Gardening calendar: January

It may be too early to start planting, but there are plenty of things that can keep you busy in your garden in January.  Here are a couple things to put on your to-do list:

• Sharpen your mower blades and tune up your mower.
• It’s never too early to pull weeds. Get them early, get them young.
• Clean up landscape beds and lawn areas. Be sure to keep wet and soggy leaves from piling up on the lawn as they can smother the grass.
• Pull out or dig up annuals after they have been killed by a freeze and cut herbaceous perennials to the ground. With the beds clean and open, it’s a good time to top-dress landscape beds with mulch as long as the ground is not frozen.
• Now is a good time to plant or move trees and shrubs.
• Selective pruning of evergreen and deciduous shrubs and trees can be done at this time of year.  Cut out deadwood, crossing branches, and branches that are damaged by storms.
• While you’re at it, try to stay off soggy or frozen grass to keep it from being compacted.