing an F1 hybrid that matuers at the same rate along the haulm pick the largest sprouts from low down first.

Rhubarb

Should rhubarb be in the fruit or vegetable gardening section? Whatever your preference January is the time to start forcing rhubarb by placing a large container over the crown to encourage the fresh shoots to grow. Excluding light by use of a bucket, dustbin or made for purpose forcing jar will mean that you will be eating delicious young rhubarb much earlier in the year.

One more thing you can do for extra warmth is to put manure or straw over the top.

Chicory and seakale can be forced using the same method.

Broad Beans

Sow broad beans in January in pots and put them in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse to have broad beans ready to plant out in spring. Protect from mice.

Onions

If growing onions from seed rather than sets (small bulbs) sow now in a heated propagator and they will be ready to plant out in March. Remember that onions grown from seed need a long season to reach maturity.

Growing Potatoes

Order seed potatoes from a reliable source that can guarantee virus free stock.

Vegetable Plants to Harvest

A selection of vegetable plants that can still be harvested in January include:

• Brussels Sprouts
• Parsnips
• Celeriac
• Sprouting Broccoli
• Turnips
• Leeks
• Swedes
• Jerusalem Artichokes

Warm Your Soil for Early Sowings

Polythene sheet and bought or homemade tunnel cloches and are perfect to cover the soil in preparation for early sowings of Lettuce, Radish, Peas, Broad Beans, Spinach, Salad Onions.

Stored Vegetables

Place mice controls near stored vegetables.

Regularly check stored vegetables and remove any rotting or mouldy specimens.

Vegetable Seeds to Sow in January

The thought of vegetable planting brings optimistic thoughts of the warmer and longer days to come. Vegetable garden planting time can be closer than you imagine by starting vegetable garden seeds in January for planting out in February.

Here are some suggestions of vegetable garden seeds that can be sown under cover in January:

• Lettuce
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Radish
• Spinach
• Salad Onions
• Turnip

Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

If you intend to grow your vegetables using the raised bed vegetable gardening method, January is not too late to start or complete the build of your raised beds.

See also:

How to Vegetable Garden in December

How to Vegetable Garden in February