December: In the Garden

November was an interesting month.  We had hot days and we had nights below freezing.  It was a crazy mix!  It was also a bit of a slow month for me garden-wise.  I was distracted by my sewing projects.  So here it is already December - the sun is out, it's a pleasant 60 degrees and before the month goes by again, here's a rundown of what's going on in my garden.


You've seen the bed of onions/shallots/leeks/garlic/celery. 

Not much has changed except all of the garlic sprouts are up now and the plants are all growing well.  The crows have been poking large holes in the bed looking for bugs lately, but they haven't disturbed the plants themselves.  They make me get out and sweep a few times a week though.


I took down the last of the tomato plants and seeded that area with Red Winter Wheat in mid-November. 

Those seedlings are popping up now and I under-seeded the bed with some red clover yesterday.  I will be harvesting the greens from this spot a few times over the winter and spring to feed to the chickens.  If I'm lucky enough for the wheat to give me some seed before I need to take it out for the summer, I'll have to get myself a grain mill.  *crossing fingers*


I'm still getting zucchinis.

I only have one plant and it's putting out lots of fruits but not enough male flowers to pollinate them.  I get a few baby zucchinis every week and occasionally the stars will align and a fruit will be pollinated, the days warm up and I get a nice big zucchini.  As long as it keeps producing, I'll keep the plant in the ground.


My basil is still alive as well.

The freeze did a small amount of damage, but they've recovered already.  I'm thinking about taking them out and making some pesto - maybe when the nights cool off again.


The corner triangle with the transplanted calendula is starting to fill in. 

All but one of the plants I transplanted survived.  It should be a lovely addition come spring time when the flowers bloom.


The bed of greens and beets is thriving. 

I just started harvesting the swiss chard this week.  I've been harvesting the spinach and lettuce often and they both are doing well with the cooler and shorter days.  I've already gone through the first round of beets and the second sowing should be ready for harvesting in a week or two.  I'm slowing replacing the harvested beets with lettuce seedlings - I need to add more seeds to the bare spots this week.  I'll replace some of the older lettuce with beet seedlings too.

The broccoli and cabbage plants are not working out so well. 

Cabbage loopers have been eating them since I started the seeds (makes for happy chickens, but not a happy farmer.)  The hot days of last month didn't help either.  The broccoli heads are tiny and the cabbage isn't forming heads at all.  The kale is doing fine, though I haven't started harvesting it yet.

I *should* start new cabbage and broccoli seeds since the weather has cooled, but my motivation is low for those plants.  Hand picking caterpillars is fun sometimes, but not every day.  Since the garden is in the front yard, putting up row covers for the season is not an option either.  I'm thinking that bed should be converted to something easier to grow or maybe filling it with a bunch of flowers.


The peppers that I'd put into pots last month have finished their run.  The last day of November the temperature dipped below freezing for the night and the peppers did not do well with that.  I think my cayenne pepper plant would survive, but later that same day, someone stole the half-dozen red peppers off the plant (sad face), so that one is done for the year too.  Luckily I still have the peppers I'd dried over the summer to last me through till next year. 


The perennial herb bed is filling in again.

The newest addition of white bunching onions is looking great - good thing too - the chives are sloooooow grooooowing.  The parsley is getting bigger, the thyme is taking over, and the last of the dill seeds are dropping off.  I'm hoping the dill will reseed itself in the spring when the weather warms up.


My lime tree is heavy with fruit.

I only harvest them when they fall off after a good rain or wind storm.  I'm going to have to come up with more recipes using limes so they don't go to waste.  They were a lovely accent to last night's tacos though!


I, sadly, have nothing on my seedling table.  This is a terrible situation which needs to be remedied immediately!  I have quite a list of flower seeds I'd like to start, plus beets, cabbages, lettuce, daikon radishes, peas, fava beans, and broccoli.  And, of course, I still need to continue with the carrot experiment.

How are your gardens doing?  Starting anything new or is your growing season done for the year?  If any locals need some plants started, let me know!  I'll be putting seeds in this week.