What to Plant in January

Vegetables to Sow and Plant in January

January may feel like the quietest month in the garden, but it is actually when the new growing season begins. The days are getting fractionally longer, and there are several important tasks that must happen now if you want the best possible harvest later in the year. The focus in January is on indoor sowing, preparation and planning — get these right and you will be months ahead of gardeners who wait until spring.

Chitting Seed Potatoes

Buy your seed potatoes as early in January as possible — popular first early varieties like Swift, Rocket and Foremost sell out fast. As soon as they arrive, start chitting them. Place each tuber in an egg box or seed tray with the rose end facing upwards (the rose end is the end with the most eyes, or small indentations). Set them on a cool, light windowsill — a spare bedroom or porch is ideal.

Do not put them in the dark. This is one of the most common mistakes. Potatoes chitted in darkness produce long, pale, spindly shoots that snap off when you plant them. Light produces short, sturdy, green or purple shoots that handle planting far better. Aim for shoots of 2-3cm by planting time in March or April.

If you have a frost-free greenhouse or cold frame, that works brilliantly too. The key is bright but cool — around 7-10°C is perfect. Avoid warm rooms like kitchens, which encourage growth that is too fast and soft.

Sowing Chillies and Peppers Indoors

Chillies and peppers need the longest growing season of any vegetable, which is why January is the time to sow them — not February, not March. They need 10-12 weeks of growth before they can be planted out after the last frost, and many chilli varieties need a further 8-12 weeks after that to produce ripe fruit. Start late and you will get a plant but no peppers.

Sow seeds in small pots or modules of moist seed compost, 1cm deep. Place them in a heated propagator at 18-21°C — germination is slow, often taking 2-3 weeks, and without consistent warmth many seeds will simply rot. A heated propagator on a sunny windowsill is the minimum setup. If you do not have a propagator, try the airing cupboard for warmth during germination (checking daily), then move to a bright windowsill once seedlings emerge.

Good varieties to start with include Cayenne (reliable, prolific), Jalapeño (thick-walled, great for cooking) and Hungarian Hot Wax (mild heat, heavy cropper). For sweet peppers, try California Wonder or Marconi Rosso.

Sowing Onion Seeds

January is the ideal month to sow onion seeds indoors for planting out in April. Sow seeds thinly in modules or small pots of seed compost, 1cm deep. Place on a warm windowsill (15-20°C) and keep the compost moist but not waterlogged. Seedlings appear in 10-14 days and look like fine grass at first.

Ailsa Craig is the classic choice if you want large exhibition onions, while Sturon is widely regarded as the most reliable all-round variety — it stores well into spring. Red Baron gives you beautiful red onions that are milder in flavour and superb in salads.

Forcing Rhubarb

If you have an established rhubarb crown (at least 3 years old), cover it with a traditional rhubarb forcer, an upturned bin or a large bucket in early January. The complete darkness forces the plant to produce long, tender, bright pink stems as it searches for light. These forced stems are sweeter and more delicate than outdoor rhubarb and are ready to harvest in just 6-8 weeks.

Only force the same crown every other year — it is an exhausting process for the plant, and forcing annually will weaken it. If you have several crowns, rotate which ones you force each winter.

Planning and Ordering

January is the best time to plan your vegetable garden for the year ahead. Sketch out a crop rotation plan — ideally rotating crops into four groups (legumes, brassicas, roots and alliums, potatoes) so the same family does not grow in the same bed two years running. This prevents the buildup of soil-borne diseases and makes the best use of nutrients.

Order seeds early. The most popular and unusual varieties sell out by February, particularly from specialist suppliers. If you want specific heritage tomato varieties, unusual chillies or the best-performing sweetcorn, order now while stocks are full.

Continue harvesting hardy winter vegetables — leeks, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, kale, winter cabbage and celeriac are all at their best now. Parsnips are particularly good after a hard frost, which converts their starches to sugars and improves the flavour dramatically.

If you are building new raised beds this winter, use our soil calculator to work out exactly how much topsoil you need, and our compost calculator to plan your soil enrichment.

Flowers to Plant and Plan in January

The flower garden in January is about preparation and the very first stirrings of the new year. While the borders may look dormant, there is plenty happening beneath the soil, and several important tasks will set you up for a spectacular display later in the year.

Sweet Peas

Sow sweet pea seeds indoors now for the biggest, strongest plants by planting-out time in April. Soak seeds overnight (or nick the seed coat with a nail file) to speed germination. Sow individually in deep root-trainers or tall pots — sweet peas develop long root systems and resent being restricted. Place in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame, or on a cool windowsill. Pinch out the growing tip when plants have 3-4 pairs of leaves to encourage bushy, multi-stemmed growth.

Bare-Root Planting

The bare-root planting season runs from November to March, and January is one of the best months to get roses, hedging and deciduous shrubs into the ground. Bare-root plants are significantly cheaper than pot-grown alternatives and establish just as well, provided you plant them while they are dormant and before bud break in spring.

Soak bare roots in a bucket of water for 2-3 hours before planting. Dig a hole wide enough to spread the roots out fully, and plant at the same depth as the soil mark on the stem. Firm in well and water thoroughly, even in winter — the roots need to make contact with the surrounding soil.

Winter Garden Tasks

Prune deciduous hedges on frost-free days — beech, hornbeam and hawthorn can all be tidied now while they are leafless and you can see the framework clearly. Avoid pruning in freezing conditions as the cut surfaces are vulnerable to frost damage.

Force hyacinth bulbs indoors for fragrance. If you potted up prepared hyacinth bulbs in October or November, they should be ready to bring into the warmth now. Place them on a cool, bright windowsill and they will flower within 2-3 weeks, filling the room with their intense perfume.

Check overwintering dahlia tubers in storage. Inspect for signs of rot or shrivelling. Discard any that have gone soft or mouldy. If tubers are looking dry and shrivelled, mist them lightly with water. Well-stored tubers should feel firm and heavy for their size.

Plan new borders and order bare-root perennials from specialist nurseries. January catalogues offer the widest selection, and ordering now means delivery at the ideal planting time in February or March.

Fruit in January

Bare-root fruit tree planting — January is one of the last good months to plant bare-root fruit trees before bud break begins in late February. Apple, pear, plum and cherry trees are all available bare-root from specialist nurseries and are significantly cheaper than container-grown trees. Choose varieties on rootstocks suited to your garden size — M26 or MM106 for apples in most gardens, Quince A for pears.

Prune apple and pear trees while they are fully dormant. Remove any dead, diseased or crossing branches first. Then open up the centre of the tree to improve air circulation and light penetration — this reduces disease and improves fruit quality. Aim for an open goblet shape with 4-5 main branches radiating outwards. Make clean cuts just above an outward-facing bud or back to the main branch.

Prune autumn-fruiting raspberry canes — cut all canes to ground level now. Autumn-fruiting varieties (like Autumn Bliss and Polka) fruit on the current year's growth, so cutting everything down in January allows vigorous new canes to emerge in spring. Do not prune summer-fruiting varieties the same way — they fruit on last year's canes.

Check and order new fruit tree varieties before stocks run out. Bare-root season ends in March, so this is your last window to buy at the most economical prices. Consider adding a crab apple for pollination if you only have one apple tree.

Mulch around existing fruit trees with a 5-8cm layer of well-rotted manure or garden compost, keeping it away from the trunk. This feeds the tree, suppresses weeds and improves soil structure as it breaks down over the year. January is the perfect time because the tree is dormant and you can work around it easily. Use our mulch calculator to work out exactly how much you need.

Regional Planting Adjustments

January weather varies significantly across the UK, from relatively mild coastal areas in the south-west to prolonged freezing conditions in the Scottish Highlands. Timing your outdoor tasks to match your local conditions is essential.

Regardless of your region, all indoor sowing tasks — chillies, peppers, onions and sweet peas — follow the same timeline. The key difference between north and south in January is what you can do outdoors, not what you sow indoors.

Common January Planting Mistakes

1. Chitting potatoes in the dark. This is the single most common mistake in January. Potatoes chitted in darkness produce long, pale, fragile sprouts that snap off during planting. Always chit on a cool, light windowsill to produce short, sturdy, green shoots. Light is essential — warmth is not.
2. Sowing too many varieties too early. January is only the right time for chillies, peppers, onions and sweet peas. Do not sow tomatoes, courgettes, beans or most other vegetables yet — they will become leggy and weak long before it is warm enough to plant them out. Wait until February or March for most crops.
3. Working waterlogged soil. Walking on or digging heavy clay soil when it is wet compacts the structure and destroys the air pockets that roots need. If your soil sticks to your boots, stay off it. Wait for a dry spell or work from a plank to spread your weight.
4. Forgetting to order seeds early. The most popular and unusual varieties sell out by February, especially from specialist seed companies. Order as early in January as possible to guarantee you get the varieties you want. This is particularly true for heritage tomatoes, unusual chillies and the best-performing new cultivars.
5. Neglecting overwintering crops. Leeks, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, kale and winter cabbage are all at their best right now but are easy to forget. Harvest them regularly — parsnips in particular taste sweeter after frost. Check stored root vegetables for signs of rot and remove any that are going soft before they spoil the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where to Buy Seeds and Plants in the UK

Ready to get started? These UK suppliers stock seeds, seed potatoes and everything you need for January gardening.

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Useful Gardening Tools

Planning your January gardening? These free calculators help you work out exactly how much you need.