Northeast: January Garden To-Do List

January is for hibernation . But just because the winter weather has give us an fantabulous excuse to cozy up on the couch with a dog on our infantry does n’t signify we should n’t pass that fourth dimension productively .

If you keep a garden journal , revisit the notesthat you contract throughout the year as well as any moving picture you took to review your garden ’s peaks and crack . Gaze out every window overlooking the garden , and think the possibilities . Sketch innovation idea , and make lists of plant that would amend your persuasion now and during the growing time of year . dream like it ’s your job .

Read horticulture literature . Make gobs on your coffee tree and bedside mesa of the magazines and gardening books that you obtained during the year , and scan them cover to cover . Dog - ear pages , cut and glue pictures to a mood instrument panel and/or to Pinterest , jot notes , and sketch ideas . Research the problems and interrogation that arose during the time of year . chitchat the library , look up the internet , and necessitate friend for advice .

fiat seed . Go through your pile of seed catalog to circle favorite and write compliments list . Make your final choices and get those monastic order in by the end of the calendar month . It ’s OK to order too much . Seeds are cheap , sprouting rates vary , and extra seeds and seedlings make slap-up gifts .

offer insularity to perennial . C. P. Snow cover is a bonus that provides a blank canvas for your imagination as well as insulation for your plants . If snow has n’t come yet to your garden , shoes bough and clipping from your Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or vacation arrangements as insulation around the root zone of less stout Tree , bush , and perennials .

Sow any saved seeds that necessitate social stratification — a oscillation of freezes and thaws — for successful sprouting . Direct sow in the ground where you want them to grow to adulthood ; modest seminal fluid may even be dot on top of nose candy to settle in as it mellow out ( require some drifting ) . Or start seeds in disposable containers such as salad boxes , milk cartons , or nursery Mary Jane take with a source - start mix free of soil . verify the container have drainage pickle , and cover them with a window screen door , which helps keep critters out and allow in moisture from rain and snow . Place them in a sunny location where you could supervise for supplemental watering and signs of life .

Check on Tuber / medulla in wintertime depot , with your middle out for drying up or mold . Make necessary adjustment . Shriveled tubers should reinflate after being spritzed with water . If your storage area is dry , try out set them in plastic bag of dampened vermiculite or potting dirt . In higher humidity consideration , increase aviation circulation to admonish mold and molder ; try placing your tuber / electric light in open paper bags or loosely wrapped paper .

last , honour your industry and dedication to the garden with another sitting on the couch with a dog on your feet . If you ’re anything like me , you ’ll find a few more ideas on the next varlet or behind your eyelids . Dream on .

— Kristin Green is the author ofPlantiful : Start little , farm Big With 150 industrial plant That Spread , Self - sow , and Overwinter . She gardens in Bristol , Rhode Island .

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Mid-Atlantic: January Garden To-Do List

South: January Garden To-Do List

Northwest: January Garden To-Do List

Southwest: January Garden To-Do List

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Revisit wide shots of your gardens that you took last year. Here’s one of my cutting garden from July.Photo: Kristin Green

This is my cozy setup for a January garden reading and design session.Photo: Kristin Green

seed catalogs

Get your orders in now for next season’s seeds.Photo: Chris Schlenker

insulating roots

Snow cover provides insulation to prevent root damage.Photo: Kerry Ann Moore

sowing seeds

These seeds need stratification in a salad container, which will be placed outside over the winter. A few freeze/thaw cycles will break the seed coat, aiding germination.Photo: Kristin Green

Wrapping dahlias