What to Do in the Garden in January (UK)

Sow and plant

• Sow broad beans in pots in mild areas, in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse.
• Sow seeds indoors for early crops: lettuces, summer brassicas such as cabbages and cauliflowers, spinach, salad onions and turnips.
• Sow onion seed in a heated propagator.
• Plant bare-root trees, shrubs and fruit bushes as long as the soil is not frozen or waterlogged.
• Choose and buy seeds for spring, source seed potatoes, and plan a rotation system for the vegetable plot.

Prune and tidy

• Winter prune apple and pear trees while they are dormant and their structure is easy to see.
• Prune soft fruit bushes such as gooseberries and currants.
• Cut back autumn-fruiting raspberries.
• Prune deciduous trees and shrubs during dormancy, when bare branches make it easier to see what to remove.

Protection and general care

• Warm up seed beds before sowing by covering them with a cold frame, cloches or fleece.
• Improve drainage on heavy soils by working in plenty of organic matter.
• Stake or earth up leggy Brussels sprout stalks so they are not rocked by winter wind.

Harvest

• Pick Brussels sprouts, taking the biggest sprouts from low down the stalk first.
• Continue harvesting hardy winter vegetables standing on the plot.

Regional adjustment

The RHS notes that milder gardens in the south and west of the UK can start jobs such as outdoor sowing earlier, while colder northern gardens should expect to run later. Sowing broad beans outside in January, for example, is only advised in mild areas; elsewhere, wait or sow under cover.

Sources

Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.

• RHS — Gardening in January: jobs to do this month — January jobs include winter pruning apples, pears, gooseberries and currants, planting bare-root stock, and buying seeds and seed potatoes.
• RHS — Grow Your Own: jobs to do in January — Sowing broad beans in pots in mild areas, indoor sowing of early salad and brassica crops, chitting/planning seed potatoes, warming seed beds with cloches or fleece, and Brussels sprout care.

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