Zone 9 - What to Plant in December

Zone 9 - What to Plant in December

Now is when the main planting is happening in zone 9. The hot and humid days of summer are behind us and we can start growing the garden. With a last frost date in early February you should start growing your tomatoes, peppers and other plants indoors so they are ready to transplant in February.

The Wisconsin Lakes Pepper is a beautiful heirloom bell pepper with a bright red flesh. This pepper variety is an early maturing bell pepper that turns from green to red. This pepper is a great choice for Northern gardeners. Wisconsin Lakes was bred by Wisconsin University in the1960s and it produce a good reliable harvest of early bell peppers.

The Lemon Drop is an excellent seasoning pepper from Peru with some heat! When mature it will ripen to be a bright yellow that occasionally turns a purple blush depending on maturity. The Lemon Drop's crisp and clean, uncomplicated flavor is hot with some citrus notes. Its Scovilles top out at 35,000 units.

The Emerald Giant Pepper's sweet, juicy taste and crisp texture is a favorite among chefs and home growers! This organic bell pepper's thick flesh ranges dark-green to red. This pepper has been improved and selected for its heavy yields and disease resistance. Vigorous and prolific, the Emerald Giant's pepper plants will bear over a long season and is a wonderful choice for growing in the South. Certified Organic. Learn more about our organic seeds.

The Bambino carrot is a super sweet baby gourmet carrot. The color develops quickly and can pull early. This carrot produces 4 in. cylindrical blunt roots, very small core, smooth skin, a deep orange color and small dwarf tops. The Bambino was developed for canning & pickling whole and must be harvested early.

Storage #4 is a great producer of dark green color cabbage that have excellent storage life. This versatile variety also works great in the late fall for fresh market, especially in muddy and rainy conditions. Due to its earliness when used for storage, we recommend later season plantings for best storage results.

The Little Marvel Pea is a well known old time home garden favorite, that is really a marvel! This pea is an excellent choice selected for its high yield potential and excellent sweet flavor making it the most satisfactory pea in the home garden. This variety's plants are very productive and compact and will grow up to 30" tall. Little Marvel produces small bright green pods with luscious, sugary peas that stay tender and sweet even when fully ripe!

This productive heirloom pepper is well suited to short-season gardens and has long been valued for canning and pickling. Originating from Hungary, it produces light yellow, medium-to-hot peppers with a classic flavor that works beautifully for stuffing, roasting, pizza toppings, and traditional Eastern European dishes. Plants set fruit steadily over an extended harvest window, delivering high yields with quick production. The 5-inch fruits begin a bright yellow and mature to red, adding visual appeal as well as versatility in the kitchen, and they are especially popular as pickled peppers. This heat-loving variety thrives in full sun, reaching maturity in about 70 days With a Scoville heat rating of 5,000 to 15,000, Hungarian Hot Wax peppers provide a nice kick without overwhelming heat, making them versatile for various culinary uses.

The Jalapeno M Pepper is a high yielding middle of the road hot pepper. This pepper variety has an average hotness level that tastes great in many dishes. Jalapeno M has thick walls with a spicy pungent smell! Typically growing to about 3-5 inches in length, these peppers have a smooth, firm texture and a slightly curved shape. The heat level of Jalapeno M peppers typically ranges from 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville Heat Units, providing a spicy kick that enhances a wide variety of dishes without being overpowering. Originating from Mexico, Jalapeno M peppers are widely used in salsas, sauces, and as toppings for nachos and other dishes. They have a fresh, grassy flavor that complements both cooked and raw preparations. Harvesting usually occurs around 70-80 days after planting, when the peppers are firm and glossy green, although they can also be left to ripen to red for a sweeter taste. These peppers thrive in warm climates and well-drained soil, making them a staple in many home gardens. Their combination of heat, flavor, and versatility has solidified Jalapeno M peppers as a beloved ingredient in kitchens around the world.

Red Acre cabbage is simply the best early maturing red cabbage! Red Acre is a fantastic cabbage that produces reddish-purple heads. Each cabbage head grows to 7 inches in diameter and weighs about 3 pounds. Red Acre is resistant to cabbage yellowing and is great for home gardens that have little space. Red Acre cabbage stores better than just about any other early cabbage variety. Great raw or for coleslaw use.

The Purple Bhut Jolokia is a purple Ghost Pepper! This purple wrinkled pepper is 125 times hotter than a standard Jalapeno pepper! The Bhut Jolokia Purple is a rare, natural variant of Red Bhut Jolokia. Ghost peppers can reach over 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Use with caution!

The Lincoln Pea is an extra tender variety with a sweet flavor and high yields. This pea variety was introduced just after World War II during the peace time. Lincoln quickly became a popular home garden variety due to its versatility, as it can be eaten fresh, froze or canned. Its pods can reach 4-5" in length and are full of 6-9 sweet, tender peas. Lincoln does well in heat and should have a small pea fence or some sort of support or its vines.

The Pink Brandywine Tomato is our favorite heirloom beefsteak for home gardens and a customer favorite for its sweet taste! This large, beefsteak-shaped tomato fruit grows upright on large leaved plants. This favored tomato contains few seeds and meaty flesh! The indeterminate tomato will ripen later than most, but will produces 10-20 ounce tomatoes until the first frost of fall.

The Parisian carrot is a little round carrot that is a nineteenth-century French heirloom! this carrot variety is an early orange-red carrot that grows almost more like the shape of a large radish. Excels in clay or rocky soil where other carrots have problems developing properly. Its flavor is legendary and is highly sought after by gourmet restaurants.

The Best Tasting Collection has the most popular and best tasting home garden tomatoes we have! These six varieties have been chosen by the people at Urban Farmer as the tastiest tomatoes for home gardens. We have grown all of these varieties and several others and these had the best taste and juiciest flesh we could find. Enjoy! Golden Jubilee - Meaty, thick, golden-orange walls that have an excellent flavor. Cherokee Purple - Plump, juicy, purple tomatoes that are probably the best tasting of all tomatoes. Brandywine - Looking for a nice beefsteak tomato that can be sliced for sandwiches, burgers and more! SunSugar - A golden cherry variety that is just mouth watering. A high sugar content makes you coming back for more. Black Krim - A dark purple-black skin and flesh that holds a juicy, mouth watering flavor. Roma - Roma is a very popular and flavorful Italian tomato. It is an old fashion heirloom that makes great salsa and tomato paste.

The Ashe County Pimento pepper is a cherished heirloom variety with roots deeply embedded in the Appalachian region of North Carolina. Originating from Ashe County, this pepper has been cultivated since the early 20th century, known for its unique attributes and exceptional flavor. Characterized by its heart-shaped pods, the Ashe County Pimento ripens to a vibrant red hue, distinguishing it from other peppers. Its flavor is renowned for its sweet, fruity notes and low heat, making it a versatile ingredient for both fresh consumption and culinary uses like pimento cheese and stuffed peppers. The plant exhibits a compact growth habit, typically reaching about 18 to 24 inches in height, which makes it suitable for garden beds and containers. It produces an abundance of peppers that are ready for harvest in late summer to early fall. With its rich history, distinctive color, and delightful taste, the Ashe County Pimento pepper continues to be a prized addition to gardens and kitchens alike.

Ailsa Craig Exhibition is a large onion that has a unique mildly sweet flavor! This plant produces on the average a huge 5 lb. sweet white onion that has a delicious flavor in many dishes. Impress your neighbors and try growing this World Record sized onion.

Often called Early Coreless, this heirloom carrot is prized for its excellent storage ability and wide adaptability in the garden. It produces smooth, cylindrical roots about 7 inches long with rounded ends and vibrant red-orange flesh that is fine-textured and nearly free of a core. The flavor is notably sweet, crisp, and clean, making it enjoyable fresh or cooked. Harvested young, it works beautifully as a baby carrot, and it also performs exceptionally well for freezing and juicing. With origins dating back to the 1850s, this classic variety was developed in France by the renowned seed firm Vilmorin-Andrieux and remains a favorite for its quality and reliability.

Among the world's hottest peppers! Use with caution, wrinkled  brown pepper. 125 times hotter than a Jalapeno pepper! Bhut Jolokia Chocolate is a rare, natural variant of Red Bhut Jolokia. Ghost pepper can reach over 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU).