January

January

In the greenhouse

• Open windows on mild, sunny days to ventilate and prevent fungal disease
• Bring strawberries in containers under cover to encourage early fruiting
• Buy packets of seeds and make a sowing plan for greenhouse crops and bedding plants
• Check heaters are working efficiently and top up paraffin heaters if a cold night is forecast

Tip: Wash up pots

Hygiene is important when growing plants from seed. Tiny, tender seedlings are vulnerable from damping-off disease, which can wipe out entire pots of seedlings within days. Raising them in a clean environment gives them the best start. New pots and seed trays are fine, but any used before should be scrubbed clean in hot water using a sterilising agent such as Jeyes Fluid.

Fruit and Vegetables

• Prune overlapping branches on apple and pear trees
• Dig the well-rotted contents of compost bins into the soil
• Wash cloches and frames before using them to warm the soil for early sowings
• Prune out about a third of the shoots on blueberries
• Sharpen blades on all your tools
• Plan your vegetable patch for the year
• Prepare areas for planning asparagus

Tip: Thinout rhubarb

Dig up the plant, cut away healthy outer portions for replanting and dispose of the woody centre. Dig lots of compost into the soil and replant, keeping the crown level with the soil surface

Tip: Prepare Strawberry Beds

Rake up old leaves and runners out of strawberry beds and tidy up growth. Clear weeds, and then spread compost around the strawberry plants. In spring feed them with sulphate of potash fertiliser.