Dill seeds sown in a plug tray for an early harvest.

A new year has begun! I start the new year by sowing seeds indoors so I can grow plants in pots on my window sill. I do this so I have some plants for my hot bench and polytunnel later. I also do winter sowings in containers outside, and in my cold frame to save some time later in spring.

More about winter sowing: Winter sowing in plastic containers

My goal is to share my gardening calendar with you so that you can see what I grow in my garden every month, starting with what I sow in January. I usually sow a lot of seeds indoors this time of year, even though I don't really have that much space. I sow a lot of both vegetables and summer flowers. The sowings don't take up that much space in the beginning, but this changes as they grow of course.

My daughter Alba is sowing seeds in a plug tray she got for Christmas. The tray matches the protective glasses she almost always wears.

Sowing many seeds in each plug is easy if you have small hands. Alba is sowing dill in this trough.

"Is D a line with a circle in the front?" Alba is good at writing and I think we will be able to tell it's a D instead of a P. So cute!

What I sow in January:

Indoors for my hot bench:
Lettuce
Dill
Purslane
Pointed cabbage
Savoy cabbage
Parsley

(I haven't decided if I'm going to use my hot bench this year, but feel free to sow these vegetables in your own of course!)

Indoors in pots:
Tomatoes (low-growing potted varieties)
Mini peppers
Basil
Garlic leaves
Pea shoots

Indoors, plant in polytunnel later:
Chili

Indoors, plant in beds outside later:
Celery root
Leek
Artichoke
Celery
Golden berry
Mini tamarillo

Polytunnel:
Spinach
Arugula
Garden cress
Lettuce
Purslane
Beets (for their greens only)
Carrot

Cold frame outdoors:
Spinach
Lettuce
Arugula
Carrot

I will do my winter sowings in the polytunnel when the soil has thawed. The seeds are sown in cold soil and start to germinate when the temperature is just right. This worked great last year! The seeds started to grow in February/March and I could start harvesting shortly after.

I decided to wait until the soil thaws before I sow in my cold frames, even though you can do it on frozen ground and cover the seeds with a top layer of soil too of course. I decided to wait simply because I don't want to have to carry the soil back and forth. The seeds will grow in cold soil here too, and they start to grow when the temperature is just right.

Remember that you might need some extra help to succeed with your sowings early in the year. For example a heat mat and extra light. I have my first sowings standing on the floor of my bathroom right now, but I will start using a heat mat soon too. This will help the seeds grow faster.

I will sow a lot of summer flowers too as an addition to the vegetables. I'm going to sow most of them outdoors to make the workload a bit smaller in spring. I hope you learned something about what you can sow in January too!
/Sara Bäckmo