December Gardening Tips

by Jennifer Smith December 07, 2018

When we think of December, our first thought is that it's chilly; snowy; beautiful. Whether it's us, or our plants, we want the same thing in December: Warmth. The main winter gardening tips for December are centered around what we really want.

Gardeners will need to take care of their winter plants to ensure that they are warm. They will need to bring them inside to shelter them from frost and frigid temperatures and keep them in pots. They may need to remove the plants from the ground and move them to cold frames for spring gardening. Or, home growers can place blankets over crops to insulate plants.

Gardeners will also need to protect crops from wildlife damage [if they choose to leave plants outside underneath blankets.] Winter is when wildlife slow down their movements to avoid chilling wind gusts. However, deer will move about lawns and gardens in the early morning and late afternoon to avoid hunters and homeowners; while bears will move in the morning or afternoon to scout for food for themselves and their cubs.

Gardeners will need to prepare gardens with deer fencing or other deer management techniques to guarantee that their crops will make it through the winter season.