I don't have any idea on what a Pro suppose to be doing in January. But my to do list is as follows;

-building homemade grow light rack (Dawn's);
-ordering seed starting supply (ProMix, Flats,Pots);
-looking for seed germination heating mats;
-still working on finalizing list of vegetables;
-exploring native, hardy, drought resistant,xeric type flowers/herbs/fruits sps for Oklahoma;
-sketching the backyard to see where/how to remove Bermuda turf for vegetable garden expansion;
-ordering new books and waiting for ordered books
-waiting for final words from Dana (seedmama) to send check for Dixandale Onions; and and
-desperately waiting for Carol's Seed Swap package to arrive ;-)

Well, I think those of us further south might be able to do a few chores that folks further north might not be able to do until February, but I'll list what I "could be" doing here, were the ground not covered in sleet and snow, and muddy underneath all that. It is melting off a little more each day, and I have high hopes we'll be back to normal in a few more days

So, at least in southern OK, January is a good month to.....

Continue watering your landscape as needed. This is especially important if your area is abnormally dry because dry roots suffer freeze damage more easily than moist ones. Don't overwater, though, because excessively wet roots can rot in cold weather. Don't rely on snow to do your watering for you because snow melts down to almost nothing. I think the average is that one inch of snow equals one/tenth of an inch of rain. It is especially important to water young shrubs and trees (those in the ground in the current location for less than three years).

If the ground is not frozen (and my ground rarely freezes here), you can plant any spring-blooming bulbs or garlic that you never got around to planting back in the fall.

If you have ice and snow on the ground and on your plants, you can gently brush loose snow off evergreen shrubs and trees, but don't try to knock ice off of plants. Knocking the ice off the plants requires you to hit the plants hard enough to damage them.

You can do corrective tree or shrub pruning in January. Prune to remove narrow branch crotches (they trap/hold water, allowing rot to set in), crossed branches that rub against one another or against the tree turnk, and dead or damaged limbs. Also remove sprouts that emerge at the base of the trunk of trees. Wait until February to prune fruit trees though, and don't prune wisterias until after they bloom in the spring. Pruning wisterias now would remove the blooms you're expecting to see this spring.

Add mulch to tree, shrub and perennial beds where it has thinned out or washed out. This is especially important if you're further north where the ground freezes. Remember that mulch not only holds in moisture, but helps moderate temperature changes.

If you haven't had a soil test done recently, January is a great time to have one done so you will have time to amend the soil as needed before spring planting time arrives.

If you have a sprinkler system, winter or early spring are good times to inspect it for broken sprinkler heads, etc., and get them replaced before the busy irrigation season begins.

If you overseed your lawn with a cool-season grass, keep up with the mowing so it won't get too tall and unruly, and keep the leaves raked up so they don't sit on top of the overseeded lawn and give fungal diseases a chance to grow underneath them due to reduced air flow. If you overseeded your veggie or annual flower garden beds with a cool-season cover crop, be sure to cut and till it under (or leave it on top as mulch and plant right through it) several weeks before you'll be planting in those areas.

January is a good time to sharpen tools, replace any broken ones that are beyond repair, and also a good time to get your lawn mower blades sharpened.

January is a good time to plan your spring plantings, make lists of seeds or plants you'd like to add, and order seeds now before the spring rush. It also is a good time to gather together all your seed-starting flats and supplies, stock up on sterile, soil-less seed-starting mix, and get ready for seed-starting time. If you use an indoor light-starting shelf, check all your bulbs and buy replacements for any that have burnt out.

Winter-sow your winter-sown plants in containers.

Scatter sow seeds of cool-season annuals like poppies and larkspur now while the weather is cold (they need some cold weather to break dormancy). Remember that the surface-sown seeds need some light to germinate, so don't cover them up. The old, traditional way to scatter poppy seed in winter is to scatter it on the snow so the moisture/cold can help with germination, but if I do that here in my very rural location, the hungry birds spot all the tiny seeds on the snow and come in huge flocks to eat them, so I wait until just after the snow has melted.

Finally, don't forget all the little creatures who share your property and remember that they need help to survive the winter. If the ponds, creeks or other watering holes are frozen, put out fresh water in pans or a birdbath daily for them. Don't forget to feed the birds! If you feed the deer, remember they need extra calories during bitterly cold spells and put out a little extra for them.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure the minute I hit "submit", I'll think of a dozen more things that I should be doing in January.

Dawn

Wonderful advice. If ever this forum needed a fundraiser, a month-by-month guide in the form of a calendar would be spot on and much coveted. Thanks Dawn and all others!

It's not too late to plant spring-blooming bulbs?

I am trying to get setup to start a few seeds in side, may even try a little winter sow.

Larry

Dawn, Deers and all wild creatures visit your home for food? that's awesome, you are living in the Haven! Last spring we were tent camping at Wichita mountains wildlife refuge, we were so happy see few deers grazing next to my tent... for yo they are coming to you home.

Those of us who heat our homes with wood, cut next winter's firewood in Jan and Feb. And since there is never enough time to read in the spring/summer/fall, spend really cold days close to the fire with a good book.

We also use winter to clear brush and pick up fallen limbs. We are still trying to reclaim paths and areas in the woods that we used to mow before the Great Ice Storm of Jan 09. And now off to do that today, as thanks to that ice storm, the woodshed is full to the brim.

Dawn,
You forgot to add: read up in the Farmers Almanac for best planting days...

Keith

Snowbishop, I'm pretty sure either the Tulsa Master Gardeners or the OSU Fact Sheets have a calendar publication or two that says what to do when. We need to do a search and find it or them.

I am glad my reply gave you some ideas about what you can be doing this month.

Leslie, Plant 'em if you got 'em! There still should be plenty of time for them to get the chill hours they need to bloom.

Now, not that I know anyone who's ever done this, but what if you put two big bags of daffodil bulbs in the extra refrigerator in the garage to pre-chill back in October, and then you forgot they were there? Then, around the holidays, you discovered them there and said "uh oh". Well, just pretend that happened and you were too busy to plant them until after the holidays and all the college football bowl games were over. Would you leave those poor bulbs in the fridge until next year? Toss them on the compost pile? Nope. Just plant them. The odds are they'll grow and bloom just fine. Mine did. : )

Larry, I keep looking at that shelf every day and thinking I 'ought to' start seeds now, and then I talk myself out of starting this early. Soon though. Very, very soon planting time will be here.

Chandra, If you look at a map of the Oklahoma/Texas border, you'll see a little piece of land in Love County that extends down into Texas sort of like a finger. That's where I live. We have the Red River west of us, south of us, and east of us. There's a lot of wild areas along the Red River, including Wildlife Management Areas heavily populated with many kinds of wildlife. The wild things often cross back and forth on our property and the property of all our neighbots going from one wild area to another. It means we have all kinds of wildlife, including some that we'd rather not have.

If you love wildlife, though, it is a great place to live. On an given day, you can walk out into the yard and see many kinds of birds including hawks, herons and owls (and an occasional bald eagle or golden eagle flying overhead). In our yard you might encounter whitetail deer, rabbits, armadilloes, foxes, possums, raccoons, bobcats, possums, coyotes, ring-tailed cats, some sort of ferret-type animal, squirrels, moles, voles, snakes (in season), frogs, lizards, etc. In the winter, they're all hungry and to the extent that we are able, we feed as many of them as we can. I have been putting out deer corn, sunflower seeds, chicken scrath grains, thistle seed, and odds and ends of kitchen scraps like veggies and fruits for them twice a day during the bitterly cold weather. During normal winter weather when there is no snow, I just put food out once a day. I fill the bird feeders year around because it encourages to birds to hang around. In the gardening season, the birds eat more bugs than seeds, but I think they hang around more because of the seed-filled feeders.

During times of drought, the wild animals need to be fed too when food is scarce and once the creeks and ponds dry up, I am careful to put out water for them twice a day. I feel like we have a certain responsibility to the wild animals that live here on our land or even those who are just passing through. We try to avoid harming them, we try to avoid destroying their habitat, and we try to make sure there's food and water available when they need it.

Having abundant wildlife means you have to be very careful because sometimes wild animals are dangerous to you, your domestic farm animals, and your pets. I have learned to be very careful. The wildlife can make gardening very hard. Anything that cannot handle being browsed by deer, rabbits and other animals has to be inside a fenced in area (with the fence needing to be 7' tall to be effective) or there's no point in planting it.

We enjoy the wildlife most of the time, although very large predators freak me out sometimes, and I absolutely hate venomous snakes. I'd had far more close encounters with venomous snakes than you'd think possible. If there is one thing I hate about living here, it is the venomous snakes. About the only other wildlife we don't like having around is skunks. If they are out in broad daylight, or are getting inside our animal pens or animal housing, we remove them and shoot them because of the rabies issue. We've run off a few unwelcome human predators at gunpoint too. When you live in a rural area, you have to be prepared for anything, including wild animals that should not be hanging out in your yard and people who are trespassing, have bad intentions and shouldn't be there either. I've had to toughen up a bit since moving here.

Keith, Are you trying to start something with me, buddy? lol I like the Farmer's Almanac. I really do. But, I don't use it for planting dates!

Dawn