27th January 2022
What to plant now, with Edibleculture
Although January is a cold and quiet month where the desire is to hunker down and semi-hibernate is particularly strong, there are still several nice jobs that can be done outside when its dry. And we've been lucky enough to have had some beautiful days recently...
It’s a nice time of year to begin thinking about what you might like to grow in your garden / allotment. Think back to the successes of last year as well as those crops things that didn’t do so well in your soil / location / were too fiddly / you didn’t enjoy eating etc. Learning from last year’s experiences is a valid way to make this year even more productive in the edible garden, and hopefully enjoyable too! Make a list and purchase seeds where necessary so you are ready. There’s nothing like thinking about new growth and spring time to lift the spirit!
Jobs for outside:
- Create habitats for wildlife – piles of sticks or logs, or foliage that has been cut down provides perfect little homes for the mini beasts
- Turn your compost
- Collect leaves and add to an old plastic bag or binbag. Seal tightly to generate leaf mulch, when broken down this adds good structure to compost
- Sow some quick crops like radishes and spinach for early salads
- Sow onions, leeks, broad beans, carrots and swiss chard under cover
- You can sow some of the hardier herbs under cover now too such as giant leaf parsley, coriander, and chervil.
- January is the bareroot season, so you can get planting with fruit trees, soft fruits such a raspberries and rhubarb.
- Winter-pruning of apples and pears can be undertaken
- Prune hard grape vines now
- Cut down canes of autumn-fruiting raspberries to about knee height
Prune gooseberries particularly in the centre where they can become dense and prone to mildew
