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 Musquee de Provence Pumpkin is a big, flat and heavily ribbed beautiful variety that ripens from green to a deep brown. This 20 pound beauty has a tender, deep orange flesh that has a wonderful flavor when roasted or cooked into soups and stews. This pumpkin has a long storage, making it perfect for taking to the farmer's market.

Lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale, is a leafy green vegetable characterized by its long, dark green, crinkled leaves. The leaves have a distinctive bumpy texture and are often a deep, rich shade of green, sometimes with a bluish tint. They grow on tall, upright stalks and have a slightly sweeter and milder flavor compared to other kale varieties. This type of kale is prized for its versatility in the kitchen. It can be eaten raw in salads, blended into smoothies, sautéed, or added to soups and stews. Lacinato kale holds up well to cooking without losing its texture, making it a favorite for both chefs and home cooks alike. Nutritionally, it's packed with vitamins A, C, and K, as well as minerals like calcium and iron, making it a powerhouse of health benefits. Its striking appearance and robust flavor make Lacinato kale a standout choice for any dish!

The Jack Be Little is a small pumpkin that is popular in many floral arrangements! This new miniature pumpkin is ideal for small Jack'O Lanterns and other decorations. These easy to grow plants bear several small pumpkins per plant. The Jack Be Little pumpkins are edible, but are more highly valued for their decorative value and will last for months if properly cured!

Get a head start with the early maturing Early Jalapeno Pepper. This pepper variety continuously produces a dark green, thick skin that forms to the shape of a cone. Enjoy the Early Jalapeno fresh or pickled on salads, dips or tacos!

The Heirloom Collection is a mixture of some of our favorite and best tasting heirloom tomatoes. These old fashioned, great tasting heirloom tomatoes are sure to please your tastebuds! We have chosen the most popular, tried and true heirlooms around. These tomatoes have been passed down for generations because of their exceptional taste, growth habits, yield, disease resistance and more! The collection includes a packet of each of the following: Delicious - Once held the world record for largest tomato grown. A huge beefsteak that is large and fairly crack resistant. Black Cherry - One of the most delicious cherry tomatoes around! The only truly black cherry tomato. Chocolate Stripes - Mahogany color with dark brown stripes. A luscious bicolor tomato with a sweet earthy flavor. Cherokee Purple - A purple tomato that is a favorite heirloom amongst gardeners. Absolutely the best taste of any tomato around. Costoluto Genovese - An old Italian preserving tomato. Works great for sauces and paste. German Giant - A giant potato leaf heirloom tomato. A deep pink fruit that grows up to 30+ ounces.

The Rutgers Tomato produces an intense, red colored, round fruit that is a proven variety that excels at canning and slicing. This highly productive, open pollinated heirloom tomato is one of the earlier maturing tomato varieties and has been around since 1934. Rutgers grows on a strong vine and can weigh anywhere from 6-12 ounces. The first maturing tomatoes tend to be smaller while later maturing tomatoes are larger. This tomato has a beautiful flesh inside with a good ratio of flesh to gel with a few seeds for each slice. This variety holds well when sliced making it great for sandwiches! The Rutgers tomatoes were originally developed by a Rutgers University scientist named Lyman G. Schermerhorn in co-operation with the Campbell's Soup Company. The tomato was developed by crossing Marglobe with a variety called JTD. As time went on, the Rutgers became the most famous tomato worldwide and once made up over 70% of the tomatoes being processed in the United States.

The King of the North Pepper is the most reliable bell pepper for northern gardeners. These sturdy plants produce heavy yields of blocky, thick walled, 3-4 lobed peppers that ripen from green to red. This pepper variety is excellent cooked in any recipe or raw for fresh eating. King of the North is sure to be the new KING in your garden!

fast-maturing, compact cabbage that’s as rewarding to grow as it is to eat. Green Express forms tidy 5–6" heads weighing about 2–3 pounds, ready to harvest in roughly 50 days. The crisp, flavorful heads are perfectly sized for raised beds and containers, yet perform just as well in traditional garden rows. Ideal for gardeners who want quick results and manageable, kitchen-ready cabbages.

The White Icicle Radish is an heirloom white variety that has a warm, mild flavor. The shoulders where the radish protrudes above the ground should be green, although there is a variant with purple shoulders. This radish variety is excellent for the home garden or fresh market.

The Lutz Green Leaf White Stem Beet is an attractive deep red variety with white stalks that is absolutely delicious when steamed or roasted. This beet is known for having huge glossy, deep green tops that are perfect for salads! This beet is a "winterkeeper" beet that has a long standing storage capability. The Lutz Green Leaf White Stem has 6 inches in diameter roots.

The Sweet Banana is a delightfully tangy and colorful sweet pepper. This elongated, thick-walled pepper turns scarlet when fully ripe, but will stay sweet and mild. This pepper variety is a longtime favorite for its sweet flavor that is exquisitely pungent when pickled. Sweet Banana's prolific plant produces high yields.

Chile de Arbol peppers are a distinctive variety renowned for their fiery heat and striking appearance. These small, slender peppers typically mature to a vibrant red color, although they can also be harvested green. Known for their sharp, intense heat with a slightly smoky undertone, Chile de Arbol peppers are a popular choice for adding a bold kick to sauces, salsas, and dishes. They generally take about 80 to 90 days to reach full maturity, and the plants are characterized by their upright growth habit, producing an abundance of peppers on relatively compact bushes. The plants are quite resilient, thriving in warm, sunny conditions and well-drained soil. Their vibrant color and potent flavor make them a standout addition to any garden or culinary repertoire, providing both visual appeal and a significant heat boost.

Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are a legendary heirloom variety with a rich history and exceptional qualities. Originating from the 1930s, this tomato was famously developed by M.C. "Radiator Charlie" Byles, a farmer who sold the plants to pay off his mortgage, hence the name. These large, beefsteak-style tomatoes are known for their deep pink to reddish color and meaty texture, with fruits often reaching up to a pound or more. The flavor is renowned for its sweet, rich taste with a balanced acidity, making it ideal for slicing, sandwiches, and sauces. Mortgage Lifter tomatoes typically take about 80 to 85 days to mature and feature an indeterminate growth habit, meaning they continue to produce fruit throughout the growing season. The plants are vigorous and sprawling, requiring staking or caging to support the heavy, abundant fruit. Their historical significance, combined with their impressive size, flavor, and productivity, makes Mortgage Lifter tomatoes a prized addition to any garden.

The Sun Gold is a very sweet, tangerine-orange cherry tomato. Once you try this sugary treat, you will want to grow it for years and years! This variety produces beautiful little tomatoes early, often and throughout the entire season. The Sun Gold is the best tasting cherry tomato around that is great for home gardens.

The Porter Tomato is a very smooth, dark pink tomato variety that is perfect for canning, juicing or eating fresh in a salad! The 2 oz tomatoes have a round/plum body shape and the plant is very drought resistant, which makes them great for areas with little rain. The Porter is a high yielding plant that will give you an abundance of tasty tomatoes!

The Time Bomb Pepper is a slightly hot pepper with an excellent flavor! This pepper is a dark-green to bright-red hot cherry pepper for pickling. Its fruits are globular to pointy and measure 4 cm x 4 cm. The Time Bomb Pepper has a slightly less pungent flavor than the Cherry Bomb.

The Supersweet 100 Tomato has a flavor with an extra sweetness and an outstanding yield production that keeps coming back! This tomato tastes like candy and has an increased disease-fighting ability than the beloved classic, Sweet 100. This hybrid is a delicious treat that is also one of the most nutritious tomatoes available anywhere! The Supersweet 100 has a higher vitamin C content than any other tomato. The small 1 inch tomatoes have a bright red skin and flesh.

The Dragon carrot is a refined purple carrot that is perfect for home gardeners and market growers! The reddish purple color on the outside contrasts with the bright orange interior when peeled or sliced. The Dragon has a delicious sweet, slightly spicy, carrot flavor that is delicious roasted or in soups and stews.