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Monthly Gardening Guide – December
Welcome to your Monthly Gardening Guide for December! Below you will find information on what I will be doing, (or trying to do) for the month of December. These are goals, not standards and some months I am on top of it and other months I blow it. But somehow, and thankfully, the garden is forgiving. Your garden to-do list may look different than mine, and that is okay. Perhaps you will glean something from my list and please, if you have any suggestions, opinions or tips & tricks feel free to contact me! I would love to hear from you. Now, let’s get our hands dirty and get growing!
Main Goal
This month in Texas is notoriously a roller coaster and tends to be very unpredictable weather-wise, have row covers at the ready for any late-season frosts or freezes that might damage perennials, fruit trees or even crops you have already planted (re-think that next year till at least after St. Patrick’s Day!) 😉
After a topsy-turvy Texas summer, I look forward to cooler weather and the cold hardy vegetables that can be planted in the winter garden. Our mild Texas winters are especially ideal for growing all types of greens. Since I have transitioned to patio raised beds this year, I am looking forward to exploring a whole multitude of greens. When the weather is cooler, there are less days when we need to water, and there are no insect pests to worry about after the first frost (which usually is mid-November but gosh y’all the weather reports aren’t showing any frost possibilities until December – this year). All the plants in this post that I will be highlighting below are cold hardy and grow well during our winters. Each plant includes the ideal time to plant, the varieties that are known to grow well in our zone, and the temperature they should be covered for added cold protection. Let’s get busy.
Prepare
Make sure and have on hand frost covers, hoops for hoop coverings, mulch such as straw or hay or your preferred mulch material. I have even been known to save milk or water jugs for little mini greenhouses to keep fragile plants from freezing. BUT, depending on when we get our first freeze it may actually be a warm-ish December! Don’t forget to water, water, water still!
Plant’em
Cool Season Veggies: Use a garden thermometer to determine if the soil temperature is at or above 40ºF. When it gets there, start planting the crops you’ve started for cool-season: kale, lettuce, spinach, and onions. Plant these early in the month.
Cool season flowers: Pansies!! One word is not usually a sentence, but Pansies are in this case! The best flower hands down for North Texas Gardens in the winter time and they will thrive all the way through spring for you.
Lettuce
You can find this Organic Red Oakleaf lettuce from Everwilde HEREVarieties: Four Seasons, Salad Bowl, Oak Leaf, Lolla Rossa, Romaine (Paris Island Cos).
When to Cover: 25 degrees or below. Because lettuce is one of the lesser cold hardy vegetables, has delicate leaves and is shorter in stature, I will be planting my lettuce this year in my tall raised beds on our patio. I have even found some small hoops with frost protection coverings HERE that are a perfect fit!
Kale
When to Plant: Mid-September – 1st week in October
Varieties: Red Russian Flat and Curly
When to cover: 10 degrees or colder
Mustard Greens
- When to Plant: Mid-September – 2nd week in October
- Varieties – Southern Giant, Tendergreen
- Cover when 5 degrees or below.
Collard Greens (Collards):
You can find Vates Collard Greens from Everwilde HEREVarieties: Georgia Southern, Vates
When to cover: 15 degrees or below
Beets
When to Plant: 3rd week of September – 2nd week of October
Varieties: Detroit Dark Red, Ruby Queen
When to cover: 20 degrees or below.
Turnips
When to Plant: Mid-October- 1st week in November.
Varieties: White Lady, Tokyo Cross.
When to cover: 20 degrees or below.
You won’t find any Cabbage or Broccoli on this list this year. I will try for next and they are great for fall and winter here in North Texas.
If you are into planting spring-blooming bulbs like tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and alliums this is the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Remember to check your planting depth but plant bulbs to at least their depth 3x their height. I have tried for years and years to grow bulbs and failed miserably. Stubborness is a Texas trait but so is knowing when to “fold ’em”!
Prune’em & Tidy up
- Pull up and discard old blooms and plants.
- Clean out your raised beds and pots.
- Water and mulch everything.
- Prune what may be dead but don’t go crazy here. Frost is coming, or has already come and will come again all the way through and into March. DO NOT prune back your roses – wait till Spring. I only ever prune back if there was wild growth on the rose branches and we may be expecting a WET winter that would break the branches.
Feed’em
- Pre-weed and feed your lawns
- Keep feeding your cool season veggies
- Keep feeding your pansies and cool season flowers
The Look Out For’s & To-do’s
- Water lawns and gardens deeply once a week, depending on the amount of rain. Do not overwater.
- Apply mulch around the base of edibles and flowers to conserve moisture.
- Consider placing soakers hoses around the perimeter of your house’s foundation and water several times a month.
Monthly Garden Check-list for December (and January)
May you find joy & wonder in your garden and may your hands always be dirty, (even in the winter)
P.S. LINKS YOU MIGHT LEARN FROM:
Homes and Gardens has a few and interesting articles:
Don’t Risk the Health of Your Plants This Winter – 7 Trees and Shrubs to Never Prune in December
Don’t Wait Until Spring – 7 Vegetables You Can Plant in December for Year-Round Harvests
Howdy there, I’m Kat. I’m so glad your here, WELCOME! I’m a southern gal with a gypsy soul, making North Texas my home!
Married to one amazing man, we have 4 crazy kids, & 4+ crazy cats and the most adorable granddaughter! Pull up a seat, grab a glass of sweet tea & stay awhile!
