Gardening in January? Well sure! Well, sort of…
Gardening in January doesn’t always mean actual planting, unless you live in Phoenix where it is a great month for planting and harvesting! But you can use January to get you and your garden ready for the spring!
Gardening in January
Right now I know many of you are covered in snow and/or ice right or both. Maybe winter time gardening is the last thing you’re thinking about; but you’d be surprised to know there so much you can do to prepare for the best spring garden ever!
Use my tips for gardening in January to get prepared for the best harvest you’ve ever had. Try them all or focus on 1 or 2 that you can do right away and come back to the rest. I know when I’m unable to be out in my little garden I miss it. I hope these ideas help you to feel more connected to your homestead and garden during the cold months. Happy Gardening my friends!
Wait! Have you considered building a cold frame for ACTUAL winter gardening? A cold frame is a simple bottomless box with windows facing the sky. It is a smaller version of a greenhouse. Cold frames are built about a foot or two from the ground and are set over a group of plants. A transparent window or roof is on its top to allow light to get to the plants. SEE: HOW TO BUILD A COLD FRAME
Gardening Indoors In January
You just might want to try you hand at growing inside the house in January. With the right window light and indoor temps you can actually be gardening in January in your home. SEE: 14 VEGETABLES YOU CAN GROW INDOORS AND HOW TO GROW HERBS ALL YEAR LONG.
Winter Composting
I know many people will say winter is NOT the time to start a compost. But there are some great ways to keep or start composting in January. Consider starting your own vermicomposting “farm”. There are lots of great DIY tutorials for creating a vermicompost but you can also buy a ready-made kit reasonably. Not ready for worms in the house? How about a kitchen composting system? SEE: KITCHEN COMPOSTING TIPS
Get Your Garden Soil Ready
January gardening can simply be making sure that your soil is ready for planting. This is a great time to test your soil! With your beds or fields getting a planting / growing break, this is a great time to see how the soil is doing. Knowledge is power, and knowing your soil’s pH will help you decide how to amend your soil accordingly.
You can purchase your own Soil pH Meter. Preparedness Mama also has a great article on testing your soil without a kit, that you’ll want to check out.
SEE:
Awesome Soil Amendments for Your Garden
Improving Soil Without Compost Pile
The Best DIY Soil Mix
How to Use Orange Peels for a Better Garden
Are Your Tools Spring Ready?
Gardening requires that our tools are ship shape and ready to go for spring. What better to evaluate your gardening tools than January? Do you need clippers? Or do the clippers need sharpening? Are new shovels or hoes in order? And wait…do your beds need any repair?
Many of the big box stores will have sales on gardening supplies because they need to get the stuff moving in the winter. Also check out yard sales and Craigslist for awesome winter deals.
SEE: GARDEN TOOLS EVERY BACKYARD FARMER NEEDS
January Gardening – Planting the Mind
LOL – ok that sounds a little crazy but all I mean is that you can use this time to educate yourself. There is always something to learn about backyard gardening! Here are a few of my favorite gardening books to check out!
The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible
The All New Square Foot Gardening
The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible
Gardening for Geeks
Get Your Gardening Calendar Ready
Maybe this is your first garden or you just need to refresh your memory for your zone.
Plan out your planting calendar now so you are ahead of the game in the spring. Be sure you know your planting zone!
- What to Plant in March
- What to Plant in April
- What to Plant in May
- What to Plant in June
- What to Plant in July
Map Out Some New Space
January gardening should definitely include re-evaluating your space. Do you have it organized? Do you need to make some adjustments for light? SEE: MAXIMIZING YOUR GARDEN SPACE
Order Your Seeds
Now that you’ve planned, educated, mapped out your garden in January – you are ready to order seeds! I highly recommend Seeds Now – Non-GMO Seeds.
SEE: SEED CATALOGS YOU NEED TO KNOW!
Start Some Seeds Indoors This January
Get your spring veggies off to an early start. Many vegetables will do great with transplanting from indoor starters to your boxes and beds. Just make sure that you don’t do this with root veggies as they don’t take well to transplanting.
SEE: FRUGAL DIY SEED POTS (CHEAP & FREE)
Do you feel ready to dip into a little gardening in January? I hope my ideas and tips give you some ways you can start. I love my garden in every season and the month of January is no exception. You can do so much to be spring-ready right now! Please let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment below. And feel free to share your tips and ideas for January gardening.
Be sure to see How to Have An Amazing Backyard Garden for even more information!
