Organic Gardening - what to sow in January

January is a time for planning and preparation. It's also a great month to start indoor sowing! Get your seeds off to a strong start and you'll have a flourishing garden come spring.

Flowering Plants

Flowering Plants

  • Sow sweet pea seeds indoors for early blooms.
  • Start indoor sowing delphiniums and primulas.
  • Start hardy annuals like poppy seeds indoors.
  • Begin indoor sowing marigold seeds and cosmos.
  • Check stored dahlia tubers for rot.
  • Deadhead winter pansies to promote growth.
  • Deadhead flowering bulbs as they start to appear and fade.
  • Protect tender bulbs with cloches.

Vegetables

Vegetables

  • Start onion seeds in seed trays under cover.
  • Plant broad beans in pots under cover for early harvests.
  • Sow spinach seeds in trays for indoor salads.
  • Sow early carrots in containers indoors.
  • Start celery seeds in trays indoors.
  • Plan crop rotations and order veg seeds.
  • Begin chitting early potatoes in empty egg boxes.
  • Dig green manure into veg beds and leave for a month.

Fruit

Fruit

  • Prune dormant apple and pear trees.
  • Plant bare-root raspberries and blackberries.
  • Plant currant bushes in well-drained soil.
  • Mulch around fruit bushes and fruit trees.
  • Protect strawberries with straw mulch.
  • Plant bare-root fruit trees if soil allows.
  • Check fruit tree ties and loosen if tight.
  • Protect budding fruit trees with fleece.

General Garden Jobs

General Garden Jobs

  • Check greenhouse heating is functional.
  • Water greenhouse plants sparingly.
  • Order seeds and plan spring planting.
  • Clear pond debris and add oxygenating plants.
  • Install rainwater butts to conserve water.
  • Tidy shed and garden storage areas.
  • Organise and sharpen garden tools.
  • Plant out forced narcissus and indoor hyacinth bulbs.

Pots & Containers

  • Stop watering pots to avoid waterlogged soil.
  • Clean empty pots with hot water and disinfectant ready for spring.
  • Move pots of scented daffodils to a prominent position.

Wildlife

  • Keep bird feeders full of high quality bird food.
  • Add a small pond heater to prevent freezing.
  • Install a birdhouse to attract sheltering species.

Pruning

  • Prune dormant fruit trees, shrubs and roses to remove dead, damaged & crossing branches.
  • Trim faded stems on winter-blooming plants.
  • Prune wisteria back to only three leaf buds on each stem from the previous year's growth.

Organic Gardening Tip: Collect ash from wood fires to use as potash-rich fertiliser for fruiting plants and root vegetables. Apply sparingly for natural nutrient enrichment.

Sophie Essex

Written by: Sophie Essex, garden writer

Sophie Essex is a freelance garden writer with a passion for horticulture and environmental conservation. She's qualified with a BSc in Botany/Plant Biology from the University of Plymouth and a MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants from The University of Edinburgh.

Sophie has also worked as a professional gardener and landscaper, developing her practical skills at Cornwall's Eden Project, the National Trust for Scotland, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.