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 Aspabroc Baby gets its name from having asparagus stems and raab heads! Aspabroc Baby Broccoli a deliciously sweet broccolini with a peppery taste. Considered a baby broccoli that was developed by Sakata in Japan. Once cooked the flavor is dulled a bit. The entire plant is edible either raw, sauted, steamed or fried. A very healthy treat that contains vitamin C, A, calcium and iron. Great for sauteeing, steaming, roasting and boiling.

The Cosmic Purple carrot is absolutely amazing! This beautiful purple carrot is bright yellow and orange inside! Cosmic Purple carrots have a tapered 7" shape and a very sweet taste, that has extra healthy anti-oxidants. This carrot is quite popular at farmers markets.

The Ruby Queen is an excellent canning and fresh eating beet! A perfectly round beet that has a smooth buttery texture that is more tender than any other beet. An early maturing beet, 52 days, that grows well in any soil type throughout the country. Ruby Queen can be grown close because they hold their shape well. They can also be grown larger than most beets and still hold good flavor making it a great market beet. An All American Selection winner!

The Detroit Dark Red is the standard all-purpose heirloom beet! This is by far the most popular beet for home gardens. Detroit Dark Red has blood red flesh that is very sweet and tasty. Beets are perfectly round with no rings or streaks. Has 13-16" greens that are wonderful mixed into salads. Very prolific and good keeper. This heirloom was first introduced in 1892 by Mr. Reeves of Ontario, Canada.

The Cherry Belle Radish is the earliest maturing, garden standard radish. This variety is a 1949 All-American Winner and there is no wonder why. This radish retains its fine eating quality all season. The Cherry Belle is a round, smooth, scarlet beauty. This radish is 3/4" inches across with a crisp, white flesh that is ideal for garnishes or use in salads.

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.

Green Magic is a great summer and fall broccoli that is consistent performer. This broccoli matures mid-early and has wide adaptability to gardening zones. It has a semi-domed, tight head with medium-small bead size and a good plant habit.

Very large fruits with juicy flesh! These large growing strawberries are the largest on the market. Great flavor. Perfect for farmers markets.

Candy Onion can grow just about anywhere from the far North to the deep South! Neither a long-day (Northern) nor short-day (Southern) variety, this variety is a "mid-day" or day-neutral variety. This variety is a hybrid onion that is earlier, larger and more flavorful. No matter where you live, you can enjoy these huge, savory yellow onions with a delicious sharp-to-sweet flavored flesh. These onions can be stored for months.

The very sweet Red Creole Onion is the perfect variety for home gardens! This short day onion is great for the South and Mid-West climates and is also a good keeper. The solid, flat bulbs of the Red Creole has a spicy, red flesh that makes it a good cooking onion and is also great raw in salads.

Napoli is a very early Nantes type carrot! This carrot has a bright orange color with a length of 7-8 inches. Napoli's roots are slightly tapered and have an excellent sweet flavor. This carrot is also fantastic as an early bunching carrot. It can be over-wintered or grown in high tunnels for a spring harvest.

The California Wonder is not just any bell pepper, its the best of class. By far, this variety is America's favorite variety of pepper! The California Wonder pepper is a standard bell pepper that is widely adapted. These pepper plants produce very sturdy frames that are easy to grow. This pepper always produces well formed, juicy, crunchy, large pepper fruits. Familiar to all vegetable gardeners for ages, this classic heirloom pepper has set the standard since the late 1920s. This pepper was developed by the eccentric plant breeder, Carrol Briggs, in his grow years. The California Wonder contains high amounts of vitamin A and C and is disease resistant to tobacco mosaic virus. This pepper variety is very popular, and much preferred by many market growers and home gardeners!

The Big Max is the largest pumpkin for carving faces or novelty. The nearly round, 17-18 in. in diameter, fruits average 100 lbs. Big Max has a slightly rough red-orange skin with a bright yellowish-orange 3-4 in. thick flesh. This pumpkin variety is a large exhibition type that is also good for pies or canning.

Large tomatoes the ripen extra early! Early Girl is a large, extra-early tomatoes grow on a true bush. The Early Girl fruits have great flavor, extra red fruits that ripen early in the season. Amazingly compact and self-supporting, yet productive.

Fairytale is a traditional pumpkin variety from the south of France. This gorgeous, big flat fruit is heavily ribbed and looks similar to large wheels of cheese. This pumpkin averages 20 lbs. and ripens to a rich brown when fully ripe. The deep orange flesh is very fine grained, one of the best for baking! Long season.

The Parks Whopper is one of the juiciest, best tasting tomatoes around and a must-have staple for home gardens! This Improved CR tomato has been the standard for taste, size and production for many years. This improved Parks Whopper offers an earlier (5 days) harvest and a more diseases resistant tomato.

The Cherokee Purple is an old heirloom tomato that has an outstanding flavor. This tomato dates back to pre-1890 and is recognized as an old Cherokee Indian heirloom that originated in Tennessee. This variety has a semi-meaty flesh with an average seed/flesh ratio. The Cherokee Purple offers some of the best flavor with an earthy-sweet, rich taste that is delicious eaten raw. This tomato has a beautiful purple skin with a slight pinkish-red hue. This plant produces large vines with large beefsteak fruits that average 8-20 ounces. The Cherokee Purple is an indeterminate tomato that will keep producing all summer long and into the first frost in fall time. This high yielding tomato is in our top 5 of best heirloom tomatoes on the market!

The Rainbow Blend contains a kaleidoscope of orange, purple, red, white and multi-colored beet varieties that will make any dish pop! This colorful variety not only produces the brightest colored beets, but also the tastiest. This blend is a great addition to any garden, especially a container garden. Enjoy this beet blend in a salad, or roasted for a mouthwatering colorful plate.