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!

A green beauty in any vegetable garden. Ripens with a green exterior and interior that is sweet and tart! One of our favorite tasting green tomato varieties. Will mature to between 8-12 ounces and when mature with have a yellowish tint on the bottom of the fruits.

Imperial Star is an Asian type spinach that is early maturing. This is a smooth-type spinach with medium sized green leaves. Grows upright on sturdy stalks. Perfect for cooler climates but also low bolt tolerance. Also has a high tolerance for downy mildew.

The Outredegeous Lettuce is a deep, dark purple red romaine that will maintain its dark color even under low-light conditions! This mesmerizing variety is a wonderful baby leaf type and large loose leaf type, making it the perfect lettuce for salad growers. You can start using its leaves after 28 days. Outredegeous seeds are a natural mix of black and white.

The Golden Acre is a tasty cabbage that arrives early and is suited for close spacing. This early round head cabbage is easily grown and versatile in use. Heads are about 6 to 7 inches in diameter on compact plants about a foot high. Its firm, medium green head is excellent cooked or raw in stews and salads.

An early maturing heirloom cabbage. Early Jersey Wakefield is an early variety of cabbage with pointed heads that resist splitting! A great home garden cabbage with great flavor!

The Little Caesar Lettuce is a very attractive tall romaine type with crisp, bright green outer leaves and golden-blanched inner leaves. This lettuce has a sweet, crunchy flavor that is delicious on any sandwich or salad. This variety is easy to grow and is perfect for smaller gardens. Little Caesar is best picked right before eating.

The Porter Tomato is a very smooth, dark pink tomato variety that is perfect for canning, juicing or eating fresh in a salad! The 2 oz tomatoes have a round/plum body shape and the plant is very drought resistant, which makes them great for areas with little rain. The Porter is a high yielding plant that will give you an abundance of tasty tomatoes!

The Little Finger eggplants are slender, petite eggplants that are excellent for grilling and cooking. This eggplant has a dark purple skin is thin and tender with a silky flesh. This variety produces few seeds and a mildly sweet flavor. Harvest when the eggplant is young and glossy. Little Finger is a great variety for container growing and requires very little cooking time since it is so tender.

The Cherry Belle Radish is the earliest maturing, garden standard radish. This variety is a 1949 All-American Winner and there is no wonder why. This radish retains its fine eating quality all season. The Cherry Belle is a round, smooth, scarlet beauty. This radish is 3/4" inches across with a crisp, white flesh that is ideal for garnishes or use in salads.

Ananas Noire tomatoes, also known as “Black Pineapple” tomatoes, are a distinctive heirloom variety renowned for their rich history and unique attributes. Originating from France, this variety is celebrated for its striking appearance and complex flavor profile. The name "Ananas Noire," which translates to "Black Pineapple," reflects the fruit's unusual coloration and resemblance to a pineapple in its shape. These tomatoes mature to a deep mahogany color with greenish undertones and have a ribbed, somewhat lumpy texture. The flavor is rich and multi-dimensional, offering a balance of sweetness with tangy, smoky notes, making them a prized ingredient in gourmet dishes and salads. The plants are indeterminate, meaning they continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the growing season, reaching about 6 to 8 feet in height. Ananas Noire tomatoes are typically harvested in late summer to early fall when they have fully ripened and their color has deepened. With their vibrant color, complex flavor, and productive growth habit, Ananas Noire tomatoes are a standout choice for both home gardeners and culinary enthusiasts.

Carmona Red is a favorite among many market growers! This lettuce variety produces big, bright red heads with lime green hearts. The Carmona Red has a nice silky texture and is very disease resistance.

Alexandria is a delicious alpine strawberry that produces delicious fruit. Deep scarlet and fragrant aromatics, these strawberries are the size of wild berries. Alexandria is an everbearing strawberry that can produce the first year if planted early. These day-neutral plants stay compact and produce few runners. Excellent for pots and window boxes.

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.

The Floradade Tomato is a delicious, bright red variety that has a great ability to withstand heat and produce high yields! This variety was introduced by the University of Florida in 1976. This tomato plant produces smooth, 5-7 ounces sized tomatoes with slightly deep globes that have red with green shoulders.

Caliber is a late-season yellow long day for the western United States known for vigor, disease resistance, yield, and storage capabilities. Caliber is a Celebrate hybrid with a healthy plant with solid roots and strong and erect tops that assist in providing thrips tolerance and make applications easier. Caliber has a consistent rich bronze scale in super colossal bulbs with single centers that do very well with a mechanical harvest. Caliber has a reputation for storing very well long term. Disease Ratings: HT to Pink Root and Fusarium, T to Bolting and HT for Thrips

The Red Russian Kale is a very tender, colorful specialty kale for salad mix and bunching. This variety is a special, refined strain. Its stems are purple and leaves are deep gray-green with purple veins. This flat, noncurled, and tooth-edged kale has a wonderful taste. Red Russian matures medium-tall and leaves are tender compared to other kales.

Aspabroc broccoli seeds grow into a unique hybrid vegetable developed in the early 1990s by crossing standard broccoli with a Chinese kale-gai lan variety, resulting in what’s often called “broccolini.” This plant produces slender, tender stems topped with small, loose florets that resemble asparagus in shape, hence the name. Aspabroc is prized for its sweet, mild flavor with subtle peppery notes, making it delicious whether steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, or grilled. It thrives in cool-season conditions, preferring full sun and fertile, well-drained soil, with harvests ready in about 50–60 days after transplanting. Known for its extended harvest period, plants continue producing side shoots after the main head is cut, giving gardeners a steady supply. Its unique history, high nutritional value, and gourmet quality make Aspabroc a popular choice for home growers and chefs alike.

The Jalapeno M Pepper is a high yielding middle of the road hot pepper. This pepper variety has an average hotness level that tastes great in many dishes. Jalapeno M has thick walls with a spicy pungent smell! Typically growing to about 3-5 inches in length, these peppers have a smooth, firm texture and a slightly curved shape. The heat level of Jalapeno M peppers typically ranges from 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville Heat Units, providing a spicy kick that enhances a wide variety of dishes without being overpowering. Originating from Mexico, Jalapeno M peppers are widely used in salsas, sauces, and as toppings for nachos and other dishes. They have a fresh, grassy flavor that complements both cooked and raw preparations. Harvesting usually occurs around 70-80 days after planting, when the peppers are firm and glossy green, although they can also be left to ripen to red for a sweeter taste. These peppers thrive in warm climates and well-drained soil, making them a staple in many home gardens. Their combination of heat, flavor, and versatility has solidified Jalapeno M peppers as a beloved ingredient in kitchens around the world.