Garden work in January
January is the coldest month of the year. It is in January that the strongest frosts are possible up to -35 degrees, and sometimes they reach -42 degrees. With such frosts, fruit trees enter the risk zone, they may just die. It is especially dangerous when frosts last long enough or a drastic temperature change occurs: after a thaw, severe frosts occur. Such changes can not tolerate all the fruit trees.
The main thing that a gardener should do in January is to protect fruit trees from frosts and rodents (which are no less dangerous) - mice and hares (if there is a forest near you). First, you should periodically check the condition of the binding of the brooms, which are designed to protect fruit trees from rodents and sunburn. Timely correction of untied straps will help to keep trees intact and safe.
In order to protect the root system of fruit and berry plants from freezing, it is necessary to make special snow holders. This is especially true in winters with little snow. This must be done first of all on the beds with strawberries and on the trunks of fruit trees. As snegozaderzhateley you can use simple heaps of brushwood or pruning branches (that's why do not rush it all in the fall). Of all this, you need to arrange snow ridges.
All work should be carried out in a timely manner, without waiting for severe frosts: it is necessary to hill the bumps and the lower parts of the skeletal branches. Similar procedures should be carried out with both apple trees, and with pear, plum and cherry. If the work is carried out after the onset of frost, the effectiveness of protection is significantly reduced.
If in the garden grown creeping plants, they should be covered with a layer of snow with a thickness of 40-50 centimeters. After each snowfall, it is necessary to trample snow around the fruit trees. This is done to protect trees from mice: in dense snow, mice will not be able to navigate the moves. It's best if you compact the snow when the snow is saturated with moisture - in the days of the thaw. In this case, the compaction will be more efficient.
Of course, you can fight rodents and with the help of poisoned bait, which is laid out next to in heaps of straw or brushwood. You can arrange and mousetrap, which should be checked regularly.
In addition, you should inspect the tree crowns in order to remove the dried fruits that have not fallen. These fruits are harvested and burned. In this way, one can still find nests with wintering caterpillars, masonry of a ringed silkworm. An experienced gardener's eye will quickly see all this. Sometimes it is necessary to remove the silkworm masonry with a secateur, simply cutting off the shoots.
After a wet snowfall, it is necessary to shake off the snow from the branches of the trees so that they do not break. This can be done by simply tapping the wood with a wooden beater, which must first be wrapped with burlap.
If your garden plot is next to the forest, and your hated enemies are hares, then you should guard your garden from these rodents: just get a dog.
In January, it is already worth starting to prepare for spring, collecting ashes, bird droppings and manure. It is at this time that you can start harvesting mineral fertilizers and pesticides. You can also do repairs of garden tools that are out of order.
At the same time, do not forget to feed your helpers: birds. Help them during this severe season, and they will reward you with a vengeance, freeing your garden from caterpillars and other pests.
