Looking for projects to do around your garden? Here are 11 Tasks you can check off your January to-do list for the garden this month!
Prune Fruit Trees
The best time to prune trees, and especially fruit trees (except peaches) is during the middle of winter. Pruning encourages sap to rush to the cut area, unless the tree is dormant. Therefore, you want to prune in the winter when the tree is most dormant, so no sap runs to the cut.
You should never prune in the fall. This is because pruning encourages a growth spurt. This growth, in the fall, could burn off and damage the tree if unexpected cold weather happens.
Also, try to prune when the weather is dry to prevent spread of disease. Disease is carried and nurtured by water. Use sharp, clean tools.
Prune Roses and Grapevines
One of the most important thing to do on your January to-do list for the garden is to make sure your roses and grapes are properly pruned during their dormancy. In the warmer western states, roses may never go fully dormant. You may still have leaves and even flowers on you roses.
Therefore it is important to strip the leaves just prior to pruning to force the rose into dormancy.
You generally only have a small window to prune. After, make sure to remove the leaves and stems from the base of the plant. This will remove any latent fungus or disease on the leaves, and do not compost those leaves!
Mulch
One of the best things you can do for your perennial beds is to top dress with fresh compost and mulch. Winter is a great time to do this to protect more tender plants from the colder weather.
Or better yet, remove the old mulch first before adding the new top dressing. Generally by January, whats left of last year’s mulch will be only the biggest chips. And they do not biodegrade very quickly.
When you add new mulch, these big pieces will inevitably find their way up to the top of the new mulch. There it is even harder for them to decompose. They also start looking ratty, since their color will be different from the newer mulch. Compost is an excellent choice for top dressing your bed.
Spray Peaches
Unlike many other fruiting trees, peach trees should not be pruned while they are dormant. Pruning them while the weather is still cooler makes them susceptible to dieback.
However, it is critical to spray them several times in the winter to prevent peach leaf curl. Once peach leaf curl exhibits symptoms in the spring, there is nothing you can do to get rid of the disease for that year. The only way to ensure you don’t get peach leaf curl is to treat your tree proactively in the winter.
Ideally peaches should be sprayed three times. The first spray is at Thanksgiving after the leaves have dropped. A second Spray should happen at New Years. The most important spray is at Valentines Day, just prior to bud swell.
Copper Fungicide, the most common fungicide for peach leaf curl, although labeled organic in the US, is banned in Scandinavia and strictly controlled in the EU. The copper can leach into the soil, killing beneficial earthworms and other microorganisms. And it will remain there, especially in clay soils, for generations. If you use Copper fungicide, put down a drop cloth below the tree. You will need to spray the entire tree until it runs off for efficacy.
Clear Veggie Beds (if you haven’t already)
January is the time to pull out the spent tomato, pepper, and squash plants. It is much better not to wait until spring to do this chore. You want to give your soil a rest before the next planting. Even struggling green tomato plants not yet pulled will use up nutrients in your soil.
Pull the plants and turn the soil. If you are not planning on planting anything for a couple of months, it would be ok to just turn in any fallen fruit into the soil to compost.
However, if you plan on putting a winter crop in, best to rake the debris and remove it. If there is even a hint of disease on your vegetable detritus, remove it all. Put all diseased material on the curb, not your compost pile.
Repot Stuff
I love this time of year to take stock of all of my potted plants. I assess each to see if they need to be moved either to a bigger pot or put in the ground for a permanent home.
It is a good time of year to do this. The weather is a bit cooler and its easier on the plants themselves, as they aren’t in high growth mode.
It’s also easier on me, because I don‘t have quite so many tasks in the garden. I can feel like I’ve accomplished a lot after a few hours.
Water before a freeze
One of the most important things on your January To-do list for the garden is to water your tender plants. If cold temperatures are expected in your area, tender plants like citrus, cactus and succulents can survive those frosty temps better if they are healthy and well watered. Especially if you have any plants in pots – these plants’ roots will get colder than those in the ground. A deep watering prior to a light frost will protect your tender plants.
If you are in an area with stretches of cold or frost lasting longer than abut an hour during the coldest part of the night, it is best to move those tender plants inside. If you are unsure of your specific backyard overnight lows, you don’t need to invest in an expensive weather station. You can get a min/max thermometer. This one by Govee not only tells you what the overnight low was, but also tracks temps and humidity over time. It can also send downloadable data and reports right to your phone.
Maintain your Garden Tools
Now is a good time to sharpen your pruners, clippers, loppers, and mower blades. You’ll also want to clean and sterilize your tools.
Not only those tools with blades, but also shovels and spades benefit from a good cleaning.
Sterilization kills any latent fungus or rust on your tools and prevents spread from one plant to another. WD-40 is a great lubricator for tool blades to not only oil the hinges, but also clean super stuck-on gunk. After, use a 1/10th bleach to water solution to sterilize.
Check your Irrigation System
Depending upon your water, small irrigation nozzles of your drip system can clog quickly. Clogs could restrict or even completely block water from getting through to your plants. However they are easy to clear of sediment by removing the heads and giving them a rinse.
Even larger lawn sprinkler heads can break, get overgrown or get soil inside of them and need to be cleaned once in a while.
January in the western states is a great time to check this annual task off your list.
Organize your Shed
During the height of planting season, I am focused on all of the chores to be done in the beds and around the farm. Sometimes I grab tools and neglect to put everything back where it belongs after use.
That’s OK, there are only so many hours in the day. But January is a really good time to reorganize and get everything back in its place.
Plan for the Spring
One of the more uplifting things on your January to-do list for the garden is planning for – and therefore looking forward to planting time. Especially on days when the weather is bad, It is a nice treat to start planning what you will grow in the spring, peruse garden and seed catalogues, inspiration boards, do research and order any seeds and accessories you will use for the coming year. It is a great way to spend a rainy (or snowy) day indoors.
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