I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article. Please see my full disclosure policy for more information.
Are you determined to have a bigger garden or maybe this is your first year putting out a garden? I have put together a list of things you can do in January to get ready for gardening season. I have been dreaming of the garden since before Christmas!
Keep in mind I’m in hardiness zone 6a, so you may need to adjust my suggestions to fit your area. If you don’t know your hardiness zone you can find that out by clicking here.
A few things to do in January to get your garden off to a great start!
I like to make goals for my garden each year. This year we are set on canning or preserving in other methods around 100 quarts of each thing we grow. That will hopefully feed my crew all winter and until we start getting fresh produce the next year. What’s your reason for gardening?
Request free seed catalogs. Some of our favorites are Baker Creek and Seed Saver Exchange. I also really like Mary’s Heirloom Seeds but they only have an online catalog.
Decide what you want to grow.
We only plant things our family eats or uses in some way. There’s little reason to grow things your family doesn’t use much of or like.
You’ll also want to decide how many seeds you’ll need to plant to meet your goals for this garden season. If you need a little help figuring out how much to plant to feed your family I have a free calculator to help you figure it out. You can check it out. I’ve linked to the post below.
Growing enough food to feed your family for the year.
Buy seed starting supplies such as trays and seed starting soil. If you’re new to gardening you may need to purchase some new tools like hoes or a wheel hoe.
Make seed orders. I would order one package over what you think you need just to be safe. There’s nothing worse than not having enough seed to fill your row!
If you’ve never made a seed order you might find this post helpful.
How to buy Seeds for your vegetable garden.
Plan out your garden space. Sometimes things go as planned and others don’t quite work. If something doesn’t work as you planned I try to remember to go back and update the layout so I can look back on it and repeat it if it worked well. It’s also a good idea to not plant the same things in the same places year after year because each plant uses different amounts of nutrients.
Maintain your gardening tools if you didn’t last fall. Check for broken handles and sharpen your hoes.
Check supplies. Things like string to tie up plants or your natural pest treatments such as DE or neem oil should be ordered before you need them.
What’s your plan for the garden this year? Do you have any big goals like my 100 quarts per crop to store for the year? Drop a comment and let me know.
Note: These garden to-do lists are not comprehensive by any means, but meant to provide a jumping-off point to organizing your garden.
