The Ojibwe people revere the moon as a “cherished relative.” Grandmother Moon, as they refer to this planetary mass, radiates love and encouragement for every being on earth by holding our world together. Gardening is kind of like that, don’t you think? We grow the food and flowers that bind us with nourishment for the body and soul.
I can’t remember a New Year’s Day in recent memory where I could still see my garden, not just the outline under the snow. I have to remind myself not to get too far ahead in my garden plans. And planning is what we can do “in the garden” on these cold days in the first month of the year.
I take the advice of Kathy Kangas, purveyor of locally grown cut flowers and owner of Kathy’s Cut Flowers.
“I figure out what grew well last year and what I want to continue to grow and I get rid of whatever isn’t producing well, “ says Kangas. “Before I start my seeds I like to know how many of that variety I have room for and I usually start a few extra but for the most part every seed I start has a place to go so I’m not wasting money or time painting crops I won’t have room for.”
Good advice! And I would add for northern vegetable gardeners, order seeds that can ripen in our shorter growing season (which is getting a little longer). I choose varieties that will mature in 65-70 days, although some exceptions exist. For example, if I can only get an 80-85 day pumpkin variety, I’ll do some things to “extend the season,” like grow them in a hoop house and/or start them indoors a few weeks ahead of the last frost.
January is also a good time to inventory the tools you’re using to garden. I’m getting to the age where I’m down for anything that makes gardening easier and a little less back-breaking. I think people of all ages will appreciate the following gardening tools:
- The garden kneeler (which doubles as a chair to pick beans from or simply take a break.
- Cobra Weeder
- Korean hand plow (recommended by Kathy Kangas, who has a lot of beds to weed!
- Proplugger bulb planter and turf repair tool
- 2-wheel wheelbarrow
- Back support
- Raised bed kit
- Little Mule Multi Cart
- The garden kneeler
Of course, it’s also a great time to mull over the garden catalogs. My favorite, and the one I buy from the most is Jung Seeds & Plants. I like to check out their new offerings, like their Blue Lake Superior Bush Bean. I don’t think they’re talking about Gitche Gumee here, but I still like the sounds of it and may try it this year. They’re also offering a new strawberry variety, Galletta strawberry, which is supposed to perform well in heavy, aka, clay soils.
As if I don’t get enough seed catalogs in the mail, there is a new one (to me) that arrived in my box: Sow Amazing. I like the prices ($3.25-$3.50 for most seed packets), $5.99 flat shipping and two freebies (I love freebies!), a 42-day tomato and a Japanese sunflower, called Taiyo, if–there is always a catch, right?-you order by February 29th.
I normally don’t do much gardening indoors in January. However, this month will be different. I’m going to take about 75 cuttings from pink and red geraniums. When they’re close to blooming I’ll plant them in containers for our deck and patio and also use them in some planters I prepare for others.
Garden word(s) of the month: organic gardening. Organic gardening is simply gardening without harmful chemicals. This includes insecticides and fertilizers. Some people say that it doesn’t matter if the major nutrients come from a granular (high salts) fertilizer or something like cow manure. However, constant feeding with chemical fertilizers adds nothing to the composition of the soil, especially beneficial microbes. Also, the salts will eventually cause the soil to become crusty and result in poor aeration, which you may have seen with houseplants that have been fed chemical fertilizers for a long time. Use compost and well-rotted manure to build soil structure and products like fish fertilizers and Espoma’s Plant-tone to give your plants a little boost, naturally while enhancing microbial activity in the soil.
I shiver when I hear people (and I still do) say they use Sevin on their vegetable plants. Sevin is used extensively in commercial agriculture, and we no doubt have eaten plants sprayed with the stuff. But it doesn’t pass the smell test with organic gardeners or OMRI. OMRI is a nonprofit organization that lists products deemed safe to use for organic gardening. I try to stay away from any product that requires a moon suit to apply it. Many other products out there will kill insects and control fungus, like neem oil, horticultural oil, and products with pyrethrums.
Here are a few tips for gardening in January.
Curl up with your favorite garden catalog or book and watch the snow come down. It’s too early to start any vegetable plants, like tomatoes or peppers. The only reason I’m starting geranium cuttings this early is that it takes them about three months to flower from a cutting and I want them flowering when I plant them. Plus, I don’t always follow my own advice!!
Happy gardening!
Neil