Mid January in the Lower South

So many things to do! Outdoor planting time will be here before you know it! Here are some things to get done now:

Prepare beds. Make sure your beds are all cleaned up from the fall - composting old plant material if possible. Composting is a bit slower in the winter, but it is still going on. If you have new beds going in, now is the time to build them, because time will run out before you know it!

Planning, planning - get out that pen and paper and start planning - keep in mind crop rotation and companion planting. Try to not plant the same family of vegetables in the same spot two years in a row - this is especially important with the nightshade family (peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and potatoes) and cruciferous plants (cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, brussel sprouts). For companion planting - check out the book Tomatoes Love Carrots or this thread. Get out the seed catalogs and get those orders in.

Onions, leeks - believe it or not, time to get those sets in the ground! Short day varieties work in the whole area, except that bit that ends up in VA. Intermediate day works for the whole region except for a a fair part of Texas. Check the information on the Dixondale Onion Farms site - they have great info!

Also time to prune deciduous trees, shrubs and vines. By mid Feb, my sweet gum trees and crepe myrtles will start budding out...

Seedling starts - if you haven't got them started, then get after it this weekend. Avg frost free dates are as early as Feb 28 in San Antonio, TX to as late as April 10 in Raleigh, NC. So we are as close as 6 weeks up to 12 weeks out. If you have to get seed, you need to add in some time for them to be delivered.

Now is the time to get ready for a fun filled gardening season! If I have forgotten anything, feel free to chime in!

I am part of the narrow strip of lower south in Northern NC. I've been watching the local farmers and they are out preparing their fields, This is a big area for cabbage farming. So when they plant, I plant my brassicas and go from there. Frost date is actually mid April

Kay