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.
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:
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 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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
The Trusty Gardener-For Several Reasons, I Will Be Downsizing This Year
The Yard Under Construction to Install the Leach Field/Author Photo
Welcome back. Is it too early to be thinking about the garden here in Central New York? Considering the weather this winter, the answer is yes! So far, this winter has featured temperatures way below normal and a decent amount of snow. And that wind!
Factors Affecting the 2026 Garden
First-If you follow my articles, you can probably guess what the first factor is that could influence the garden this coming season. My back. As many of you know, I had lower back surgery on December 4th. And you probably also know that my recovery is going very well. Much better than I expected.
However, this surgery has made me realize that maybe it’s time to start cutting down on gardening and other activities that are hard on the back. I’m not sure that continuing to care for 2 large gardens is a good idea. I don’t want to injure my back, that’s for sure. On the other hand, I don’t think I could just give up gardening completely. I have been gardening for about 55 years! Give or take.
Second-The second reason for major changes to my gardens involves us having the leach field for our septic system redone this fall. After 33 years of living at our home, the dry well that served as the overflow for the septic tank (that was here when we bought the house in 1992) failed. When we came back from our 2-week camping trip in early August, I noticed the yard was really wet near the dry well, which has never happened. This was during a really hot and dry period, so it wasn’t due to excessive rainfall.
Long story short, we had to have a leach field put in to replace the dry well. Unfortunately, the leach field is really close to the gardens. When they were digging for the leach field, some comtamination (black water) of the gardens occurred (downhill from the leach field). So I am not comfortable with using the gardens since more contamination could occur, since the leach field is so close to them. It was really the only place the leach field could be placed.
The Leach Field, Very Close to the Gardens/Author Photo
Initially, I was very upset. I’ve put a lot of work into the gardens over the years. As time went on, and I had my back surgery, I started to think that maybe this happened for a reason. Maybe it is time to start slowing down a little.
A New Plan
So the garden this year will be different, much different. What will I do? Well, luckily, there is another garden. Yup. All be it small. You may remember me mentioning another garden. The auxiliary garden. Down behind the pond.
This garden consists of a hugelkultar mound, about 2 by 10 feet, that I made a few years ago, plus a traditional garden, about 4 by 10 feet. Although small, I can continue to use this garden. Perhaps even expand it a bit.
The Auxiliary Garden in June 2025/Author Photo
Will This Garden Be Big Enough?
Although I may be ready to downsize, I don’t think I can handle such a drastic change. I love gardening too much. So what to do? I decided that I will also add a few raised beds. Not the raised beds that sit on the ground, as I had for lettuce in the big gardens. These will be elevated to be easier on the back and also to prevent critters from eating the lettuce, etc. I will probably cover them to protect from birds and bugs, and during extreme heat, I can still use the shade cloth
I ordered 2 of these, which are about 2 feet by 6 feet. We’ll see how they work. I will use one for lettuce and other greens, and the other may be for some peppers. I will probably place them next to the auxiliary garden.
With this new setup, I will be able to grow Zucchini, cucumbers, winter squash, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and peppers for sure. I won’t have room for potatoes.
Next on the Agenda
In my next article, I will write about sorting through my seeds and ordering seeds for the upcoming season. Spoiler alert: I have already placed my seed order.
Dan’s Almost Daily Journal-Volume 94-My Recovery From Back Surgery is Going Well
Happy New Year to All!
Female (Top) and Male Northern Cardinal Captured Using My Vinguys Smart Feeder
Note: This article contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase the product from the link, I will earn a small commission.
Welcome back. So far, this winter has been very cold and snowy with below-average temperatures and brutally cold winds. Did I mention wind? It seems every week we are under a Wind Advisory. We have had at least 3 snowstorms and some minor snow in between. It seems like it’s been winter for a long time, but in actuality, we're just getting started.
Of course, this winter, since I am recovering from back surgery, I haven’t been able to go cross-country skiing. I have been out for a few short walks in the areas where I normally ski. It feels good to get out in nature again.
A bright spot has been watching and photographing the birds at the feeders. The birds have been very active at the feeders, especially after the last snowfall of about 8 inches on Friday, December 26th. I am photographing birds using my Nikon Coolpix L830 point-and-shoot camera. However, I now have two Vinguys smart feeders, which I have been enjoying as well.
I am now one month post-surgery. Time does fly. I can get around well and do light tasks. My next checkup is near the end of January. Until then, I am still restricted to lifting no more than 10 pounds, and I am also supposed to avoid excessive bending and twisting. Soon, I will be going to PT to help strengthen my back muscles. Overall, my back feels really good.
Now that Christmas is over, things are slowing down a bit. We are looking forward to ringing in the new year.
It worked really well during the winter. Towards spring, however, it stopped working as it didn’t seem to charge properly with the solar panel. I tried charging it indoors using a USB cable, but I was unable to get it going again. I contacted Vinguys, who eventually sent me a new feeder this fall. I kept the original feeder in the cellar, and noticed this fall that when I walked by it in the cellar, the blue light on the camera went on, which indicates it is detecting motion. It was alive!
So I tried charging it again, and then went through the procedure to reset it and add it to the phone app, which controls the camera. Lo and behold, it was working again! So I put it outside since I had saved the mounting bracket and solar panel.
So now I have dueling smart feeders!
The Cardinals Are Finally Using the Smartfeeders!
Last winter, the Cardinals never fed from the smart feeder. They seemed to use all the other feeders I have. Just last week, they started using the feeder I put back out that came back to life. This feeder is located near the edge of the yard in a more protected area near trees. This makes sense that they feel more protected there as opposed to my other feeders that are not as close to the tree line. However, last winter, they never used it.
It's great to have the Cardinals on the smart feeder; it makes for some good photos! I have also been continuing to participate in Project FeederWatch.
Female Downy Woodpecker On the Suet Feeder/Author Photo
Welcome back. Although I have been posting mostly about birdwatching over the last month or so, gardening is always on my mind even during the winter months. I'm always thinking ahead to the next season in regards to which varieties to try, etc. With the snowstorm this past week, which gave us a 30 inch snowfall, Spring seems so far away.
Over the the last few weeks I have been receiving seed catalogs. They seem to come earlier each year. Although I buy most of my seeds locally, sometimes I order from the catalogs especially if I want to try a specific variety that catches my eye. I will cover each catalog that I have received to date, and highlight one variety from each.
The first catalog I received is Totally Tomatoes. How appropriate for me, as I love to grow tomatoes, especially heirlooms. If you are a tomato and/or pepper lover, this catalog is for you.
One new variety they are offering is Belle of the Ball tomato. This one is an heirloom hybrid (from two French heirlooms), which is an interesting concept in itself. In recent years I tend to stray away from hybrids, which were bred to produce uniformly sized, perfectly shaped fruits for mass sale. But in the process some flavor was lost. The heirlooms offer the best flavor, however they also are sometimes oddly shaped, etc.
Therefore a hybrid of 2 heirloom varieties is a great idea to blend the best with the best.
The next catalog I received is Seeds 'nSuch. They have a good selection of veggie and flower seeds.
Keeping with the tomato theme, I will highlight a variety called Mountain Merit Hybrid. You may be wondering why I am mentioning a hybrid tomato after just touting the advantages of the heirlooms.
If you have had problems with tomato blight (early and late), this tomato may be for you. This one has resistance to blight. There are other "Mountain" varieties with blight resistance as well so you can choose which variety you would like. I have had problems with blight for years, although I still manage to get a decent tomato harvest. I try to to rotate where I plant each year which helps somewhat. It is also important to dispose of vegetation instead of tilling into the soil in the Fall. Also, applying a copper fungicide (spray) to your plants several times during the season can help.
The third catalog I have received is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds This all inclusive catalog comes in at 162 pages and is more like a book.
They offer some rare and interesting heirloom tomatoes. One extremely rare variety is Thorburn's Terra Cotta from 1893. It is very unusual looking, but the flavor is described as "out of this world". It is a prolific producer as well.
Thorburn's Terra Cotta
This catalog is worth taking a look at, you can request a free copy.
I am looking forward to receiving more catalogs in the coming weeks. I will share them with you as I do. Although it is too early to start seeds, the following is a link if you are interested in purchasing seed starting supplies . The time will be here before we know it!
I will leave you with some recent bird photos. Enjoy. Thanks for reading.
Welcome back. If you follow my blog you will know that I have covered in detail several bird counting opportunities, including Project FeederWatch, and the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). In this post I will introduce eBird, which is also managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
As you may know, both Project FeederWatch and GBBC limit your bird counts as they are for specific periods of time. Project FeederWatch runs from mid-November to early April each year, and participants can only count for 2 consecutive days each week. The GBBC takes place each February and involves counting birds for 4 consecutive days. What if you are an avid birder and want to count every day even in different locations? Enter eBird.
Perhaps the best way to introduce eBird is through the following video:
As the video mentions, data can be entered either via the website or using the mobile app. Photos and even audio recordings can also be entered.
From the eBird website:
eBird began with a simple idea—that every birdwatcher has unique knowledge and experience. Our goal is to gather this information in the form of checklists of birds, archive it, and freely share it to power new data-driven approaches to science, conservation and education. At the same time, we develop tools that make birding more rewarding. From being able to manage lists, photos and audio recordings, to seeing real-time maps of species distribution, to alerts that let you know when species have been seen, we strive to provide the most current and useful information to the birding community.
eBird data document bird distribution, abundance, habitat use, and trends through checklist data collected within a simple, scientific framework. Birders enter when, where, and how they went birding, and then fill out a checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing. eBird’s free mobile app allows offline data collection anywhere in the world, and the website provides many ways to explore and summarize your data and other observations from the global eBird community.
So for those of you who want to participate beyond Project FeederWatch, eBird is for you.
Regarding bird photography, you may wonder what camera I am using. I currently use a Nikon Coolpix L830. It has a 34X zoom and is mainly a point and shoot camera, although it does also have manual modes. This is an older model that I bought used. It is a good camera for those on a budget. For your convenience here is a link if you are interested in purchasing a Nikon Coolpix camera; there are new and used ones listed.
