Gardening in Cyprus - Tasks for January

January still provides warm days of between 15-18c but colder evenings and hopefully some more welcome rain. January though is a good time to get vital gardening jobs done and work off the excess Christmas kilos. The following jobs can be done in January

1. Olive, apple, almond, plum, fig and citrus trees may need heavy remedial prunings. Younger ones and all other fruit trees will require annual pruning to stimulate flowers and fruit this year.
2. Prepare raised beds or your vegetable plot for sowing/planting up from March onwards.
3. Hedges can be trimmed as part of the winter cutback.
4. Compost can be turned and chopped pruning's and weeds added. Last years fully composted heap can now be worked into vegetable plots or used for mulching shrubs and trees.
5. Branches cut from trees will need cutting, stacking and drying ready for burning next winter in the wood stove.
6. Continue cropping citrus and dry, make marmalades, jellies or dry to preserve
7. Sow salads, pak choi, beetroot, carrots and parsley
8. Start sowing tomatoes and okra in the propagator.
9. With more and more chemical gardening products being banned consider organic altenatives
10. Plan, plan and plan again. There is no reason why you should not be able to enjoy something fresh from your garden 365 days of the year