January in your Cool Temperate garden

You may notice that water simply runs off your vegetable garden, leaving the soil as dry as when you began. A consistent supply of water is vital for effective cropping, so good wetting of soils is vital for good growth and sensible if you don't want to waste water. Sprinkling SaturAid on the soil around your vegetables will guarantee water take-up.

Many vegetables should be sown in January, including broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and spinach. Sow each in succession to extend your cropping season. Sow seeds into trays of Debco Seed Raising Mix and keep them watered as they grow.

Some of your bedding plants may be growing a bit lank. By cutting them back you can get a second flush of flower. Apply Phostrogen fertiliser after pruning to encourage growth.

Dig over the vegetable garden in preparation for winter crops. Add compost and, if the soil is clay, gypsum to improve aeration and drainage as well as the soils' workability.

You may have nurtured your cyclamen by leaving it under a bush in the garden for the summer. Now is the time to move it into a larger pot. Choose a well-drained potting mix like Debco Bulb Potting Mixture and remember to leave the upper part of the corm above soil level.