Plant... in January?!

That's right.

If you're waiting till spring to start thinking about your garden, I've got some bad news. Most of the plants that you see thriving in my garden in the spring are grown from seeds that I buy and start indoors in January. Rather than switch into hibernation mode for this month, we can all be preparing for our spring gardens.

The best plants to start by seed indoors in January and to plant outdoors (if at all possible) will vary depending on where you live. But no matter where you are, there are things you can plant this month. Yes, really!

Let's look at the best herbs and vegetables to plant in January if you live in a warm climate, a mild climate, and a cold climate.

What Can You Plant in Warmer Areas in January?

If you're growing in a warm climate, then you either don't have frost at all or you can anticipate your last frost within the next 6 weeks. So the real question is: What can you not plant in January? In fact, if you want to grow tomatoes, you gotta get a move on! That's right.

February will actually be the time to plant your warm season plants outside. It might sound crazy, but when I gardened in Houston, Texas, I transplanted my tomato seedlings on Valentine's Day. So if you plan to start large warm season plants like tomatoes by seed, then time is ticking. Get those seeds started indoors right away.

Overall, focus this month on plants that need a lot of time to mature in the garden — these are the plants that benefit most from a head start indoors so they can enjoy the nice, warm weather of early spring. Things will start heating up in mid- to late spring, and by June, the temps in your area might already be too high to get good production from a lot of these warm season plants.

Now is the time to buy seeds and start them indoors so you have healthy seedlings to move outside in February. Let's look now at the plants you might start this month.

Leaves

If you're looking for an herb to start indoors to prepare for spring, basil is a great option. Basil will only grow when it's frost-free outside, but your last frost date is rapidly approaching. It's definitely worth getting your basil started indoors so that you can cover your entire garden with basil because... well, who wouldn't want to do that?

In my experience, the basil plants you find at the garden centers never do as well in your garden. The basil I start indoors myself always thrives. Plus, you can start all different kinds of basil. Start growing your own basil this month so you can be ready to put it in the garden next month.

If you're expecting at least 60 more days of cool weather, you can direct sow small leafy greens like lettuce, arugula, and spinach in your garden. Now is really your prime salad-growing time. When I lived in Houston, I grew lots of leafy greens throughout the entire winter. Buttercrunch, spring mix, endive, radicchio, romaine — make sure to grow some salad plants before it warms up too much!

Roots

Your area might be growing a little too warm to plant root crops like radishes, carrots, and beets, but you should definitely start thinking about potatoes, which are technically tubers. Order your seed potatoes online, or start sprouting some organic potatoes from the store.

Fruits

The best plants to start by seed indoors this month will be large fruiting plants in the Solonaceae family, or the nightshade family: tomatoes, eggplants, and all the peppers (jalapeños, bell peppers, shishito peppers, etc.). These plants are slow growing and need a long time in the garden before they begin producing fruit. So now is the ideal time to start them if you haven't already done so.

Flowers

There are so many flowers that can start growing in a warm climate as early as February. If you start easy flowers like marigolds and zinnias from seed now, you'll have tons of seedlings to move outside as soon as the weather warms. You'll get loads of blooms from these plants, and now's the time to get them started.

You can also direct sow seeds for flowers like calendula and chamomile, which prefer cooler weather.

Warm season gardeners, I hope you're ready to plant tons of seeds this month!

What Can You Plant in Mild Areas in January?

If you live in a mild climate like I do here in Nashville, you experience the four seasons every year. It already starts to warm up in late February or very early March, even though your technical last frost date may not be until April. There are lots of seeds you can be starting indoors this month to prepare for your spring garden.

Leaves

The leaves I would focus on this month would be herbs from the carrot family, so think cilantro, parsley, and dill.

Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs to grow. Even if you don't love the flavor, I recommend adding it to your garden space for the ladybugs. This annual herb loves cooler weather. If you've struggled to keep cilantro alive before, you probably planted it too late. The secret is getting this plant into your garden as soon as possible, so that means buying seeds, starting them indoors this month, and moving your seedlings out next month.

Another great herb to start this month is parsley, which is a biennial that you can potentially keep around for 2 to 3 years if your garden doesn't get too cold. Parsley is slow to start from seed, so I recommend starting it indoors this month. Parsley is frost tolerant, so you can transplant it to your garden as soon as your soil is workable.

In addition to herbs, you can start large leafy greens indoors in preparation for your upcoming cool season. It's not too late to start cabbage indoors, though I recommend a faster-growing cabbage like Napa cabbage. The ideal time to start larger heading cabbages in a mild climate would be December.

The next leafy green is kale, which can be started now so that it's ready to move out to the garden by late February. Kale is definitely worth getting a head start on. These plants will give you so many harvests.

Roots

If you haven't already started onions (which are technically bulbs) by seed, it's time to get those tiny seeds in soil. Onions are a great way to get lots of production from your garden without doing a lot of work. And the onions you harvest from home will be so much tastier than the ones you buy from the grocery store. Organic onions are hard to come by, and they're hard to keep, unless you grow your own.

Fruit

Some of you might be ready to plant snow peas, sugar snap peas, and fava beens in your garden. Count back about 60 days before your last frost date — that's when you should direct sow peas in your garden.

It's not quite time to start your warm season fruiting plants indoors, but go ahead and stock up on seeds for your warm season garden before all the good ones are sold out!

So these are the seeds you should definitely be planting if you live in a mild climate. Get on it because your soil will be warming up before you know it.

What Can You Plant in Cold Areas in January?

January in a cold climate means your soil is frozen solid and covered in ice and snow. But you can create your own warm, plant-centered environment indoors as you start to get ready for your upcoming growing season.

Leaves

The first plants to start indoors in January are your perennial herbs. Some of your outdoor perennial herbs may not come back from winter. This is probably the case for rosemary, which is perennial in warmer climates but not cold ones like Chicago. If you like having some rosemary sprigs to toss onto warm dishes, make sure to start rosemary this month.

Other perennial herbs to consider starting indoors are chives, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, and lavender. If you start these slow-growing herbs now, you'll have plants big enough to move out to your garden in March.

Once you've started those perennial herbs, it's time to think about large leafy greens. These plants take about 120 days to mature in the garden, so you want to start them indoors right now. I know it's freezing outside, but trust me on this one.

Working backwards using your last frost date can help you figure out when to start large, frost-tolerant leafy greens by seed indoors. Typically, you'll start broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale indoors 90 to 100 days before your last frost date. Use a calendar to help you count back to find the ideal time to start these plants indoors. Then, count back 45 days before your last frost date to know when you can move these guys out to your garden.

It's especially important to start cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower this month so that you have little plants to transplant in late February or early March. That way, you can get a nice, big head before it warms up in May or June.

Kale should also be fairly mature by the time your soil is workable. If you start kale plants now, you can move them out in late March and enjoy them all the way through December. It's absolutely worth taking up some of your indoor space and time this month to start your favorite types of kale this month. The same goes for Swiss chard.

Roots

It's time to start onions (which are technically bulbs). Onions take a very long time to grow from seed, but it's 100% worth the time and investment to start them indoors. You'll give your onion seedlings a couple little haircuts before you move them out in early March. And then by the end of the summer, you'll have the most delicious onions you've ever tasted.

Fruit

Unfortunately, you're a while away from planting fruiting plants. That being said, now's a great time to get your seed order in for the year.

Cold climate gardeners, focus on starting the seeds I mentioned above, even if it's a winter wonderland outside.

Bonus: Herbs and Vegetables to Plant in January No Matter Where You Live

There are three categories of plants we can all grow by seed in the middle of winter:

• Sprouts
• Microgreens
• Herbs

Sprouts can be grown in a matter of days and require no light source. Microgreens take just a bit longer and need a light source and a little more setup. Herbs can be started by seed right now and grown in trays until the weather is right to move them outdoors. These projects are a great way to bring those garden-fresh flavors into your kitchen even when your raised garden beds are covered in six inches of snow.

Don't Stop Planting in January

Now you're ready to make the most of January to prepare for your spring garden. I'm making it a goal of mine this year to plant seeds every single week, and I hope you'll join me in making growing year round a priority.

This month is also a great time to order seeds for your garden if you haven't already. Here's which seeds to order in January.

May this be the start of the best year in the garden ever for me, for you, for all of us!

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