Let’s Take a Look at Some New Vegetable Varieties I Will Be Planting in the 2026 Garden

The Trusty Gardener-I Have Already Ordered and Received My Seed Order

Welcome back, and as always, thanks for reading. In my last article, I wrote about starting the process of preparing for the 2026 growing season. Yes, I know it’s only January. However, it's never too early to think about gardening. At least in my mind.

Out With the Old Seeds And In With The New: Planning For The 2026 Garden

The trusty gardener — I have already received some new seed catalogs

medium.com

I have already sorted through the seeds I had left, throwing out those that were more than a year old. I then placed an order from Pinetree Garden Seeds. This is the 4th year in a row that I have ordered from them. They are a small company from New Gloucester, Maine, and I like the variety of seeds they carry. Their prices are good, and they process and ship the orders very quickly.

Like most seed companies, they feature new varieties each year. I usually end up trying at least one of these. The prices are higher on these items, but sometimes it's worth it to give them a try. The following are the 3 new varieties I will try this year:

Honey Bee Tomato

Press enter or click to view image in full size

Image Courtesy of Pinetree Garden Seeds

From the Pinetree Garden Seeds Website:

Red and yellow striped artisan-type cherry tomato with excellent disease resistance. Deliciously sweet, 1” fruits hang in clusters on semi-compact plants. Honey Bee Tomato is early with high yields and minimal cracking. Disease resistance- Late Blight, Verticillium, and Fusarium Races 1 & 2.

For quite a few years, I have been growing Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes. They are the best cherry tomatoes I have ever grown. I decided to give Honey Bee a try this year. I can always go back next year. As is Matt’s Wild Cherry, this new tomato is supposed to have good disease resistance, including to late blight. I’ve had a lot of issues with blight recently, especially with tomatoes and potatoes.

Green Lightning Summer Squash

Press enter or click to view image in full size

Image Courtesy of Pinetree Garden Seeds

From the Pinetree Garden Seeds Website:

Green Lightning Squash is a 2025 AAS Winner, and unlike any other patty pan squash, one of the first to have such vivid, contrasting green striping. Early and fast to produce, one of the first to harvest from the garden, especially when it is started early, 3–4 weeks indoors before transplanting out. Prolific yields and robust flavor on a compact bush habit plant. Harvest at 1–3”.

Sometimes I like the smaller-sized summer squash, as they provide opportunities for different recipes to be used, etc. This is an early variety that should be fun to grow.

Arica Pepper

Press enter or click to view image in full size

                                         Image Courtesy of Pinetree Garden Seeds

From the Pinetree Garden Seeds Website:

Large blocky bells are early and widely adaptable. Bright red at maturity; firm, smooth, and glossy, with substantially thick walls and a delicious, sweet flavor, even the green fruit is lightly touched with sweetness. The compact plants were loaded with fruits; they produce a heavy first setting of fruits, which continues over the season. Arica Pepper has been one of the largest bells and has had the heaviest yields we have seen. Resistant to Pepper Tobacco Virus, Bacterial Spot, and Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus.

I don’t always start peppers from seed; however, I will give these a try. The large-sized peppers on compact plants sound like it is a great variety. There's nothing like a large, sweet pepper! Also, it has an impressive list of disease resistance.

I’m looking forward to trying these new veggies. Stay tuned for my next article, in which I will detail the rest of the seeds I ordered.