January is hands down the busiest month of gardening if you live in Southern California. Not only are you juggling your regular garden maintenance, but you are rapidly starting amazing new varieties for spring and summer. While exciting, January can be an exhausting month for the Southern California gardener. My advice? Batch out your seed starting over the next three months.
Direct sow: Plant directly in ground
Transplant: Buy from your local nursery to transplant or transplant from seeds you started 8 weeks ago.
Start Indoors: Start seeds indoors now and transplant in about 8 weeks.
| PLANT | GROWING OPTION |
| Amaranth | Direct sow |
| Artichokes | Transplant |
| Arugula | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Asparagus | Transplant |
| Basil | Start Indoors |
| Beet | Direct sow |
| Berries | Plant bare root plants |
| Begonia | Transplant |
| Borage | Direct sow |
| Broccoli | Transplant |
| Brussels Sprouts | Transplant |
| Cabbage | Transplant |
| California Natives | Transplant (see Theodore Payne Foundation) |
| Calla Lily | Plant rhizomes |
| Cantaloupe | Start indoors |
| Carrot | Direct sow |
| Cauliflower | Direct sow or Tranplant |
| Celeriac | Start indoors |
| Chamomile | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Chervil | Start indoors or Transplant |
| Chives | Transplant |
| Cilantro | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Citrus | Plant |
| Collard Greens | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Cyclamen | Transplant |
| Dahlia | Plant tubers |
| Dill | Direct Sow or Transplant |
| Eggplant | Start indoors |
| Endive | Start indoors |
| Fennel | Start indoors |
| Feverfew | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Gladiolus | Plant corms |
| Horseradish | Transplant |
| Kale | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow |
| Lavender | Transplant |
| Leeks | Direct sow |
| Lemon Balm | Transplant |
| Lemon Grass | Transplant |
| Marigold | Start indoors |
| Okra | Start indoors |
| Oregano | Start indoors or Transplant |
| Pak Choi/ Bok Choi/ Tat Soi | Direct Sow or Transplant |
| Pansy | Transplant |
| Parsley | Start indoors or Transplant |
| Parsnip | Direct sow |
| Peas | Direct sow |
| Pepper (hot and sweet) | Start indoors |
| Poppy | Direct sow |
| Potato | Sow seed potatoes |
| Primrose | Transplant |
| Radish | Direct sow |
| Rhubarb | Transplant |
| Roselle | Start indoors |
| Rosemary | Transplant |
| Rutabaga | Direct sow |
| Sorrel | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Spinach | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Stock | Start indoors |
| Strawberries | Start indoors or Transplant bare root |
| Sunflower | Direct sow |
| Sweet peas | Direct sow or Transplant |
| Thyme | Start indoors |
| Tomato | Start indoors |
| Turnip | Direct sow |
| Violas | Direct sow or Transplant |
Can’t wait to plant my Dahlia tubers!! And to see yours! 🙂
This is literally so helpful! I feel like I’ve been looking for this exact simple chart for so long.