What's January Good For?

From gardendigest.com, we learn that all is not bleak in January ...

... we notice that the days are getting longer.  Minute by minute they lengthen out ... until the moment comes when with a start of delighted surprise we realize that we can stay out of doors in a twilight lasting for another quarter of a precious hour.

-Vita Sackville-West    

 An extra precious quarter hour. To do what?

There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter.  One is the January thaw.  The other is the seed catalogs.

-Hal Borland     

Maybe so. But ... spending time watching January thaw might bring on a bleakness all its own, and one that not even a seed catalog could dispel.

Thus, we see the limit of the usefulness of poets and philosophers.

Winter blues can only truly be lifted by action and so we turn to practical tips for what to do in your yards and gardens in January and February - before the 'bluebird sings', so to speak.

Photo courtesy Tony Hisgett CC BY 2.0

First, the January joys of composting, from Organic Gardening:

The sight of steam rising from a compost pile on a cold winter day is sure to warm the heart of every organic gardener.

Read the whole thing for tips on how to heat up your compost amidst the winter's cold.

Source Torfaen CC BY-SA 3.0

But if working with garbage and manure is not likely to lift your spirits, then pull out Hal Borland's seed catalog and try your hand at germinating seeds in the winter.

Unlike the seeds of annuals, lots of perennial seeds require a period of moist cold (cold stratification) before they will germinate.  They get this naturally in the wild, lying on the ground, being half buried by fallen leaves, the digging of animals, and frost heave. Without this period of cold and wet, certain seeds, usually perennials, won't germinate at all. Instead, they continue to wait inside their shells, asleep.

In other words, cold and wet is a perennial germinating prerequisite, and January and February have both of those in abundance. Click here and scroll down to Winter/Solstice Sowing and then germinate that extra quarter hour away to your hearts content.

Lily of the Valley seeds ONLY germinate in the winter
Here is a list of other seeds 'that need a winter'

After composting and germinating, you should still have some time for general wintry prevention work. The BBC tells us Yanks that

Although beautiful to look at, snow and frost can be a major problem for gardeners, damaging plant growth and killing tender plants.

Not everything the BBC says is as obvious as that little chestnut, so read the whole thing and help prevent the following from ever happening in your garden.

Source - BBC Gardening /bbc.co.uk - © [2015] BBC