I know it’s January…but your garden needs you!

Lots to do in the Winter Garden

Yes, it's January...the time of year in Texas when people like to pretend there's nothing they could possibly do in the garden. Not so my friend, not so!

After catching every virus known to man this past fall (jump from 2009 to 2024 and I apparently still catch every known virus from fall through winter!), I'm finally feeling my spry self again and managed to get a bunch of gardening done this past weekend. I cleaned up the mess that was my front display beds and planted all my spring-flowering bulbs, which always include a few hundred tulips, Dutch Iris, daffodils, grape hyacinth and so on and so forth. My bulb collection is getting out of hand.

Each year as I go to plant new bulbs, I inevitably dig up some already inhabiting that spot. Then I feel so guilty and have to apologize to the poor little bulbs I just disturbed from their winter slumber. Also managed to get some composted cow manure worked into the veggie beds along with a bit of clean up.

Winter Vegetable Garden

Again, January is a great time for the cool-season veggie garden in southern climates. Right now I've got tons masses of lettuce greens going gangbusters, radishes the size of my fist (that's what happens when you leave them in the garden too long!), turnips, tons of broccoli to harvest, collard greens, baby cabbages on the way along with baby Brussels sprouts. Which btw, if you've never grown and tasted your own Brussels sprouts you DO NOT know what you're missing. They are super easy to grow here and you'll never taste anything like them from the grocery store.

Carrots are coming along, but not quite ready to harvest. I have the prettiest stand of Fava beans you ever did see...obviously they are not producing right now, but if I can get them through the last round of freezes I'll hopefully have an 09 harvest from them. Let's see, what else, oh, Pak Choi and spinach and the cutest baby cauliflower heads. I promise I'll get photos posted soon.

Next week I'll be starting my seeds of tomatoes and a few other warm season crops along with a second round of Cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, etc.). Spinach seeds can go outside now along with onion sets and slips. Next month I'll start direct seeding more salad greens, carrots, herbs, plant seed potatoes, rhubarb and more. I might even start an asparagus patch this year. There is just so much to do!

If you live in Texas, January is a great time to prep your beds, harvest cool season veggies if you got 'em, plant your bulbs if you didn't when you were supposed to (December), plant dormant fruit trees and any container grown hardy trees and shrubs. Pansies, violas, Iceland poppies and the like can also be planted here right now. And start your spring veggies!