[New shoot]

It is January I know, but it really is a waiting game isn’t it.

My seed potatoes have arrived and are in the shed.  They are not set out to chit yet, but even then I am looking at months before plant them.

The early onions are sown and germinated.  It will be weeks before they make it to the greenhouse, let alone the plot.

The next sowings will be aubergine, pepper and chillies, but it is way too early for me yet as the greenhouse is unheated, so unless I want towering plants on the windowsills, I know it has to wait.

I’ve convinced myself I need shallots and ordered them - I am sure out of pure impatience.  My reasoning (you will love this) is that I want them to pickle for next Christmas.  We have only just had the last one 

It is all sooooooooo slow at this time of year 

[mumofstig]

  Shallot seed? You are not alone....
I had a nose at what Vegmandan was doing (remember him?) and found this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4YZsaZErBQ
so guess what I ordered? 

[sunshineband]

My hands hurt from sitting on them, so I have done a complete veg seed stock take and, to keep me dreaming, listed everything I have, which tbh is more than most people could possibly imagine But did did take out duplicates, thing that are viable still but I won't use, which was a large washing up bowl overflowing with seed packets, and am handing it round friends, for them to help themselves and add their "overstocks" as well. So far it is quite popular... two people booked for a Sunday rummage!
 The theory behind the list is that it might stop me buying things I either already have or are not going to use this year...how many varieties of carrot does on person actually need??

Oh, and I have bags of compost indoors warming up for sowing Broad Beans and Leeks at the weekend 

[rowlandwells]

I think we all mite be getting itchy feet to start the new garden season me included and I'm getting impatient  to start on the plot I keep looking at the seeds I've bought also getting my chitting boxes ready for the seed potatoes due the end of the month looking at the spring cabbage growing in pots in the poly tunnel saying please plant me

 looking at the onion seed my wife sowed the other week are they ever going to emerge should we sow our shallots seed i ask myself I said to the wife  we need to go down the G'C to see if there got onion sets and shallots in just encase the seeds don't grow

 I think I've got the January blues 

[Christine]

I'm just back from shifting the last of the usable home made compost onto allotment soil and re-organising the compost bins for the coming season. Does that count as long term veg investment for the season. Look - there were 5 big bins and one small one plus there was a pile of face down turves to sort out. I still only have one empty bin, two part bins that are due to be topped up ongoing, one small empty one and one with no lid that has leaves in.

Onion sets went into trays before Christmas and have been transferred to this season's beds under netting against the flying squad to grow on now they have roots. Was a bit late with the garlic - didn't do winter garlic so the spring garlic went into tubs to get roots down last Sunday.

Have asked the family what to grow and they haven't yet realised we are down to one allotment a year on. Now I have time to wonder what to do next. 

[comfreykid]

We are all like a big group of caged tigers !! .  I’m currently filling bag after bag of well composted Christmas tree shredding from a huge pile at work , it’s great for mulching the rasps and mixing with the spud mulch.
It’s also great for spreading thickly on the paths separating my beds , keeps them from getting too soggy this time of the year.
Just laid out my seed spuds on egg trays to chit and will be buying shallots as soon as they are in stock at GC.
They will be started in 15 cell trays in the unheated  g/house soon.
Bought several 2kg bags of white mustard green manure from the trading hut recently , only £1.00 a pop  !.
Roll on the lighter evenings 

[lettice]

January is always that month you just want to finish to start the first load of sowing in February.

But still plenty to do and get on with.
First week of January;
 pruned my raspberries, gooseberries, oregano, marjoram, sage, bay trees and weigela florida polka.
Last week;
A good load of homemade compost down over the raspberries. gooseberries, rhubarb (that has just started sprouting nicely) and over the asparagus bed.
Cleaned and washed all the small to large pots and set out all the egg boxes for the seed potatoes.
The early spuds will see the light sitting in their egg boxes next week. Another month yet for the maincrop to see the light.
Did lay out a couple of new raised beds (instead of loads of pots) and fill with a good mix of garden soil, multi purpose compost and home made compost ready for my regular sown crop of Marmande and San Marzano tomatoes to grow in later.

Looking like a nice few dry sunny days here next week;
So a good opportunity for the annual clean top to bottom of the greenhouse.
Will clean and oil (well wd40) of all the gardening tools.
Will rake in all the veg peelings I've thrown over the raised beds and garden plots during the late Autumn and winter for the upcoming early potatoes and broad beans. Mind the worms have pulled most of it down.
Last Jan week, I will be;
Composting up the french and runner beans plot soil areas.

This month a few times a week picking kale, spinach, leeks, spring onions and herbs.
Constantly topping up the birds with homemade fat balls, seeds, mealworms and suet pellets, leftover homemade bread and water topups. They are so greedy and thirsty this time of year

[Grubbypaws]

My Jazzy potatoes have started forming chits despite being in an unheated garage. I didn't want the chits to be pallid and fragile so I have put them in my cold cellar where there is a little light; enough for them to green up. I am not sure that I have done right but I didn't feel that I had much choice. Hopefully it will be too cold for them to grow much but the little light will keep them robust.

[Growster...]

Two bags of Pentland Javelin are safely installed here, and while they're showing no shoots, I'm wondering what the heck I'm going to to do when they get going soon!

It's January - heh, we all do this don't we!

Leeks in very soon too - I want a double row of fabulous s**s!

And sweet peas...

[Snow]

Only chillis for me so far under lights and I did put some broad beans in modules in the greenhouse. I'll  wait till end of February to do anything else.

[Dekzion]

My plots are dug and weeded then muiched heavily, tidied the shed (threw out nothing) Scored a nice BBQ ready for summer (threw out for bin, never used!) battled the historic weeds in the flower bed (Dug a pond in it last year nothing else) last autumn I went to Totton and bought 10 plastic pallets for a three bay compost heap (Associated Pallets, £10 each) which should be good for many years! Purchased all of my seeds, I am growing a limited amount of each this year as we 'like variety not quantity' I'm told. Spaghetti Squashes went well last year so they are on the list, strangely though the winter squashes were pathetic (I'm growing all curcubits vertical).
The local vicar wants to do a plant sale this year in aid of The Sudan so she has zillions of everything and isn't scared of buying potting compost in 1 ton bags (she's on solid clay so we are battling that at the moment) I have potted on 50 Dahlias and have around 1000 antirrhinums sown last week just starting to show but have to source a lot of pallets to make a 30 foot temporary cold frame to get these seedlings in later.
 January for me is always a case of hanging around, and being self employed there's always lack of funds because I spend too much time browsing!
Long term veg investment?? Taunton Deane Kale! Love it! This is it's second Spring and it's two metre high and producing fantastically. trying to work out when to take cuttings as last year they just rotted.