There’s a welcome chill in the air after our long, hot summer. The fall garden is planted with tomatoes, cabbages, lettuce, potatoes, and some herbs. A few rutabagas are still in the ground, waiting for some cold nights to sweeten them up. The cover crop of brown mustard is scattered across the garden. Marigolds are still blooming bright yellows and oranges, and the Zinnias are still bursting with bold reds, oranges and yellows.
It’s a happy place right now. The constant battle with pests and diseases is on hold for a short season. Here’s what December had to offer.
Garden Journal
Wednesday, December 2nd – Winter is approaching!
The air is getting cooler and dryer. We’re letting the garden settle down for the winter, even though this is a prime growing season in Central Florida.
The cabbages got off to a slow start in the heat of early autumn. Next year, I’ll plant them later in the season. They are starting to form nice heads now that it is cooler. There have been almost no pests or diseases in the garden once the weather started cooling off.
Sunday, December 6th – Okay, so just a few more seeds?
I couldn’t help myself! I planted some fennel and garlic chive seeds in the raised bed with the lettuce. I’ve never grown either before, and I love trying to grow new foods. Plus, it’s fun being able to grow all year-round!
Wednesday, December 9th – Frost warning!
With the frost warnings getting deeper south into Central Florida, it was time to bring in my orchids and Christmas cacti. I’ll keep them inside until early March when nights should no longer get below 40 degrees. They will look beautiful sitting on the fireplace hearth over the winter.
Saturday, December 19th – Getting accustomed to the winter season.
We’ve been watering every few days during our dry time of the year. The tomatoes look about the same as two weeks ago. We’ve only picked two so far. The lettuces are growing wonderfully. I hope to have enough for one or two salads per week during the winter. One head of cabbage is firm and ready to pick. It’s the size of a softball, perfect for a small bowl of coleslaw!
Thursday, December 24th – Tomatoes and Potatoes.
With a forecasted temperature in the low 40’s, we picked five half-red tomatoes to ripen inside.
The potatoes have pushed several leaves up from underground. They’re a beautiful dark green! The lettuce can be picked any time we feel like a salad. The fennel is up too. Our raised bed is becoming a healthy and successful experiment!
Friday, December 25th – Getting Social
Earlier this month, I had received some persimmon seeds in the mail that were being given away in an online group that I belong to. Persimmon seeds need to be cold-stratified, so I planted them in a deep pot in some moist soil, covered with a thick layer of mulch. They should chill good this winter and hopefully, in a few months, I’ll see some tree shoots poking out.
Gardening groups are a great way to share information, seeds, or plants. I enjoy conversations with like-minded people who have plant problems and successes similar to mine.
Some of the groups I belong to that you might be interested in include:
Facebook:
- Victory Gardeners
- Florida Food Forest
- Central Florida Gardening
- Zone 9 Gardening
- Florida Plant and Seed Exchange
MeWe:
- Homesteading Women
- Florida Urban Homesteading
If you belong to any group that you think I’d be interested in, please send me an email with a link, thanks!
Tonight, we covered the Homestead tomatoes with sheets to prevent frost damage. We left the Brickyard tomatoes uncovered. They are partially under a crepe myrtle tree and I felt they would survive the cold better. I also wanted to use them as a comparison for covered vs. non-covered results.
Saturday, December 26th – Mixed results.
We uncovered the tomatoes this morning and the plants had several branches damaged from the cold, despite being covered. The plants that I hadn’t covered look fine. It was not the results I expected. Perhaps the sheets held moisture? Maybe the other tomatoes under a tree was a good thing? I’m still contemplating the results.
Tonight, we roasted 2 pounds of our sweet potato fingerlings. They were delicious! We’re looking forward to eating the rest of our sweet potato harvest through the winter season.
Sunday, December 27th – A frosty surprise!
We did not cover plants last night. A low temperature of 39 degrees was predicted and I did not expect the frost that we ended up getting.
The tomatoes did well, but the lettuces got a bit of frost damage as well as the tips of some of the potato plants. Thankfully, everything else survived the cold night.
Monday, December 28th – Fresh produce for lunch.
Tonight, I picked enough lettuce and tomatoes to make salads for our lunches the next day. Some chopped hard-boiled eggs, shredded cheese and Ranch dressing made a wonderful meal.
Thursday, December 31st – Last day of 2020!
The garden has so much promise for 2021!
Tomatoes are turning red more frequently.
Cabbages are almost ready to harvest and make into sauerkraut.
Potatoes are several inches tall in the raised bed.
The lettuce is unstoppable!
The rosemary is almost two feet tall.
Our potted trees were only seeds in the ground this time last year. Some are now 3-4 feet tall.
This year I have grown many fruits and vegetables I’ve never grown before including:
- Sweet potato
- Garlic
- Basil
- Pole beans
- Passion fruit
- Dragon fruit
- PLUS: propagated a wild Beauty Berry bush from branch I cut while harvesting its fruit.
Passion Fruit Blossom. 
Pole Bean Blossoms 
Dragonfruit 
Beauty Berries 
Growing sweet potato slip.
Looking Ahead
This first weekend of the new year, I’ll be starting tomatoes and peppers from seeds to plant in late February after our last frost date.
There should be enough cabbage soon to make sauerkraut sometime in January.
I’ve tallied my total produce harvested this past season and will soon share the results in an upcoming post.
My garden Planner is ready for new sketches and I bought my notebook for my 2021 Garden Journal.
I hope you’ve had many successes in your garden this year too. I’d love to hear how great your year was, or what you’re planning for your next garden season. You can leave a comment below or email me at: admin@ourfrugalfloridahomestead.com
Thanks, and happy gardening!
Alisa