🌱 Gardening in January: Summer Abundance & Garden Care

January is a rewarding time in the garden — full of sowing, planting, and harvesting. With the sun high and the days long, your edible patch is bursting with potential. Whether you're sowing new crops or tending to ripening fruit, here's what to focus on this month.

🥕 What to Sow

Direct Sow

The soil is warm, making it ideal for sowing seeds directly into your garden beds. Try planting:

• Climbing beans

• Dwarf beans

• Cucumbers (yes, twice!)

• Silverbeet

• Spring onions

• Beetroot

• Peas

• Radish

• Sweet corn

• Carrots

• Parsnips

Tray Sow

Some crops benefit from starting in trays where conditions can be more controlled:

• Basil

• Broccoli

• Cabbage

• Leeks

• Sweet corn

• Coriander

• Lettuce

• Shallots

• Onions

(Note: A few are listed twice — you can sow sweet corn, cabbage, and leeks both ways depending on your space and preference.)

🌱 Keep Planting for Continuous Harvests

Don’t stop planting! Succession planting ensures a steady supply of fresh vegetables through late summer and early autumn. As a general guide, most crops take 6–8 weeks from planting to harvest (depending on the variety).

🌼 Tip: Include flowering plants to attract bees and other beneficial pollinators to your veggie beds.

💧 Irrigation Reminder: If you're heading away on holiday, setting up a simple irrigation or drip system is well worth the investment — your garden will thank you when you return!

🍓 Fruit & Tree Care

• Harvest: Late berries and early plums are ready to pick. Check berry plants every second day to catch them at their peak.

• Water: Keep fruit trees well-watered — especially as fruits are forming.

• Mulch: Apply mulch to retain moisture and reduce heat stress.

• Thin fruit: On apples and pears, thin clusters down to 2–3 fruits to allow better growth and ripening.

• Strawberries: Trim runners back to the crown to encourage flowering and more fruit production.

• Pest control: Watch for whiteflies and aphids. Blast them off with the hose or use neem spray.

• Bird protection: Use net bags or small fabric squares pegged over individual fruits to keep birds at bay.

🛠 Garden Chores

• Save seeds: Choose your best plants and let a few go to seed. Mark them with a ribbon so you don’t accidentally harvest them.

• Stake seed crops: It saves space and keeps the plants upright as they dry.

• Brassica protection: Mesh or netting is essential to keep white butterflies away from your summer cabbages and broccoli.

With a bit of planning and regular care, your garden will keep producing well into autumn. Happy growing this January — and remember, every small action adds to your local food resilience!