What to sow & do in the December kitchen garden
Well the weather outside is frightful, but at least there isn’t too much to do in the December kitchen garden or on the allotment. Growing conditions are getting cooler and darker in the UK this month, which slows everything plant-related down as we head towards midwinter.
However, there’s a small amount of activity you could do now to get ahead for next season. For example, there are a few seeds you might like to sow in your December kitchen garden, and one or two other simple tasks to complete if you want to.
Once that’s out of the way you can head right back indoors and put the kettle on.
My December kitchen garden diary
I must confess that I hardly do any gardening in December or January, but I will be quickly pruning our now-dormant cherry tree, and sowing some stir fry greens, rocket and winter mustards under a cloche in the next couple of days.
Then the most strenuous kitchen garden activity I’ll be doing for the next few weeks will probably be looking through the 2025 seed catalogues, drinking tea and dreaming about the Spring.
What to sow in December
There’s not much to sow outdoors this month, and apart from garlic and rhubarb it all needs to be sown under cover. Otherwise, just wait until early next year to start the seeds off.
Some of my favourite places to get seeds and small plants include:
- Dobies – great seed catalogue from long-established company
- Marshalls Garden – good variety of seedlings and plants
- RHS – good for ‘Garden Merit’ tried and tested varieties
- Suttons – lots of 99p seeds and handy advice for beginners
- Thompson & Morgan – all kinds of seeds, strawberry plants, fruit bushes etc
- Wilko – the bargain seeds are back, plus lots of multi-buy offers
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Outdoors
- Coriander (under cover)
- Garlic
- Sets of winter-hardy onions and shallots (under cover)
- Pak choi, mizuna and other stir-fry greens (under cover)
- Peas (hardy types, mild areas only)
- Rhubarb crowns (if the ground is not frozen)
- Rocket (under cover)
- Winter mustards (under cover)
If you have some of these growing already, you won’t need to do more. It’s just an option.
Indoors
- Baby leaf salad (bright, cool windowsill)
- Bean sprouts and other sprouting seeds
- Herbs (parsley, chives, coriander, dill, leaf celery)
- Mustard and cress
- Pea shoots and microgreens
December kitchen garden to do list
If you kept on top of your garden jobs in October and November then there are very few things to do this month. They’re fairly minor tasks that can be completed quickly.
1. Care of vegetables in December
- Check stored onions and roots for signs of rot
- ‘Force’ Whitloof chicory roots (sprout them in the dark)
- Net brassicas and remove any yellowed leaves
- Plant winter alliums (onions, shallots, garlic)
- Protect broad beans and winter salad with fleece or cloches
2. Care of fruit in December
- Check stored apples and pears for signs of rot
- Plant trees, bushes and rhubarb if the ground isn’t frozen
- Prune dormant trees and vines
3. General garden jobs to do in December
- Decide what to grow next year
- Order seeds and seed potatoes
- Prepare soil, if not already done
- Tool care and general tidying
- Clean seed trays and pots
You can also simply put your feet up this December and decide what to grow next year, especially if you’re busy doing other things this month, or just not in the mood. No need to overdo it.
Enjoying this post? You may also like:
- Garden jobs to do in November
- British seasonal food in December – what to pick now
Will you be doing any gardening this month? What are you thinking about growing next year?
