What to do in the garden in January

We still might be in the throws of winter, but spring is just around the corner. If you start preparing your garden now, then you’ll be ready to hit the ground running (err, planting) come springtime.

We still might be in the throws of winter, but spring is just around the corner. If you start preparing your garden now, then you’ll be ready to hit the ground running (err, planting) come springtime.

Just because it’s too cold outside to get your hands dirty in the garden doesn’t mean there aren’t tasks to do.

Here is a to-do list of what to do in the garden in January:

Check seed inventory. Make note of what seeds you have left from last year and throw out any that are too old. If you have a lot of seed packages at hand, now’s also a good time to get them organized. Determine which seeds were your favorites from last year and which you don’t want to plant again.

Plan your garden. Digging a new garden space might be out of the question in this cold, but you could visualize and start writing up plans for what you want your garden to look like come spring, including the types of plants you want.

Order more seeds. If ordering seeds from a catalog or online, now’s the time to place your order so you can start seeds indoors soon.

Replenish supplies. Have a gardening tool that needs to be replaced? Low on supplies that are needed to start seeds next month? Check your inventory and replenish supplies so that you have them on hand when needed.

Keep attracting wildlife. Until the cold months pass and you are able to spend weekends outdoors, give yourself something to look at outside by keeping the bird-feeders stocked up.

Don’t worry, spring will be here before you know it.