Curious what you should plant in Tucson in January?

January in the low desert is a great time. While the rest of the country is months away from being able to garden, ours are absolutely thriving.

tucson average temperature chart with january highlighted
Tucson average daily high rises from 65F to 67F over the month of January.
Overnight average lows rise from 42F to 43F during January.

Planting

Cover Crops & Forage

I list cover crops first because I believe they're the most important thing to grow in a regenerative garden.

Without first building great soil, how can we hope to grow anything that's healthy or nutritious?

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Cover crops help to add nitrogen and organic matter to soils, break up compaction, increase moisture retention and infiltration, suppress weeds, prevent erosion, and build dang good dirt.

1st Half of January

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Common Vetch, Crimson Clover, Forage Radish, Flax, Hairy Vetch, Lentil, Oats, Oilseed Radish, Red Clover, Rye, Tillage Radish, Yellow Sweetclover, Wheat, White Sweetclover


DIRECT SOW / DRILL IN FIELD:

Chickpea, Fava Bean, Forage Pea, Lentil, Winter Pea

2nd Half of January

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Common Vetch, Crimson Clover, Forage Radish, Flax, Hairy Vetch, Lentil, Oats, Oilseed Radish, Red Clover, Rye, Tillage Radish, Yellow Sweetclover, Wheat, White Sweetclover


DIRECT SOW / DRILL IN FIELD:

Chickpea, Fava Bean, Forage Pea, Lentil, Winter Pea

January is a great time to consider fitting in a cover crop cycle before spring comes. By planting cover crops such as oats and hairy vetch in January, you can grow plenty of biomass to chop & drop before spring planting.

Herbs

1st Half of January

SOW INDOORS:

Anise, Borage, Caraway, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme


DIRECT SOW:

Anise, Borage, Caraway, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme


HARDEN OFF & TRANSPLANT TO FIELD:

Anise, Borage, Caraway, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme

2nd Half of January

SOW INDOORS:

Borage, Caraway, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme


DIRECT SOW:

Borage, Caraway, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme


HARDEN OFF & TRANSPLANT TO FIELD:

Borage, Caraway, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme

Fruits & Vegetables

1st Half of January

SOW INDOORS:

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chickpea, Collards, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lentil, Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Mustard, Romanesco, Spinach, Swiss Chard


DIRECT SOW IN FIELD:

Artichoke, Beet, Broccoli, Cardoon, Carrot, Cauliflower, Chickpea, Collards, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lentil, Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Mustard, Parsnip, Radish, Romanesco, Rutabaga, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Turnip, Wheat


HARDEN OFF & TRANSPLANT TO FIELD:

Artichoke, Broccoli, Cardoon, Cauliflower, Chickpea, Collards, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Mustard, Romanesco, Spinach, Swiss Chard

2nd Half of January

SOW INDOORS:

Collards, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Kale, Lettuce, Mizuna, Spinach


DIRECT SOW IN FIELD:

Artichoke, Beet, Cardoon, Carrot, Collards, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Mustard, Radish, Rutabaga, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Turnip, Wheat


HARDEN OFF & TRANSPLANT TO FIELD:

Artichoke, Cardoon, Collards, Endive, Escarole, Fava Bean, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mâche (Cornsalad), Mizuna, Mustard, Spinach, Swiss Chard

collard green leaves organic garden held in hand
There's still time to get in some collard planting to get greens like these before the hot season!

Grains, Seeds, & Cereals

1st Half of January

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Quinoa


2nd Half of January

BROADCAST IN FIELD:

Quinoa


Flowers

1st Half of January

BROADCAST IN FIELD:


DIRECT SOW IN FIELD:

Nasturtium

2nd Half of January

BROADCAST IN FIELD:


DIRECT SOW IN FIELD:

Nasturtium

Harvesting

Produce

1st Half of January


2nd Half of January


Seed Saving

1st Half of January


2nd Half of January


Cut Flowers

1st Half of January


2nd Half of January


Weeding

Weeds to Pull

Mallow

Mallow has a way of taking over Sonoran desert gardens in January, and can quickly become a big plant.

Mallow has some edible value as well as some medicinal value and food for pollinators.

That said, it's not a native plant and can take over your garden pretty dang quick. I find the raw leaf texture to be that of chalk - a lot of calcium probably, and fairly gross.



Raised bed plans

It's easy to pull, though, and can be chopped and dropped for organic matter.

cheeseweed mallow common sonoran weed growing large lots of leaves
"Cheeseweed" mallow that's blown into a desert garden.
This was composted for organic material.

Spiny Sowthistle

Spiny sowthistle usually starts showing up with a little more force in Tucson gardens by mid-January, though it's likely been around all winter.

You may choose to leave a few around to flower for the pollinators, but this is generally considered a nuisance plant.

While most thistles are edible and spiny sowthistle is no exception, it's frankly way too prickly and angry for me to want to try and cook.

I simply leave these to grow if they're out of the way, and pull them with a pair of leather gloves on when they show up in my garden spaces.


More Tucson Planting Guides

« December   

Check out the Tucson
planting guide for December


« December Planting Guide  

   February »

Check out the Tucson
planting guide for February


  February Planting Guide »

All Months

Find the full list of Tucson monthly planting guides here


All Monthly Guides

Know some plants I missed for January in Tucson? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!