So far it's been a very mild January indeed. Yes, it's been wet and windy but, apart from the odd overnight frost, it's been temperatures on the plus side of the thermometer. A mild December and January seems to be effecting a few of the fruit plants on the allotment too.
I noticed today that there are loads of full buds on the blackcurrant bushes, they almost look like they are going to burst open any day now. I hope not as February is usually a much colder month and we typically have snow. I've a few rhubarb crowns sprouting already too though one of the other plot holders has some of the earliest rhubarb around, it's always well up by mid-January and is never forced.
Talking of fruit, remember it's a good time to plant bare rooted soft fruit now like raspberries and strawberries. Don't bother trying to grow strawberry plants from seed, it's not worth it. You can order bare rooted strawberry plants online, plenty being advertised on ebay already and they are cheap considering that you will be able to take runners from them for years to come.
If you have the space, order two or three varieties, an early (Korona, Vibrant), mid-season (Cambridge Favourite, Sonata, Elsanta) and late (Symphony, Lucy) so you get a longer cropping period. You could also consider an 'ever-bearer' like Malling Opal that will produce small flushes of strawberries from spring to autumn. When the bare rooted plants arrive, get them in unfrozen ground as soon as you can, if you have to wait a few days, pop them into some water until you can plant them out. You'll be amazed how much they will bush out and develop in spring.
A last word on fruit for this blog entry; I saw a single forlorn apple hanging from a tree on a neighbour's plot, it just looked so odd in mid-winter. Picture below.
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