January was named for the Roman god Janus. Janus had two faces, each facing in opposite directions which suggests vigilance and fair-mindedness according to my dictionary. I must admit my first thought was it suggested two-faced, hypocritical. More to our point, Janus was the god of ”beginnings, of the past and the future, and of gates, doorways, and bridges, and of peace.” Given that it is the beginning of the year you can see how his name was given to the first month. January is a gate, bridge, and doorway to the future and hopefully it will bring peace.
January’s full moon will occur on the 19th and Native Americans called it the Wolf Moon. For the Romans the New Year began in March. Most “ancient” cultures began their year in the spring, when planting began. Gardener’s understand how planting becomes the beginning of the year. It is the beginning for us. The winter’s days are numbered. The light is coming back. January heralds the spring as we begin to consider what to plant this coming year.
January is also when we hear about people’s resolutions and are exhorted to come up with our own. Quit smoking! Lose weight! Save money! You know the litany. Me, I resolve not to make resolutions. I’ve lived long enough to be a little easier on myself. Life is too short. I’ve learned to devise ways of avoiding guilt. Not making resolutions is one of them. It doesn’t mean I don’t set goals and plan things. Some of those goals have to do with the garden. If you want to call them resolutions OK, go ahead. But, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
A goal for my garden is to keep it neater. Clean up the debris; weed more often, dead head the flowers when they need it. Prune back the wild growth. Clip the bulbs leaves when they turn brown. Rake and freshen the mulch, add some where needed. Patch the bare spots in the lawn. Once the vegetables are done pull them out. I’m exhausted just thinking about it all. Oh well, I’ve got a few months to gather my strength. That’s what I like about the future. It’s not here yet.
Another goal is to try some new varieties of vegetables and flowers. Last year my cucumber crop failed, twice. I won’t plant that variety again. Now if I could just remember what it was? Another goal is to keep better records. I have some old standbys like Blue Lake green beans but it never hurts to try some new things in addition to the old tried and true.
By now you’ve probably gotten a few seed catalogs. (I received my first ones in November.) They are a great way to find something new for the garden. I page through them with a marker circling those that seem promising. I make a big black check mark on the front of those catalogs and set the others aside for future reference and recycling. Eventually I make up my list. If a variety is new for the year and you really want it you better order it early. Those newly introduced plant varieties usually go fast.
Not to spend so much money on plants is another goal of mine. In November while sitting (can’t call it baby anymore) for our grand daughter near Cleveland, we visited a local nursery. Much to my delight they were selling trees and shrubs at 75% off! Well at those savings I couldn’t not buy something, right? I bought 8 shrubs and a tree! The poor dog on the way home in that crowded van must have felt like Hansel and Gretel lost in the woods. I spent a couple days planting them. I must admit I really had to search carefully where to put some of them. Planting so many things you don’t have room for any more is one way to cut back on expenses.
Another way to save some money is to start some of your plants from seed. Winter sowing is a method using plastic containers such as old milk bottles that is simple and you can do it anytime over the next couple months. Put “winter sowing” into your search engine (google it) and you can learn all about it. I guess by now you’ve noticed that some of my goals are contradictions. I guess I’m being Janus faced.
Master Gardener Volunteers like me are associated with the OSU Extension. As such we we promote science based information on gardening. We are putting on a Plant Diagnostics 101 class March 25th and will continue our annual Plant Sale May 21st. More on those later but put them on your calendar for the New Year.
Things to do in the garden:
On those occasional nice days that winter gives us in this part of the country, survey the garden and grounds and make note of things that occur to you that need doing or that you would like to do (but not resolutions!) in the coming year.
Clean up leaves and branches. Tie up climbing roses and other plants that the wind has been blowing around to keep them from being damaged. Check trunks of young trees and shrubs for gnawing from rodents like mice and rabbits. Use hardware cloth or the plastic wraps available at nurseries to protect them from further damage.
Check your houseplants for bugs and overall health. Are they getting enough light? South and west facing windows get the best light. Place as close to the window without touching the glass. Cold windows can damage plants. Cut back on the watering and don’t fertilize until spring.
When those poinsettias start looking ragged consider throwing them out into the compost heap. It is almost impossible to make them bloom again and hardly worth the trouble.
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