1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:04,480 Welcome to Gardening with Ben, the podcast where we dig into the soil of 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:09,080 our gardens and the depths of our green funds. I'm your host, Ben, 3 00:00:09,359 --> 00:00:12,839 here to guide you through the joys of gardening, from sowing seeds to 4 00:00:12,919 --> 00:00:18,280 reaping bountiful harvests. Each episode will explore tips, tricks, and tales from 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:24,800 the garden and allotment, sharing insights from ourself and stories from our own back 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,719 garden adventures. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just getting your hands dirty for 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,960 the first time, there's something here for everyone, So grab your brew and 8 00:00:34,039 --> 00:00:40,479 gardening gloves and let's get growing. With Gardening with Ben. Hello, and 9 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:46,039 welcome to the Gardening with Ben podcast, where we delve into the art and 10 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:51,079 joy of gardening in the garden and allotment. In this episode, we're focusing 11 00:00:51,079 --> 00:00:55,880 on the perfect plants to start in January. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,200 just starting out, this time of year offers unique opportunities for planting. We'll 13 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:06,760 explore which vegetables and flowers thrive in the cooler months, and how to prepare 14 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:11,040 your soil for early planting, and tips for indoor gardening to kickstart your spring 15 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:17,480 garden so grab your gloves and join us as we dig into the best planting 16 00:01:17,719 --> 00:01:25,519 strategies for January. Let's get gardening. So one of my favorite episodes that 17 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:32,040 I do love to record from a podcast, which I have to admit I 18 00:01:32,079 --> 00:01:34,319 did not do last year, but we are going to get them done this 19 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,400 year, so make sure you do hit that subscribe button. We're going to 20 00:01:38,439 --> 00:01:45,400 be talking about what to plant in January and every month we'll record this episode 21 00:01:45,439 --> 00:01:49,400 telling you each thing's what you can plant ready for your allotment and gardening. 22 00:01:49,799 --> 00:01:53,560 And remember this is from the UK, so all the advice is for the 23 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:57,760 UK, but it also goes down to the weather and the temperature as well, 24 00:01:59,159 --> 00:02:02,760 So sometimes take some stuff with a pinch of salt because it all depends 25 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:07,639 on the weather in your area. And sometimes with gardening and it being a 26 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:13,639 new year, everybody gets a little bit excited and gets too carried away and 27 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,560 starts stuff too early. Sometimes it's good to wait a couple of months until 28 00:02:17,599 --> 00:02:23,039 it warms up and then gets starting all those seeds. So these are just 29 00:02:23,159 --> 00:02:28,960 some ideas of the sort of things that you can be starting to sew in 30 00:02:29,039 --> 00:02:34,400 each month. And in this episode we'll be talking about what vegetables plant, 31 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,520 what fruits plan, what hurbs to get growing, and what flowers to get 32 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:44,520 growing, because flowers are a vital part of an allotment, and without the 33 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:49,240 flowers, the bees won't appear and they won't help pollinate the other plants. 34 00:02:49,759 --> 00:02:53,960 And more bees that you get to your plot, the more produce you will 35 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,960 get because they're helping. They're doing the work that needs to be done. 36 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,319 They're pollinating, which creates the fruit and the vegetables on your plant. So 37 00:03:02,479 --> 00:03:07,560 make sure he gets growing some flowers on your allotment. And I went down 38 00:03:07,599 --> 00:03:10,199 to my plot today and had a little luck and all the spring bulbs are 39 00:03:10,199 --> 00:03:15,400 starting to pop through. So it's going to look absolutely fantastic. We'll talk 40 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:21,240 about that in another episode coming up. So, like I said, in 41 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,360 this episode, we're going to talk about what to plant each month, and 42 00:03:25,719 --> 00:03:30,240 in this month, we're going to be talking about the month of January as 43 00:03:30,319 --> 00:03:34,479 it is a new year and new month, and yeah, we're getting ready 44 00:03:34,479 --> 00:03:38,599 to start sawing those seeds and getting excited and growing for the year. And 45 00:03:38,759 --> 00:03:42,159 I always love this time of year because it's a new year, it's a 46 00:03:42,199 --> 00:03:45,840 new start, it's time to try stuff again. If it's failed before, 47 00:03:46,199 --> 00:03:49,599 give it a try again. You never know, you may have success this 48 00:03:49,919 --> 00:03:54,120 year. So first off, we're going to talk about what vegetables plant in 49 00:03:54,199 --> 00:03:59,719 January. And there's not many vegetables that you can plant in January because like 50 00:04:00,039 --> 00:04:04,879 the weather is very cold at the moment and very wet. So it's a 51 00:04:04,919 --> 00:04:09,840 case of just having a look and seeing what stuff we can be getting going 52 00:04:09,879 --> 00:04:13,479 off with. So the first thing I need to say is make sure you've 53 00:04:13,479 --> 00:04:15,399 got a little notebook or something where you can make a note of some of 54 00:04:15,399 --> 00:04:19,000 these stuff what you can start growing, and let me know, let me 55 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,959 know if you're going to be starting And I'm always an Instagram message away. 56 00:04:24,319 --> 00:04:28,040 If you follow me on Instagram, send me a message and let me know 57 00:04:28,199 --> 00:04:31,240 what you're growing. So first off, the first thing that you can get 58 00:04:31,319 --> 00:04:39,240 growing this time of month are broad beans. But when you're growing broad beans 59 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,160 at this time a month, there need to be winter hardy ones. There 60 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:46,040 need to be ones that can cope with the cold weather, the ones that 61 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:51,319 wouldn't get killed off with the frost. So make sure you check the variety 62 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:57,240 and make sure that it is a winter hard eight variety. When you're grow 63 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,240 in them, and the best thing to do it this time of year is 64 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,639 start them off in pots in the greenhouse. A. It'll be a bit 65 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:10,759 warmer in there, and B it will protect them from the birds and the 66 00:05:10,879 --> 00:05:14,439 rats and the squibbles. Because there's not much food around at the moment. 67 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,680 The birds will come and pinch them, and the rats will mellow out and 68 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:23,000 they'll come and eat them and take them all. So the best thing to 69 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,639 do is start them off in a greenhouse or a polytunnel where it is a 70 00:05:26,639 --> 00:05:30,800 bit warmer, get them growing to a decent high, and then plant them 71 00:05:30,879 --> 00:05:35,720 out when they are ready, probably around late February beginning of March, so 72 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:42,879 it starts them off now and give them a try. Next up is celery. 73 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,040 Now I've never grown celerbay because I cannot stand the stuff, so I 74 00:05:47,079 --> 00:05:53,240 am not an expert whatsoever on salarbay. But celerate needs to be started this 75 00:05:53,399 --> 00:05:57,800 month if you are wanting to start it to grow, because it takes so 76 00:05:58,079 --> 00:06:01,959 long to grow, you need to get started in January with it. And 77 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,000 the best thing to do is either start it off on a light window sill 78 00:06:05,439 --> 00:06:10,879 or in a heated propagator. They won't germinate in a cold greenhouse. It 79 00:06:10,959 --> 00:06:15,560 needs to be nice and warm and a warm environment. So if you're wanting 80 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,680 to start some salary, the best month is to start it off now. 81 00:06:19,879 --> 00:06:26,600 But don't go sharing it with me because I will not eat it. Next 82 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:31,199 up are onions. Now. Are you wanting to grow some massive onions? 83 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,079 Now is the time to be started them off. And this is a month 84 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:40,199 to be starting your onions off if you're wanting to start them from seed, 85 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:45,800 because this will give them the chance to grow nice and big and huge ready 86 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:48,560 for those exhibitions. If you are wanting to put one show. I've never 87 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:54,560 put anything in any shows myself because I'm not an expert and I cannot get 88 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,680 them to grow massive. I've tried, but I cannot get huge onions to 89 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,480 grow. So if you're wanting to start some onions off from seed, now 90 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:10,000 is the time to be doing them. And again you'll need to start them 91 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,519 off on a wind still or in a heat of propagator to get them to 92 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:20,920 Germany and to get them growing. Now, potatoes, potatoes will start appearing 93 00:07:20,959 --> 00:07:26,560 in all the shops. All the seed potatoes will start showing up around. 94 00:07:27,279 --> 00:07:33,800 And there's a question. What I always ask is to chip potatoes or not 95 00:07:33,839 --> 00:07:40,240 to chet. Chitting means putting them on a window sill and letting them start 96 00:07:40,279 --> 00:07:44,120 sprouting. When you don't chit them, you just put them straight into the 97 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,680 soil and let them grow. But chitting them usually starts them off and gets 98 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:54,720 some stronger and gets the eyes growing, some shoots from them, and it 99 00:07:54,759 --> 00:08:00,480 gets the ready and started early, so it can sometimes help produce more and 100 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:05,600 more crops. So I always start hitting them. So now is the time 101 00:08:05,639 --> 00:08:09,959 to start hitting your potatoes to plant out ready in March April time around Easter 102 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:16,399 at time. So have a look around all the garden centers or the DIY 103 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,160 stores and have a lot to see and try and find some potatoes, get 104 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:26,079 them in, get them in some boxes with eyes facing upwards and put them 105 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:31,600 on a window sill and yeah, see if they start shooting, and then 106 00:08:31,639 --> 00:08:35,960 get them ready to plant out in March April time. So that is all 107 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,240 the vegetables that you can start growing this month. Now, like I said, 108 00:08:41,279 --> 00:08:46,240 there's not many that you can start this month as obviously it is very 109 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:48,960 cold. As the months go on, there will be loads and loads more 110 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:54,679 stuff what we can be planting. So these episodes will get longer and longer 111 00:08:54,000 --> 00:09:00,919 as the bumps get closer to the warmer seasons. So next up are herbs. 112 00:09:01,279 --> 00:09:05,559 Now, it's too cold to be starting any herbs in any greenhouse or 113 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:09,519 polytonal or planting any outside. It's too cold for them to be growing. 114 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,799 So if you're wanting to start some herbs off, the best advice is start 115 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,879 some off on a window salt in some pots if you're wanting to start them 116 00:09:16,879 --> 00:09:22,000 off nice and early, or sometimes what people do is to buy the herbs 117 00:09:22,039 --> 00:09:31,440 from the shops in the plant pots already because you can buy them nice and 118 00:09:31,519 --> 00:09:33,879 cheap, they're not too expensive, and then they'll pot them on and then 119 00:09:33,919 --> 00:09:39,759 plant them out later on. One's nice and big and the cold weather's gone 120 00:09:39,799 --> 00:09:45,399 so it doesn't kill them often make them get frost and killed. So yeah, 121 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,639 not many herbs can be planted this time of you. So next up 122 00:09:48,759 --> 00:09:54,559 after that is what fruit can be planted? Now. Now is the time 123 00:09:54,879 --> 00:10:01,879 to be planting bear rooted fruit trees again. The reason why we plant the 124 00:10:01,879 --> 00:10:07,399 fruit trees around now is because of the wet weather. The wet weather will 125 00:10:07,399 --> 00:10:11,519 help the fruit trees take and if you're plant them in some of these struggle 126 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:16,840 to get the water that they need to get rooted and get growing and get 127 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,440 nice and healthy. So if you're wanting any fruit trees in your garden or 128 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,840 allotment, now is the time to be doing it. So have a look 129 00:10:24,879 --> 00:10:28,519 around. There's some good bargains around. I've purchased some good ones from the 130 00:10:28,519 --> 00:10:33,679 supermarkets in the past and they're doing fantastic on the plot. So have a 131 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:37,360 look around, have a look at some bargains and see what you can plant. 132 00:10:37,399 --> 00:10:41,639 And remember, once you plant it, it's going to be there forever. 133 00:10:41,039 --> 00:10:45,399 So make sure you choose the right spot to plant it in because I've 134 00:10:45,399 --> 00:10:48,399 planted a few in the wrong places, which I should have done. But 135 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:56,039 yeah, remember there will be there forever. Next up are raspberries. Now 136 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:58,200 is the time to be planting your raspberry canes. You can give a buy 137 00:10:58,279 --> 00:11:03,519 some fruit in raspberries or autumn fruit in raspberries. My personal choice, I 138 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:09,799 prefer the autumn raspberries to summer raspberries. They seem to produce bigger berries and 139 00:11:09,879 --> 00:11:13,879 more crops. And with the autumn raspberries, you chop the cane down at 140 00:11:13,919 --> 00:11:18,039 the end of the year and they'll grow on the new canes that grew up 141 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:22,200 the year after, whereas summer fruit in raspberries fruit on the canes that grew 142 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:26,320 the year before. So you look to be careful which ones you chop down. 143 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:31,000 You don't want to chop the wrong canes down or you won't get no 144 00:11:31,159 --> 00:11:33,759 fruit. So yeah, now is the time to be planting raspberries. So 145 00:11:33,879 --> 00:11:37,960 what varieties will you be planting? I have got summer fruiting ones, and 146 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,320 I've got autumn fruited ones on the plot. I'm looking at having some golden 147 00:11:43,879 --> 00:11:48,759 raspberries on the plot as well, which are yellow, which very peculiarly looking 148 00:11:48,799 --> 00:11:56,000 to the eye, but I'm sure they'll taste absolutely delicious rhubarb. Who doesn't 149 00:11:56,159 --> 00:12:00,840 love rhubarb. I am certainly a big fan of food. If you've seen 150 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:05,720 photos from my plot, you know that I like rhubarb. I must have 151 00:12:05,879 --> 00:12:11,600 about seventeen eighteen crowns on my plot of rhubarb. And you'll probably say why 152 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:13,720 if you got so much rhubarb, But I do give a lot of it 153 00:12:13,759 --> 00:12:18,360 away to family and friends because it's so expensive to buy the shops, but 154 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:22,159 it's so easy to grow. So yeah, I've got lots of rhubarb. 155 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:28,559 On my plot. It's no hardship growing rhubarb. You can get some great 156 00:12:28,639 --> 00:12:35,320 crops from it, and obviously you can get some delicious fruit crumbles, fruit 157 00:12:35,399 --> 00:12:39,399 pies and also in drinks and stuff like that, or pop it in your 158 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:45,240 gin as all the people seem to be doing nowadays. So yeah, now 159 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,120 is the time to be planting your rubob crowns while the dormant. But remember, 160 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:52,399 do not pick your rhubarb in the first year. Once you've planted it, 161 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:56,320 you need to let it settle in the ground for the first year. 162 00:12:56,399 --> 00:13:01,120 Don't be tempted to pull it and use it. Just let it grow and 163 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:03,919 let it take shape. The year after you will get a massive crop from 164 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:09,480 it, so make sure you don't pick it in its first year. So 165 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:16,679 that is all the through what can be planted this month. So next up 166 00:13:16,759 --> 00:13:18,960 are the flowers. Now I'm going to be starting some flowers off, so 167 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:24,360 make sure you're stay tuned for what I'm growing on the plot. And the 168 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:30,039 first thing is snap dragons. Now again, if you wanted to be starting 169 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,240 your snap dragons off, you need to be starting them off on a heated 170 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:39,240 window sill or in a propagator so that they'll germinate and get growing. Next 171 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,879 up are sweet peas. Now. I bought these a couple of months ago 172 00:13:41,879 --> 00:13:45,799 and I was meaning to start them off, So you need to get them 173 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,279 growing now. We do need to start the mass sweet peas off. Sweet 174 00:13:48,279 --> 00:13:52,120 Peas are an important part to my plot. Last year I didn't get any 175 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,320 growing on my plot, but this year we want to have a nice display 176 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:58,919 as. The thing is with sweet peas is that the more you pick, 177 00:13:58,919 --> 00:14:05,200 the mark will flower and they'll keep flowering throughout the summer and autumn. And 178 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:11,639 yeah, if you don't pick them, they'll just start going to seed and 179 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,240 then they'll think that they've come to the end of the time and they'll stop 180 00:14:15,279 --> 00:14:18,480 growing. So you do need to keep cutting them and picking them. So 181 00:14:18,639 --> 00:14:22,840 sweet peas are a good time to be starting off now. If you start 182 00:14:22,879 --> 00:14:28,240 them off now, it makes them stronger and you can expect a bigger crop 183 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:33,039 from your sweet pea plant. Now. I'll be talking about sweet peas in 184 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,200 another episode, so make sure he's stay tuned for that, and I'll be 185 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,320 sharing my tips on how I get them to Germany and how I get them 186 00:14:39,679 --> 00:14:45,399 to grow. So I won't talk too much about sweetpeas. I found a 187 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:50,799 good tip on getting sweet peas to grow and Germany. Some people struggle to 188 00:14:50,799 --> 00:14:54,879 get them to Germany, but I have like literally one hundred percent success rate 189 00:14:54,360 --> 00:15:01,240 with growing sweet peas from seed. Next up libilia again, if you're wanting 190 00:15:01,279 --> 00:15:05,360 to be starting some libilia off. Libilia is obviously good in pots and hanging 191 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:11,279 baskets. You see it hanging down and in flower So if you wanted to 192 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,440 start some libilia off, now is the time to be starting them off again 193 00:15:15,759 --> 00:15:18,840 in a heaated greenhouse or window. So I think I can remember the seeds 194 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:24,679 from these They're absolutely minuscule, so make sure you do sprinkle them out nice 195 00:15:24,679 --> 00:15:28,519 and either right, and if you're wanting to be starting some of those off, 196 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,360 so yeah, now is the time to be starting your libilia off. 197 00:15:33,519 --> 00:15:39,799 So that is everything what can be started in January down at the allotment. 198 00:15:41,399 --> 00:15:45,279 And in my up and coming episode, we'll be talking about all the jobs 199 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,799 which needs doing in the garden in January, and I usually like to use 200 00:15:48,799 --> 00:15:52,919 that as a little tick list so that I can tick them off and make 201 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:56,240 sure that I've done all these jobs, that I'm up to date and keeping 202 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,759 up to date with everything on the plot. And getting it all ready for 203 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,879 the months ahead, because the months ahead are going to be exciting months. 204 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:10,559 It's good when you start getting into the summer and getting into all the harvesting 205 00:16:10,639 --> 00:16:12,720 and stuff like that, so it's good to be prepared, get stuff done 206 00:16:12,799 --> 00:16:18,559 and out of the way pretty early. So I hope you've enjoyed this episode, 207 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,799 and I hope that you've enjoyed listening to all the stuff what we can 208 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,679 start sawing this month, and I'm going to be talking in a couple of 209 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:33,840 episodes about what seeds I'm going to be growing this year and thinking about the 210 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,960 new stuff what I might try down at the plot this year. So I'm 211 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,000 going to be looking into all that, so make sure you stay tuned for 212 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,679 that episode as well. And I'm enjoying getting back into doing these podcasts and 213 00:16:45,919 --> 00:16:49,200 the response that I've been getting back from them has been phenomenal, and lots 214 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,639 of people seem to be listening to them again. It'll take a while to 215 00:16:52,639 --> 00:16:56,759 get the numbers back up to what people were listening to before, but hopefully 216 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:02,799 people start to see that podcast our back and they'll tune in and listen to 217 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:07,279 them are So again, make sure you click that subscribe button a notification button. 218 00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:11,119 If you've not left a review on this podcast, please do. If 219 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,680 you're listening on Spotify or Apple, you can leave a review and it does 220 00:17:15,759 --> 00:17:19,440 help push my podcast out even more. And we've got loads of five star 221 00:17:19,559 --> 00:17:25,359 reviews, so thank you for those that have left a review. So until 222 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:30,720 next time, everyone, remember, keep smiling, keep shining, and keep 223 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:34,720 gardening with Ben. Everybody, thank you for listening, and that wraps up 224 00:17:34,839 --> 00:17:41,720 another episode of Gardening with Ben. Thank you for joining me in this journey. 225 00:17:41,279 --> 00:17:45,759 Remember, every seed planted is a step towards a greener world, and 226 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:52,279 every day is a chance to grow something beautiful. Keep nurturing your gardens and 227 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,640 your souls. Until next time, I'm Gardening with Ben reminding you to let 228 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:02,440 your garden be your sanctra. Happy gardening, and see you in the next 229 00:18:02,519 --> 00:18:08,839 episode. Remember, keep smiling, keep shining, and keep Gardening with Ben.