January in the garden

Although the days are getting longer,January in the gardenis one of the coldest months of the year. This month is also distinguished by a large amount of rainfall and lingering snow cover.For garden plants, January is a period of complete dormancy , although many deciduous trees and shrubs still have buds, from which leaves and flowers will develop in the spring. For gardening enthusiasts, it's time to start pruning trees in the orchard, look after wintering plants, prepare for the next season and plan spring plantings. So there iswhat to do in the garden in January

January in the garden is the time to whiten the trunks of fruit trees

Below we present the most importantgardening work for JanuaryThese are traditional gardening recommendations for a given month, based on our experience. Following these tips, however, remember that the timing of some garden works depends largely on the weather.When planning gardening work for January, take into account the weather conditions prevailing in a given year

The impact of climate change on plants is shown, among others, by maps of plant frost resistance zones, where you can see a gradual shift of zones. Currently, we can easily grow many species of plants in our gardens that used to be frozen or required solid winter coverings.How to adapt the way of garden care in January to climate changeis described in more detail in the article Warm winter in the garden. Climatic anomalies and their impact on plants.

January in the orchard

• January is considered the coldest month of our winter.Therefore, at the beginning of the month (if we forgot about it at the end of December), we whiten the trunks of fruit trees. This will prevent the formation of frost damage to the bark, scale wounds and cracks in the trunks. We check the condition of bleached trunks regularly. If the lime is washed off, repeat the bleaching procedure.

• If you have not yet secured the trees in your orchard against hares, you must do it. Stump covers can be made of straw, cardboard or you can buy a ready-made orchard cover in a garden store. Surround the trunk and the base of the limbs carefully with one of the selected materials and tie them with a string (the insulation must surround the entire trunk and hold tight). If you bought ready-made casings in a store, they will not require additional fastening (they are flexible and clamp on the trunk themselves). Regardless of whether you buy ready-made casings or make them yourself, they will be a very good protection for fruit trees in the winter.

• In case of severe frosts, we check the temperature in the rooms where we store the fruit. Negative temperatures will harm the stored fruit. Also remember to remove rotting fruit. The toxins secreted by fungi, which cause fruit rot, are also dangerous to our he alth. Therefore, throw away rotten fruits and do not eat even their undamaged parts.
• The time of winter cutting of bushes and trees in the orchard is approaching. It is worth preparing for it now and checking the condition of our cutting tools.

• In the first half of the month, cut and store in appropriate conditions annual shoots intended for slips for spring grafting. Shoots are cut into slips on clear days, when the temperature exceeds + 5 ° C. The shoots for grafting should be well woody, he althy and developed (60 cm long and not less than 5 mm in diameter).We store them until spring in a cool cellar (at a temperature of around 2 ° C). It is best to tie them in bunches, label them and sprinkle them with moist sand or sawdust.
• In frost-free days at the end of January, we can start cutting the fruit bushes most resistant to frost. An early start of cutting is especially important when there are a lot of fruit plants on the plot. In this period, we cut gooseberry bushes, haskap berries, red currants and sea buckthorn. It is better to wait until the beginning of February to cut trees. However, it is worth getting some garden ointment in advance, which will be useful for protecting wounds after cutting.

• This month there are no important treatments to protect against diseases and pests of fruit trees. However, when you are on the plot, you will see how useful the winter inspection in the orchard will prove to be. Most of the pests now remain in winter hiding places on trunks and branches, in winter nests and egg beds.It's worth taking a look around - you can see min. eggs laid by the fruit spider mite (they can be recognized by their red color and spherical shape) and characteristic rings, pseudo-growths, wrapped around shoots or branches, formed by the annelid. Found winter nests and pest eggs should be removed from trees, especially if there are a lot of them.

January in the vegetable garden

• Root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, scorzonera) can be stored in the cellar, sprinkled with sand or casing soil. To prevent the vegetables from wilting, slightly moisten the sand or soil. The temperature in the storage room should not exceed 4 ° C (vegetables will rot at higher temperatures). That is why it is worth ventilating them regularly and removing rotting specimens.
• On the plot, in nice weather, you can collect leaves of wintering kale and leaf parsley.
• It is also worth checking the condition of the places prepared for the location of the seedbed and foil tunnels. If we expect severe frosts, the soil should be protected against freezing by sprinkling chopped straw or leaves on it.
• At home, on a sunny windowsill, we can put containers with medium-sized onions planted for chives. Bury the onion for chives in the ground about 2/3 of its height (1/3 or the onion should protrude above the ground), then regularly water the soil so that it does not dry out.
• It is worth starting slowly planning your vegetable garden for the current year. In the second half of January, you can buy vegetable seeds in most garden stores.

January in the ornamental garden

• It is important to protect plants against frost and wind all the time. The sun that warms the plants during the day is especially dangerous at this time of the year, followed by a sharp drop in temperatures during the night. Therefore, remember to regularly check the condition of the covers that we put on before the winter.
• If there is heavy snowfall, brush the excess snow off the branches of conifers. Otherwise, the branches may break under excessive load.
• During snowless winters, on days when the temperature rises above 0 ° C, it is good to water evergreen plants. What is the point of watering plants in winter? Well, evergreen plants constantly lose water through their leaves and needles. At the same time, the soil is frozen and the plant cannot take up water through the roots. In addition, there is dry frosty air and especially drying frosty winds. Therefore, when you see that during periods of long frost, the leaves are curled and the shrubs look unhe althy, which is a symptom of a lack of water in the soil, water the plants abundantly at the next warming.
• For winter flowering heather plants should be provided with sufficient moisture. However, they should not be watered on days when the temperature drops below 0 ° C.

• In January, you can get woody cuttings from deciduous shrubs shedding their leaves for the winter (but be careful - this cannot be done in severe frosts!).The cuttings are taken from one-year old, sufficiently lignified shoots and then stored in moist sand in a cool cellar at a temperature slightly above 0 ° C.
• Remember to look after the bulbs, rhizomes and flower tubers, which we keep in a closed room over the winter. Specimens with visible infections by fungal diseases should be removed to prevent further spread of the infection.
• Seeds of some perennials are worth sowing now in January and exposed to low temperatures outside. Why? Well, only after freezing these seeds will be able to germinate. This is, among others, o seeds of species such as: large-headed cornflower, white hellebore, Dalmatian bellflower, fine bellflower, Carpathian bellflower, purple coneflower, garden tritome, monkshood, as well as eagles, primroses and stonews. We protect the sowing against rodents and birds by covering them with a glass pane. After about 6 weeks, the boxes are taken to a bright room with a temperature of about 12 ° C.
• Since only a small amount of work in the garden is carried out during this period, it is worth starting to plan the work for the coming season. If we want to change something in our garden or plot, I recommend using the Plant Encyclopedia, where there is a practical plant search engine according to the appearance features and cultivation requirements. We can easily and quickly find plants that meet our needs.

Potted flowers in January

• Winter flowering indoor plants, such as potted azaleas and cyclamens, nowadays require careful care, regular watering and light fertilization. However, be careful with begonias, which are prone to mildew and, even if they are in a warm and dry room, do not over-water them!
• Water the remaining plants very moderately in January. However, the soil cannot be dried in such a way that it becomes loose as ash or dried out to a lump. For watering, use water at room temperature (water poured straight from the tap may be too cold, so it is worth letting it stand for some time).
• Most plants must be washed with lukewarm water or lightly sprayed from time to time (every 2 weeks). You also need to remove dry or withered leaves, because during this period indoor flowers are quite often attacked by diseases and pests of houseplants.
• Since January is the coldest month in our country, the temperature in the apartment should be properly regulated. In the event of very strong frosts, remove the plants from the window sills or at least move them away from the windows. The apartment is best ventilated at noon, when it is warmest. For this time, the more delicate plants should be taken to another room or as far as possible from the window that opens.
• Due to the reduced amount of sunlight in the winter months, many houseplants suffer from underexposure. They can lose their attractive leaf color and their shoots become slack. In such situations, it will be necessary to illuminate the plants with special lamps (they must emit light waves that enable plants to perform photosynthesis).

• Plants grown at home that sprout prematurely are pruned and placed in another room.
• At the end of the month, some plants can be propagated by cutting (e.g. myrtle and fuchsia) and sowing seeds of asparagus, lemons and oranges.
• If we have a winter-flowering begonia with many leaves and flowers, we can try to propagate it from leaf cuttings. For this purpose, stick a he althy, juicy-green, fully developed leaf with a short piece of a petiole into sandy flower soil or peat. Greenhouse conditions and high air humidity should be ensured. When a young plant appears, its position is bright and not too warm.

Lawn in January

• We do not carry out any work on the lawn during this period. Remember, however, not to walk on the snow-covered lawn, as it is easy to damage frozen grass. In these places, the grass will rot and it will be much more difficult to regenerate the lawn after winter.

How to plan work in the garden?

If you want to prepare as best as possible for gardening work for a given month and be sure that you will never miss anything important that needs to be done in the garden again, use the resourceful gardener's planner calendar book. It is a practical gardening guide with a gardening calendar for the whole year and a place for your own notes. More information in the description on our store's website: -)