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!

Chocolate Stripes tomatoes are a visually stunning heirloom variety known for their striking appearance and rich flavor. Originating from a selection of striped, heirloom varieties, these tomatoes are celebrated for their unique color pattern, which features a deep, chocolate-brown skin with vibrant green and red stripes. When fully ripe, they reveal a rich, earthy-red interior. Chocolate Stripes tomatoes are medium to large in size and are prized for their complex, sweet flavor with hints of smokiness, making them a delightful addition to salads, salsas, and fresh dishes. They typically take about 75 to 85 days to mature and exhibit an indeterminate growth habit, meaning they continue to produce fruit throughout the growing season. The plants are vigorous and benefit from staking or caging to support the weight of the abundant fruit. With their eye-catching coloration and exceptional taste, Chocolate Stripes tomatoes are a favorite among gardeners and chefs seeking both aesthetic appeal and culinary excellence.

The Sweet Banana is a delightfully tangy and colorful sweet pepper. This elongated, thick-walled pepper turns scarlet when fully ripe, but will stay sweet and mild. This pepper variety is a longtime favorite for its sweet flavor that is exquisitely pungent when pickled. Sweet Banana's prolific plant produces high yields.

Chile de Arbol peppers are a distinctive variety renowned for their fiery heat and striking appearance. These small, slender peppers typically mature to a vibrant red color, although they can also be harvested green. Known for their sharp, intense heat with a slightly smoky undertone, Chile de Arbol peppers are a popular choice for adding a bold kick to sauces, salsas, and dishes. They generally take about 80 to 90 days to reach full maturity, and the plants are characterized by their upright growth habit, producing an abundance of peppers on relatively compact bushes. The plants are quite resilient, thriving in warm, sunny conditions and well-drained soil. Their vibrant color and potent flavor make them a standout addition to any garden or culinary repertoire, providing both visual appeal and a significant heat boost.

The Roma is a popular heirloom elongated tomato preferred for cooking, canning and making a spectacular Italian paste. This variety has very thick flesh, low seed count and produces high yields of up to 200 fruits on each plant. The Roma VF also has great disease resistance to verticillium and fusarium wilt. These strong vigorous plants can be grown outdoors or in a greenhouse.

Ruby Red Swiss Chard is a beautifully deep red colored chard. This variety is great for people who want to grow controlled colors of different Swiss Chard. The Ruby Red is fast growing, very tasty and will add a pop of color to any garden!

This Guinness World Record holding tomato plant set a record for yielding over 340lbs of fruit. This plant will produce an abundance of bright red, 10+oz. (455-g) fruits perfect for slicing, canning and making into sauces. First introduced by plant breeder John Peto as a hybrid between the Teddy Jones heirloom tomato and an unknown red variety. Their flavor is well-balanced, combining sweetness with a hint of acidity, making them perfect for fresh eating, salads, and sauces. These indeterminate plants continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the season, often reaching heights of 4-6 feet, necessitating staking or cage support. They thrive in warm climates and require full sun, ideally being planted after the last frost. With a growing period of about 70-75 days to maturity, Better Boy tomatoes are usually ready for harvesting from mid-summer through fall. Their robust nature and disease resistance make them a favorite for gardeners seeking a reliable and delicious crop.

A classic disease resistant tomato! The Celebrity tomato plant is as close to perfect as you can get! This plant produces perfectly shaped 8 ounce fruits with excellent flavor. Chosen as the AAS winner this tomato is easy to grow and very disease resistant. No cracking and fruits keep coming over a long garden season. The Celebrity is a proven home tomato garden favorite.

The Lacinato Kale is an old Italian heirloom kale that has very large tender leaves. This favorite is now available in organic seeds! The Lacinato, or also known as Dinosaur kale, Black Magic or Toscano, is popular for home gardening and fresh markets. Its scaly, bumpy leaves are large dark blue-green and very delicious. Pick young for the most tender leaves. The Lacinato produces high yields and can be harvested continually. Certified Organic. Learn more about our organic seeds.

The Jericho Lettuce is known for its great baby leaf production and is very tolerant to hot weather. This lettuce is a blonde romaine that can be grown for both baby leaf and full-size heads. This lettuce variety is very attractive with its bright light-green leaves. Jericho is tolerant to both heat and tipburn. Certified Organic. Learn more about our organic seeds.

A deep burgundy flesh with rich flavor! Black Truffel is rich in both sugars and acid, which helps create a sweet, strong, complex flavor that is hard to beat. The 6-8 oz. pear-shaped fruits are just large enough for slicing into salads. Once you try the Black Truffel you will grow it for years in your garden!

The SunSugar Tomato is an early maturing cherry tomato with a high sugar content that is a customer favorite for a reason! These beautiful cherry sized orange tomatoes will be the first tomato to harvest in early summer. Every 1/2 oz. fruit has 3 times more vitamin A found in most other red tomatoes. Not only does this variety contain more nutrients but it is sweeter than candy and impossible to eat just one! SunSugar is crack resistant with very vigorous, heavy yields and no need for staking!

The Sweet Million has a delicious flavor with outstanding yields that keeps coming back! This hybrid produces large clusters of smooth, bright red fruits that come early and will produce all summer long. This variety is one of the most popular home garden tomatoes that always pleases. The disease resistant Sweet Million tomatoes are 1-1.5" long and produces high yields until the first frost if picked regularly.

The 1999 AAS winner, Juliet Tomato, is a bright red, 1 oz. cherry tomato hybrid with a great sweet flavor that can't be beat! This tomato variety produces grape-like clusters on long, vigorous vines. The small and elongated fruit has a sweet flavor with an attractive glossy skin that is very crack resistant. This variety is also prized for its early and extended harvest season, offering high-quality fruit over a long period.

The German Giant Tomato is a giant potato leaf heirloom type of tomato with a rich, sweet flavor! This variety is a deep pink hue that grows to be 30+ ounces. The German Giant tomato is favored for being very juicy.

Black Krim tomatoes are a cherished heirloom variety celebrated for their deep, rich color and complex flavor profile. These medium to large tomatoes are distinguished by their dark, purplish-brown skin with greenish undertones, which ripens to a deep mahogany color. The flavor of Black Krim tomatoes is renowned for its bold, smoky sweetness and a slight tanginess that makes them a favorite for fresh salads, salsas, and gourmet dishes. They typically reach maturity in about 75 to 85 days, and the plants have a vigorous, indeterminate growth habit, meaning they continue to produce fruit throughout the growing season. Their robust, sprawling vines require staking or support to manage the weight of the fruit and ensure a plentiful harvest. The combination of their distinctive color, exceptional flavor, and productive nature makes Black Krim tomatoes a standout choice for any garden.

The Sun Gold is a very sweet, tangerine-orange cherry tomato. Once you try this sugary treat, you will want to grow it for years and years! This variety produces beautiful little tomatoes early, often and throughout the entire season. The Sun Gold is the best tasting cherry tomato around that is great for home gardens.

The Parks Whopper is one of the juiciest, best tasting tomatoes around and a must-have staple for home gardens! This Improved CR tomato has been the standard for taste, size and production for many years. This improved Parks Whopper offers an earlier (5 days) harvest and a more diseases resistant tomato.

A dark rich red color characterizes this hybrid on the outside, and inside it has distinct ring development. Purple Haze has a good combination of maturity and bulb size. A good disease package compliments this vibrant and vigorous hybrid. Disease Rating: High tolerance to Pink Root and Bolting and Good Tolerance to Fusarium.