December: What to plant in Northern California and Central Valley areas

Well, here it is way into the month, yeah, about half way into this month and I'm finally posting what can be planted. Geesh...maybe my New Year's resolution should be to get this stuff posted on time!

Here's what you could have been planting in December!

Beetroot (also Beets) Sow in garden.
Harvest from April.

Cape Gooseberry(also Golden Berry, Chinese Lanterns)
Sow in garden. Harvest from May.

Cardoon Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from October.

Carrot Sow in garden.
Harvest from May.

Celeriac Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from May.

Celery Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from June.

Chicory (also Witloof, Belgian endive) Sow in garden. Harvest from June.

Corn Salad (also Lamb's lettuce or Mache) Sow in garden. Harvest from March.

Jerusalem Artichokes(also Sunchoke)
Plant tubers about 5cm (1.5") deep..
Harvest from June.

Kale(also Borecole)Grow in seed trays, plant in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from April.

Kohlrabi Sow in garden.
Harvest from April.

Mizuna(also Japanese Greens, Mitzuna, Mibuna)
Sow in garden. Harvest from March.

NZ Spinach (also Warrigal greens)
Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks.
Harvest from April.

Onion Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from August.

Pak Choy Sow in garden.
Harvest from April.

Radish Sow in garden.
Harvest from March.

Shallots (also Eschalots)
Plant small bulblets, with stem just showing above ground. Harvest from May.

Spinach (also English spinach) Sow in garden.
Harvest from March.

Spring onions
(also Scallions, Bunching onions) Sow in garden.
Harvest from April.

Swedes (also Rutabagas) Sow in garden.
Harvest from April.

Turnip Sow in garden.
Harvest from April.

We've had a couple of frosty nights/mornings this past week in the Modesto area, but nothing that would be considered a hard freeze in in the next few weeks. We'll be getting more rain and of course our famous tule fog... and the plants love it! So do the snails!!
Let's get growing!

PNG_Grandma wrote:Well, here it is way into the month, yeah, about half way into this month and I'm finally posting what can be planted. Geesh...maybe my New Year's resolution should be to get this stuff posted on time!  

Here's what you can plant could have been planting in December!

Beetroot (also Beets) Sow in garden.  
Harvest from April.

Cape Gooseberry(also Golden Berry, Chinese Lanterns)
Sow in garden.   Harvest from May.

Cardoon Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks.   Harvest from October.

Carrot Sow in garden.  
Harvest from May.

Celeriac Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks.   Harvest from May.

Celery Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks.   Harvest from June.

Chicory (also Witloof, Belgian endive) Sow in garden.   Harvest from June.

Corn Salad (also Lamb's lettuce or Mache) Sow in garden.   Harvest from March.

Jerusalem Artichokes(also Sunchoke)
Plant tubers about 5cm (1.5") deep..  
Harvest from June.

Kale(also Borecole)Grow in seed trays, plant in 4-6 weeks.   Harvest from April.

Kohlrabi Sow in garden.  
Harvest from April.

Mizuna(also Japanese Greens, Mitzuna, Mibuna)
Sow in garden.   Harvest from March.

NZ Spinach (also Warrigal greens)
Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks.  
Harvest from April.

Onion Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks.   Harvest from August.

Pak Choy Sow in garden.  
Harvest from April.

Radish Sow in garden.  
Harvest from March.

Shallots (also Eschalots)
Plant small bulblets, with stem just showing above ground.   Harvest from May.

Spinach (also English spinach) Sow in garden.  
Harvest from March.

Spring onions
(also Scallions, Bunching onions) Sow in garden.  
Harvest from April.

Swedes (also Rutabagas) Sow in garden.  
Harvest from April.

Turnip Sow in garden.  
Harvest from April.

We've We're in for had a couple of frosty freezy nights/mornings this past coming week in the Modesto Fresno area, but nothing that would be considered a hard freeze in in the next few weeks. We'll be getting more Maybe a little rain and of course our famous tule fog... and the plants love it! So do the snails!!
Let's get growing!

I'm bumping this older thread by PNG_Grandma.

With our many micro-climates, you can check Gardenate for your Zone for adjustments to this planting schedule.

At least this year I know what a Rutabaga/Swede is!

Planting now in December for the USA - Zone 9a zone

Angelica     Plant in garden. Harvest from 18 months.

Beetroot / Beets  Plant in garden. Harvest from April.

Cape Gooseberry/Golden Berry  Start undercover in seed trays, plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from May.

Cardoon Plant in garden. Harvest from October.

Carrot Plant in garden. Harvest from May.

Celeriac Start undercover in seed trays and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from May.

Celery Start undercover in seed trays and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from June.

Chicory/ Witloof/ Belgian endive  Plant in garden. Harvest from June.

Corn Salad/ Lamb's lettuce/ Mache   Plant in garden. Harvest from March.

Jerusalem Artichokes/ Sunchoke Plant in garden. Harvest from June.

Kohlrabi Plant in garden. Harvest from April.

Mizuna/ Japanese Greens/ Mibuna) Plant in garden. Harvest from March.

NZ Spinach/ Warrigal greens     Plant in garden. Harvest from April.

Pak Choy/ Bok choy)     Plant in garden. Harvest from April.

Radish Plant in garden. Harvest from March.

Rutabaga/ Swedes     Plant in garden. Harvest from April.

Shallots/ Eschalots)     Plant in garden. Harvest from May.

Spinach/ English spinach)   Plant in garden. Harvest from March.

Spring onions/ Scallions/ Bunching onions/ Welsh onion) Plant in garden. Harvest from April.

Turnip Plant in garden. Harvest from April.

Wow, you guys can plant a lot!  I sure hope to see lots of photos.  They help keep us snow bound folk sane and dreaming.
 
CC

I hope to oblige, if the plants cooperate!

I checked out what can be planted in Zone 8a, our coolest zone in No. Cal. Region:

Zones 8a & 8b

Asparagus    Plant in garden. Harvest from 24 months
Celery   Start undercover in seed trays and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvest from May
Onion    Plant in garden. Harvest from July
Rutabaga    (also Swedes) Plant in garden. Harvest from April
Yacon    (also Sunroot)

Quite a difference from Zones 9a-9b.

I guess my only point is, a Region has many zones, and each year, each month in each zone can be a little different from prior years.  Therefore, use planting guides as guides, not concrete facts.  The same 8a-9b Zones can be found in different latitudes with different amounts of sunshine, which will also affect outdoor gardening.

My area can fluctuate between 9a and 9b so I generally simply treat myself as 9a and look for more cold hardy plants.  Last winter was a 9a winter with temps down to 22 (maybe lower as I didn't get up in the middle of the night to check, LOL!)

Interesting what you share about the sunshine - when we were at 3500 feet our temps weren't actually that much colder (though they got down into the teens a few times) but we were in an oak forest so I didn't even bother planting a veggie garden.  I didn't have enough sun to let it thrive, that and the deer were rampant that much higher up than the 1600 feet we are at now.

Bump.

Slight adjustments for Zones 8A, 8B, or 9B.

Thanks for keeping the "what to plant" thread going! I haven't been here in waayyy too long!!

My pleasure!

countrynaturals wrote:We have 3 more days of sunny skies and nights above freezing, then nighttime temps dip to 30 and 9 days out it could SNOW!  I still have peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini in the garden. If they aren't ready in 3 days, I'll just have to pick them anyway, I guess.

The greenhouse is doing okay. Nothing is actually thriving, but everything is staying alive and looking pretty good.

In the house, all is well. I may not get any cukes this winter, however. My seedlings are all leggy. They want more light than I can provide indoors.

Today I'm doing some transplanting of butterfly plants and tomatoes. I need to bring in some zinnias in case I get any butterflies in the greenhouse. (One of my frit cats looks about ready to pupate.)

While "touring the estate" I found 4 more zukes and another caterpillar (on the outdoor passion vine). They're all very small, but maybe they'll still make it. One zuke is already the size of a cucumber, so that one is almost in the bank.  I tried to find something Christmasy for my December avatar and thought azaleas would be perfect. Doncha know they're all in bloom except the red ones. (Mother Nature has a strange sense of humor.)  I'll change it again when my poinsettias get delivered. I always get the dollar ones at Lowe's and decorate with them.

I like to think of December as the month we get to take off from the garden. The cold plants (brassicas, Swiss Chard, carrots, beets, snow peas, onions and garlic) are already well on their way and it's too soon to start spring and summer seeds indoors.

Use this month to make sure the beds are clean, topped off with compost (if you had any left) and protected from flying leaves and weed seeds. Have Agribon or Plastic sheeting ready for freeze protection for the next 2 months. Sort seeds, droll over Seed catalogs, and pencil in your plot plan of the beds. If you are adventurous, make a new compost pile with the new fallen leaves, farm manure, veggie trimmings and discards, Starbucks, old straw mulch. Cover between turnings with a tarp and it can easily get up to 160*F.

Nothing to do until February when you start the indoor seeds and sweet potato slips.

I don't get to rest!  Somehow before the spring I need to transform 6 or 7 (I don't remember the actual count) food grade plastic 55 gallon drums into planters!  I'm doing strawberries in one or two.  I want to plant my sweet potatoes and potatoes in them as the gophers and their relatives ate every single sweet potato last year *steam coming out my ears!*

I need to get my work area set up for this and just chug away at it a little each week - I'm working intensively (as always) on my art deadline of January 3rd which always mucks up the holidays for me no matter how hard I try to be ahead before the holidays *deep sigh!*

Oh well, life is NEVER boring anyway, lol!

sanderson wrote:Nothing to do until February when you start the indoor seeds and sweet potato slips.

 Easy for you to say, Girlfriend. I'm busier than I was last summer (when it was too hot to do anything but water twice a day). Today I'm planting Brussels Sprouts and radishes, turning wood stove ashes into the compost heap, transplanting passion vine starts for the fritillary caterpillars, picking mixed greens for dinner, and working on my new spreadsheet (thank you, Marie ).

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote: - I'm working intensively (as always) on my art deadline of January 3rd which always mucks up the holidays for me no matter how hard I try to be ahead before the holidays *deep sigh!*

Oh well, life is NEVER boring anyway, lol!

I thought I was right on schedule for the holidays. Then daughter asked for hand-knit boot toppers, which sent me on a mission to make 4 sets of them for Christmas presents.   I also still have several rock-painting projects to finish before Christmas, but as you said -- never boring.

Bump

sanderson wrote:I like to think of December as the month we get to take off from the garden.  The cold plants (brassicas, Swiss Chard, carrots, beets, snow peas, onions and garlic) are already well on their way and it's too soon to start spring and summer seeds indoors.

Use this month to make sure the beds are clean, topped off with compost (if you had any left) and protected from flying leaves and weed seeds.  Have Agribon or Plastic sheeting ready for freeze protection for the next 2 months.  Sort seeds, droll over Seed catalogs, and pencil in your plot plan of the beds.  If you are adventurous, make a new compost pile with the new fallen leaves, farm manure, veggie trimmings and discards, Starbucks, old straw mulch.  Cover between turnings with a tarp and it can easily get up to 160*F.

Nothing to do until February when you start the indoor seeds and sweet potato slips.

This time last year I had a counter top full of winter harvest.  This year I was a month late getting the starts planted and the only thing I can really harvest are a few toy bok choy leaves and any twin starts that I can see.  Each year is a little different.  The leaves are just starting to fall, depending on the variety, so I can't even collect the neighbors' leaves.  This means, gasp, that I can continue deep cleaning the house and take everything out of the side-by-side freezer and organize it.  There are some seal-a-meals from last winter that should be eaten now before I start freezing this winter's crops.  I canned sweet potatoes all day Wednesday, only to find out they taste terrible! Back to roasting and freezing them.

If properly cured and stored, the sweet potatoes should last a long time without freezing or canning.  my harvest from last year was still good enough to eat in June of this year when I used the remainder to make baby food for the new grandson.

After ham and sweet potatoes for Christmas, I will see where I am with the leftover SP. Right now, the only place to store them is loosely in bags on the tile floor, which is 60*F at the surface.

YIKES! Baker Creek says to start Brussels Sprouts seeds inside "several weeks" before last frost date. That could be right now if it's a mild winter.  I just placed my order, so it looks like I'll be planting a few next week, just in case.

"Start onion seeds indoors three months before the last frost date of spring." I'm already late on this one.

Me wrote:I tried to find something Christmasy for my December avatar and thought azaleas would be perfect. Doncha know they're all in bloom except the red ones. (Mother Nature has a strange sense of humor.)  I'll change it again when my poinsettias get delivered. I always get the dollar ones at Lowe's and decorate with them.

Well, DUH! Doncha know I had to find one of my own posts from last year to get me going for this year's avatar.  (I found this while checking back on the older posts to see if I missed anything to plant this month -- looks like I'm okay.)

Here's what I'm planting today for transplanting outside later on.


and for microgreens in the house.

I did the math and decided to plant a bush cuke from seed in the house. I'm really inspired by El, who had an amazing winter garden in an apartment in NY. https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3548-indoor-container-garden-city-living

Just planted Atomic Red carrots in about 4" of leaves on top of aged compost/potting soil outside the Salad Bar. Fingers crossed the rolly pollies don't get them.

countrynaturals wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:We have 3 more days of sunny skies and nights above freezing, then nighttime temps dip to 30 and 9 days out it could SNOW!  I still have peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini in the garden. If they aren't ready in 3 days, I'll just have to pick them anyway, I guess.

The greenhouse is doing okay. Nothing is actually thriving, but everything is staying alive and looking pretty good.

In the house, all is well. I may not get any cukes this winter, however. My seedlings are all leggy. They want more light than I can provide indoors.

Today I'm doing some transplanting of butterfly plants and tomatoes. I need to bring in some zinnias in case I get any butterflies in the greenhouse. (One of my frit cats looks about ready to pupate.)

While "touring the estate" I found 4 more zukes and another caterpillar (on the outdoor passion vine). They're all very small, but maybe they'll still make it. One zuke is already the size of a cucumber, so that one is almost in the bank.  I tried to find something Christmasy for my December avatar and thought azaleas would be perfect. Doncha know they're all in bloom except the red ones. (Mother Nature has a strange sense of humor.)  I'll change it again when my poinsettias get delivered. I always get the dollar ones at Lowe's and decorate with them.

What a difference 3 years can make! I tried planting a late zuke, after the deer got my early ones, but a hard freeze dashed that hope. Luckily, the in-laws had more than they could use, so we still have one in the fridge, along with a huge bowl of tomatoes.

I found a seed packet of sugar snap peas that I'd left out in the rain. The packet was soggy and the peas all plumped, so they went in the ground in a box in the Salad Bar.

A break in the rain finally allowed me to get my next batch of kohlrabi in the ground.

Another thread told me it's not too late to plant carrots, so I'll be doing that, today.

I ordered potato onion bulbs this week. They should be here by the end of the week, but we won't get another break in the weather until next Monday, so the plan is to plant them, then.

I'm doing more gardening in December than I can do in July. Crazy!  

Now I'm off to find a new avatar. After my first cup of coffee.

countrynaturals wrote:I did the math and decided to plant a bush cuke from seed in the house. I'm really inspired by El, who had an amazing winter garden in an apartment in NY. https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3548-indoor-container-garden-city-living

I've failed at this twice, but maybe 3's a charm.