So Cal December Garden Report

So, although I am semi-gardenless right now I will give you what I have.

I am in the process of moving. I am renting a room in a house in Murrieta. The woman who owns the house has asked me to take her 4X4 brick raised bed and grow veggies. It has a southern exposure but a lot of shade. However, I am excited to do it.

I leave behind 8 boxes of which two are currently planted. I will be officially out of the house by the end of the month and have to grab the last of it then.

I am still getting tomatoes! I picked a ripe one yesterday. We have not quite had a frost yet (knock wood) although we took a decided turn for coolness today. I decided to wait until the last minute to try to harvest the sweet potatoes. The beans were planted too late and I do not expect anything from them but the beets look fantastic. Picked one and juiced it the other day. Carrots are not going to be mature in time. Oh well.

This month you can plant quite a few things and it is the first month to plant POTATOES! Cheap thrills but I LOVE fresh potatoes. Not that I have anyplace to plant them right now but even knowing it is a possibility is enough. Were it not for my fantasy life I would have collapsed by now.

What to plant in December:

Beets
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Leeks
Lettuce
Onions Bunching
Onions/Garlic sets
Parsley
Peas
Potatoes
Spinach


Spacing guidelines:


Here are examples of what can be planted in each square foot:

16 carrots or radishes, onion (or 9)
9 onions, beets, peas, garlic, spinach. bush beans, pole beans
4 lettuce, chard, marigolds, or kohlrabi, strawberries,
1 tomato, pepper(try 2 next time), eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, or corn,
cabbage, celery, potato
1 squash, or melon per 2 sq.ft. (or 3ft space – zucchini) 2 cucumbers


1 per square foot: plants that are thinned or planted 12 inches apart.
4 per square foot: plants that are thinned or planted 6 inches apart.
9 per square foot: plants that are thinned or planted 4 inches apart.
16 per square foot: plants that are thinned or planted 3 inches apart.

Eeeek. It looks like it will dip below 32F on Saturday. I may take some action to protect the tomatoes and sweet potatoes from frost. Should be interesting.

Hi
I just picked up some seed potatoes (Cal White, Early) Are potatoes really as easy as they seem? Any extra tips or advice? I wanted to grow them in large trash bins but have realized that only the Late varieties do well in a large bin. I'm hoping these Cal Whites will do well in one of my squares...

Thanks

mandieileen....welcome! where did you find your seed potatoes? I'm in So. Ca also, and am having a hard time finding them! As far as growing them in a barrel, we have a barrel going that we planted months ago, and the plant is just now dying off! We will harvest soon, so we can let you know. Good luck, and I'd say try it! Never know until you try.

Armstrongs in Temecula has a few types of seed potatoes. A White and a red....Early Variety

Awww. When I was there they only had the russet. I was hoping for yukon gold but I would have bought the red if they had them at the time. Ended up with supermarket russets. Thanks for the heads up.

mandieileen wrote:Armstrongs in Temecula has a few types of seed potatoes. A White and a red....Early Variety

I never thought of trying Armstrongs! Though Temecula is a bit aways from me, I will check out the Huntington Beach one!

I just had a couple supermarket spuds sprout, so I thought what the heck it's worth a shot, planted them, and one big chuck really is taking off.

But I would love to try other varieties (blue!) but don't want to buy pounds of them online!

Fireopal36 wrote:

mandieileen wrote:Armstrongs in Temecula has a few types of seed potatoes. A White and a red....Early Variety

I never thought of trying Armstrongs! Though Temecula is a bit aways from me, I will check out the Huntington Beach one!

I just had a couple supermarket spuds sprout, so I thought what the heck it's worth a shot, planted them, and one big chuck really is taking off.

But I would love to try other varieties (blue!) but don't want to buy pounds of them online!

My local Home Depot has Yukon Gold and a res and a white potato in stock now.