What to sow and plant in the vegetable garden in December?

Updated 4 November 2026 · By the Orto editorial team

In December, plant garlic if the soil is not frozen and drains, and in central and southern Italy you can still sow broad beans. Tomatoes, peppers and aubergines wait: start them indoors from January in mild areas and from February further north.

December vegetable garden with frosted cabbages, kale and leeks and straw-mulched beds

By region

Job	North	Centre	South and islands
Garlic	Only if the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged. In Valle d'Aosta the window is October–November, or March.	Yes if the soil drains: the RHS puts planting between mid-autumn and early winter. If it is sodden, wait.	In Campania, plant from October–November through to late February. In Sicily, from the second ten days of December.
Broad beans	Usually not in the open ground. The RHS limits autumn sowing to mild, sheltered sites and hardy varieties.	In Umbria, outdoor sowing is listed for December too. Use a hardy variety and cover plants if it freezes.	In Campania they are sown between November and December.
Peas	The useful autumn sowing, in a sheltered spot and for dwarf varieties, is October. December is too late.	In the open ground, wait until late winter. In a pot, only if an autumn sowing is still under cover and the compost will not freeze.	In Campania the autumn window is October–November. The next one is February–March.
Onion	Not in December: in Valle d'Aosta, transplanting is in October or in spring.	In Umbria, outdoor sowing is listed for November and December too.	Leave it until late winter, and follow the dates on the packet for your climate.
Tomato, pepper, aubergine	Too early. In the north, tomato seed is sown indoors in February–March.	Standard indoor sowing is February–March. January only if the weather allows, not December.	December is too early in the south as well. With heat and light, mild areas can start in January.
Soil	Well-rotted compost or manure on beds for spring, mulch on bare soil. Don't work frozen or sodden ground.	Same as in the north.	Same soil jobs as in the north, with a few more sowings still open.

Indicative windows for a home garden. Frost and drainage matter more than the month in the table.

Garlic, pea and tomato dates for the north come from Valle d'Aosta's Informatore Agricolo. Broad beans, onions and tomatoes for the centre come from Umbria's sowing calendar (ARPA). Garlic, broad beans and peas for the south come from Campania's integrated-production guides; Sicilian garlic, from the regional guide, starts in the second ten days of December. If you missed last month, it is in the November calendar. The next month is in the January calendar. Onions, autumn and spring, are in when to plant onions.

Garlic

Garlic needs a cold spell to split into cloves, which is why it goes in between mid-autumn and early winter. In December you are still in time only if the soil can be worked: not frozen, not sodden. Otherwise the northern fallback is March. Use named seed garlic, pointed end up, in sun and free-draining soil. The rest is in the garlic guide.

Broad beans and peas

December broad beans make sense in the centre and south, with hardy varieties and a cover on cold nights. In the north, open ground is usually skipped. Peas are not sown outdoors in December: either they went in during October in a sheltered spot, or you wait until late winter, when the soil reaches about 10 °C. Depth and spacing are in the peas and broad beans guide.

What to delay

Tomatoes, peppers and aubergines sown in December grow leggy before planting-out time, unless you have a heated greenhouse and plenty of light, and even then January is soon enough. Months by region are in when to plant tomatoes, and the method is in starting seeds indoors. Potatoes are not planted in December in the north or the centre: the months are in when to plant potatoes.

Jobs for the month

Clear spent plants. Keep diseased ones off the compost and out of the garden, as described under pests and diseases. Spread well-rotted compost or manure on beds for spring, and cover bare soil. Don't dig while the ground is frozen or sticks to the spade. Bare soil gets a cover: materials and depth are in mulching. In winter, water only if the soil is dry and not freezing: from spring, use the watering guide. In a pot on a balcony the frost limits are the same, and the compost chills quickly: see the container garden guide. The wider picture is in the winter vegetable garden and the planting calendar.

In the app

Every plant in the catalogue has its own sowing calendar, and weather alerts for your area help you judge whether to sow now or hold off.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sow tomatoes in December?

Better not. Without a heated greenhouse and plenty of light, seedlings grow leggy and reach planting-out time weak. In the north, sow indoors in February–March; in the centre the standard window is the same, with a possible January start only if the weather is mild.

Will garlic planted in December still form a bulb?

Yes, if the soil can be worked and drains. Where the ground freezes or stays wet, the fallback given for Valle d'Aosta is March.

Will December-sown broad beans survive frost?

Hardy varieties are the ones for autumn sowing, but a hard freeze stops them. In the north, open ground usually waits; in the centre and south, cover them on the coldest nights.

Should I dig if the soil is frozen or sodden?

No. It compacts and the structure suffers. Wait until it is neither frozen nor sodden, and bring in well-rotted compost and mulch in the meantime.