January is an exciting month for gardeners everywhere in the south, deluged with seed and nursery catalogues. I say it is exciting, for these colorful publications fill us with thoughts of beautiful gardens, new and unusual varieties and the urge to get right out into our gardens and plant, cultivate and feed.

Use your catalogues wisely. They contain a great deal of information of considerable help to you:Study the descriptions of shrubs, flowering or fruiting times, spacing, planting times and other information given in brief. Planting tables are generally provided for your convenience-but be sure to allow for climatic differences when interpreting tables published for areas other than your own.

Vegetable gardening slows down somewhat this month but there are some hardy vegetables that can be planted now. Foremost is asparagus. Start your bed by preparing a rich soil and trenching 18 to 24 inches deep to accommodate the large, fleshy root systems. It is too late to get Bermuda onion sets now but you can set out the plants from now until late winter. Other onion sets can be planted, though Silverakin, Yellow Danvers and Red Wethersfield.

In the plant line, cabbage can be set out for early spring harvest. This is also an ideal time to sow seeds of English peas, mustard, rape, turnips and carrots. They like cold weather. In Florida and the Gulf Coast the following vegetable plants are usually available to help you get an early start - beets, broccoli, collards, cabbage, lettuce, Bermuda onions, asparagus and horse radish. Many vegetable seeds can now be planted in this area, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, collards, cauliflower, endive, kale, kohl rabi, lettuce, leek, mustard, onions, parsley, parsnips, English peas, radishes, rutabagas, spinach and turnips.

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