January Gardening Tips

Need to do something different this year?  Design a new herb garden! Plan the design and which herbs to go where.  There are some great websites for help with this:    
http://www.backyardgardener.com/herb/            http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/design/handbooks/herbgarden/1.html
These are just a couple to get you started.

The seed and garden supplies catalogs are rolling in.  When it gets cold and rainy some evening, browse thru them and dream  of spring.

If you did not spread any fertilizer on your hydrangeas in the fall, now is the time to apply aluminum sulfate for blue hydrangeas, and lime for pink flowers.

If there is a hard freeze predicted, water your beds deeply to protect them.

Vegetable seeds can be sown now or early spring crops: peas, dill, chives.

Vegetable plants can be planted: sugar snap peas, broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage later in the month.

Feed pansies every 2 weeks to encourage more growth.

Keep an eye out on your houseplants for spider mites scale and mealy bugs.

Begin any heavy pruning on trees and shrubs, except on the more tender plants.  A heavy freeze could kill off any new growth.

Treat plants infected with scale insects with dormant oils.

If needed, apply broadleaf weed killers to the ones growing in the lawn.

If you have an amaryllis, save the bulb to plant outdoors when the ground warms up.

Make sure you are giving your houseplants as much light as you can.  They get tall and leggy without enough light.

Kitchen tongs are useful in repotting cacti.  No stickers in fingers.