Gardening Calendar: January

If you already performed some of these tasks in September – then no worries! More seasonal tasks sometimes can overlap from month to month.

Clean garden tools if you didn’t before you stored them last year. Remove rust, oil blades, & sharpen cutting tools like pruners
Start a new compost pile or turn your existing pile
Keep birdfeeders clean & full
Clean birdhouses and check for loose screws or pieces
Sweep old leaf debris away from the house
Lay down a pre-emergent weed preventer in your landscape beds
Apply a pre-emergent weed preventer in your landscape beds
Test last years seeds for viability by trying to sprout a few
Lay down a fresh layer of mulch if you didn’t in the summer or fall. This can help insulate the roots of plants.

Take note of your trees & shrubs and look for dead branches and damaged plants. We advise waiting until mid Spring before worrying if something isn’t going to come back out of winter dormancy.
Make plans for what you may want to plant in the landscape in Spring
While woody plants are dormant, spray Dormant Oil Spray to help kill eggs, disease, or fungal spores. Please note that temperatures need to be above 40 and stay that way for at least 8 hours with no precipitation that day.
Test last years seeds for viability

It’s time to choose your seeds! We don’t recommend starting indoors until March but the best seed selection is now as the new shipments arrive.
Start mapping out your garden now. Look into companion planting and know what is best to plant together.
If this is your first year vegetable gardening, map out your garden layout.

Like trees & shrubs above, wait until mid-Spring to worry about whether any perennials will come back from their winter dormancy.
Make plans for what you may want to plant or fill in this coming Spring
Avoid cutting back grasses – the dead tops protect the root ball

If your Amaryllis has finished blooming, cut back the bloom stalk and continue caring for it as a houseplant
Don’t forget to keep any blooming Paperwhites or Amaryllis water
Keep your Poinsettia! It will bloom for some time and can be kept as a houseplant year round
Do a check of your houseplants for any pesky pests such as scale or aphids

Pansies should still be looking ok but it’s normal for them to go through a rough period in the later part of winter. They will typically pop back out in the Spring quickly
Ornamental Cabbage & Kale that are withered can be removed and composted or thrown away.

Fish don’t eat very much right now as they are hibernating. If average temperatures are below 40 then do not feed. If average temperatures around 40-50 then feed 1-2 times a week with a wheat germ based fish food.
Make sure if the water garden ices over to break a hole in the ice to keep gases exchanging.