What Seeds Are Gardeners Planting in January?

Here’s a list of the most popular (and possibly questionable) vegetable and flower seeds people are getting started in January

All month long my social media feeds and email inbox have been full of “what to plant in January” stories. Personally, I don’t plant much because I don’t have any room to start seeds indoors, and experience has taught me that anything I get started in my greenhouse in January will almost certainly be killed off in February, the coldest, wettest month of the year for us here in San Diego (in spite of news to the contrary, it’s not always sunny and warm here).

So, outside of some broccoli, lettuces, onions, and whatever I can nurse along in the keyhole garden, I’m happy to peruse the seed catalogs and let the garden rest until mid-February or so.

Still, I’m always curious to see what other people say they’re planting in January, so I rounded up a dozen “seeds to start in January” stories and noted what they’re planting. In order of popularity:

Brassicas (Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, etc.)

Make sense. The seeds will sprout in cool soil and the plants themselves tend to be cold-hardier than other veggies. If you’re in a low-to-no snow climate they’ll grow outdoors even in winter. Even if you’re in a colder area, you can help seedlings along with a little protection like milk carton greenhouses or a coldframe. You can also grow them as a perennial so you don’t have to start them from seed every year.

Onions and leeks (from seed)

Another cold-tolerant vegetable. Onions seeds take a long time to sprout and the plants themselves can take 4-6 months to reach maturity, so getting them started in January is necessary if you want to harvest them in May or June. Personally, I plant these right at the beginning of winter (late December) so they sprout in mid-January and I can transplant the seedlings by early February.

If the garden beds aren’t ready until later in February or early March, the seedlings are easy enough to hold in pots (or milk carton greenhouses) until they can be transplanted.

Spinach and Lettuces

Both are fairly cold-hardy and will do just fine outdoors in mild winter conditions. I find spinach and the cos-type lettuces (Romaine, etc.) easier to transplant, so those are what I start in January. Loose leaf lettuces are better to direct sow in early March when they’ll germinate more quickly and mature faster than the insects that love to snack on them.

Cilantro, Chives, Dill, and Parsley

Herbs that don’t mind the cold too much. Around here, we can only grow cilantro in the winter and early spring. It bolts right away once the weather starts to get warm. Dill likes to pace itself until late spring when it will flower, so I try and plant early season cucumbers so they ripen at the same time and I can make pickles. If either of these bolts too early, it’s ok because then I have coriander and dill seed. Chives and parsley will grow multiple years, so those fresh greens are available for multiple seasons.

Broad beans (aka Fava beans)

These seem to be a UK thing because all the articles from gardeners there mention them, but not so much here in the U.S. I’m not a big fan of broad beans and my wife hates them (too many lima bean meals as a kid), but apparently they will grow in cooler weather. Interestingly, most beans are direct-seeded, but broad beans are okay to transplant.

Snapdragons

The first flower on the list. These will start in cooler weather and flower by mid-spring. Here in San Diego, they’re a perennial, so I’ll only plant them every few years.

Eggplant (Aubergines)

This one seems to be a UK thing as well. Eggplant is a member of the nightshade (tomato, potato, pepper, etc.) family, so it doesn’t actually like cold weather. However, they take so long to reach maturity they’ll plant them indoors to get a jump start on the season. If you have the room to grow them indoors for the first 8-10 weeks (and really like eggplant), go for it. Otherwise, I’d wait until the weather warms.

Carrots

I was a little surprised carrots didn’t rank higher on the list since they’re at least as cold-hardy as onions and quicker to harvest. It seems to me that a lot of people don’t think they’re suitable for seeding in January because they have to be direct sown in the soil. But that’s not true. I start all of my carrots in the greenhouse and transplant the seedlings as soon as the tops have three sets of leaves. I don’t even separate the seeds initially (too small for my fat fingers). I plant a bunch in the same seeds tray and use the water bath method to separate the plants. It works great.

Chili Peppers and Tomatoes

This is another UK thing. Like eggplant they’re members of the nightshade family and really don’t like cold weather, so if you plant them now, you’ll be keeping them warm and indoors until spring is well underway.

That’s probably a necessity in places where the warm season are short (like the UK), but not here. Unless you’re going to keep them under a grow light, any tomatoes or peppers started now will only limp along until the days are long enough for the plants to make the amount of food they need to grow fast.

I don’t plant my tomatoes or peppers (even early season ones) until mid-to-late February when the days are long enough to ensure the seedlings can photosynthesize enough sunshine to get off to a good start. I also find these later starts will easily catch up to any seedlings planted a month earlier and will grow faster once they’re transplanted in the garden.

Other popular January seeds starts (Vegetables and flowers)

Among the other vegetable seeds several of the authors said they start January are artichokes, celery, okra, parsnips, and radishes. All a pretty cold-hardy at even a young age, so they only need minimal protection to get through winter.

When it comes to flowers, sweet peas, begonias, petunias, poppies, and larkspur (delphinium) are frequent picks for a January start. There are a lot of wildflowers — Aster, Columbine, Coneflower, Lupine, Monarda, Penstemon, and Yarrow — that can be sown now too.

For an interesting and very attractive American native wildflower that bees love, try Lacy Phacelia. I grew some by accident a few year ago and now they’re a spring garden staple.

Other Stuff To Check Out

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I got lots of “what to seeds start in January” in my social media and email feeds. Here are a few you might want to check out:

• When to Start Seeds Indoors
• Seven seeds in seven minutes to grow in January
• Vegetable Seeds To Sow In January
• It’s Time to Start This Years Garden – 11 Seeds You should Be Starting
• 8 Seeds to Sow in January | Snowy Winter Garden & Allotment
• 19 Seeds You Should Winter Sow In January
• What to Sow in January
• Vegetable Seeds To Sow in January Indoors – Sow Grow Harvest
• 8 Flower Seeds To Start In January For a Glorious Garden | Gardening Know How

Just For Good Measure

I received plenty of things you shouldn’t plant in January as well. Here are a few:

• 6 Seeds You Shouldn’t Start During the Winter, Gardening Pros Warn
• Why You Shouldn’t Start Seeds Too Early (and When to Do It)
• 9 Pros and Cons of Winter Sowing

Have any Suggestions?

Are there any seeds you do or don’t, will or won’t plant in January? Let me know in the comments below!