It’s a new year, and chances are, your gardens are now flourishing.

You’ll be seeing ripening tomatoes, plump cucumbers, flowering chili and capsicum plants. Your strawberries will be red, and those new potatoes might have even made it to your festive tables.

Hopefully you’ve found time to get out to deal with the weeds that seem to grow faster than you can pull them out, and to throw down some mulch to hold some of that moisture – and slow those weeds down a bit.

The truth is, this month’s planting is remarkably similar to December’s, with only a couple of exceptions. Feel free to go back and catch up.

But the rest of the tasks in the garden this month are mostly about protecting those crops you’ve worked so hard to nurture throughout spring and early summer. So this month’s guide is going to focus a little more on pest management than usual.

Let’s crack into it.

Things to plant

If you’re planning to grow brassica like cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, or cabbage from seed, it would pay to start them this month.

Getting them in the ground in late February/early March gives them a strong lead into winter, so it’s time to start your seeds. You can hold off another month if you’re planning to buy seedlings.

It’s also time to plant your leek seedlings into the garden.

The warm temperatures are beneficial to the young plants, but it’ll take months to get to a harvestable size. You’ve got until the end of February to get this done.

Last chance on spuds and summer veggies like tomatoes, courgettes, and cucumber, too.

Stone fruit

Harvest should be commencing. You might need to net your tree (or individual fruit) to protect it from birds.

Once harvest is complete, your trees will need pruning. Best to get it done before they lose their leaves – see my free pruning guide for more tips.

Pip fruit

Fruit is developing, and will need thinning. Here’s some befores and afters I took in my orchard to give you an idea of what you need to do.

Reducing fruit to 1 or 2 per cluster feels really difficult, but it helps ensure a better harvest.

Fewer fruit means more space for them to grow into. Bugs, spiders, and caterpillars also really love that tight space between two apples. Best to avoid it if you can.

Keep the biggest, healthiest looking fruit, and twist off the rest. It’s beneficial in the end, trust me.

Citrus

Citrus fruit will need feeding with a fruit and flower fertiliser.

They may also need a spray with a horticultural oil if scale or aphids are on the rise. See below for tips on spraying.

Pests

This month is when pest damage really begins to kick in, so I thought I’d spend some time talking about pest management.

As the summer heat begins to ramp up over the next couple of months, pests will begin to emerge. Your pests might be different to mine, but late summer and early autumn are the peak season for most of the damage – just in time to get into your hard-worked-for harvests.

In my garden, my biggest foes are corn earworm and green vegetable bug. Generally, I try to avoid insecticides. Instead I focus on physically keeping them off my crops, and “manual control” (squashing them).

Integrated pest management

Integrated pest management is about reaching a balance with nature so that you don’t feel the impact of the pest burden as much. This is the goal I think we should all be working to achieve in the long-term.

When you reach this point, your soils are healthy. That leads to healthier plants which are more resistant to attack.

You know how when your immune system is beat up, that you catch everything going around? It’s the same for your plants, and building their immune system begins with healthy soils.

Birds, spiders, wasps, and “beneficial insects” become your partners in your pest management.

Creating a garden full of diverse species, with flowers, water sources, and places to hide means you create a garden that invites these creatures in to feast on your plagues.

Think about adding flowers like calendula, alyssum, and marigolds to your garden. Herbs like coriander, dill (shown above), and parsley should be allowed to go to seed.

Not only will you get a sustainable supply of fresh herbs, these ‘umbel’ flowers are also good for inviting predatory wasps and ladybugs into your garden.

Common insecticides

You might need something a bit stronger for whatever your plague is. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common insect sprays.

Conqueror or Horticultural Oils are emulsifiable oils (usually derived from minerals, making them organic) which work by suffocating small bugs such as aphids, mites, thrips, and scale.

They do not contain poisons, instead it is the physical mechanism of the oil sticking to the insect that kills them.

Neem oil is derived from a tree native to India, making it organic. The odour is very potent. It’s highly insecticidal and will kill everything that comes in contact with it, including beneficial insects like bees. But if you’re facing quite an infestation, that might be helpful. Avoid spraying on flowers.

Pyrethrum-based sprays are derived from the pyrethrum daisy. Again, this is a broad insecticide that will target everything. You’ll find pyrethins (the active agent in these sprays) in fly sprays, and in organic sprays such as Yates Nature’s Way.

Yates Mavrik is the one we turn to when all other hope is lost. It’s a synthetic pyrethroid, making it safe for food crops. Again, it’ll kill everything.

Spraying tips

Always spray in the evening as the sun is setting, or on an overcast day. Spraying in the evening will mean the bees will be in bed, and will protect them if you’re using a broad insecticide such as neem or a pyrethroid.

It will also give the chemical time to work and settle, without burning your plants in the bright light of day.

Sprays that contain oils (such as Neem or Conqueror) are especially important to time right – the sun can really heat the oils up, burning your leaves.

Bug Net

Bug net is a physical barrier that will stop most pests reaching your crops in the first place. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s the only way we’ll get crops of corn, tomatoes, or capsicum in the future as armyworm has become such a massive pest in my garden.

It can be pretty expensive, but a good one will last several seasons. I recommend the one you can get at The Warehouse, which have been going for years in my garden, or the Cosio bug net – which is available in 4m widths by the metre, in 30m rolls, and in 4m x 4m pieces at Mitre 10.

Last year, we decided to go ahead with buying a roll, and we built this bugnet house which is now happily in its second year.

While the untreated Taiwan Cherry poles have rotted out, the bug net is going strong, and I have high hopes for this year’s paprika, tomato, and cucumber harvests. 

Take it easy

More than any other month, January is really a time to enjoy the work you’ve been doing all year.

Sure, there are things you can do, but you also get to just enjoy your harvests this month. 

So make the most of it while it’s pumping.