December is considered the quietest month for gardeners: the harvest is harvested and stored, the site is dug up, perennials are prepared for frost and cold. You can relax and slow down the pace of work a little. But even in this calm winter month there is something to do on the site. Winter work in the garden and vegetable garden, although different from work in other months, is still very important in preparation for the next season.
Work in the vegetable garden in December
There is not much work in the kitchen-garden this month. More often, gardeners are engaged in greenhouses and hotbeds. But if you don’t have such facilities, you can prepare containers for seedlings for the next season so that there is less work in the spring. The same applies to the procurement of fertilizers and planting material.
Often, gardeners plan the distribution of crops in December taking into account crop rotation. But the main task of the summer resident is to keep snow on the beds. This is the main care for your garden in autumn and winter, especially if you sow dill, radishes, carrots or other crops before winter.
Work plan in the vegetable garden in December:
- Inspect the area, note where and on which beds you need to apply fertilizer next season.
- Plan where and what crops you will sow and plant in the spring. To do this, you can draw a diagram of the site and describe everything by crop, taking into account crop rotation and crop compatibility.
- Summer residents and gardeners who have a greenhouse have no time to be bored even in December. You can sow green crops or vegetables – it all depends on your preferences. To know which crops are best to sow when, use the lunar calendar for December.
- Work in the garden also includes inspecting the seeds that are left over from last season, sorting them and determining which ones are missing and need to be purchased. You can purchase seeds immediately before sowing or in December in order to know exactly how many seeds of which crops are available.
- Find a place where you will store wood ash, bird droppings and other organic matter that accumulates over the winter.
- Hide all fertilizers and plant protection products in a clean and dry place so that they do not become damp over the winter. In general, manufacturers recommend always keeping such drugs in a protected place, but in winter this is especially important to prevent them from freezing.
- The drip irrigation system needs to be washed, folded and hidden for the winter.
- Lay a compost pit: place leaves collected in the garden in the fall there, and when you finish adding organic matter, cover it with soil and polyethylene so that the fertilizer does not freeze.
- Lime the beds if necessary.
- A greenhouse where it is not planned to grow anything in winter needs to be cleaned and disinfected so that it is ready for the next season.
- Prepare containers for seedlings. Even if you don’t plan to sow anything in winter, they will be ready for the spring season. Seedlings grow well in cassettes or peat pots, which can be purchased at the store – they do not require additional preparation.
- Prepare soil mixture for seedlings. You can buy it ready-made or prepare it yourself, but in the latter case such a substrate needs to be disinfected and disinfected.
Inspect equipment and greenhouses to see if they need repairs.
Regularly check stored vegetables, pickles and canned goods to see if any of them are spoiled or rotten. Such specimens must be removed immediately so that they do not spoil the entire harvest.
Having completed such simple work, most gardeners rest for the rest of December. If snow falls, you just need to sprinkle it on winter plantings.
What to do in the garden in December
Gardening work in the first month of winter is also not very difficult, but gardeners still have something to do. In regions where winters are warm and snowless, seedlings are sometimes planted in December before winter. Also, with winter, the fruits of viburnum and barberry appear in the garden, which do not fall off until spring and are excellent for cutting. New Year and Christmas compositions are often created with them to dilute them and add bright colors.
The first thing gardeners should do is prepare their pruning shears for storage. They are treated with acetone to remove plant juice and resin. Next, the pruners are washed in soap and water and dried. Then they are stored open in a room where there is no high humidity and temperature changes.
Important work in the garden in December is to protect trees from rodents. In the cold season, hares are able to gnaw the bark of trees up to a height of 1 m. Seedlings especially suffer from rodents in winter. To protect the plantings in the garden, you need to make a special fence. Some gardeners make it from a chain-link mesh or wire around the perimeter of the entire garden. Other gardeners use a fence around each tree as protection. In this case, the mesh should have small cells and a height of at least 1 m. Special stores also sell plastic mesh to protect the garden. It will not collapse in the cold and will last until spring, protecting every tree in the garden.
Garden work in winter is not complete without snow removal. After snow falls, the roof of the greenhouse should be cleared of snow with a soft bristle brush so as not to damage the coating. Sticky snow needs to be cleared from the branches of trees and bushes so that it does not break the plants. Do this carefully – in winter the branches lose their elasticity and break easily. It is also recommended to tie the branches of young trees so that heavy snow does not break them.
In winter, cuttings of coniferous plants can be carried out. To do this, cut cuttings 7–15 cm long and root. To do this, the branches are dipped in Epin solution for 12 hours to stimulate growth, and then rooted. In spring, such cuttings are planted in the garden. It is recommended to store cuttings in moistened sphagnum moss in the refrigerator or between window frames.
Some gardeners believe that planting trees in December has no negative impact. This is especially true for large trees that have formed. What are the advantages of such a landing:
- In winter, trees with closed roots are planted and replanted. Since the tree is at rest, all processes in it slow down. Therefore, replanting in winter is effective.
- Replanting adult plants in winter will allow you to devote more time to small plants in the spring. This way you will reduce the work required to improve the site and make your work easier.
It is recommended to replant trees in winter, especially conifers, at the age of 4–10 years, but you can also try replanting older trees.
What are the restrictions when replanting trees in December:
- Work must be carried out in relatively warm weather. In severe frost, the branches become fragile, which is not good when transplanting a specimen.
- The planting site is prepared in advance: the soil is loosened and covered with dry leaves or covered with other material to protect it from the cold.
- The planting material must be healthy, with a closed root system.
- Recommendations for caring for plantings are especially important to follow in winter.
If the winter turns out to be little snow, the soil under the crown of young apple trees is covered with mulch made from leaves, peat, sawdust or other materials. Mice love the bark of such trees. Other seedlings also need to be checked regularly. If necessary, they are additionally covered and watered even in December.
Other garden chores in December include inspecting the fruit storage area. It should be dark and well ventilated. It is better to store fruits from the garden at 1–2 °C and air humidity up to 90%.
If severe frosts have not arrived, treat peach and apricot with 3% Bordeaux mixture. Such measures will protect fruit trees from severe frost. And those trees that have suffered from chlorosis during the season are treated with a solution of zinc sulfate. The working solution is prepared as follows: 100 g of the drug per bucket of water.
Shrubs also need proper care in December. Tie the raspberry stems to the support wires. If the raspberry tree is located at the bottom of the slope, check the condition of the drainage network – it prevents melt water from accumulating with the arrival of spring, so that the plantings do not get wet.
Since gooseberries begin to develop early, at the beginning of the month you can treat the bush on a clear day. Work in the garden includes treating shrubs against fungus and pests with special preparations according to the instructions. You can also treat with potassium fertilizers from the spheroteka, using 1 kg of fertilizers per 10 liters of water. If a lot of snow is expected in winter, currant branches are tied, as with young seedlings, so that they do not break from the snow. On the warm days of the first month of winter, you can prune, feed and water the bushes.
Don’t forget about covering the garden strawberries. Especially if a lot of snow is expected in winter. If December turns out to be warm, you don’t have to use covering material, but cover the strawberries with a layer of leaves. An important point in growing strawberries is snow-retaining material in winter: this can be branches, fences, etc.
In December, you can uproot old or unproductive trees and bushes. Then in the spring the place can be rationally used by planting a young seedling there. Stumps that cannot be uprooted can be decorated.
Work in December in the flower garden
What to do at the dacha for those who do not have a garden or whose trees are completely ready for winter? There will also be work in the flower garden. Although there is not much of it, you need to regularly inspect the snow cover on the flowerbed and update it if necessary. In case of a snowless winter, sawdust is suitable as protection against frost. Rodents in winter love not only to feast on tree bark, but also flower bulbs. To ensure that your flowerbed blooms and delights you with an abundance of flowers in the spring, protect the bulbs by placing anti-rodent preparations in holes underground next to them.
It is recommended to tie decorative conifers with twine and cover them. To do this, use several layers of burlap or covering material sold in specialty stores. Cover the conifers before the snow falls so that the needles do not get injured.
In December, flower growers force bulbs. Take strong and healthy specimens, plant them in containers and sprinkle them with a mixture of peat, turf and river sand. The distance between the bulbs should be at least 0.5 cm. Leave them in the refrigerator for 3 months and water them once every 1.5 weeks. So, in early spring, colorful tulips will delight the eye.
If you have been storing flower bulbs, check them from time to time. Maintain a constant temperature and humidity level in the room with the bulbs. Do you want to decorate your home with fresh flowers for the New Year? Bring containers with planted bulbous flowers into the house and leave some pots on the balcony, and some for a week in a dark place. Then bring it into the room into the light – and the plants will bloom.
Vineyard care in December
Work in the garden and vegetable garden is important for the successful wintering of plants. This also applies to vineyards. To smooth out unfavorable weather conditions, you can additionally cover the bushes with snow or insulating materials. If there is no snow and there is a thaw, on the contrary, you need to ensure good air ventilation under the shelter.
In dry and not frosty weather, diseased grape bushes are uprooted so that new ones can be planted in this place in the spring. The site of uprooting is cleared of any remaining roots, dug up and fertilized with superphosphate and potassium chloride. A year after removal, a new seedling can be planted. During the same period, you can make planting holes for planting seedlings in the spring, add organic matter and put it in the planting holes.
The trellis on which the grapes grow is inspected and cleared of vine remains. If necessary, replace damaged parts of the trellis. Check from time to time how well the grape bushes are covered. And also check the bunches of grapes in storage to see if they are damaged. Protect fruits from diseases and rodents.
As you can see, there is enough work in the garden and vegetable garden even in December. Since this is the quietest month of the year, carry out the necessary manipulations to the maximum to make your work easier in the new season.
