January Job List
• Buy your seeds - we are stockists of King's, Mr Fothergill's plus many Peas and Beans sold loose
• Buy and start 'chitting' Seed Potatoes in a frost-free, light place - we have 30 varieties, all sold loose!
• Mulch beds to nourish soil with well-rotted Horse Manure such as Violet Farms or Strulch (mineralised straw), so long as ground not too frozen or water-logged
• Start off Onion sets and Shallots in modules for planting out when weather permits
• Sow Lettuce & Spinach under cover
• Sow hardy Herbs in cold frames or heated propagators - our range of Suffolk Herbs is very wide
• Winter-prune Apple & Pear Trees
• Plant fruit: traditional favourites like Raspberries & Blackcurrants but why not explore the more unusual such as Goji Berries or Lingonberries?
• Start to 'force' Rhubarb with an upturned bin / bucket, but frost-protect the crown
• Plant bare-root hedging (if weather permits) - we have a wide range, sold singularly for £3.99 each
• Clean, sharpen and oil tools.
• Clean all surfaces of your greenhouses and clear and organise potting areas, shed and labels.
• Watch out for those freezing temperatures for our feathered friends! Keep bird feeders topped up regularly with our range of Tom Chambers birdfood. Provide shallow water.
• Protect tender plants from frost using fleece (we sell Horticultural Fleece by the metre) or mulch
• Put up bird nesting boxes - we sell many types
• Cut back ornamental grasses and dead foliage to tidy beds – remembering not to be too tidy as some of our beneficial insects are still sleeping in those areas!
January ...
February Job List
• Finalise crop rotation plans for the year
• Sow Tomatoes & Peppers in a glasshouse at 21C
• Sow Sweetpeas to plant out in early May
• Cut back ornamental Grasses & other perennials left for winter interest
• Sow vegetables under cover to plant out in cloches in March
• Plant Snowdrops ‘in-the-green’ - we will have nursery-raised singles and doubles
• Clean the glass on cold frames and greenhouses to maximise the spring lighting!
• Prune roses – except ramblers which wait until summer
• Sow hardy annuals undercover
• Lift and divide congested perennials if the soil allows
• Prune currants and gooseberries
• Protect blossom on early fruit with fleece
• Repair fences, trellis, raised beds and paths
• Clear moss and algae from paths with sharp sand and a stiff broom
• Keep and eye out for overwintering pests and remove by hand
• Clean bird boxes ready for this years brood
February ...
