What to Plant in December in Zone 8a

November 03, 2026

In Zone 8a, the first fall frost arrives around October 23. By December, daytime highs often hold in the 50s and 60s F, nights settle into the 30s and low 40s, and soil in raised beds and well-drained ground still works under a shovel. That combination keeps a real planting window open: cold-hardy greens, alliums, and a few root crops can go in now and size up through the cool months.

The year-round calendar for this zone lives on the Zone 8a hub. This post covers only what still belongs in the ground in December, plus the soil and protection work that keeps those crops producing.

For crop-by-crop cool-season timing across Zone 8a country, use the Texas vegetable gardening guide.

What to Plant in December in Zone 8a

December in Zone 8a is a cool-season planting month, not a shutdown month. Focus on crops that germinate in cool soil and tolerate light freezes once established.

Direct-sow now:

1. Garlic cloves for a summer harvest next year
2. Spinach, for cut-and-come-again leaves through winter
3. Lettuce (butterhead, romaine, and looseleaf types bred for cold)
4. Radishes and turnips, which finish fast in cool ground
5. Peas, where soil drains well and stays above freezing most nights
6. Mustard greens, arugula, and Asian greens for quick baby-leaf harvests

Transplant now:

1. Kale and collard greens as sturdy starts
2. Cabbage and broccoli where you still have starts from fall sowing
3. Onion sets or bare-root plants for overwintering
4. Swiss chard in milder microclimates and protected beds

Skip warm-season holdovers. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, and basil are done outdoors in Zone 8a by December. Empty those beds or move them into cover crops rather than forcing another round.

If a bed already holds fall plantings of kale, collards, or spinach, fill gaps with the same crop rather than mixing in something new that needs a longer runway. Gap-filling keeps harvests continuous without resetting the bed’s fertility plan mid-season.

Zone 8a Planting Schedule for December

Treat December as three rough blocks. Exact day-level windows vary by county and elevation; use each crop’s plant page for local detail, and match work to soil temperature and forecast lows rather than the calendar alone.

Early December. Finish garlic if cloves are not yet in. Plant onion sets. Direct-sow spinach, lettuce, radishes, and mustard greens in beds that still hold moisture without sitting wet. Set kale and collard transplants so roots settle before a harder freeze.

Mid-December. Keep sowing fast greens (spinach, arugula, baby lettuce) for succession. Side-dress established brassicas with compost. Check floating row cover and low tunnels ahead of forecast nights in the upper 20s F. In heavier clay, wait out saturated ground rather than compacting wet beds with foot traffic.

Late December. Sow only the fastest crops: radishes, baby spinach, and leaf lettuce under cover. Use the quieter days for soil tests, tool maintenance, and mapping January succession slots. In colder Zone 8a pockets near the October 23 frost line, lean harder on protected culture for anything newly seeded.

Soil temperature is the practical gate. Most cool-season seed germinates when soil sits roughly in the 40s F and above. A simple soil thermometer at seed depth beats guessing from air temperature alone, especially after a cold front.

Water on a winter schedule. Established crops need less than they did in October, but dry spells still stall germination. Water newly sown beds, then let the surface dry slightly between soakings so seed coats do not rot.

Winter Vegetables to Plant in Zone 8a

Garlic. December is still inside the fall-to-early-winter planting window for Zone 8a. Separate bulbs into cloves the day you plant. Set cloves point up, a few inches deep, in loose soil with steady drainage. Mulch with shredded leaves or straw after planting to buffer freeze-thaw heaving. Hardneck types suit colder Zone 8a sites; softneck types store longer and fit milder winters. Full timing and spacing live on the garlic plant page.

Spinach. Spinach is one of the most reliable December sowings in Zone 8a. Choose overwintering or cold-tolerant varieties. Sow shallowly in fertile soil, keep the seedbed evenly moist until emergence, then thin for air flow. Harvest outer leaves and leave the crown. Under row cover, plants often keep producing through the coldest weeks. See the spinach page for zone-level timing detail.

Kale. Set transplants rather than waiting on slow winter germination when you can. Curly, lacinato, and Siberian types all handle Zone 8a freezes once roots are in. Space plants so air moves through the canopy after rain. Light frost sweetens the leaves. Pick lower leaves first and keep the growing point intact for months of harvest.

Collard greens. Collards match Zone 8a winters as well as any brassica. Transplants set in December establish before deeper cold and yield thick leaves from late winter into spring. Give them room; crowded collards invite aphids and foliar disease in damp spells. A light mulch keeps roots insulated without burying the stem.

Lettuce. Butterhead and romaine selections bred for cool weather outperform crisphead types in December. Sow small successions every couple of weeks rather than one large block, so a single hard freeze does not wipe out the whole planting. In colder nights, a low tunnel or row cover keeps heads marketable. Bitter leaves usually signal heat stress or bolting pressure, which is less common this month than in fall.

Radishes and turnips. Both finish on a short cool-season clock. Sow radishes for harvest within the month in mild stretches; turnips need a bit longer but still fit a December start in Zone 8a. Loose soil prevents stubby roots. Harvest radishes promptly so they do not turn pithy.

Peas. Where drainage is good, sow peas in December for late-winter vines. Inoculate seed if the bed has not grown peas recently. Provide a low trellis at sowing time so you are not staking wet ground later. Heavy freezes can nick young shoots; row cover during the coldest nights reduces that risk.

Onion sets. Fall- and winter-planted sets overwinter in Zone 8a and push hard in early spring. Plant with the tip just at the surface in fertile, well-drained soil. Skip large sets that are more likely to bolt. Keep weeds down while the plants are small; onions compete poorly in crowded rows.

For any crop above, month-level timing is the right planning unit here. Day-level windows shift with microclimate, and the individual plant pages carry the finer local detail.

December Garden Tasks Beyond Seeding

Planting is only part of the December workload in Zone 8a. A few non-seed tasks protect what you already have in the ground and set up January.

Mulch and soil. Top open beds with shredded leaves, clean straw, or finished compost. Mulch buffers the freeze-thaw cycles that heave shallow roots, and it slows winter weed germination. Keep mulch a little off plant crowns so stems do not rot. On empty beds, a winter cover crop or a simple compost blanket beats bare soil.

Frost protection. Zone 8a’s first fall frost is around October 23, but December still brings nights in the 20s F in many locations. Keep floating row cover, wire hoops, and cloches ready before the forecast turns. Cover in the evening ahead of a hard freeze; vent or remove covers on mild, sunny days so heat does not build up and soft growth does not cook.

Succession and bed turnover. Pull spent warm-season residue you skipped in November. Note which beds will take a January spinach or lettuce sowing and which will hold overwintered garlic and onions until summer. A simple sketch of bed use prevents accidental double-booking when the next cool-season wave starts.

Tools and inputs. Sharpen pruners, drain and store hoses that still hold water, and inventory seed for January successions while retail shelves still carry cool-season stock. A soil test submitted now returns in time for late-winter amendments, before the spring rush.

Water and drainage. Walk the garden after heavy rain. Standing water on new seedbeds is a December crop killer in clay-heavy Zone 8a soils. Open temporary channels or lift the next sowing into a raised bed or ridge rather than replanting in a puddle.

Closing the December Window

December in Zone 8a rewards gardeners who keep sowing cold-hardy crops while the rest of the country has already shut the gate. Garlic, spinach, kale, collards, lettuce, and a short list of roots and peas still earn their space. Pair each sowing with mulch and a plan for freeze nights, and the same beds that looked finished in late October will feed you into spring.

Use the Zone 8a hub for the broader calendar, then come back to this month’s shortlist when you are standing in the garden with seed in hand.

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