January Gardening Chores
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Keep newly-planted mums, right, mulched and watered through winter. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)
January Gardening Chores
Snow and ice covers my mid-Missouri garden but that doesn’t mean I don’t have chores to do. I garden in USDA Hardiness zone 6B, AHS heat zone 8.
Hardiness Zone: According to US Department of Agriculture, the Hardiness Zones are based on the average annual minimum winter temperature divided into 10-degree F zones, which give a range of temperatures for a certain plant or tree. The hardiness zones for the Midwest fluctuate more than other zones but average Zones 4, 5 and 6.
These zones are averaged over 13 years and adjusted accordingly. There may be major adjustments in a couple of years due to our rapidly changing climate. Predictions for the Midwest have included longer springs and falls, shorter winters and summers; and higher summer temperatures. These changes are occurring very fast, challenging nature to adjust.
Those temperature swings mean we can still have winters that need hardier plants to survive.
Heat Zone: American Horticulture Society has started to divide the US into heat zones. Plants that can survive in temperatures over 90F for more than 90 days are plants in Heat Zone 8.
January Gardening Chores
The following are some of my January gardening chores:
1. Does dreaming count as a job? It does if you’re a gardener and beekeeper in January. It’s downtime to review last year’s diaries and plan for this year.
2. Identify what plants you want to add this year and note what soil and sun requirements they will need. Focus on adding native plants. Once established, native plants will be low care and excel in local soil and weather conditions. Natives also have a relationship with local insects, pollinators and birds.
3. Plan on expanding flowerbeds to start removing grass from your property. Expanding flowerbeds will give you areas to plant vegetables as well as flowers and provide more food for pollinators. One way to start expanding flowerbeds is to place cardboard along the existing flowerbed edge and then move the flower bed border early spring. Mulch on the cardboard will keep the garden looking nice and help restore healthy soil conditions.
4. Before the winter storm I mulched roses, potted seedlings and my nursery stash to protect them from changing temperatures. If you don’t have a winter storm, this is a good time to mulch plants to maintain the soil temperature. If you have a winter storm, the snow will provide plants some protection.
5. Mums wintering over in the garage were covered in shredded leaves. I check them regularly to make sure their roots are wet. If you planted some in the garden last fall, check them regularly for moisture. Most mums need a gallon of water a month during winter season.
6. Order catalogs you have used in the past and share catalogs you don’t need or use. One of my favorites is the Missouri Wildflowers Nursery Native Plants catalog, it has lovely pictures with a quick guide on what growing conditions native plants require and they offer great plant starts.
7. Order locally-adapted seed catalogs. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is a favorite seed catalog from Mansfield, Missouri.
8. Read. Whether it is gardening books, gardening catalogs and beekeeping magazines, catch up on what you couldn’t get to last year.
9. Remove ice-covered and broken limbs in pathways to keep walkways clear and safe.
10. Check inside plants for any hitchhiking bugs and remove. Remember to look under leaves. Make sure inside plants are getting their sunlight needs met. If not, move them. Water with diluted fertilizer. Prune as necessary, I use metal sewing thread snips. The thread snips make it easy to trim plants and keep them bushy.
11. Drop your garden pruners and other garden tools to get sharpened. Home and garden centers with service departments can usually sharpen tools.
12. Start scouting where you can install rain barrels and totes to collect rain water off your gutter system. Observe what happens to rain and photograph so you can refer to the rain pattern later.
13. Enjoy the lower winter activity; gardeners and beekeepers need time to rejuvenate, too.
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