What to do in your Garden in November: By Growing Zone

Cold Zones (Zones 4–5)

In the colder climates of Zones 4-5, November is time to put the garden to bed, build compost, and protect plants from deep freezes and snow, and building the soil for next season. 

• Protect & Mulch your Garden: Apply a thick layer of leaves, grass clippings or straw over vegetable garden and perennial beds and bare soil to conserve moisture, feed the soil, and insulate roots against freeze-thaw cycles.
• Plant Garlic & Shallots or Spring Bulbs: Plant hardneck garlic or shallots directly in the ground now for a strong harvest next summer. Spring bulbs like alliums, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses can also be planted in November for spring color.
• Start Basil Seeds: Bring a little summer cheer into your home this winter and start seeds indoors under lights and/or in a sunny windowsill for an ongoing harvest. You can also grow green onions, lettuce and even peppers indoors under lights. While Basil can grow happily in a sunny window, using grow lights will ensure success when growing vegetables like green onions or peppers indoors.
  
• Grow Peppers Indoors: You can propagate peppers or start seeds and grow them all winter long under lights. Many growers love having pepper plants growing year-round, growing them under lights in the winter and bringing them outside for the summer months. Did you know peppers are perennial and can live for many years? Learn how long peppers can live »
• Propagate Cuttings from Herbs: Did you know you can propagate Mints, Basil, Oregano, Rosemary easily in water? Take cuttings of tender growth and place in a vase, keep the water changed regularly and you'll see roots develop quickly. You can then transplant them into pots to grow under lights and/or in a sunny window all winter.
• Dig Up Tender Bulbs: If you grow them and want to save them for next season, dig up dahlias, gladiolus, and canna lilies after the first hard frost, brush off soil and let dry, then store them in a cool, breathable dark box – ideally with a breathable medium such as coarse vermiculite or wood shavings.
• Winterize Equipment: Drain and roll up garden hoses to store, empty ceramic pots to prevent cracking and store somewhere out of the rain and snow to keep dry if possible. Clean or sharpen your garden tools.
• Keep Watering: If you live in a dry area, or have  had a dry spell, don't forget to keep watering trees, shrubs, and evergreens  when the temperatures are above 45-50˚ F.  Soaker hoses work well.
• Compost! Build your compost pile, add as much as you can in mixed layers so that it can continue to break down over the autumn and winter months and be ready come spring. Add jack-o-lanterns to it, food scraps, leaves, grass clippings, vegetable plants from the garden that are healthy, used plain tissues, napkins and paper towels, straw, whatever you have. It is good to alternate or mix at least 2-3 parts of carbon-rich browns (fallen leaves, straw, dried grass clippings, or plain paper products) with 1 part greens (food scraps, fresh vegetable plants from garden cleanup, grass clippings, and jack-o'-lanterns) and make sure it is moist enough to break down over the winter months.
• Add a Cold Frame or Hoop House and extend your growing season! You can grow many greens in the winter months under cover, including spinach, lettuce, oregano, cilantro, parsley, cabbage, and green onions. They may grow slowly in December and January, but will really kick it into high gear come February through spring. 
• Indoor Projects: Move potted herbs (like rosemary or parsley) inside, or start microgreens and sprouts on a sunny windowsill.
  

Transitional, Temperate & Middle Zones (Zones 6–8)

In these more temperate areas, you can finish cleanup while still planting cold-hardy crops and spring bulbs in November.

• Plant Garlic, Shallots, Green Onions: Plant hardneck garlic (Zones 6 and colder) or softneck/hardneck garlic (Zones 7–8) directly in the ground now for a strong harvest next summer. Cover them with straw or leaves to help feed the soil and conserve moisture and prevent freeze-thaw damage.
• Sow Cold-Hardy Greens: Direct-sow or cover spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and mâche corn salad). To extend your growing season, add a Cold Frame or Hoop House and grow cool-season vegetables and greens year-round!
• Plant Spring Bulbs: Plant tulips, daffodils, alliums, hyacinths, and crocuses in the ground before the soil freezes solid to provide some beautiful color come spring.
• Prune & Mound Roses: After a killing frost, cut back long rose canes, and mound 6 to 12 inches of soil or mulch around the base.
• Clear Disease Debris: Remove spent annuals and infected tomato or squash vines to stop pests and fungal spores from overwintering. Trash infected plants or put into commercial compost rather than your home compost to prevent spread of diseases.
• Keep Watering: If you live in a dry area, or have  had a dry spell, don't forget to keep watering trees, shrubs, and evergreens  when the temperatures are above 45-50˚ F.  Soaker hoses work well.
• Compost! See compost tips in the first section for Zones 4–5 above.
  
  

Mild & Warm Zones (Zones 9–10+) 

You lucky duck! In warmer regions, November marks the start of the primary cool-season growing window, so there is a lot you can grow.

• Plant Winter Vegetables: Put in cool-season brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts), root crops (carrots, beets, turnips, radishes), and leafy greens (lettuce, spinach).
• Plant Softneck Garlic & Onions: Plant short-day onion plants or sets, bunching green onions, and softneck garlic varieties designed for southern or mild winters.
• Grow Cool-Season Flowers: Plant calendula, pansies, violas, snapdragons, or sweet alyssum to maintain color through the winter months.
• Compost! See compost tips in the first section for Zones 4–5 above.
• Manage Irrigation: Scale down your watering frequency as temperatures cool. Check your soil moisture before watering garden beds or landscape plants to avoid drowning them. Plants don't like soggy feet.