What to do in January for newbie gardners

kevinwj

Start saving your old margarine and ice cream tubs.

Pick your fruit straight into them, put lid the back on, they stack easily in the bags for taking them home and if your an organic grower.....you can put them straight into the freezer.


recycling and time-saving

.

Prudent

Thank you for starting this thread. I have a small garden, but have decided now there is an mse gardening forum, I will do something with it. I have done odd bits, but found it quite costly. I am looking forward to finding out how to garden on a budget.

pancakequeen

Save toilet roll inners - they are great for growing peas and beans in as they have long roots. If you stand the rolls up in a tray and fill with compost you can then plant them straight out into the ground without distrurbing the roots.

Anne

samcat_2

Some really good posts... this RHS Veg gardeners' calendar is quite good

http://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/calendar/calendarjan.asp

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/calendar.asp

As a Veg beginner myself, I found the following useful:

In mild areas, sow broad beans in pots, placing them in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse. These will be ready for planting out in spring.

Other crops can also be germinated in pots on the windowsill, and then grown on in the greenhouse for planting out in February. This should result in early crops next year. Lettuces, summer brassicas (e.g. cabbages and cauliflowers), radishes, tiny round carrots, spinach, salad onions and turnips are all suitable.

Onions from seed need a long growing season, and you could sow them now in a heated propagator, for planting out in March. This is how exhibition growers manage to get large bulbs for shows.

The mildest south-west regions of the country could get away with sowing seed directly into the ground - if the winter is mild, and the ground has been covered for the previous few weeks. Tunnel cloches or polythene sheeting are ideal covers. Lettuces, radishes, early peas, broad beans, spinach and salad onions could work from such early sowings.

Plan a rotation system for vegetable plots to ensure the same crops are not grown in the same beds year after year to help prevent disease build-up.

Clear remaining spent crops from the vegetable garden.

If you have not done so already, dig over and incorporate soil improvers into vacant areas of the vegetable plot. You can cover these areas with thick polythene to keep the soil dry and make it easier to work in the spring - particularly useful for heavy clay soils. Clear polythene will increase the soil temperature, enabling earlier sowings in spring. Black polythene and thick carpet will suppress weeds.

If the weather is reliably dry and frosty, then heavy soils can benefit from being left exposed - the frosts will kill pests and improve soil structure by the continual freezing and thawing of soil water.

Save egg boxes as they will come in handy for potato chitting next month. Source your seed potatoes if you have not already done so.

When gardening on wet soils work from a plank of wood, rather than treading on the bed, to avoid compacting the soil.

Improve the drainage of heavy soils by working in lots of organic matter. Grit will only be effective when used in conjunction with organic matter.

emmaroids

this is a good thread,

i have an allotment (just across the road from my house) 17 quid per year to rent.

and im always looking for tips as im a bit of a novice gardener at the mo lol

my best crops last year were sweetcorn and carrots, and i have onions and garlic in now (since october/november) and there coming on strong,

my first planting of spuds will be goin in soon :beer:

will i have to warm the ground with plastic or should they be ok? given our climate?

Caroline2CV

Check Lidl web site re Special Offers in your area - they change twice a week:

https://www.lidl.co.uk/

Kingston uon Thames branch yesterday - Indoor Mini Greenhouse @ 69p
(container is 5" x 5-1/2")

No of Seeds Name of Veg/Herb/Flower
150 Kohl Rabi
1,000 Parsley - 2 types
450 Basil
50 Tomatoes
7 Red Geranium
60 Yellow Marigold
60 Orange Marigold
10 Ornamental Squash
80 China Aster Mix
15 Chinese Eyelets (?Sweet Williams)
300 Snapdragon

annie123

This is for all new greenfingered mse and those of us who need inspiration each month

Not that I am an expert but I am sure between us we can all come up with what can be done each month as a guide.

It does depend where you live of course so slight adjustments will be needed depending on your local seasons/weather.

• digging over free ground leaving the frost to break up any big lumps
• adding compost, dig in or leave the worms to do it
• plan your garden/allotment so you know what seeds etc to get
• save loo rolls, kitchen rolls, newspaper for making own pots
• start to get/buy seeds many can be planted indoors next month
• keep feeding the birds in your garden
• if the ground is frost free you can plant roses, trees, and bare rooted shrubs
• if you have a pond keep a ball in the water to stop total freeze, that would kill fish and frogs due to gas build up.
• good time to repair fences as you can get to them without stepping on your plants

cant think of anything else at the moment, but I am sure others will be able to add to this list

extra thoughts added 31/12/07

• sow tomato seeds indoors
• Dublin and Vienna lettauce can be sown indoors
• onion seed under glass can be sown
• Asparagus, Freesias, Fuchsias, Gloxinias, and Sweet Peas seeds planted
• Broad Beans and Peas should be sown in succession in warm sheltered positions from the end of the month

pinkteddybear

I've never done a thing in my garden, but this year I'm determined to start growing my own food. Anything that I can, and as much of it as possible.

I need to cut some trees down first though, to free up some space. Getting a £25 incinerator from BnQ if they still sell them to get rid of the branches bit by bit.

I need a compost maker as well.

Them I'm off! Corn on the cob, tomatoes, peas and carrots for dinner every night!

Dustykitten

You could probably freecycle the branches and get rid of them without buying the incinerator.

I have just given up my allotment - to tricky access so plan to remove the lawn from part of my front garden to make a kitchen garden - should I do that soon. What is the best way to remove turf and what should I do with it (it is half grass/half weeds)

Zazen999

Hi

Please don't incinerate them, someone with a wood burner will be more than happy to take them off your hands; even better you could sell them if they are the right sort of tree. There's a guide to what burns best on the old style forum.

We had a huge old apple tree that had to be felled earlier this year; the pile of wood was taller than us. We freecycled it, and one lady came around with a trailer and took 95% of it, as we didn't have the space to store most of it. The rest has kept our wood burner going for most of the winter thus far.

MSE compost maker; old plastic bins which again you can sometime find on freecycle; start filling them and add worms; keep filling and a couple of months after they are full; you should have good compost to use.