tips for gardening in january

Sunflower Taiyo

January is one of the hottest months of the year, making work around the garden challenging on many fronts. High temperatures, little or no rainfall and dry soil make it difficult to get plants established. Fortunately, it’s a time when most gardens are well-established and by now, most gardeners are starting to see the fruits of their labour.  We certainly are.  This is also a time when most people are on holiday and away from their garden.  It’s always a shame to see all the hard work you put in during spring go to waste when the place becomes neglected and plants die, or you return to a jungle!  These are problems I have faced year after year, so I have compiled a few little checklists with some suggestions to help you out.

My tips for caring for the garden while you’re away:

•          Mulch well to help conserve moisture and keep weeds down.  You can read more about the importance of mulching here and here
•          Make sure your plants are watered.  You can so this by organising a house-sitter, ask a neighbour to water the garden if you have a good relationship with them or set up an irrigation system
•          Consider using a wetting agent such as Saturaid to help preserve moisture and reduce the need for watering.  This is especially useful for containers

Here are some tips for gardening in January:

•          Try to avoid planting anything new at this stage.  If you have to, make sure you plant in the evening and water well.  I recently put in some more cucumbers and zucchini so we have a continuous supply throughout the summer
•          Any new plantings should ideally be watered twice daily, in the morning and evening, until they are established
•          Plants in pots need watering more frequently.  The smaller the pot, the more water the plant will need!
•          Plants flourish when they are nourished.  Continue to liquid feed plants weekly to encourage further flowering and fruiting
•          Put saucers under pumpkins, squash and melons as they develop to prevent them from rotting when they come into contact with the ground
•          Harvest regularly.  If fruits sit on the plant too long, the plant will put all its energy into the mature fruit at the expense of developing further fruit
•          Check containers and pots regularly for dead plants.  I have a tray of back-up seedlings in the nursery for replacements
•          If you can, continue to remove the laterals from tomatoes to encourage plants to put all their energy into forming fruit rather than leafy growth which probably won’t amount to fruit. This has become a difficult task for me and I have simply given up at this point, because the areas I planted tomatoes in have become a bit of a jungle, with cucumbers, pumpkins and squash creeping everywhere!

While the garden is flourishing in high temperatures, it’s generally a quieter time than spring, so you might find yourself having a bit of spare time on your hands.  Here are a few ways you could spend any extra time you have:

•          Lift and divide spring bulbs.  Dry them and dust with flowers of sulphur.  Store in netting bags for planting in autumn.
•          Update your seed catalogue.  I was so busy in spring that I fell behind with logging new purchases and didn’t always cross off items I sowed.  I managed to update my list a few days ago
•          Start thinking about what you’d like to grow in winter.  Have a look through seed catalogues and place an order so you’ll be ready to start sowing seeds next month​​

Rose Claude Monet