December Grower's Guide
The stone fruit are being picked in bucketfuls now. The pumpkins and squashes are filling out and covering the ground like lily pads and their flowers in a pond.
Kitchens are busy with cooking and preserving and thoughts about which variety of broccoli to plant this coming season begin to pop into one's mind.
Flowers (seeds)
Alysum
Aster
Baby's Breath
Bergamot
Billy Buttons
Borage
Calendula
California Poppy
Carnation
Chrysanthemum
Comfrey
Cornflowers
Cosmos
Dahlia
Delphinium
Dianthus
Echinacea
Everlasting Daisy
Feverfew
Forget me not
Gladioli bulbs
German Chamomile
Hyssop
Impatiens
Larkspur
Lavender
Marigolds
Nasturtium
Petunia
Phlox
Pincushion
Poppy
Salvias
Snapdragon
Sunflower
Sweet William
Verbana
Yarrow
Zinnia
Vegetables (seeds)
Adzuki beans
Amaranth
Artichoke
Asparagus crowns
Basil
Beans
Beetroot
Bitter melon
Burdock
Capsicum
Carob
Carrot
Celery
Chervil
Chickory
Chillies
Chives
Chinese broccoli
Corn
Cucumber
Dill
Eggplant
Endive
Fennel
Garlic chives
Gourd
Kale
Leek
Lemon balm
Lettuce
Luffa
Malabar Spinach
Mizuna
Mustards
Okra
Oregano
Parsley
Peppermint
Perilla
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Purslane
Rocket
Rhubarb
Rockmelon
Rosella
Rosemary
Sage
Salsify
Silverbeet
Sorrel
Spearmint
Spinach
Spring Onion
Squash
Sweet potato
Tamarillo
Tarragon
Thyme
Tomato
Tulsi - Holy Basil
Turnip
Watercress
Watermelon
Zucchini
Add some calcium to your soil if you experienced blossom end rot last year
Fruits
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Check root stock growth and remove it from grafted trees
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Soil, Compost & General
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Time to do lots of weeding, if that is your thing
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Actively check for snails and other pests
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Actively check for bronze orange bugs in citrus trees
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Mulch, mulch, mulch
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Cover your worm farm with a wet hessian blanket to keep them happy in the heat OR
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Transplant evergreen shrubs
Tools & Equipment
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Check and maintain your fruit fly traps
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Clean and sharpen secateurs and saws for fruit tree pruning
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Ensure your irrigation systems are set for the holiday season
Vegemite Snail Trap: Add a tablespoon of vegemite to an empty jar, fill with water, mix and bury to the rim of the jar. Check and replace as required.
Waterproof Slug Trap: add one cup water, one teaspoon sugar, one teaspoon flour and half a teaspoon of yeast into a plastic container with lid and watch here for more details.
Seed Saving & Harvesting
Harvesting
beans, berries, lettuce, silverbeet, apples, stone fruit and citrus fruit as they ripen, spring onions, rhubarb, mustards, spinach, asparagus, squashes, tomatoes, herbs
Seed saving
Peas and snow peas, rocket, radishes, broccoli, silverbeet, coriander
Seed from apples, pears, quinces (store in damp sand)
Check out our seed saving page for more information.
