January in the Garden
Welcome to the January edition of Fiveways Gardens.
Happy New Year to you all and here's to 2008 giving us a hot, sunny summer with lots of lovely rain at night time!
In the meantime, there's a lot to get on with in the garden, in particular maintenance and planning for when it gets busy. If, like me, you spent too many irritated moments hunting for twine, bulb planter, plant labels etc through the year, this might be the time to do more than just think about sorting the shed out.. Imagine, you could actually do it!
Another good thing to sort out in January and February is fixing (or updating) trellis, fence and other plant supports. There's obviously a lot less foliage in the way at this time of year. It will also be much easier to install an irrigation system now rather than leaving it til summer when you'll have loads of foliage in the way to contend with. If you didn't do it before Christmas, it's worth checking shrubs and trees for dead, damaged or diseased branches and pruning them out. If the plant in question is too big, then get someone in and get them to incorporate a general tidy up too. Lots of gardeners have little work at this time of the year so you shouldn't have trouble finding someone. Tasks that you know are a good idea, but somehow never get round to doing could be handed over - maybe think of it as a post-Christmas treat for yourself. Cleaning pots ready for spring and summer planting, cleaning, oiling and sharpening tools, clearing dead leaves from ponds, redefining lawn edges, sorting the compost and even tidying out the shed are all jobs that you could ask a gardener to do.
I know lots of you grow vegetables and fruit either in your gardens or allotments, so here are some things to be getting on with. Keep weeding. In dry spells, it's worth wandering around your plot with a hoe to tackle ephemeral weeds (those that can and do! set seed all year round). On the same note, it's worth investing in a bit of landscape fabric and mulch if you're not planning to cultivate an area until later in the year. As well as thinking about what you want to grow this year, and ordering seeds, you can actually make a start on some early vegetables. Spring garlic, onions and shallots can be planted now so long as the ground is neither saturated nor frozen. If you have an area under glass then you might want to try growing carrots in pots for an early supply. If you have a heated greenhouse or propagator then you can sow chillies, peppers and aubergines as these are pretty slow to develop. Last year was fairly disastrous for sun-loving crops like these - I'm confident this year will be much better - how could it not be?
Best wishes
Lisa
For an initial consultation call Lisa on 01273 500407 or 07957 751218 or email her at info@lilybud.co.uk
Copyright, all rights
reserved, Lilybud.co.uk 2007