Another gardening season has come and gone ( for most of us anyway ). Like many gardeners, you may already be thinking about lessons learned and what you may do when Spring 2026 arrives.

This is an ongoing topic.

I’m seriously thinking of moving my one remaining raised bed out to an area we refer to as the “ back - back” , which is just a covered deck off the back of the barn and shop . And since we spend most of our time out there it just makes more sense to have it ( and probably a couple more lol ) out there . But … I will Not be investing in the “ Big Box “ premade type . They are okay but really not worth the price for what you are getting compared to what one could build themselves for just a few more dollars.

I’ll tell you what, I’m not gonna bother growing squash anymore. Not when I can go to Iron Kettle and buy it mix and match for $22/bushel

I mentioned that to one of the ladies that work there and she said she doesn’t bother growing it anymore either.

I literally have Nothing put away in the cellar bins this year ! I’m thinking a ride out to Pine Vally is in order as I usually have around 75# of potatoes and some winter squash put away but gardening just was not a priority this year . Just the two of us so not a priority. But next year i’ll have new raised beds where they are better watched over etc.

Last month I cleared an area in our hedgerow across the road to make room for more milkweed. Today I cleared away the leaves to expose bare dirt and spread perhaps hundreds of milkweed seeds across the area. Then I walked around to tamp them and ensure good soil contact before putting a little of the leaf litter back over them to keep the birds away.

If even a fraction of them take root it’ll be a nice patch next year.

I have a lot of seed pods still left and I’m thinking of collecting the seeds to give away or spread elsewhere on the property.

I wan on the fence about mowing the neighbor's meadow down the road. I know the stalks from the plants would be beneficial for insects to winter inside of, but I also want to maintain it and keep it nice. Plus mowing now would give me more time to plow in spring should I decide to plant there. So I did it. I also pulled up the fenceposts and signs just in case there's snow and snowmobilers are out this winter. Don't want anyone getting hurt.

All of the houseplants that were on the porch are inside now and under the growlight for the season. The pineapple mint is looking kinda weak but I cut it back and we'll see how it fares.

Not sure there's much else to do but rake and mulch leaves at this point.

I have one Paw paw tree in be the patio that blossomed this year but no fruit set, two that are few years younger in the field, one did well, another i thought dead, actually hung in there and will be better next year, i also put another two in this year but they are 4 years out from maturity, hoping winter is kind to all of them as i would really like to not only try the fruit, but maybe get some wild patched going.

peaches were nill this year but expected as some heavy pruning was dine last winter, lighter pruning this year so hoping for good fruit for 2026. actually got one plum from our only tree this year and it was fantastic

Today was a good day to cut mow over the Pollinator beds . Starting out going through it the Sun came out and the scent coming from the fresh cut mix was just … well just say I had to shut off the mower and sit there taking in all those scents . I got a whiff of Bergamot mostly the rest was just like walking through a candle shop . Then I set the height lower and went all scorched Earth on it lol 😂! To explain that last , last year I just cut it down without regard to the Black Eyed Susan reseeding itself more than I cared for . So this year it was roughly cut down then setting the deck lower then cutting and letting the mower blow the debris ( stalks and seed heads ) out of the area . We shall see how that worked in the Spring .

2 hours ago, Hal said:

We shall see how that worked in the Spring .

I’m sure you can always buy more pollinator seed in the Spring

I was watching one of my gardening programs last week and they were talking about outdoor kitchens. The idea is intriguing to me and it would be pretty awesome to have one with a small gazebo/pavilion over it and a paved walkway to and from. Pretty hard to justify the cost though.

I’m thinking about moving our blueberry bushes so I can put pavers down off the green shed near our garden. I’ll need to hire someone with a backhoe though, there’s no way I can dig them up by hand at this point.

My grow light, which I affectionately referred to as “The Hydra” due to its multiple lights snaking off from it, gave up the ghost this weekend. That’s the second one in like five years, so I’m not sure I’m gonna buy yet another.

But then again the plants don’t get enough natural sunlight in the bay windows. We’ll see.

We had a large tree by the barn that had to come down due to age and rot. I hate seeing these huge, beautiful tress come down but everything, just like everyone’s time eventually comes to an end. The firewood was given away to be used to heat their home so no waste. The tree overshadowed two Persian Lilac Trees, one with a deep purple color. Yesterday Hubby gave the Lilacs a badly needed trim and I can’t wait for Spring to see the new growth. There is a shoot on one that is growing with its own roots. Hubby is watching that one for our DIL to plant at her home.

Well okay I bought a new one.

Though the pic doesn’t show it, I have this one set on a full spectrum, or white light, which I guess is better over all for the plants.

I ordered the first catalog for the new year, let's see if they send it to me though.

I started a “to do” list today. Among other things I want to replace the posts and wire for the grapes before they get too much bigger as well as out in one more row with Concords.

(That’s just one thing. It’ll be quite the list by Spring. )

On 1/1/2026 at 4:52 PM, Chris said:

That’s just one thing. It’ll be quite the list by Spring

LOL , got that Sprang Thang goin’ on ? Same here …

I've been getting stuff around for this season. Got my seeds ordered and waiting as well as some plants ordered:

• Three new blueberry plants

• Chamomile, a "chocolate-mint" plant, eucalyptus and a tea plant

I hadn't planned on making our own tea blends, but it looks like that's what I'll be trying. The blueberry plants are to replace the old ones, which are leggy and in a place where I'm tired of mowing around them.

I also have a pound of wildflower mix and 1/4 pound ( ! ) of purple coneflower from American Meadows. I have to replant the plot I put in last year because after I spread the seed, it was cold, wet, and killed off a lot of it. Whatever's left I may take down the road to a neighbor's property, but that's slipped lower on my list of priorities. If nothing else, the milkweed will continue to grow there, and that's good enough.

Speaking of milkweed, I'm really curious to see if the seed I put out this past fall comes up. If it does, there's going to be a LOT of it.

I have one small gripe about ordering from Burpee and Stark Bros. online, at least so far. And that is the daily barrage of emails. Every single morning they send out a promotion.

Normally I’d have already sent them to my SPAM folder but then I wouldn’t get the notification that my plants have shipped.

As soon as they ship though…

I’ll jump back into things here . I placed my order with American Meadows this morning. Got quite a bit of new stuff for the “ North 1/4 “ pollinator bed . A good deer resistant flower mix , Echinacea, Coreopsis and Bachelor Buttons … a nice blue to break up the color palate . Then a Sunflower mix for the former potato plot . The aforementioned North 1/4 has mostly Goldenrod and Thistle but after a few more runs over it with the drags to prep for seed , I’m hoping to thin out out some of that Goldenrod… great for the bees but that stuff grew to well over 6foot last year . Tell ya the truth , its really not worth the effort to put in vegetables any longer as we get more enjoyment watching all the critters and blossoms while just reading or strumming on what we call the” back-back porch “ on the back of the barn . So thats it for now , happy gardening !

I have a Peace Lilly that was part of a dish garden sent to my sister Pat’s Funeral. It has flowered only once but the leaves are still bright green. I’ve been reading about how you can use a milk solution to fertilize and promote flower blooming but I’m nervous to try this. I would like to see more of those beautiful white flowers.

On 4/8/2026 at 7:05 AM, Ann said:

I have a Peace Lilly that was part of a dish garden sent to my sister Pat’s Funeral. It has flowered only once but the leaves are still bright green. I’ve been reading about how you can use a milk solution to fertilize and promote flower blooming but I’m nervous to try this. I would like to see more of those beautiful white flowers.

I also read that Peace Lilly’s like used coffee grounds and B1 vitamins. Coffee grounds are dried and 1/3 tsp of grounds soaked in a liter of warm water the drained to water the plant. Vitamin B1 is crushed and soaked to water. Now it’s just working up the courage as I don’t have a green thumb lol.

North 1/4 all prepped and seed mix's are on the way for yet another pollinator bed . Next up , prep the old garden spot for a mix of Sunflowers.

Seed is here , maybe one more time with prepping the ground … dang thats a lot of seed lol ! But then it’s a big plot so we shall see .