UK growing guide · Winter
What can I plant in January?
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January is a quiet month on a UK allotment, but it is not an empty one. These are the vegetables to plant in January in the UK: hardy sowings under cover, garlic if the soil will let you, and winter crops that are still worth picking.
I treat January as a planning month first. Seed catalogues, a sketch of the beds, and a note of what failed last year will save more crops than an impatient sowing on a dark windowsill.
What to sow in January
Vegetables to plant in January in the UK, split between sowing under cover and sowing outside.
Indoors or under cover
Most January sowings want a greenhouse, a cold frame, or a bright windowsill. Without decent light, seedlings stretch and never really recover.
Onions — from seed, in a cool bright place- Leeks — under cover, for planting out in summer
- Chillies — warmth from a heated propagator
Sweet peppers — same warmth as chillies
Aubergines — slow, so an early start helps
Tomatoes — only with strong light, or wait until February
Lettuce — greenhouse or a bright sill- Broad beans — in pots if the ground is frozen
Outdoors
Outdoor sowing only makes sense in a mild spell, on ground that is neither frozen nor sodden. If your boots pick up a slab of soil, leave it alone.
- Broad beans — under a cloche, mild gardens
Garlic — cloves, in free-draining soil- Shallots — a mild spell, well-drained bed
What to plant out in January
Almost nothing tender goes outside in January. The useful planting is dormant fruit and, where the soil is workable, garlic you did not get in during autumn.
- Garlic — pointed end up, if autumn planting was missed
- Bare-root fruit trees and bushes — while dormant, not into frozen ground
What to harvest in January
The plot can still feed you. Pick little and often, and check anything you stored in autumn before one bad apple spoils the crate.
Brussels sprouts — pick from the bottom of the stem- Leeks
Kale- Parsnips — left in the ground
- Winter cabbage and savoys
- Stored potatoes, onions and apples — check for rot
January jobs on the plot
The jobs that matter in January are the unglamorous ones. Do them on a dry day and the spring rush is kinder.
Order seed and sketch the beds
Note what grew where last year. Brassicas, potatoes and the onion family all prefer a fresh patch.
Chit early seed potatoes
Stand them in a cool, light, frost-free place so short green shoots form. Dark cupboards give you long pale ones.
Prune apples and pears
Winter is the time for apple and pear trees, on a day that is not freezing. Leave plums, cherries and other stone fruit until summer, or you risk silver leaf.
Stay off frozen or waterlogged soil
Walking and digging on wet clay smears the structure. Mulch empty beds instead, and wash pots ready for spring.
Frost and where you garden
North and south in January
Frost is normal across the UK in January. Hard frosts are more common inland, on high ground, and the further north you garden. A sunny afternoon does not mean the night will stay above freezing.
Further north, and high ground
In northern England, Scotland and on exposed plots, keep broad beans and garlic under cover unless the soil is genuinely workable. Outdoor sowing can wait. Fleece and a cold frame earn their keep.
The south and sheltered coasts
In the south and south-west, and on sheltered coastal plots, a mild week is a fair time to plant garlic and sow broad beans under a cloche. Heavy clay still stays cold, so pots are the safer start if the bed is wet.
Easy mistakes in January
January mistakes are usually about rushing. The plants are not in a hurry, and neither should you be.
Sowing tomatoes into a dark room
A windowsill in January is dim. Unless you have a heated propagator and decent light, those plants become leggy. Late February or March is kinder.
Working soil that is frozen or sodden
You will damage the structure and the seed will sit and rot. Wait until a handful of soil crumbles, rather than smears.
Pruning stone fruit in winter
Apples and pears are fine to prune now. Plums and cherries are not. Silver leaf disease gets in through winter cuts.
Forgetting the stores
One soft onion or apple spoils its neighbours. Look through the crate every week or two.
Keep January on the dashboard
Sproutly is a web garden diary for UK fruit and veg growers. Add the plants and the jobs, then see what's due on your dashboard.
Record your sowings
Note what you sowed in January, and which bed it went in.
Plan the month's jobs
Add planting, covering and picking as tasks with a due date.
See what's due
Your dashboard shows what's due and what's overdue. Sproutly does not email you or send a push to your phone.
Sketch the beds
Use the garden planner to try a layout before you plant it for real.
Ready to plan your January garden?
Add this month's plants and jobs to your diary. Basic is free for up to 3 plants and 3 tasks. Pro is £5 a month if you want more, including recurring tasks.
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Gardening advice is provided as a general guide based on typical UK conditions. Weather soil and local climate can vary so always use your judgement and adjust timing as needed for your own garden.