There are two things that really need to be done in January in the lower two thirds of our state–starting tomato, pepper and egg plant seeds for transplant and planting asparagus. It is also time to start pruning fruit trees, grapes and perennial ornamentals that have been killed by the freeze.
Vegetables
I don’t want to sound like a nag, but this week is THE PERFECT TIME to plant your tomato seeds. You can also start your pepper and eggplant seeds too. Eggplant will germinate much like the tomato seeds but be prepared to give you pepper seeds a little extra time to sprout.
Besides tomatoes, asparagus is my absolute favorite vegetable to grow and eat. Plant year old crowns now. My favorite is the heirloom “Mary Washington”. However, I have had much luck with many varieties of the “Jersey” series. For more information on planting asparagus check out my post “Growing Asparagus”.
When planting, spread the roots of asparagus crowns over a mound of compost
Ornamentals
Now that we have had a freeze, it is time to trim back some of our perennials. Clumping grasses can be cut back to about ten inches. If your grass clumps did not bloom this year consider dividing them in February. Salvias can be cut back to half of their size. Root Beer plant (Hoja Santo) can be cut to the ground.
Cut clumping grasses back to 10 to 12 inches
Fruit
January and February are the best times to plant bare root fruit trees. Plant them at the depth they were grown. Determine this depth by noticing where the color changes at the top of the roots and the bottom of the trunk.
January is also a good time to prune fruit trees and grapes in the lower two thirds of our state.
****Be sure to check out my friend Bart’s blog (Our Garden View) for more great tips for the Central and South Central garden!
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January is good time to prune fruit trees. Definitely do a little research before you start cutting.