10 Gardening Activities for January in the Northeast

1. Prepare for Snow

If snow hasn’t arrived already, then it’s coming soon. So get out your snow shovel, snow blower, and deicing materials. It’s important to distribute shoveled snow evenly across shrubs and garden beds to prevent any one plant from being crushed by heavy snow loads. Evenly distributed snow also acts as insulation for plant roots. If you get thick snow regularly, consider using a cordless snow blower. For safety, many people use deicing agents on walkways and driveways. Try to use a non-corrosive ice melter such as Safe Paw Ice Melter instead of salts. Salts can cause damage to plants, soils, and human skin. If you have garden beds near a street that had deicing salt applied, water your beds well when weather permits to help keep plants hydrated (excess salt leads to plant dehydration). You can read more about how salt affects plants and discover which plants are salt-tolerant and which are salt sensitive in this article by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

2. Store Plants Such as Tubers

If you dug and stored any tubers such as dahlias, cannas, gladiolus, or tuberous begonias, it’s a good time to check for damage, moisture, and decay. As you evaluate tubers, look for shriveling. It’s also good to observe the storage area. Make sure the location is dry, cool, and dark.

3. Clean Out Gutters, Bird Baths & Other Places Where Leaves Accumulate

As winter progresses, more leaves, branches, snow, and ice can clog gutters, bird baths, drains, and other waterways. Be sure to check for accumulated debris throughout your garden. Remove debris and consider installing covers on rain gutters. Gutter guards can help prevent blockages.

4. Cut Branches to Force Blooms Indoors

Flowering branches are a beautiful way to bring vibrant blooms into your home in the winter months. In January and February there are a number of flowering trees and shrubs that are perfect to take cuttings from: crabapple, flowering pear, flowering quince, forsythia, magnolias, spring-flowering witch hazel, redbuds, and more. Cut branches from your garden at a length of 2 to 3 feet. Then soak them in room-temperature water overnight (a bathtub is a good spot for this). Make crosscuts at the bottom of each stem so the branches absorb plenty of water. Once you remove the branches, place them in a vase filled with clean water and place the vase in a room that stays consistently around or above 60 degrees. Change the water daily. As buds swell, move the arrangement to a cooler room so the blooms last longer. At that point, you can change the water every few days. Learn more about how to force branches indoors.

5. Care for Indoor Bulbs

If you’re growing amaryllis, paper whites, or other bulbs indoors, then treat them like outdoor bulbs after they are finished blooming. Let your bulbs develop leaves and put them in a bright indoor location. When the threat of frost is gone, move bulbs outdoors in their original pot so foliage can receive ample sunlight (preferably morning sun or bright indirect light). Along with bulb fertilizer and consistent water, the foliage needs sunlight to produce next year’s flowers.

6. Do a Seed Inventory

If you grow plants from seed, do a seed inventory before you plant because seeds have a shelf life. Old seeds may not germinate properly (or at all). Generally, seeds that are 3 to 4 years old should be thrown out and replaced unless they were stored in an airtight container in a refrigerator or freezer. This chart shows the longevity of various plant seeds. Some crops that may be started indoors in January include cool-season annuals (larkspur, snapdragon, monkey flower, pansy, annual poppy, forget-me-nots, pansies) or early crops (cabbage, celery, kale, leeks, mustard, onion, parsley). Use this handy seed starting calculator to see when you should sow seeds indoors under a grow light or in a mini greenhouse.

7. Order Tools that Make Gardening Easier

Though your tool shed may be filled with garden shovels, rakes, spades, and trowels, there are a number of garden tools that are designed to make gardening tasks easier. Inventory your tools this month and if you’re in need of a tool refresh, consider these back, hand, and arm-saving devices:

• Ergonomic Shovel
• Long-handled tools
• Extendable lopper
• Extendable pole saw
• Tool belt
• Kneeling pad

8. Make Your Garden Resolutions

Though New Year’s Day has passed, the new garden season hasn’t really kicked off yet so there’s still time to make resolutions for this year’s garden. Consider learning to grow new types of vegetables or fruits such as kiwis, asparagus, rhubarb, or melons. Or perhaps you want to be more consistent about feeding and fertilizing plants. Others may want to use their garden bounty to share with neighbors and friends or learn to cook something new. Whatever your gardening goals, write them down and pull them out during the year. If you need resources to take your garden to the next level, check out the blog and podcast A Way to Garden for inspiration. It’s produced by gardening expert Margaret Roach who lives in upstate New York. She covers everything from how to grow plants to soil science, dealing with deer to cooking with homegrown food.

9. Plan Your Spring and Summer Day Trips

Winter is a great time to sit by the fire, look at a map, and plan out trips for spring and summer. If you need inspiration, use these handy guides developed by Garden Design that cover areas of the Northeast: Lower Hudson Valley in New York, New York City, Philadelphia, or Washington, D.C.

10. Give Back

There are number of gardening organizations that support important causes. Consider donating your time or making a gift to an organization that supports gardening: Seed Savers Exchange aims to conserve and promote America’s culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage. The Garden Conservancy saves and shares outstanding American gardens for the education and inspiration of the public. Another way to give back is by joining your local botanical garden. Many botanical gardens are public organizations that support garden, science, and environmental education and research.