What to plant in the January 2023 edible garden

Starting seeds in peat pods and Aerogarden

Sunday, January 1, 2023

For most of us, seeds started outdoors at this time of year will either become bird food or will stay dormant until it gets warm enough to germinate.  If you have a greenhouse or hotbed, you CAN plant winter hardy plant's seeds under cover and they will germinate.  For most, January is the time to get started sowing seeds indoors for a head start on spring and summer harvests.  

Hot beds have been around for hundreds of years.  Before there was electricity, hot beds were heated by 18" of fresh and dried horse manure, covered by 12" of soil.  A pit was dug down so that the manure and soil were below ground level to keep the heat in.  It was covered by a wooden box with a glass angled to the sun.  Today, the same can be done.  Folks also use a light bulb or heating pad to keep the temperature above freezing and below 55 degrees F.

There are cole crops that can be placed in hot beds and seeds sown even at this time of year.  Winter gardening in hot beds is successful even Zone 4.  For Zones 6 and higher, you can sow things like spinach, kale and mustard greens in greenhouses and they will germinate, although slowly.  For the edibles you have been overwintering in your greenhouse, come January 21st at my latitude in Kentucky, growth will really start picking up.  10 hours of daylight signals to most plants that spring is coming and it is time to start growing.

If you are transplanting seedlings from indoors to outdoors, be sure to harden them to the conditions they will be transplanted to.  If in a greenhouse, cold frame or hot bed, you can take outdoors when temperatures are warm or maybe an unheated garage if the temps are close to the covered location you will be placing them.  "Hardening off" seedlings 

For more on cold season gardening, see Cold season crops for your edible garden and Winter edible garden.

January outdoor hot beds
Winter hardy lettuce transplants

Cauliflower transplants

Strawberry transplants

Cold hardy lettuce, kale, mustard seeds

Carrot seeds

Radish seeds

Spinach seeds

Austrian winter pea seeds

January yard, garden bed

Bare root fruit trees and bushes

For more on edible gardening in cold weather, How to extend the garden season.  

More popular is to start seeds indoors in January.  There are many seeds that can be started this time of year.  Take a look at your frost date and seed packet for the best time to plant for the variety you have seeds for.  Earlier is not always better!  If left indoors too long, the seedlings just get spindly and weak.  The seed packets share the earliest to start your seeds.  It is fine to wait until later.  In our Zone 7, the last spring frost date is forecasted to be April 12, which is 14.5 weeks from now.  Find your frost date

January edible plants-indoor seed starting

12-16 weeks before last frost

(Our last frost is April 12 so this would be Dec 21-Jan 18 in our area)

Cabbage

Celery and Celeriac

Corn Salad (Mache)

Onions

12 weeks before last frost (Jan 18 in our area)

Artichokes

Parsley

Peas

10-12 weeks before last frost (Jan 18-Feb 1)

Endive

Escarole

Leeks

8-12 weeks before last frost (Jan 18-Feb 15)

Eggplant

Kale

Kohlrabi

Mustard

Spinach

Sprouting broccoli

There are many flower seeds that can be started in January as well.  Butterfly weed, Chinese lanterns, Drumstick flower, Angel's trumpet, Delphinium, Sweet William, Foxglove, Eucalyptus, Blanket flower, Helianthus maximilliani, Hollyhock, Lisianthus, Lupine, Pansy, Petunia, Prince's feather, Black-eyed Susan, Snapdragon, Stock, Verbana, Yarrow are a few that can be started indoors in January. 

I find this planting calculator helpful Planting calculator  to see what crops and flowers to start seeds indoors, outdoors and when to transplant.  You just plug in your last frost date and it will calculate the dates for you.