As gardeners plan for the upcoming year, January is an ideal time to start thinking about fruit, vegetable, and herb cultivation. Here are some key tips to guide your gardening efforts this month.
Selecting Fruit, Vegetables, and Herbs:
- When reviewing garden catalogs and planning for new varieties, it’s crucial to consider plants with improved resistance to insects and diseases. Look for varieties that are more resilient and require less maintenance. Additionally, drought-tolerant types are becoming increasingly popular, as they can help conserve water and thrive in more challenging conditions.
Fruit Planting:
- For those interested in small fruits like strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, now is the time to order your plants for a mid-March planting. Early preparation ensures you’ll have healthy plants ready to grow when the season begins.
Grapevine Pruning:
- January and February are the ideal months for pruning grapevines. This crucial task helps maintain plant health, encourages new growth, and improves fruit production come spring.
Starting Cool-Season Vegetables:
- If you’re eager to get a head start on your vegetable garden, now is the time to begin growing cool-season crops from seed indoors. Vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard, onions, garden peas, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, and turnips can be seeded indoors in January. These plants can be transplanted outside into the garden in February, giving them a jump on the growing season.
Asparagus Planting:
- January is also a great time to plant asparagus crowns, as long as the soil is dry enough to work. Asparagus is a perennial crop that, once established, will provide delicious harvests for many years, making it a worthwhile addition to your garden.
By following these tips in January, you’ll set your garden up for a successful and productive growing season. Start early, plan carefully, and look forward to a bountiful harvest in the months ahead.
Listen to WFMC 105.7 every Saturday morning at 9:30 AM for more tips with Jessica Strickland the Agriculture Extension Agent, specializing in horticulture for North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Wayne County.
