January - things to do

It's January and it's cold. The ground outside is frozen solid as are the neglected buckets filled with rainwater and the pots of dead plants with wrinkled yellowing chillies dangling in the wind. Many parts of the garden haven't seen the sun for months so pockets of ice and snow are hanging on in the shade.

Today was a relatively warm one (in a winter which is the coldest we've seen for thirty years apparently) so we went outside. Tucked away behind the garden hose, I found an old plant pot with green shoots poking through - I planted these bulbs a while ago and they've now multiplied. I look forward to spring when I'll know what they are.

I also collected some compost for indoor use , after hacking it out of the bag as it had frozen into little lime - sized lumps, as I look to complete the first task of the year as per my schedule. Hurrah! I have been desperately researching all the vegetables that I can start sowing now as I really want to get started. It's a great way to take my mind off the stresses of the world, thinking about rows and rows of little seedlings at the start of their journey on the way to my stomach.

Task for January: sow two seeds of red cabbage. I'll be doing so in peat pots within a propagator and keeping it in the spare room. I'm sowing two and will plant one outside once it's big enough. This is my first attempt at succession crops as I'll be sowing more in future months. That's it for January. Nothing else to do.