What to plant in December

If you're like us, you probably love to garden in the winter months. Unfortunately, this tends to be the time of year when most other people are too busy with Christmas shopping, family gatherings or even just general laziness to get out there and start digging up their gardens.

I know what you're thinking; surely no one would want to spend their precious free time outside in freezing cold temperatures when they could be snuggled under a blanket watching television? Well that's where I'm going wrong right now because I'm sat here writing this blog post in a freezing cold garden!

So why do so many of us look forward to gardening during December? Well it's simple really - we just love being outside on a sunny day! But if your plans include planting something new then read on for some tips....

After a relatively mild autumn, winter is predicted to have a long, cold spell. For gardeners and growers, that means the planting season is almost over, here's what you can plant in December if you're brave enough:

Broad beans

Broad beans are a great plant to grow in winter. They're easy to grow, and they're full of protein and fibre. You can eat them fresh or dried, or you can even freeze them for use later on. You can also grind broad beans into flour if you want to make something like muffins or cookies!

Spinach

Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the same family as beets, chard and quinoa. It's an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K (which are great for your immune system), folate, manganese, iron and magnesium. Spinach also contains lutein and zeaxanthin—two carotenoids that help protect against macular degeneration.

While spinach is typically eaten raw in salads or steamed with other vegetables like carrots or broccoli, it can also be cooked alone to serve alongside fish or chicken dishes—or even just topped with cheese!

If you're feeling overly optimistic about a late spring, plant spinach and even cabbages now for salads starting in late March. They'll happily enjoy the cold weather but won't start growing until after the frosts have gone.

Onions

Boxing Day is a traditional time to plant onions. Onions are hardy and can be planted at any time of year, but Boxing Day provides an opportunity for families to get together and enjoy each other’s company as they work in the garden. Onions need to be planted deep enough so that their tops appear above ground level when you plant them. This will allow the scallion greens (or stalks) to develop properly before winter sets in.

Winter is the perfect time to plant onions. They grow well in cooler temperatures, and can be planted when the ground has had a chance to get cold and dry out. If you're planning on planting them in containers or raised beds, do so when your local weather forecast shows that it's going to stay below 60 degrees F for at least a week or two.

Once they're up, onions are easy to care for—just water them occasionally until they reach full size (about 3 inches tall), then harvest by pulling off the tops (the green leaves) as needed. If left alone long enough, onions will continue growing until they are really big! However small or large your crop ends up being depends on how much space you gave them and how frequently you harvested them by pulling off their tops during the growing season.

Lambs lettuce

Lambs lettuce, also known as corn salad or mâche, is an easy-to-grow cool season crop that can be planted from seed in the early spring and harvested in the summer. It can also be grown from seed in the late summer and harvested in the fall.

This leafy green has a mild flavor similar to watercress and is delicious raw or cooked. If you are lucky enough to have access to lambs lettuce seeds, then you should try planting them as soon as possible.

Chillis

Chilis are one of the best crops to grow in winter. They can be grown indoors or outdoors and are easily started from seed or cuttings. Chilis give you a lot of harvest for the amount of work you put into them, so they make an excellent choice for anyone who wants to grow food and add some variety to their diet.