January in the Veg Plot

Getting Ready for the Growing Season

It’s not generally worth sowing any seeds in January, the days are too short and cold, but now’s a great time to get your plot ready, so you're all set when sowing time arrives in March and April.

Vegetables grow incredibly quickly, transforming from tiny seeds into plants up to a metre or two high in a matter of months. To grow at such a rate and give you a big harvest, it’s vital you pack your soil full of all the goodness they're going to need at the start of the growing season.

Three Steps to Great Soil

If you’re starting with bare soil or recently cultivated ground, follow our three-step process to ensure you’ve got the best soil for growing veg:

  • Cover your soil with a layer of farmyard manure, compost from your compost heap, or a few bags of compost from your local DIY store. Rake it so it’s about 2 inches deep.
  • Sprinkle over some organic fertiliser. One handful per square metre of soil is about right.
  • Work the whole lot into your soil by turning through it with a spade, then level it off with a rake.

Compost or manure will provide some nutrients, but it’s mainly there to improve the structure of the soil. It encourages humus to develop, improves water retention and creates vital air gaps.

The fertiliser makes sure there's plenty of nutrients in the soil. We use a balanced combination of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium – the three vital elements for growing veg. It’s better to use a slow release format so it breaks down gradually to give your plants a steady supply of goodness over 3-4 months. You can buy it on our website.

Starting with Turf

If you’re turning an area of lawn into a veg bed you need to remove the top inch or two of soil along with the grass. Use a spade to cut down vertically into the soil to create a number of strips of turf that you can skim off with the blade of your spade.

Pile the turfs up in a corner somewhere, upside down to kill off the grass. They’ll rot down in a year or two and provide you with some great topsoil. Now follow ’3 Steps to Great Soil’.

Starting with Weeds

If the area you’re going to grow in is still fairly wild it will take a little more time to get ready.

Start by strimming the whole area right down to bare soil. Now dig. Work your way methodically, in rows turning over soil to the depth of spade tip. Break up the clods of soil with the back of the spade and remove any white roots you come across.

White roots signal perennial weeds like the ones in the photo - couch grass, dandelions and bindweed. These grow incredibly quickly and they’ll easily swamp your veg. What’s more you can’t just pull them out, or remove them with a hoe once your veg gets underway. So get rid of them now. Try and get every bit of root out, because they can grow back from the smallest root fragment left in the soil. Now follow ’3 Steps to Great Soil’.

Building Raised Beds

Once you’ve cleared your soil, you may want to build some raised beds. We’re huge fans – they look great and they make looking after your veg much easier.

They're easy to make. Have a look at the video section on this website. We also sell them raised beds in kit form if you want a completely hassle-free build.

Start Small

It’s also worth remembering that if you’re short of time, you’re far better focussing your efforts, and cultivating a small area of ground well, than trying to do too much and not doing a very thorough job. Even just a couple of 8ft x 4ft beds can produce masses of food if the ground is well prepared.

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