9 WEEKS BEFORE FIRST EXPECTED FROST (DEC. 10)
Not much time left… barely 2 months
Things have started slowing down
– Plants won’t grow as fast
– Seeds won’t germinate as fast
– Bugs won’t reproduce as fast and will be less of a problem
– Certain diseases won’t proliferate as fast
Other things that are happening:
– Lots of root growth going on
– Soil will stay moist longer
– Playing in your garden will be more comfortable
– General fertilization will be less, but you will need to pay attention to some specialty fertilization (another lesson another day)
Really need to pay attention to getting seeds in the ground and plants transplanted as soon as possible. The closer we get to frost, the cooler the days and nights get, the less high the sun is, the shortening days, all make gardening ease and success more difficult.
The need for having winter plant protection in place will get here much too soon. Better to get it in place sooner than later. No telling when a cold snap may come and you need to be ready, instead of rushing around in the cold and dark trying to get some emergency protection in place, that may or may not be adequate.
And it’s time to start planting strawberries!!!! Here we plant them in October, not in the spring.
CHECK SHEET
Zone 9’s first frost date is expected between mid-November and mid-January or so, very ambiguous. This check sheet is created using a mid-date of December 10th. The first frost date can be expected a couple of weeks earlier in northern areas of Zone 9 and a couple of weeks later in the southern areas of Zone 9.
9 Weeks Before First Expected Frost (December 10th)
TASKS
- Continue with your gardening journal – list what doing, observations, weather…
- Add compost and other soil amendments
- Consider growing a wall or hanging garden
- Fertilize as needed – but less than usual
- Look for specialty fertilizing needs (focusing more on root growth than foliage growth)
- Get strawberry plants – be sure they are for zone 9. Buy them in bare-root bunches, not individual potted plants. Sometimes feed stores, garden centers, and hardware stores will have them… and you can order them through a seed/plant/nursery company
SEEDS TO PLANT
Plant in the ground – transplants and seeds
Warm weather loving plants
None
Cool weather loving plants
- Broccoli
- Beets
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Chinese cabbage
- Celery
- Collards
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Leeks
- Lettuce
- Mustard
- Onion – bulbing
- Onion – multiplier
- Onion – bunching
- Peas
- Radish
- Spinach
- Turnip
- Garlic
- STRAWBERRIES
- Fruit trees and bushes (citrus, blueberries, etc.) They will develop roots and then bud out and grow in the spring
CONTAINERS (for container gardening)
(Plant your container garden just the same as for non-container garden)
You can try growing some of the warm weather plants in containers if you can move/keep the containers to a protected warm place and provide extra light.
PAY EXTRA SPECIAL ATTENTION TO WATERING CONTAINERED PLANTS!!! Your plants have filled their containers with roots and suck the water out of the soil, drying it out really really quickly… particularly large or mature plants with a well established root system
MAINTENANCE
- Weed – always be weeding
- Keep an eye on water needs – Check twice a day (This is a dry time of year and less humid. Gardens and plants can get stressed reeeeal quickly)
- HARVEST – as soon as items are ready. Plants are growing slower and don’t have as much energy to mature produce… give them a break
CHORES
- Weed
- Rake leaves and collect leaves and grass clippings curbside for your compost pile and mulch
- Turn your compost pile – start another compost pile or two