Zone 8 - What to Plant in January

Zone 8 - What to Plant in January

January is the time to start your garden in zone 8. To be ready for the last frost you should start all transplants inside in January so you're ready to go. January is your first window to start your indoor sowings and order your seeds for the spring season. The next two months are the most important for starting your vegetables on time. Start your tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables to be ready for spring transplant!

The Ponderosa Pink Tomato is an extra large and tasty beefsteak with a bright pink hue that is perfect for fresh eating as well as cooked for sauces! This 16 ounce, beefsteak type is almost seedless with low acid.

The Betty Tomato is an extraordinary tasting dark red juicy tomato that has a substantial beefsteak size. This variety has the characteristics of an heirloom tomato combined with the large yield of a hybrid. The delicious Betty is known for being good for early spring production.

The Black Plum Tomato is a heavy producer and a favorite plum-shaped tomato variety for making different salsa or sauces. This variety produces 2" long by 1" wide tomatoes that weigh around 1-2 ounces. The Black Plum has a black-purple skin with green-shoulders and a very delicious flavor.

The Italian Ice is a small white to cream-yellow tomato variety with a sugary sweet flavor that is bursting with flavor! This variety produces high yields of up to 1" sized fruits that ripen from green to white to cream-yellow color. The tomatoes are edible once they turn their famous yellow white. The ripened tomatoes are incredibly sweet, which makes this variety a double threat! This tomato plant is a heavy producer that will grow and produce tomatoes up until the first frost. This variety should be staked well as it will grow large and vine off! The Italian Ice will be one of the first tomato varieties to ripen in the garden.

Blue Vantage produces dense and large heads with short cores. A mid-season maturity that is ideal for fresh eating or coleslaw. Great resistance to Fusarium yellows race 1 resistant and tipburn tolerant.

A wonderful mild chile with a sweet flavor and is larger and sweeter than the Poblano pepper. The mulato has been described as tasting somewhat like chocolate or licorice, with undertones of cherry and tobacco. Its heat rating is 2,500 to 3,000 on the Scoville scale. Dry these out to create the perfect mole sauce!

The Dazzling Blue Kale is a beautiful, cold-tolerant lacinato-type that produces large blue-green leaves with deep purple veins. This kale is sure to add a delicious pop of color to any salad! This variety will survive freezing temperatures better than other lacinato types and will even intensify with cool temperatures.

The Red Salad Bowl is a very popular loose-leaf heirloom lettuce that is heat resistant. This variety is an appealing, slow bolting deep red leaf lettuce with finely divided leaves. The Red Salad Bowl has a sweet and tender flavor and is a colorful delight for many dishes and salads! This variety is a favorite for being quick grow and great for cut and come again harvesting.

The spicy flavor, attractive purple stems, and green leaves of the Hong Vit Radish makes it a favorite among many growers! This radish variety is also a very fast growing microgreen. The Hong Vit grows straight with hairless attractive purple stems. Micro Hong Vit's leaves add a spicy flavor, visual appeal, and bulk to mixes!

The Philadelphia White Box Radish is a tiny, round white variety that is the perfect choice for a container or garden bed! This radish might be small, but it has a big spicy flavor and crispy texture that is wonderful when eaten fresh. The Philadelphia White Box can enjoyed by both home growers or market growers. This variety is a heavy yielder of little, uniform radishes!

The Red Sails Lettuce is a full rosette type that produces radiant bronze-red, ruffled and deeply lobed leaves that have a mild bitter-free flavor that pairs very well in salads. This slow-bolting lettuce is ready to cut early and holds its quality very well. Red Sails has six times the vitamin A and three times the vitamin C as other supermarket lettuces. This variety thrives in cool weather, but can also grow well in the spring, summer or fall.

Red Romaine Lettuce has long, crinkled leaves with great crunch! This variety starts green and fades to redish-purple. The Red Romaine's leaves are12" tall and the plant is about 10-12" wide. This lettuce is often used in Caesar salads not only for its crunch, but also for its color. Use Red Romaine lettuce for an incredible edible purple border in your flower beds.

The Hailstone Radish is a round white radish with a very crisp flesh that is a nice color contrast on relish trays and in salads. This quick growing radish is suitable to both spring and fall planting. Begin harvesting this radish variety when its nearly an inch across.

Daikon Radish has a crisp firm flesh is pure white. This Daikon radish, produces long tapered white radishes that are mostly used as winter radishes. The Minowase has a great, mild taste that is excellent in many Oriental dishes. This radish variety is great for spring or late summer planting.

New Zealand spinach, known scientifically as Tetragonia tetragonioides, is a unique leafy green vegetable that thrives in warm climates, making it a popular choice in gardens. Unlike traditional spinach, which is a cool-season crop, New Zealand spinach is a perennial plant with succulent, triangular leaves that have a mild, slightly salty flavor. This hardy plant can tolerate heat and drought, making it ideal for summer gardens. It is often used in salads, stir-fries, and as a cooked green, providing a nutritious alternative to other leafy greens. With its ability to grow well in poor soil conditions and its attractive, sprawling growth habit, New Zealand spinach is not only a versatile culinary ingredient but also a valuable addition to edible landscapes.

The White Boston is a butterhead lettuce that is an improved Big Boston. This variety gives excellent yields of firm, round, 12" heads of crisp lettuce. The White Boston is a very delicious lettuce that is a bright light green with a buttery-yellow heart . This lettuce does well in warm conditions and is recommended for southern gardens.

The Golden Helios Radish is named after the Greek god of the sun. This olive-shaped radish is bright yellow with a crispy white flesh and is truly one of the most beautiful radish! Not only is Helios a beauty, it is also tasty with a sweet and mild flavor.

The China Rose Radish is a tasty rose colored radish with peppery undertones. This long radish variety with 5 inch long roots is one of the oldest heirloom radishes around. The China Rose is a very hardy type that can be grown year round.