What to Sow in January

January sowing is done indoors, on windowsills and in heated propagators, and it is as much about impatience as horticulture. Chillies genuinely need the head start — they want a long season to ripen — and sweet peas sown now in a cold frame will be ahead of anything sown in spring. Everything else can wait, and mostly should.

• Sweet Pea 'Little Sweetheart' Seeds

  Lathyrus odoratus

  SowOctober–May

  Soak overnight, then one seed to a deep pot or root trainer — the roots go a long way down before the top does anything at all. Overwintered cold and bright, it makes a sturdier plant than a spring sowing ever manages.

  • Annual
  • Germination 10–21 days
  • 20 seeds

• Sweet Pea 'Matucana' Seeds

  Lathyrus odoratus

  SowOctober–May

  The scent is the reason to grow this one, and an autumn sowing brings it forward by weeks. Soak overnight, sow singly, and keep it cool and bright over winter.

  • Annual
  • Germination 10–21 days
  • 20 seeds

• Sweet Pea 'Prince of Orange' Seeds

  Lathyrus odoratus

  SowOctober–May

  Soak overnight and sow one seed to a deep pot. Kept cool through the winter it roots hard and climbs away in spring, rather than sitting still for a month first.

  • Annual
  • Germination 10–21 days
  • 20 seeds

• Sweet Pea 'Royal Family' Seeds

  Lathyrus Odoratus 'Royal Family'

  SowOctober–May

  Deep pots, kept cool and bright rather than warm; heat is what makes them leggy. Pinch the tips out at 8–10cm and you get a bushier plant with far more stems worth cutting.

  • Annual
  • Germination 10–21 days
  • 20 seeds

• Alchemilla Mollis Seeds

  Alchemilla Mollis

  SowJanuary–May

  Sow January–May.

  • Perennial
  • Germination 7–14 days
  • 100 seeds

• Aubergine 'Black Beauty' Seeds

  Solanum melongena ‘Black Beauty’

  SowJanuary–April

  Sow January–April.

  • Germination 7–14 days at 20-25°C

• Chilli 'Bishop's Crown' Seeds

  Capsicum annuum 'Bishop's Crown'

  SowJanuary–April

  Sow January–April.

  • Perennial
  • Germination 7–14 days at 21–26°C
  • 5 seeds

• Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero' Seeds

  Capsicum chinense 'Chocolate Habanero'

  SowJanuary–March

  Sow January–March.

  • Perennial
  • Germination 10–21 days at 21–25°C — slow and uneven
  • 5 seeds

• Chilli 'Jalapeño' Seeds

  Capsicum annuum 'Jalapeño'

  SowJanuary–April

  Sow January–April.

  • Perennial
  • Germination 7–14 days at 20–25°C
  • 5 seeds

• Chilli 'Little Bomb' Seeds

  Capsicum annuum 'Little Bomb'

  SowJanuary–April

  Sow January–April.

  • Perennial
  • Germination 10–21 days
  • 5 seeds

• Chilli 'Machu Pichu' Seeds

  Capsicum annuum 'Machu Pichu'

  SowJanuary–April

  Sow January–April.

  • Perennial
  • Germination 7–14 days at 21–26°C
  • 5 seeds

• Chilli 'Thai Hot' Seeds

  Capsicum annuum 'Thai Hot'

  SowJanuary–April

  Sow January–April.

  • Perennial
  • Germination 10–21 days
  • 5 seeds

• Cobaea Scandens 'Alba' Seeds

  Cobaea Scandens 'Alba'

  SowJanuary–May

  Sow January–May.

  • Tender perennial
  • Germination 7–14 days
  • 5 seeds

• Field Scabious Seeds

  Knautia arvensis

  SowJanuary–April

  Sow January–April.

  • Perennial
  • Germination 7–14 days
  • 30 seeds

• Heirloom Seed Set

  SowJanuary–October

  Sow January–October.

  • Annual
  • Germination Varies by variety, typically 5–21 days

• Kale 'Green Curled Dwarf' Seeds

  Brassica oleracea

  SowJanuary–August

  Sow January–August.

  • Annual
  • Germination 5–10 days
  • 350 seeds

• Komatsuna Seeds

  Brassica rapa var. perviridis

  SowJanuary–October

  Sow January–October.

  • Biennial
  • Germination 5–10 days
  • 300 seeds

• Micro Green Seed Set

  SowJanuary–December

  Sow January–December.

  • Annual
  • Germination Varies by variety, typically 5–21 days

• Parsley 'Italian Giant' Seeds

  Petroselinum crispum var. neapolitanum

  SowJanuary–December

  Sow January–December.

  • Biennial
  • Germination 14–28 days
  • 175 seeds

• Parsley Seeds

  Petroselinum crispum

  SowJanuary–December

  Sow January–December.

  • Biennial
  • Germination 14–28 days
  • 400 seeds

• Salad Seed Set

  SowJanuary–October

  Sow January–October.

  • Annual
  • Germination Varies by variety, typically 5–21 days

• Scabious 'Black Knight' Seeds

  Scabiosa 'Black Knight'

  SowJanuary–April

  Sow January–April.

  • Annual
  • Germination 7–14 days
  • 50 seeds

• Shade Garden Seed Box

  SowJanuary–December

  Sow January–December.

  • Germination Varies by variety, typically 5–21 days

• Tomato 'Golden Sunrise' Seeds

  Solanum lycopersicum 'Golden Sunrise'

  SowJanuary–March

  Sow January–March.

  • Annual
  • Germination 5–10 days
  • 20 seeds