Stephen Albert
December brings the arrival of summer to the Southern Hemisphere vegetable garden. Warm-season crops can still be planted this month. Spring-planted crops will come to harvest this month.
If you are preparing for your summer Christmas holiday, make sure that the vegetable garden is well mulched before you go. Mulch will keep the weeds down and conserve the moisture in the soil while you are away.
December is not too early to consider breaking out the shade cloth to protect the tender plants from the summer heat that should be upon us next month.
And December is the month to plan ahead for winter in the southern hemisphere. Winter crops such as beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, leeks, and cool-weather Chinese vegetables can be planted before this month is finished. By the time they are up to size, the summer weather will be on its way out.
Look for the first harvest of early tomatoes towards the end of this month. How about a garden-fresh tomato sandwich on Christmas Day! Pinch out the growing tips on cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash now before they get a firm grip on the rest of the garden. Also, begin to monitor fruit trees to make sure young limbs aren’t carrying too much weight.
Here is a planting schedule by region for the southern hemisphere in December:
Temperate Regions December Planting
Vegetables: beans, beets (beetroot), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum (sweet pepper), carrots, cauliflower, celery, celeriac, chicory, chilies, cress, cucumber, eggplant, endive, leeks, lettuce, marrow (courgette), melons, mustard, spring onion, parsnip, peas, pumpkin, radish rhubarb crown, salsify, Swiss chard (silverbeet), squash, sweet corn, tomato, zucchini.
Herbs: basil, borage, caraway, celeriac, chamomile, chervil, chilies, chives, fennel, hyssop, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.
Tropical and Subtropical Northern Regions Planting
Vegetables: beans, cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum (sweet pepper), celery, Chinese cabbage, cress, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, lettuce, marrow, melons, mustard, okra, parsnip, peas, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb crowns, silverbeet (Swiss chard), spring onion, squash, strawberry runners, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini.
Cooler Southern Regions Planting
Vegetables: beans, beet (beetroot), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, celeriac, cress, cucumber, endive, leeks, lettuce, marrow, okra, spring onion, parsnip, potato tubers, radish, rhubarb crowns, salsify, Swiss chard (silverbeet), spinach, squash, Swedes (rutabaga), sweet corn, zucchini. Herbs: borage, chamomile, chervil, chives, coriander, hyssop, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.
December Harvest Schedule for the Southern Hemisphere
Here is a roundup of vegetables and fruits ready for harvest during December in the Southern Hemisphere:
Vegetables: Beans, beet (beetroot), early corn, cucumber, lettuce, Swiss chard (silverbeet), tomatoes, turnip, zucchini.
Fruit: Apricots, cape gooseberries, cherries, gooseberries, grapefruit, lemons, loganberries, nectarines, oranges, passionfruit, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries.
