Check out my comprehensive list on all of the veggies, herbs, and plants you can either start from seed or transplant during the month of November for South USA garden zones 8-11.Time to start planting the most cold loving crops to take advantage of the coldest months of the year. These crops require a stretch of cold weather to optimally grow and produce. This includes spinach, all types of peas (snow peas, snap peas, shelling peas), onions, garlic, potatoes, and strawberries.
Check out the video version of this guide here:
Things To Sow From Seed In November
All types of greens - lettuce, tatsoi, spinach, swiss chard, bok choy, arugula, radicchio, endive, mizuna, and mustard greens. You can either direct sow seeds or transplant. I begin direct sowing in October all the way thru February. For me the easiest thing is to direct sow seeds in any bare spots in my garden. I highly recommend that you rake in some blood meal into the soil or sprinkle in some blood meal into the planting hole if your using transplants. Blood meal is a high organic source of nitrogen and it produces the most lush and dark green leafy greens.
Check out my YouTube video on how to grow lettuce and Asian greens from seed:
Herbs - chamomile, basil, dill, oregano, parsley, cilantro, fennel, thyme, sage, and rosemary. Take advantage of the more temperature weather to either direct sow or transplant all sorts of herbs. Herbs will get damaged or even killed by snow or freezing temperatures. So either plant in containers or pots and bring indoors or have a plan to cover them. Usually, for us southern gardeners, that's just a handful of days in the winter season. Bring them back outside when it's warm again. A lot of herbs are perennial so if you can get them to survive the coldest days of winter, they will continue producing for many months.
All Peas - This includes snow peas and snap peas (pea that you eat the entire pod), or shelling peas (peas shelled out of in-edible pods). Direct sow seeds in November, with December being the last month. You will start to harvest 2 months later. My personal favorite snow pea is Oregon Sugar Pod II, and snap pea is Sugar Daddy. They just perform well despite the fluctuating temperatures in my Florida garden.
Check out my how to grow peas from seed to harvest YouTube video guide.
Carrots - Its time to direct sow seeds for these crops. Sprinkle seeds and gently press them into the soil surface. It is very important that you keep carrot seeds moist at all times for the first 7 days. Carrot seeds will not germinate well if they are not kept moist. My personal favorite cultivars are Kuroda, Cosmic Purple, and Danvers. They taste sweeter with a little bit of frost, so planting them now would be perfect timing so they get a little frost before harvesting
Check out my how to grow carrots from seed to harvest YouTube video guide.
Radish, Beets, and Turnips - These are very easy to grow from direct sowing seeds. Space radish and beet seeds 4 inches apart, and space turnips 6 inches apart. Many radish cultivars are ready for harvest in just 30 days from seed. They make for great companion plants underneath other taller crops.
Brassicas - Zone 8 gardeners can still transplant all sorts of brassicas. That includes things like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, and mustard greens. Zone 8 has a longer winter than us zone 9 and up gardeners, so they have more time to hurry up and transplant all of these crops. Add fertilizer in the planting hole for any "heading" type brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. You want to promote as much rapid growth at the beginning as possible. The bigger the plant, leaves, and stem, the bigger the "head" will be at harvest time.
Brassicas - Zone 9 and up gardeners - should have transplanted brassicas things back in October. But- I have one exception for you. You can direct sow seeds or transplant Piracicaba Brazilian sprouting broccoli. Because this type of broccoli is super heat tolerant. My Piracicaba plants produce for me until May when its finally just too hot for them, compared to around March for all the other broccoli and cauliflower type stuff. If you need seeds, I do have some on my website. I cant recommend it enough for hot climate gardeners.
Brassicas - For all zones - A few types of brassicas that everyone, zones 8 and up can still start from seed right now in November is kale, mustards, Napa cabbage, and kohlrabi. So go ahead and direct sow seeds spacing them at least 1 foot apart.
Check out my "how to grow from seed to harvest" tutorials on kale, kohlrabi, and Napa cabbage for more tips.
Peppers & Eggplants - This is a reminder to start sowing seeds indoors for peppers and eggplants so you can get the earliest start on the season possible by planting as soon as your last average spring frost date has passed. Both of these crops take 2.5-3 months from seed to get to a large enough size for transplanting. They are very slow growers. So for all gardeners with last spring frost dates in February (usually zone 9 and up), you need to start sowing seeds for peppers and eggplants in November. Sow seeds in doors only because its too cold for them outside. Keep them warm with heat mats and give them bright light in the form of grow lights or 5000K daylight range shop lights. Zone 8 gardeners can wait until December to start them from seed.
Zone 10-11 Only: The last recommendations I have is for gardeners in zones 10 and up, that barely have any cold or frost. You can direct sow more bush or pole/vining beans, cucumbers, Seminole pumpkin, tromboncino rampicante squash, winter squash, luffa, calabaza, and zucchini. These things should survive in your area.
What To Transplant In The Month Of November
Onions & Leeks - Its time to transplant lots of onions and leeks. They are sold in as seeds, transplants, or sets. In my experience, growing my own from seed or purchasing transplants has given me the best results. This year I started all of mine from seed way back in August because they take a solid 2-3 months to be ready. I plant onion and leek transplants starting in October with the last chance being December. It is too late to start them from seed right now, so buy transplants instead. When shopping for onions you will notice they are labeled as short day, long day, and intermediate day. Make sure you choose the correct kind for your area. Google "short day onion maps" to look at a map of the USA and kind of figure out what kind you need to grow in your area. If your located in the southern parts of the united states zones 8 and up, your probably going to have to grow short day onion cultivars like me.
Check out my how to grow onions from seed and how to transplant them into the garden tutorial:
Potatoes - You can start planting potatoes from November with January being the last chance. The goal with potatoes is to have them grow during the cooler and drier months of the year. The potatoes will rot underground if they get too much water. I recommend quick maturing varieties for the south. The longer they stay in the ground, the higher the risk for nematodes and other pests to find them. I plant potatoes in grow bags because its easier for me to control the vines and then I just kick the bag over at harvest time.
Garlic - Growing garlic in the south can be very tricky but it is possible. Pay attention to the type of seed garlic you are purchasing. There are two types - hard neck and soft neck. Hard neck varieties grow best in northern areas while soft neck cultivars are best for southern areas with mild winters. The other issue that makes growing garlic a little difficult is that it requires a long period of cold to produce large bulbs. Since it doesn't get that cold in my area, garlic is placed in the fridge for 6-8 weeks to mimic a cold period. This process is called "vernalization". Or plant elephant garlic which doesn't require vernalization. I like to plant elephant garlic as a back up just in case we have an usually warm winter and my soft neck garlics don't grow well.
Check out my tutorial on how to plant and grow elephant garlic.
Strawberries - Start planting strawberry bare roots in October with December being the last month. There are certain cultivars that are best for growing in the south so be very careful and do your research to make sure your purchasing the correct strawberry crowns. I highly recommend that you purchase crowns from local/native nurseries that would carry the kind that grows well in your area. Place your orders asap because they always sell out. I sell strawberry bare roots so check out my website. If I don't have stock, below are some of the companies that also sell strawberry bare roots. If you know of any, please comment below.
Jerra's Garden (ships to all states)
Practical Plants (Ships within Florida only)
Cody Cove Farms (Ships within Florida only)
Nick's Edibles (find him on Facebook only)
Check out my tutorial on how to grow strawberries from bare roots: