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!

Spring Raab broccoli, also known as rapini, has roots in Mediterranean cuisine, particularly in Italy, where it has been cultivated for centuries. This unique vegetable is characterized by its slender, green stalks topped with small yellow flowers and dark green leaves, which are edible and packed with nutrients. The flavor of Spring Raab is distinctively bitter and nutty, which softens with cooking, making it a versatile addition to dishes like stir-fries and pasta. Harvesting typically occurs 40-60 days after planting, ideally before the flowers fully open for optimal taste. This cool-season crop thrives in well-drained soil and prefers cooler temperatures, making it perfect for early spring or fall planting. Its rapid growth and ability to produce multiple harvests make Spring Raab a favorite among gardeners, while its rich vitamin content adds to its appeal for health-conscious cooks.

The Mushroom Basket is a large, uniquely shaped tomato with a delicious juicy sweet flavor, originating from Russia. This plant produces enormous 8-16 ounce ruffled tomatoes that are colored bright pink. These plants are Indeterminate and do require a sturdy trellis. The Mushroom Basket tomatoes are the perfect tomatoes for slicing!

The Lucullus Swiss Chard produces highly nutritious leaves from early spring until the first hard freeze in the fall. This variety produces great during the summer heat. This chard is a very popular variety grown throughout the United States.

The White Albino beet plants produce good yields of very sweet white beets. The beets are white and will never stain again! This gourmet beet is ideal for boiling, pickling, baking, and freezing.

The Vitaverde cauliflower, or "broccoflower," is the famous cross of broccoli and cauliflower! The Vitaverde broccoflower grows up to 1 pound. This hybrid has a vibrant green head, is heat tolerant and cooks fast with a mild sweet taste.

The Moneymaker Tomato is a terrific, high yielding heirloom that produces delicious, bright red and smooth fruits that are perfect for fresh eating. This variety's vine can grow to 5-6' and produce very heavy yields of 4-6 ounce fruits. This tasty heirloom tomato does well in hot humid climates and greenhouse growing. The Moneymaker originates from England and produces vigorous vines that should be staked for best results.

SuperStar is a hybrid cabbage that produces the highest quality fresh market cabbages. It has excellent wrappers for a fancy pack along with excellent holding ability in the field and after harvest.

The Early Wonder beet is a popular heirloom beet plant that produces high yields of deep red roots! A popular beet that is tasty, early maturing and produces abundant greens. The beets are great for boiling, pickling, baking, and freezing. Forms 3-4" deep red globes that are sweet and tender. Also known as "Tall Top" for its tall, glossy leaves that make great greens with salads. Greens are also a great substitute for chard or spinach and have high vitamin A and C.

The Marglobe Supreme Tomato is great for home and market growing as it is the highest producing tomato plant that we have ever seen! The Marglobe Supreme tomato plant was originally released by the USDA in 1925 and was first developed in 1917 from a cross between 'Marvel' and 'Globe'. Marglobe Supreme has been in demand for several generations while many other varieties have come and gone. This high yielding tomato plant is stocky, vigorous, and has excellent disease tolerance. Its vine growth is uniform and provides good protection from sun scald. The Marglobe Supreme produces high yields of crack resistant  4-6 ounce, smooth and round shaped tomatoes that are perfect for canning.

The prolific Louisiana Long Green Eggplant is an attractive banana-shaped variety that has a delicious full-bodied nutty flavor. This Southern heirloom variety is best picked young, with its white slightly green-ish skin, for optimal texture and flavor. This tall eggplant plant produces 8-9 inch long fruits that are slender and easy to cook with.

Dark green crumpled leaves, approximate 7 x 9 in. head, 6-8 lb, even better flavor after touched by frost, very tender.

The Bolivian Rainbow Pepper is a beautiful rainbow variety of chili peppers that will a pop of color to any garden or dish. The small naturally bushy plant produces hundreds of small, teardrop shaped, hot chillies that start life creamy, turn purple, then golden, then orange and finally fire-engine red! These peppers produces early and continuously throughout the season.

The Golden Jubilee Tomato has a meaty, thick, golden-orange skin with a mild flavor and is an All American Selection winning tomato! This medium sized beefsteak has low acidity and high Vitamin C content, making it a great choice for fresh eating and perfect for home gardens! This tomato variety's fruits are produced in a heavy yield from upright and uniform indeterminate vines, which makes this variety easy to manage. The Golden Jubilee was first introduced in 1943 by the Maule Seed Company of Philadelphia and has a flavor that is not too strong and pairs well with other ingredients.

The Cincinnati Market Radish is a uniquely skinny and elongated pink to red radish that is a fresh-from-the-garden-favorite! This six inch variety has a delicately mild taste with a very tender and crisp texture, making it perfect for fresh eating. The early maturing radish has been an heirloom garden favorite since 1885. You can enjoy the delicious Cincinnati Market from spring to fall.

These round fruit have a beautiful deep violet pleated skin with a touch of cream under the stem. The 4-5 inch eggplants have a meaty and mild tasting white flesh with a very eggplant texture. The Prosperosa is a favorite for its eye-catching shape and color, making it the perfect addition to any garden!

The Red Velvet Lettuce produces very dark maroon to greenish-bronze tinged colored leaves that have a nice chewy texture. This beautifully unique variety is a great choice for mixed salad greens. This lettuce is slow to bolt and will become bitter in the heat.

The Great White Tomato is an award winning white beefsteak tomato! This unique variety has a creamy inside that grows up to 12 ounces. The Great White is an excellent big multi-purpose slicer with an unique color and a great taste that is low in acid.

The Yellow Petite Bell Pepper is a mini bell pepper with flavor explosion! This sweet mini pepper variety that is high yielding and ripens to a rich yellow when mature. The Yellow Petite Bell grows to 2-3 ounces which is the perfect snack sized pepper that is excellent for market selling or fresh eating in salads or sandwiches!