Anxious to get your garden started? Even though it’s January you can still start preparing for an amazing spring garden! This post is focused on what to plant in January, primarily for those of you who live in Zones 7 & 8.
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What is my Garden Zone?
Don’t know what your garden hardiness zone is? Follow this link to find out!
Not in zones 7 or 8? Check out our posts on zones 5 & 6 or zones 9 & 10. Your climate will determine what you can start this month so check out these other garden zone posts to see what you can plant now in January.
Check out my YouTube video on this topic below and be sure to subscribe to my channel while you are at it!!
What to Plant in January indoors?
You may not be thinking about gardening in January, but starting now means you can have delicious homegrown veggies even earlier! It may take a little bit of creativity, but there are some garden plants that you can start in January.
When people ask me what to plant in January, seedlings are my answer! January is a great time to start seedlings for planting in the spring. Why should you grow your own seedlings? Click this link to find out why!
Onions
If you live in zones 7-8 the end of January is your time to start onion seedlings. There are several different ways to grow onions without growing the seedlings yourself. However, onions are a great plant to start in January if you are itching to do some gardening.
Onion seedlings will need a solid 8 weeks or more to get to transplanting size. Decide on when you want to plant your seedlings outside and then count back approximately 8-10 weeks. In zones 7-8 that should be in January!
Leeks
You can start Leeks indoors in zones 7-8! Get your leeks started now so that you can try our Creamy Leek and Potato Soup recipe in a few months!
Celery
Celery is a long-season crop and takes approximately 140-150 days of cool weather to grow. So if you live in zones 7 & 8 you will need to start celery indoors in January.
Parsley
Parsley is a hardy herb and it’s great to start indoors in January. Because parsley is hardy it’s the perfect herb to start in the winter for planting outdoors in the spring!
Broccoli
Broccoli is another great vegetable to start in January. Especially for zones 7-8, it’s important to start broccoli early before the warm weather sets in. We love broccoli around here, and because we have short springs we have to start early!
Cabbage
I like to start my cabbage early. Look for hardy varieties so that you can plant your cabbage plant outdoors in early spring.
Cauliflower
Similar to cabbage, start cauliflower indoors in January and it will be ready for planting outdoors in early spring!
Kale
A lot of people don’t love kale, but I think that’s because they’re growing/eating it at the wrong time of year! Kale tastes best grown in cold or cooler weather. It is one of my favorite plants to start in January.
Lettuce
Start lettuce seedlings this month. We love fresh lettuce, so it’s at the top of my list of what to plant in January! Leaf lettuce seems to tolerate the cold better than head lettuce does, so I stick with it for my earlier plantings.
Try and look for hardy varieties that will be ready to plant outdoors in a few months! Want to learn more about why you should start lettuce indoors? Click here to learn why I do!
Hardy Lettuce Varieties
Plant Peppers in January (Zone 8)
If you’re in zone 8, you can get peppers started indoors in January and you can start getting excited about making your own fresh homemade salsa!
Flowers
You can also get things besides vegetables started indoors in January too. You can start geraniums and coleus indoors this month and they’ll be ready for planting in the spring!
What to Plant in January – Outdoors
If you live in zones 7 & 8 there are even a few things that you can get started outdoors in January. Here’s what to plant in January outdoors in zones 7 & 8:
Strawberries (bare root)
Planting bare-root strawberries is a great way to save money and if you live in zone 8, you can start in January! Planting strawberries bare root is a very simple process. You can learn more here!
Asparagus (Zone 8)
If you live in zone 8 you can start asparagus in January! When the soil dries out you can plant asparagus crowns. This long-growing perennial plant takes 2 or 3 years to establish. Learn more about growing Asparagus from my friends over at Food Storage Moms.
All of the other plants you can start in January will depend on the conditions in your area.
What to plant in January if it’s been a mild winter
If it’s been a mild winter you can get these seedlings started
- Onion
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Chard
- Kale
A reminder that this list of “what to plant in January”, is intended for those living in Zones 7 & 8. Let me know what plants you start in January in your area in the comments below!
If you are looking for seeds check out Honest Seed Co! You can find their website here: Honest Seed Co.
Slow Cooker Three-Bean Chili Recipe
I LOST MY HUBBY IN JUNE. THIS WILL HELP ME IMMENSELY TO PLANT ON MY OWN! THANK YOU!
Condolences. May I suggest you consider growing a perennial that blooms in June or something that you can care for in his memory that’ll come back every year. 💚
Question….when you say….’get started indoors’ are you talking about under a grow light?
Yes exactly under lights. It doesn’t have to be grow lights, it can be simple shop lights, no need to get fanct.
I tried the Winter Sowing method with Outdoor water jugs last year. It worked very well with no fuss.
Merilee
I have been following you on how to plant seedlings in zone 7 and 8. I planted broccoli and cauliflower on January 8th. They have already grown to be about 3 1/2 to 4 inches tall and very skinny stems. Do i need to do something to make them more sturdy. Or keep letting them grow?
It may be that they are not getting enough light. Move that light closer.
Along with having the light closer, it will greatly help your indoor starts if you can get a gentle fan on them for a few hours each day (or gently brush your hand over the seedlings several times each day in all directions) . Just make sure they don’t dry out. 🙂
That usually means you’re grow lights are either too far away from the plants(they should be just an inch or 2 away), or they are not good full spectrum lights!
I wish we could start planting this soon.
I live in 7a in Washington, DC. Right now in December I am still growing 100% organically broccoli, kale, swiss chard, a few strains of winter hardy lettuces, beets, corn salad, carrots, radishes, pak choy, baby bok choy, Tatsoi, swiss chard, and Japanese giant red mustard seeds in a small container garden on my very sunny patio. I have some organic sugar snap peas that grew well into November and have just recently stopped setting new pea pods. I cover the container plants with heavy folded up sheets on nights where the overnight temp is near freezing. So far only a few lettuce seedlings and the sugar snap peas seem to be taking any damage from near freezing or freezing temperatures. For other 7a organic vegetable gardeners, are there any specific plants that you’ve had luck early sowing (inside, I also have a plant heat mat) initially in January, for winter sowing, then later planting out in the garden? I only have a moderately sized patio area for growing a container vegetable garden, and I’d like to get as many seeds started early in January/February as I can for spring planting.
Hi Ria, you mention that you are growing an organic garden does that require special seeds or will any seeds work?
Aimee I will give you my 2 cents on this. I feel that growing an organic garden is about what you are doing to the soil and the plants. Your practices as the plants are growing and developing. The seed of course is important but it is such a small part of the over process that I don’t think paying extra for organic seeds is necessary. For me organic is how I care for the plants.
If I am in zone 6a but use a high tunnel, should I treat that as zone 7a? I don’t use any heat.
Yes that is a pretty safe estimate.
Very informative and I am starting my new garden in zone eight.
nice