January's the time to...

BORDERS: If soil conditions allow, finish off any maintenance such as forking over, weeding and mulching. Shred any material cut from herbaceous plants during autumn.

CLOCHES: Repair glass, if necessary, and clean them. Remove rust with a stiff wire brush, then paint the frames for a really tidy look.

DECIDUOUS TREES: Winter prune them as required, removing crossing or rubbing branches, cutting out diseased wood and shortening over-long branches.

FALLEN LEAVES: Keep gathering them to make leaf mould. Where there are a lot, prioritise collecting them from lawns, rockeries and – for safety's sake – paths and steps.

PAVED AREAS: Clean them now to save time once the growing season gets underway - a pressure washer speeds up the task.

PERENNIALS: Tidy through them, cutting back where required.

PONDS AND WATER FEATURES: Top them up in dry weather. Pebbles in water features can look grubby, but soapy water and a scrubbing brush will work wonders.

WISTERIA: Winter prune.

WOODEN WALKWAYS: Fix fine-mesh chicken wire to these areas, including decking and railway sleepers. This should stop anyone from slipping.

CONSERVATORY PLANTS: Deadhead them and remove old leaves. Water sparingly as required.

HARDY CROPS: Move previously sown garlic, endive, beetroot, broad beans, lettuce and peas out of the heated greenhouse and into a polytunnel to harden off.

HEATERS: Check they are working efficiently. If not, take them to a service agent or electrician.

HERBACEOUS SEEDS: Sow these into modules.

SEED POTATOES Chit them by simply placing them in a light but frost-free place to sprout.

SOWING SEED: Follow my easy guide to sowing veg seeds with recommended varieties to try.

Bring crops on early with a hox box

BROAD BEANS: Cut the tops off those being grown as a green manure crop and dig them in.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS: Harvest the last of these. Remove the plant debris and div over the vacated area.

CROP ROTATION: Plan this for your annual veg, so you can prevent a build up of soil problems. The crop families are made up of:

DIGGING: Finish off, if you haven't already, providing the conditions are suitable. Don't dig if the soil if frozen, solid or waterlogged. Cover dug ground with polythene.

GRAPE VINES: Prune by cutting back all shoots coming from the main framework back to two buds.

HOT BOX: This Victorian idea uses heat from manure to obtain earlier crops. To make one, fill a wooden compost bin with fresh horse manure, Cap it with a 10cm (4in) layer of garden compost and add a cloche. If you already have one, empty it and spread the now well-rotted horse manure over the brassica bed.

LEEKS: Dig a trench and plant. If the weather freezes the ground, there will still be some to harvest.

MANURE: Add well-rotted manure to borders and beds and rake over lightly.

SEEDS AND YOUNG PLANTS: Order these now if you haven't done so already, including fruit plants. Mail-order specialists will have the most choice.

SHREDDING: Shred woody garden waste and add to the compost heap.

WEEDING: Have a general tidy up and weed around fruit trees and bushes. Clear any old crops and add them to the compost heap. As well as conventional bins made from wood, we have tried making compost containers from bricks. They do work, but they are time-consuming to make.