What to plant in January: zone 9a

Patch row cover, cold frames and hoops now so a late freeze can't catch you unprepared.

Chit potatoes in a bright, cool spot for 2 weeks. Sprouted pieces jump ahead once planted.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Pinch first flowers on transplants so the plant invests in roots before setting fruit.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Soak seeds 24 hrs before sowing. Cut outer stems and it comes back for years in mild zones.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Divide the clump every 3 years: one plant becomes six with no effort.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Harvest just before flowering for the strongest flavor. Dries beautifully.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Needs sharp drainage. Plant in gravelly soil or a raised bed edge. Never wet feet.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Prune hard in spring to prevent woody stems and keep the plant productive for 5+ years.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Eggplant sulks in cold soil. Transplant 3 weeks after last frost, not on it. Harvest while skin is glossy: dull skin means bitter, seedy flesh.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Sow thickly in a band and harvest by pulling every other plant: the rest fill in the gap.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Needs 150+ frost-free days: outside zone 8+ it's best in a greenhouse or very large container brought in before frost. Pinch off flowers so energy goes into the root, not seed pods, which are toxic.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Corking (light brown cracks near the stem) means the pepper is fully ripe and at peak heat, not damaged.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Picked green it's a poblano; left to ripen red on the plant and dried, it becomes an ancho chile.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Thin-walled pods dry easily on the plant or strung indoors; harvest for drying once fully red.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Pick while still green and wrinkled for the classic blistered appetizer; about 1 in 10 fruits carries real heat.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Cut back hard before it flowers and sets seed, or it self-sows into every corner of the garden.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Tender compared to oregano; treat as an annual outside zone 7 and bring a pot indoors for winter if you want it to persist.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Pinch flower buds as they form; once it blooms, leaf sweetness drops off sharply. Overwinter indoors north of zone 8.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Grows 4-6 ft tall once established; give it the back of the bed and divide the crown every few years to keep it productive.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Fence it off if cats roam the neighborhood: they'll flatten the plant and any seedlings around it rolling in the scent.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Deadhead spent spikes to extend bloom all summer; bees and hummingbirds favor it over almost anything else nearby.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Slower to bolt than cilantro and holds flavor in heat; harvest outer leaves and the rosette keeps producing for months.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Fruit ripens after it drops. Let it fall, collect it daily, and hold it a week until the skin wrinkles for the sweetest pulp.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Bury 2/3 of the transplant stem. Roots form along the buried stem for a stronger plant.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Fall crop sweetens after first frost. Plan a July sowing for the best flavor.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). After cutting the main head, side shoots keep coming for weeks: don't pull the plant.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Pinch flower spikes the moment you see them: leaves stay sweet all season.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Firm heads need steady water and steady nitrogen. Once a head feels solid, cut it: leaving it in summer heat splits it open overnight.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Cauliflower is the fussiest brassica: any check in water or nitrogen makes it button into a tiny head. Blanch white types by tying outer leaves over the curd.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). This is a fall crop: frost is what turns the sprouts sweet. Around 4 weeks before harvest, top the growing tip so the plant pushes size into the sprouts.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Harvest the swollen stem at tennis-ball size, no bigger: past that it turns woody and fibrous fast.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). It's slower and fussier than cauliflower; give it the longest cool-weather window you can, spring or fall, not summer.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Grows from a small tuberous root that overwinters indoors in pots north of zone 7; pick fruit at grape size for the best crunch.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Plant at least two for pollination: a single tomatillo rarely sets fruit. Husk turns papery and splits when ripe.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Fruit drops when ripe, husk and all: rake or hand-pick off the ground every few days rather than picking from the plant.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Cool fall weather brings out its best deep red color and mellows bitterness; grow it as a fall crop where possible.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Snip flower stalks as they appear to keep leaves tender; the lemony tang fades if the plant is allowed to bolt.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Not a true spinach; it's a vigorous heat-loving vine that replaces greens through the hottest weeks other greens can't survive.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Harvest just before flowering for the best flavor, then shear the whole plant back for a second flush.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Pick flowers at midday once fully open, on a dry day, for the strongest tea; it dries quickly on a screen out of direct sun.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Self-sows aggressively once established; pinch spent flower spikes if you don't want volunteers taking over next spring.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Needs a long, warm, frost-free season to set seed; stake plants, as the thin stalks flop once seed heads fill out.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Self-sows freely once established; use a light hand in cooking, since the flavor is strong and a little goes a long way.

5 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). The most forgiving green in the garden. Harvest bottom leaves upward and it produces for months. Leaves picked after a frost are noticeably sweeter.

5 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Grow it as a fall crop where possible: napa bolts in spring heat but forms a tight, sweet head in cooling fall days.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Succession sow every 2 weeks. Harvest outer leaves for a cut-and-come-again supply.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Cut outer stalks 2 in above the crown and the plant keeps producing from spring into hard frost. One planting can feed a household all season.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Okra wants hot soil, 70F+, or seed rots. Pick pods at 3-4 in every other day: one pod left to toughen tells the plant to stop producing.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Bolts fast once days lengthen past 14 hours. Grow it as an early spring or fall crop, not a summer one.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Flowers self-pollinate then push a stalk (peg) into the soil to form the pod underground: keep soil loose around the base.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Pick fruit while still green and firm; left to yellow and split, it turns bitter to the point of inedible.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Pick young for eating like a squash, or leave on the vine until the skin browns and dries for a bath sponge.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Blanch heads by tying outer leaves shut 2 weeks before harvest to mellow the natural bitterness.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Broader and milder than curly endive; a light frost sweetens the outer leaves before harvest.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Soak seed 24 hours before sowing to soften the hard seed coat; it thrives in summer heat that bolts true spinach.

4 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (02-28). Bolts fast in heat or from a check in growth; keep it evenly watered and harvest the bulb once it's baseball-sized, before it flowers.

Soil is ready -8 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -5 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -4 weeks before last frost.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 4 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 4 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Turn in compost, cut down cover crops, and let the soil warm two weeks before the first sowing.

Two weeks of increasing outdoor time keeps cold-hardy seedlings from stalling when they go out.