WATCH FOR FROST!
You've probably already had a few frosty nights in November and know the drill.
Under 45 degrees at night - harvest your basil leaves (if any survived November's chills). If the basil is in a pot, bring it in.
Under 32 degrees - Cover any annuals/vegetables that survived November (see below).
At this point in the year, as frosts get more frequent, I tend to harvest what I can from the plants that are left and let many of them go. If there are some that you are trying to keep alive a little longer, make sure they are well watered before a frost, then cover your plants with sheets or plastic (sheets are less likely to freeze to the plants). I sometimes do a double layer...a sheet followed by a plastic bag. You can places lights (such as Christmas lights) under or around them to add some heat.
Herbs and veggies to plant this month:
START SEEDS OUTDOORS:
Cilantro***
TRANSPLANT
Cabbage*
Kale*
Most of the info for this month's planting guide came from the Aggie Fall Direct Seeding Guide. Some info also came from Month to Month Gardening in Texas, which are marked with.*
* The Aggie guide, in the section on ornamentals, lists flowering cabbage and kale as annuals you can transplant through December. I assume it still works if you want to eat them.
**Aggie Fall Direct Seeding Guide says in our zone we have til November 1 to plant onion, leeks, and shallots and Month to Month Gardening in Texas says that the last date to plant onion, leeks, and shallots is Oct 1. However, I've planted onions and chives, both seeds and onion sets, all through the fall in Waco, and had them survive all through the winter. They do grow slower and more may die off, but some of the onions you plant in November will survive.
***The Aggie Guide for Cilantro says to plant Cilantro weekly starting in September for a November harvest. I personally planted cilantro in Waco starting in October and going all through the winter If it freezes it may die, but I just harvest when a freeze is predicted and then plant more in its place (and cilantro is pretty hardy...so sometimes it can survive a freeze). Any time it warms up it will bolt. If you know a warm spell is approaching you can harvest before that, or you can let it go to seed and have coriander (and more seeds for planting too). I keep reseeding cilantro all winter until the weather starts to warm in the spring. At that point it bolts so quickly that I find it's easier to just buy cilantro at the grocery store.
