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

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Welcome back. Although my 2026 garden will be significantly smaller, I am still proceeding with planning as I usually do. Just on a smaller scale. Here is the article I just recently wrote about the big changes to my garden for 2026:

My 2026 Vegetable 10000Garden Will See Major Changes

The Trusty Gardener-For Several Reasons, I Will Be Downsizing This Year

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So far this Fall/Winter, I have only received 3 seed catalogs. I used to receive 6 or 8, but I no longer do. However, for the last few years, I have ordered exclusively from Pinetree Garden Seeds. The seed companies rarely send out catalogs anymore unless you order from them.

I also received a catalog from Jung Seeds and Plants and from Dixondale Farms. Dixondale Farms exclusively sells onion, shallot, and leek plants. Last year, I bought some Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion plants from them after my seeds didn’t germinate well. The onion plants were nice and grew very well, resulting in a wonderful crop.

How Do I Determine Which Seeds To Discard?

Each year, I sort through my seeds for several reasons. First, it's hard to remember exactly what I have or don’t have. Secondly, as a rule of thumb, I throw out seeds more than a year old. So all of the seeds dated 2024 were thrown out. Sometimes I make exceptions; some seeds will last more than a year. Generally, however, it’s better to work with newer seeds.

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I have already placed my order from Pinetree Garden Seeds, and I should have them by the end of the week. I took advantage of a free shipping offer that saved around $10. Of course, I always end up buying a few packs of seeds locally when the garden gets underway. In addition, I usually end up buying some veggies as plants as well, for example, peppers.

I Still Plan on Using the Manure Pile Pumpkin Patch

This past season, I again had good results with the pumpkin patch, which is over by the Upper Garden. The only problem was when we went on our 2-week camping trip, they didn’t get watered. I got a lot of pumpkins, but they were tiny.

The pumpkin patch should be fine to use. If I get a chance and am able this spring (considering my back surgery), I will add some more horse manure to the patch from my Amish neighbors. As time goes on, this patch gets better as the manure composts and the soil gets better and better.

Stay tuned for my next article. I will reveal what seeds I ordered, and also my plans for winter sowing. If you’re not familiar with Winter sowing, it involves planting seeds in containers and placing them outside in the snow and cold, waiting for them to sprout in the spring. Yup, it works! Once the containers are planted and placed outside, no maintenance is needed until the seeds sprout.

Until next time.