What to do on the allotment in December
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December is the quietest month on the plot. The main jobs are harvesting leeks, parsnips and winter brassicas, checking stored crops, planting dormant fruit and rhubarb, and planning next year.
This month's priorities
- Check stored potatoes and onions.
- Keep nets on winter brassicas.
- Plan next year's rotation and order seed.
Sow indoors and out
Very little. Garlic can still go in up to early winter if you missed November. Most other sowing waits for the new year: see January.
Plant out
- Rhubarb crowns: plant new bare-root crowns while they're dormant. Don't pick a new plant in its first year.
- Bare-root raspberries: plant any time while dormant, between November and March, provided the soil isn't frozen.
Harvest
- Leeks: hardy winter varieties stand through the coldest weather. Lift as you need them.
- Parsnips: leave them in the ground until you're ready to eat them.
- Brussels sprouts, kale and winter cabbage: keep picking, and keep the netting on against pigeons.
Soil and maintenance
- Check stored crops. Potatoes keep best somewhere dry, cool and frost-free; aim to use them before early spring, when they start to sprout. Onions want somewhere light, cool, dry and airy. Take out anything going soft.
- Order seeds and seed potatoes for next year.
- Plan your rotation. Work out which group goes in which bed next year. The plot planner shows it year by year.
- Check the shed, fences and netting after winter storms.
- Keep water butts lidded and gutters clear of leaves.
- Clean and dry tools before putting them away.
Weather
Frost risk varies from place to place and through the season. Plant only when the soil isn't frozen.
Wildlife
Pigeons hit brassicas hardest when snow or frost covers other food. Keep nets taut and fastened so birds and other wildlife don't get tangled in them.
If you have one hour this week
- Go through stored potatoes and onions and take out anything soft.
- Walk the plot and fix any loose netting.
- Write your seed list.
FAQs
Can you plant anything on an allotment in December?
Not much from seed. It's a good time to plant dormant raspberry canes and rhubarb crowns, as long as the ground isn't frozen.
Should I cover my allotment over winter?
A mulch of organic matter reduces weeds, especially annual weeds, but the RHS prefers mulching in late winter rather than autumn. Our no-dig guide explains when to mulch.
Your next step
Plan next year's beds in the plot planner, then check the sowing calendar so your seed order covers the first sowings in January and February.
Allotment sowing and jobs calendar
Worked example
For a cold plot growing broad beans, peas, runner beans, onions (sets), garlic, leeks, carrots, potatoes:
- Region band Cold: spring sowing and planting about 2 weeks later, autumn sowing and planting about 2 weeks earlier. That's our rule of thumb, not a measured figure
- March: Sow under cover: Broad beans, Peas, Onions (sets) (early March), Leeks
- March: Sow outdoors: Peas (late March), Onions (sets) (late March), Leeks (late March), Carrots
- March: Plant out: Peas (late March), Onions (sets) (late March), Garlic, Potatoes (late March)
- March: Harvest: Leeks
| Crop | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad beans | late C | C | early C late S late P | S P H | early S early P H | H | H | late S | S | early S | ||
| Peas awaiting check | late C | C late S late P | early C S P | S early P | S H | early S H | H | H | H | |||
| Runner beans | late C | C late S late P | early C S P | S P H | early S early P H | H | H | |||||
| Onions (sets) | late C | C | early C late S late P | S P | early S early P | H | late S H | S late P H | early S P H | P | early P | |
| Garlic | late P | P | early P | H | H | H | H | late P | P | P | early P | |
| Leeks | H | late C H | C late S H | early C S | S | S | early S | H | H | H | H | H |
| Carrots | late S | S | S | S H | S H | S H | early S H | H | H | H | ||
| Potatoes | late P | P | P | early P H | H | H | H | H |
C sow under cover · S sow outdoors · P plant out · H harvest. "early" or "late" means only that half of the month.
Based on: Met Office. Sowing, planting and harvest months from RHS grow-your-own guides.
Sources
- Met Office: Met Office: what frost is, when it forms and how frost risk varies by place and season checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS: leeks are hardy and can be lifted through winter checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS: parsnips can be left in the ground until you are ready to eat them checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS: plant raspberry canes while dormant, between November and March, provided the soil isn't frozen checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS: garlic is usually planted from mid-autumn to early winter; some varieties can go in during late winter or early spring checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS rhubarb: bare-root crowns available November to March; force by covering with a forcer, bucket or bin in mid-winter; forced stems ready four to eight weeks after covering; don't harvest in the first year after planting awaiting check
- RHS: RHS: don't harvest any rhubarb stems in the first year after planting, and only a few in the second checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS: pigeons eat brassica leaves, including winter brassicas; netting is the only certain protection checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS potatoes: chit from late January (milder areas) to early March; plant first earlies around late March, second earlies early to mid-April, maincrops mid-April to early May; trench 15cm deep; earlies 30cm apart in rows 60cm apart, maincrops 37cm apart in rows 75cm apart; earth up at about 23cm to a 20-30cm ridge; first earlies lifted June-July, second earlies July-August, maincrops late August-October; store cool, dry and frost-free; open, sunny site not prone to late frosts, rich fertile soil; usually easy and reliable; blight less likely on earlies; in containers at least 30cm wide and deep, one seed potato per 30cm of width, earlies best, grow bags need drainage holes awaiting check
- RHS: RHS onions: sets planted early to mid-spring (harvest July-September) or overwintering sets in autumn (harvest June-July), not in waterlogged soil; sets 10-15cm apart in rows 20-30cm apart; birds peck out new sets; heat-treated sets reduce bolting; stop watering once bulbs swell in mid-summer; harvest as foliage yellows and topples; dry about two weeks; store light, cool, dry and ventilated; sunny site with free-draining soil; seed sown indoors mid-winter to early spring; sets about 2cm deep with the tip just showing; can be grown in containers at least 45cm wide and deep in a sunny spot awaiting check
- RHS: RHS crop rotation: group crops (brassicas, legumes, onions, potato family and roots) and move each section a step forward every year to limit soil pests and diseases checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS collecting water: collect from roofs including sheds and greenhouses; join butts with connector kits; fit a close-fitting lid; keep gutters clear; avoid using stored rainwater on seedlings (damping-off); clean butts each year awaiting check
- RHS: RHS raspberries: cover with plastic-free or reused netting held clear of the fruit on canes or poles, taut and fastened so birds and wildlife don't get entangled, or grow them in a fruit cage; bare-root canes can be planted while dormant, November to March, if the soil isn't frozen awaiting check
- RHS: RHS no-dig: cover the soil with organic matter instead of digging; on weedy ground lay a double layer of plain cardboard and 10-15cm of organic matter; top up with an annual mulch about 5cm deep; late winter (February or early March) is the best time to mulch; it can use large amounts of mulch awaiting check