January Gardening Calendar
at Garden-Helper.com

Garden chores are at their lowest in January and February, perhaps in order to give the weary gardener a break from the hustle of the holidays and a chance to rest for what will be the exciting the busy Spring in just a couple short months. Gardening chores in January may be limited, but there are still things to get done and things to look forward to and plan for. Beginning in January your houseplants likely began to take center stage of your attentions. This moment of glory for the poor cousins of the outdoor garden is about to come to an end soon, but hopefully they won't be too envious of your attentions being paid to those catalogs arriving in the mail this month and over the next couple months.

This calendar is available as a Gardening Podcast to take with you on your iPod or other mp3 player while you are perusing the catalogs for next Spring planting. All Garden-Helper podcasts are available both through the iTunes music store and at Yahoo! podcasts.

Other Calendar Months Coming Soon

January
February
March
April
May
June
October
November
December

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January Gardening Chores

House Plants

Hyacinth, Lily of the valley and Paper white Narcissus can all be forced into bloom indoors this month.

Give your house plants extra humidity by grouping plants together. The indoor climate during the winter tends to be dryer as we heat our homes.

Pruning

January is a great month to prune deciduous trees and shrubs. Shade, flowering and fruit treescan all be pruned this month, but do not prune spring flowerign plants like forsythia or Spirea as what you will be pruning is the new flowers that otherwise will bloom in spring. If these plants require pruning wait until after spring flowering has completed.

If you like in an area where your trees are likely to receive storm damage then by all means prune away the damages limbs quickly in order to reduce the chances of increased damage from the tearing of bark. Avoid pruning damage away during a warm January day - this will in fact further harm the trees.

One of the side benefits to pruning is you can bring the twigs of flowering trees and shrubs indoors to force blossoms. This is a great way to bring a little spring inside before nature intended to give away spring herself. Kids enjoy the flowers nearly as much as the adults and it's a great way to give them an up-close look into the flowers while remaining comfortably indoors.

Lawn Care in January

Lawn care in January is as simple as it was in December. Really the main thing to consider in January is to keep off the frozen grass. Simple isn't it?

Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers

If you have not yet mulched your rose bushes don't wait any longer than early January to get this done.

Any perrenial beds you have should receive two to four inches of light mulch this monnth.

If you have any leftover seeds store these in a cool and dry place. Some gardeners save their seeds in a jar placed in the refrigerator. If you have vegetables in storage check them for spoilage and disease and remove affected vegetables.

Planting and Transplanting

If the weather allows and your soil has not frozen January is as good as November for transplanting. If you managed to do planting or transplanting in November or December be sure to keep these newly planted treasures well watered in order to prevent dry soil conditions.

Odd and Ends

Snow and cold weather create difficult conditions for many small animals and birds. Consider adding a birdfeeder to your garden if you don't already have one. For great advice on responsibly feeding wild birds check out our article on Feeding Wild Birds in the Winter. You needn't be a bird enthusiast to get a thrill from watching as your feeding stations help these creatures through the winter.

Prepare! Start planning your garden for next year. Review notes you have taken from this year and start the daydreaming with your gardening catalogs.

Relax with good books about gardening or on a good gardening website. One comes to mind.