Getting Dirty in December ~ Garden Calendar

Cool winter winds rustle the last remaining leaves on deciduous trees. Get out there and enjoy the outdoors!

PLANT

START IN FLATS

• DIRECT SOW
  
• PLUS many other gardeny things to do….*This calendar is based on Northern California gardening so keep in mind that planting times vary depending on location.V= Vegetable, H= Herbs, A= Annuals, P= Perennials, B= Bulbs, T= Trees

SOW SEEDS IN THE GARDEN

V: beet, cabbage, carrot, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce, onion, parsley, peas, spinach

H: chervil, chives, mustard, parsley

Cover Crops: clover, fava beans, vetch (between rains)

START IN FLATS

V: beet, cabbage, carrot, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce, onion, parsley, peas, spinach

H: chervil, chives, mustard, parsley

Cover Crops: clover, fava beans, vetch (between rains)

PLANT

V: artichokes (bare-root), asparagus, black berries, raspberries, grapes, rhubarb, strawberries

P: camellias, cyclamen (under covered porch with part shade)

B: amaryllis, anemones, daffodils, callas, ranunculus

FERTILIZE  N-P-K

Apply fish emulsion to annuals every 2 weeks. Feed shrubs and trees that bloom the beginning of the year.

PRUNE

Shape conifers, holly, laurel, magnolia, and evergreen shrubs. Prune side branches of wisteria to within 2 buds of main stem.

MULCH  IRRIGATION  SOIL

Mulch for erosion control. Flush irrigation lines. Protect landscape plants from frost.

PESTS

Watch for white flies on underside of leaves.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Purchase bare root trees, rose shrubs. Move tender container plants indoors, use living evergreen Christmas tree instead of cutting one, make wreaths out of evergreens like magnolia, juniper pine, redwood. Propagate evergreen shrubs by scraping the bark off the bottom of a low branch and staking down so branch is in the ground to root.