Merry Christmas, green thumbs!

Unlike our poor sad friends up north, we don’t have to worry about “White Christmases” and all that nonsense here in Marion County. No… here Christmas is a time of cool nights and sunny days… and ongoing gardening. I grew up in South Florida, where it’s always green, so the multiple freezes and brown grass up here took some getting used to – but it’s a lot better than living further north, where snow, drizzling rain and weeks of grey skies drop your dopamine levels into the basement of despair.

If you have a greenhouse or a sunny window, December is a great month to start sprouting sweet potatoes. Toothpicks, a healthy tuber and a jar of water are all you need to get going. Poke three or four toothpicks into a sweet potato at about 1/3 of the way down from the end with the stem scar/little eyes on it. Then use those to suspend it into the jar, and fill it with water so at least half the potato is submerged. You may have to change the water occasionally if it gets nasty, but that’s part of the fun. In a few weeks, sprouts will appear. When they get 2-3” long, break them off and stick them into some soil. They’ll root and the potato will continue making new sprouts, sometimes for months. In fact, you can just about plant an entire bed from one good potato in the window. By March, you ought to have plenty of
little vines ready to go.

Another thing you can do this month is create new garden spaces. The weeds grow really slowly during the winter and the weather outside is perfect for working. I like to use this season to double dig new plots,
build raised beds and clean up and mulch around my dormant trees and shrubs.

Don’t wait until spring to get rolling – it’s better to get things pretty and functional now before the rush to plant starts.

Ever start trees from seeds? Though they don’t come true to type, many trees will produce wonderfully even without being a named variety. I’ve started pecans, peaches, persimmons, loquats and other attractive trees around my yard – for free. Many seeds and nuts that fall to the ground late in the year need a time of chilling to sprout – and that time is now. Soak acorns, chestnuts, pecans, hickory nuts, black walnuts and other seeds in water for a day or two, then pick a spot in your yard (or use a pot) to plant them. The chill of winter should initiate germination them and in spring, you’ll have baby trees popping up. I’m experimenting with mixed nuts from the supermarket this year – why not? At $3 a bag, I’ve nothing to lose – even though I know some varieties will be out of our growing range. Interestingly, trees that start from seed often have faster growth and stronger taproots than those which are bought and transplanted. It will take a long time for them to bear this way – but who knows – you may end up with something really cool. If you’ve got a scientific streak and like to experiment, this is a cheap way to satiate your inquiring mind. (Though you might want to mark where you’ve planted things so you don’t accidentally decapitate your seedlings during a spring mowing!)

Enjoy the chill air – and enjoy celebrating the Nativity with your family, friends and plants. And, pick up a copy of my book Florida Survival Gardening.