December and Still No Frost

Bob Bauer

December 01, 2016 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

November 29, 2016

So here we are at December with no significant frost yet. I still have a pepper plant growing in the garden. The corn stalks are getting moldy and the tomato leaves are turning pale green but nothing has died yet. In January we get to start indoors all of the cole crops, and lettuce, Swiss chard and spinach so this year us gardeners have only one month of down time..

Lettuce, spinach and peas can be started in the greenhouse in January also, or in cold frames, which extend your growing season by two months. One in the spring and one in the fall..

November 30, 2016

I had to pull out about a bushel full of oregano today because it was growing along a pathway and crowding me over to a planting area. It gets major trimming every year and it's still heading in all directions. It's a great foundation plant because it stays low, never looses its leaves and takes total neglect. The rosemary is also a good perennial but it gets four feet tall so isn't suited for all areas..

Lavender bushes stay low and smell sweet whenever you brush by them. A planting of sage will go on for years but basil has to be planted every year. Herbs are generally very easy to grow and can be incorporated into meals to add variety to our culinary creations..

December 01, 2016

My main garden pathway has already worn thin of the leaf mulch. I'm going to have to consider using tougher material like bark, shavings or pine needles. I'm making rich black soil in the path that should be in the planting beds, and the leaves last much longer under the artichokes. Time release nutrients instead of black sticky mud. Using straw is probably not the best idea either because it breaks down so fast and encourages earthworms to come up..

I should start putting it where veggies will grow. When I get it for Christmas it feels like it's free so l can put it wherever I want it, but until then I'll try to take alternate routes to the greenhouse. Scenic routes, if you will, and I'll stop being in such a hurry..

More from Efundies

There Is No Place For Antibacterial Hand Soap In the Garden

Why kill the bacteria before washing them off your hands. They have a job to do wherever they're going.

When the Ground is Frozen Stay Out of the Garden

I can get a pretty good soil amendment using only leaves and grass clippings but additional garbage makes for a sticky, chunky mess. You can get a bag of steer manure for $.

Had a Prankster Visit the Garden Last Night

I found the zip lock bag that I keep my bar soap in shredded. Half the bar is missing and what's left is full of teeth marks.

It's Time To Pull the Mulch Back

Encircling them with Deadline is always a Spring chore for me. I can usually put my cold frames over them to keep the cats from stepping on the bait, but this year they are way too big.

Perpetual Spinach

It was 10' tall so I trimmed it way back to 5' because I don't want more shade. It couldn't be in a better spot though because it's close to the eastern fence in an area of ornamental plantings.

Woke Up to the Sound of Wind Turbines this Morning

The package says 7-15 days for them to sprout, so the seed starting mat I had them on cut the germination time in half. I got cucumbers started today and some " Black tomato " seeds that were given to me.

It Got Down To 20°F Last Night

I've got a clean raised bed in the greenhouse that's just begging to grow something. I even dragged two furrows 10" apart in it because it looks better that way than flat.

I Was Surprised at How Well the Brussel's Sprouts Overwintered

It seems a shame but they were only eye candy. Peas are one of natures edible candies.

Spring is Right Around the Corner

Broken stems, missing tips, chewed spots, bent, twisted and pathetic. This was not a good year to try and get an early start.

Gardeners Gather The Ingredients To A Healthy Soil

We are always on the lookout for soil amendments because you can never have enough. I've been known to slow down when driving past bales of hay or straw, wondering if they have gotten wet and will soon be available for a buck each.

I Had To Put My Mini Greenhouses Over the Swiss Chard

I Had To Put My Mini Greenhouses Over the Swiss Chard

Try Eating the Leaves of your Broccoli

There was nothing in the water after the first rince. I don't know how long it will be before we eat them because the cook turned her nose up at them.

The Only Problem With the Incredible Amount of Kale

I'm going to try putting Apple Cider Vinegar on it to kill the taste. It's the jagged leafed purple and green kind that used to taste more like spjnach.

I'm Delighted To Have A Coyote Patrolling The Garden

Every garden invader is at risk now. Mice, gophers, rats, possums, raccoons, rabbits and squirrels are all prey, so I should be having fewer invasions.

All of the Garlic Are Up Now

I've had to weed the patch already to, not because of weeds , but because of a plethora of poppies plants. When poppies finish going to seed their stems are tan colored like straw mulch, so when they fall to the ground I leave them, hence I'll never run out of poppies.

Forest and Stream in Winter

I Don't Know Why Weeding

Winter gardening can be an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Plant Snow Peas in January

Peas get planted in there this month so I have to start closing the door. February 2nd is outdoor pea planting time here but I get to start them a month early in the greenhouse.

Photography of Leafless Tree Surrounded by Snow

My Youngest Son Got a Pop up Greenhouse

He doesn't want to 'pop it up' until snow is out of the forecast because he doesn't want to start his flower seeds in an igloo.

It's Time To Make Up Your Christmas List

The stems that came out from your main plants, touched down on the ground and rooted, are called daughters. You can cut the stems and dig up the plants, replant the daughters, and double your strawberry patch.

Good News All You Pizza Lovers

Now that tomatoes have risen on the nutritional scale so has pizza, because tomato sauce counts. If you put onions, peppers, mushrooms and olives on it you get health food instead of junk food.

Hands on a Pile of Dirt

I Keep Hauling My Garden Trimmings

It's much easier to trudge through the mud with the cart than try to burn wet sticks in the rain.

Grow More Greenhouse Review 2018

I recently purchased an 8x12 EasyGrow Greenhouse from LittleGreenhouse.com. I chose the EasyGrow kit mostly because of cost.

I Trapped Another Rat In The Same Place

It was the same size too, and I'm wondering if I got two adults or two adolescents. I guess I'll find out by resetting the trap and waiting.

No Gardening Got Done On Christmas Day

Once you get out of the house and start moving around lots of things will dispel your cabin fever. Being cold makes you want to go back in but a fire keeps you entertained.

Lettuce and Zucchini

The lettuce are getting dappled sunlight, not complete shade , so they can continue to photosynthesize. They also enjoy the extra humidity when I sprinkle water on the stalks.

My First Attempt At Gardening

I had caught two toads and wanted to keep them as pets. I got some small potted plants, rocks, sticks and sand and created a mini jungle.

Letting All The Volunteer Swiss Chard Grow

I have swung back to a more formal preference, with defined borders. I would prefer the chard plants all in a row somewhere, but they are so deep rooted that transplanting them could be a disaster.

I Got a Fourth Planting of Lettuce

Why so much lettuce you might ask. Well, truth be known, my third planting didn't come up.

Winter Tree Pruning

The sap has retreated to the roots so there is less bleeding from the cut. It's also a good excuse to build a burn pile.

Extend Your Artichoke Season

New shoots should come up now and produce a fall harvest. Around them are 4" thick flakes of moldy hay that I put down last winter under which is a teeming mass of earthworms and sow bugs.

A Giant Jackrabbit Was In The Garden

It leaped up onto the compost pile and over the fence. Such a large, strong, athletic and mobile adversary left me a bit stunned.

The Garlic and Onion Sets Are Already Coming Up

I'll move my mini greenhouses over them when the weather turns cold and see if we can't have chard all winter again like last year. It's been such a warm November that all the cauliflower came to head and the two rows of transplanted Brussels sprouts are forming sprouts.

Planting Onions and Garlic

The planting diagram on the package showed you should make the holes 5"deep and 4" wide. The planting instructions said to plant them "only deep enough so that the tops of sets are covered with soil".

Gardening Resolutions

Im'a gonna get more exercise. I think we Grampa gardeners could all get on that bandwagon.

December is Time to Think About Next Years Seeds

One of the first things you learn about gardening is the importance of crop rotation, and you will try to follow it, and be destined to failure. I never have enough room to rotate effectively nor do I think it's required in small backyard gardens.

Brown Black and Blue Bird Sitting on Brown Tree Twig

I Don't Have the Heart to Cover

The birds are voraciously fighting over them as if they are in a life or death situation.

January is time to Start Seeds

I had to wear my rubber boots to check the trap in the garden. It was buried.

I Made a Funny Discovery Today

With a week of rainy weather forecasted I would be wise to postpone my traditional April 15th planting of corn. I planted it on March 20th last year in my over abundant optimism at being re zoned at 8b, and had 10 frost nights all the way up to May 20th in which they required covering.

December Gardening Is, You Guessed It, A Lot like November Gardening

If you've been getting your compost spread, mulch applied, weeds removed, bushes trimmed, vines cut back and areas cleared for spring planting, you are probably running out of things to do. I start my spring garden in six packs, in the house, on a seed starting mat, on January 1st, so I'm looking at the garden differently this month.

2 Liter Bottle Hydroponics

2 liter bottles make excellent hydroponics containers and they're cheap. I've had excellent results growing lettuce in them, and you don't have to water very often at all.