In Your Garden
Jobs you can do in your garden this month
JANUARY
In severe weather, the RSPB advises putting out high-energy (high fat) food for birds twice daily, in the morning and early afternoon, to keep up with demand. Don’t overfill feeders if birds aren’t using them, as stale food can cause problems.
Try your best to support garden wildlife through the winter. Leave windfall apples on the ground as the field voles and blackbirds enjoy the old ones, even in midwinter. Perhaps don’t cut back all the dead flowers and perennial foliage, but leave some for insects to over winter in?
Now is the time to order seeds. To be sure of getting the varieties you want, make sure you place your seed and plant orders with mail-order companies sooner rather than later!
Whether you're planting an ornamental tree, or a fruiting one, January is a good time of year to do it, as deciduous plants are dormant and you can buy them bare root (ie not in a pot), which is cheaper and better for the environment as it doesn't involve peat or plastic in their production. Many mail-order nurseries specialise in selling trees this way. You can also find roses and hedging sold this way.
Avoid hellebore leaf spot:- This common fungal disease causes round, brown spots on the leaves and stems of hellebores. The best advice is to remove any infected growth that you find. Ashwood Nurseries, which specialises in hellebores among other plants, recommends cutting off all the foliage, diseased or not, to help stop the new season's growth becoming infected with the fungus. It will also stop the leaves obscuring the flowers are they emerge.
The joy of weeding at this time of year is that the ground stays clear and you feel like you’re getting somewhere. It’s best to dig out the weeds rather than hoe them, as the damp soil means that weeds that are hoed could resprout.
Buy seed potatoes. Choose potatoes without long shoots or any signs of mould. When you get them home, tip them out of the bag into a seed tray or an old egg box and leave them in a cool, light place until you plant them, otherwise known as chitting potatoes. This will discourage the sprouts from growing too long.
Feed fruit plants. Give the fruit trees and bushes in your garden a boost by sprinkling sulphate of potash around the base of the plants and gently hoeing it into the soil surface - be careful not to damage any roots near the surface. It's a good idea to mulch around the plants afterwards to conserve moisture in the soil. Feeding will provide the potash they need to flower and fruit well. Check the fertiliser packaging and apply at the recommended rate; don't be tempted to add extra as it could damage the plant.
Top up paths. Topping up gravel or bark paths is one of those jobs that gets neglected at busier times of year and is good to do in cold weather as lifting and raking will warm you up. Remove any weeds beforehand and replace edging boards if necessary. Wood chips work well for paths in veg gardens and allotments.
Happy tidying, planting and organising………