By Jennifer Fairfield, owner Garden Mill
This December was a record-breaker – at least for me. This is the first time I have ever planted bulbs on Christmas Day.
I hadn’t planned to plant bulbs on Christmas Day, but the temperature was in the 50’s, and the ground was soft, and I had some bulbs that I hadn’t gotten around to planting, so I figured, “why not?!”
I do still have some left that I didn’t get a chance to get in – because I ran out of daylight – so if we get another warm spell, I may break another record, and get some planted in January – we will have to see what Mother Nature has in store for us (the weather people can’t seem to decide, so I’m just going to take it as it comes – not that I have much choice in the matter).
When you’re a gardener, January is a time for dreaming and planning, and maybe a little doing, too:
Vegetables
My first seed catalog arrived about two weeks ago, and I am betting that others will be showing up soon.
That makes January a great time to plan for the veggie garden. I like to try something new in my garden every year, so going through the catalogs is kind of like a treasure hunt for me. I haven’t decided what the new thing is going to be for 2020, but I’ve got a little bit of time, and there are lots of options out there.
While going through the catalogs, I’m also thinking about what plants didn’t do so well in my garden last year, and deciding whether I want to try them again this year or swap them out for something else.
Another thing to think about is whether there was anything that went to waste because I grew too much, or that I really wish I had grown more of because we just didn’t get enough. All of these will go into my plan for the garden this year.
I use the catalogs to help me make a list of what I want to look for in local stores. Yes, I do buy from others in the area for my own garden, because we all carry different varieties, and because I like supporting other local businesses. I don’t actually buy much from the mail-order catalogs for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I know my dollars spent locally have a much bigger impact on the local economy than those spent online, and I can usually find what I’m looking for right here at home.
In case you are wondering, we generally start getting our seeds by about the first week in February.
Part of the planning process also needs to take into consideration what issues the garden had with disease and pests, and deciding if there is anything that can be done to prevent or mitigate those issues this year – do you need to buy some row covers, or pesticide; is there a better fungicide out there, etc.?
This is also a good time to go through garden tools and supplies to decide if you need to replace things this year. It’s much easier to have a list of things you need, so that you can be prepared when make those trips to your favorite garden shop.
(Publisher’s note: part two will publish tomorrow.)
