JanuaryThe vegetable garden sleeps, the gardener draws
January is the quietest month of the year in the Belgian vegetable garden. The days are short and the soil is waterlogged, sometimes frozen. Leave it alone: walking on sodden ground compacts it for months. This is the time to sit down at the table with a pencil, draw up the plan for the season, take stock of your seeds and dream a little. Outside, leeks, cabbages and lamb’s lettuce are holding their own.
Tips of the month
- Draw up the plan of the vegetable garden and work out rotations by plant family.
- Sort your seeds, check the dates and write the shopping list.
- Harvest leeks, Brussels sprouts, kale, parsnips and lamb’s lettuce in mild weather.
- Pick the chicory (witloof) forced in the cellar and set fresh roots to force.
- Prune apple and pear trees in dry, frost-free weather.
- Clean, sharpen and oil your tools.
- Empty last year’s finished compost and turn the heap.
In the vegetable garden and orchard
What to do in january
Sow under cover
Sowing in the ground
The ground is too cold, or it’s too late in the year.
On the plate
Eating in january
January is eaten as chicory gratin, parsnip soup, kale hotpot and Brussels sprouts roasted in the oven with a drizzle of oil. Stored apples and pears go with everything, from breakfast to pudding, and the summer’s jars bring a splash of colour.
Living well
Leafing through seed catalogues on a January Sunday is a simple pleasure. You always plan too big, you calm down in February, and that is exactly as it should be: that is what winter is for.