Your January Gardening Guide

It’s time to get your garden ready for the year to come. We’ve put together a January Gardening Guide which provides a list of garden tasks you can be getting on with this month:

Prepare your seed beds 

The ground may still be frozen at this time of year. You’ll know it if you try to dig and it feels like you’re hitting stone! You can warm frozen ground with fleece, polythene or plastic cloches, all of which we have available here at Summerseat Garden Centre. Once the ground is warm enough to get a spade or fork through, you can turn the soil once and loosen any clumps in preparation for sowing later on. 

Start chitting early potatoes  

To get the best potatoes, we recommend using specially cultivated seed potatoes. You’ll get a much higher yield and they’re hardy against diseases. We have a variety in stock here at Summerseat Garden Centre. Simply put the seed potatoes on an egg tray with the eyes facing up and leave in a cool, bright place such as the conservatory. Once five good sprouts have grown, they’re ready to go into the ground.  

Mulch perennial vegetables  

Use well-rotted manure or garden compost to mulch your perennial vegetables, such as asparagus. Not only does this help suppress weed growth, it also helps water retention and gives the soil a nutrient boost. Doing this now will therefore prevent you having to weed and water so much further down the line. 

Try going peat-free this spring 

Why not try a peat-free compost this spring, like this Westland Multi-Purpose Compost With Added John Innes, now in stock at Summerseat Garden Centre.

For all your January gardening needs and further advice, visit our staff here at Summerseat Garden Centre who will be more than happy to help you.