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Best Vegetables to Grow in January in India
With the start of a new year, it is time to give a fresh look to your Indian garden by adding some new plants to thrive. While this can be a great idea, one could wonder what those plants could possibly be & what are those that grow well during January. We have taken the hardships in consolidating all the available information across various sources & putting it together in this article for you to reap the benefits.
Must Grow Vegetables in India during January
Here we bring you a list of the 5 best plants with a range of colours to sow & grow in your garden in India.
A list of the 5 best vegetables to grow in January in India
1. Spinach - Spinacia oleracea
These are the leafy beings of the lot & are as green as they come. Being a storehouse of vitamins & minerals, spinach becomes ready for harvesting as early as the sixth week after the date of sowing. Worry not, if it takes a bit longer, there is time till the eighth week. One needs to exercise caution while planting their seeds since the ambience needs to be a bit cool during the phase in which they germinate & grow.
2. Capsicum - Capsicum annuum
Capsicum would grow best when they are seeded in the early days of Jan. It basically needs a slightly acidic & well draining soil with temperatures between 25-30℃ in the day & 18-20℃ at night. Partial sunlight for 3 to 4 hours daily is needed for them to thrive & get ready for harvest in about 60 to 90 days.
3. Radish - Raphanus sativus
With a preference for cool & loose soil, radishes can be grown throughout January. Radishes need a sunny spot with at least 6 hours of sunlight gracefully reaching out to them daily & they are also quick to harvest with a time to maturity of 4 weeks.
4. Carrot - Daucus carota
Being a close relative to the radish, carrots also prefer a drainy & loose soil with 6-8 hours of sunlight daily. They can be planted anywhere between mid to late January and should be ready for harvesting by 70-80 days after planting.
5. Brinjal - Solanum melongena
Brinjal loves the warmth of the sun, so make sure it receives sunlight for 6 to 7 hours daily. It is suggested that mid-Jan would be the sweet time for planting their seeds & watch them grow. They can grow in all types of soil varying from those that are slightly sandy to those which are heavyweight clayey. A 100-120 day tenure would be needed to get them harvested.
Bonus - Best Fruit & Flower to grow in January
We feel that our list won’t be complete if we didn’t touch the fruits & flowers that can be grown in your garden in January. So, here is our best pick in each of the category
Fruit: Apple - Malus domestica
Apples normally take a period of 130-150 days to get themselves ready for harvest & is one the largely cultivated fruits grown in India during the month of January. These red fruits thrive in temperatures between 21-24℃ when grown in loamy soils with abundant organic matter.
Flower: Daffodil - Narcissus pseudonarcissus
Beside the lakes, beneath the trees; Fluttering & dancing in the breeze – It’s the bunch of golden daffodils which inspired William Wordsworth to pen a poem for them. They are one amongst the most commonly grown flowers in the month of Jan in India. They prefer an acidic soil with at least 3 hours of sunlight daily.
Pest control for January
All our efforts shall go in vain if one doesn’t look into controlling the pests in one’s garden. There’s always something in your garden that would like to have the first taste of your yields. However healthy your garden might be, it might face some threat from a bug or any other insect that for matter in one way or the other. Irrespective of the month in which one starts their garden, it is imperative that a high emphasis is to be given to incorporating pest control mechanisms during the early stages of garden designing. Being a gardener, one must also have a fair idea of tolerance towards these pests since nature is all about co-existing in harmony. Some of the techniques like intercropping or using a physical barrier such as row cover have proven to be effective in controlling pests. Resorting to chemicals to make this happen is a BIG NO-NO!
FAQ
Can I plant tomatoes in January?
Tomatoes are better suited to be grown in the months of March & April. You can check out our list of plants that would thrive in your garden during the month of January in this article.
What vegetable grows quickly?
Radish is the quickest to harvest when planted to grow in the month of January. It grows to maturity real quick and requires only around 4 weeks to get them harvested.
Which fruit is grown in January?
It is the fruit that keeps the doctor away! Apples grow best when they are planted in the month of Jan, but they are highly sensitive to the environment in which they grow. Don’t dream of growing them in your farm next to a beach house, doesn’t happen that way. They are best when confined to hilly regions.
What flowers grow in January?
Flowers are always a treat to our eyes with their beautiful blossoms and fragrance. Amongst the flowers that grow in January, our pick is Daffodil but there are also other flowers such as winter jasmine, marigold & alyssum.
What is soil preparation?
Soil preparation is a technique to enrich the soil of your garden with nutrients & beneficial microorganisms making it a healthy habitat for the plants to grow upon. It is high time that one understands that providing the right type of soil with the right kind of nutrient supply is what would make one’s garden to thrive. Providing only one of the above will never serve the purpose. The most preferable ways are to add vermicompost or organic manure.
