A Refined Approach to Our 2026 Garden

On the Saturday before Christmas, Magz and I met at our favorite local coffee shop to hang out and discuss our plans for and thoughts about the 2026 garden. While it was definitely a low-key affair, it was a productive meeting, and we left the coffee shop with clarity over our upcoming garden. Items we discussed included:

Vegetables we want to grow again vs. new vegetables we want to try vs. vegetables we won’t grow again in 2026
Growing habits/types of vegetables that we are interested in
Seeds vs. starts for each vegetable

In the end, we were able to refine our approach to the 2026 garden and feel confident in our plan. Here are some of the decisions we reached.

What Vegetables Are We Growing in 2026?

There are a number of vegetables that we have decided to not grow again in 2026. They are beets, carrots, tomatillos, greens, and bok choy. We were unsuccessful in growing beets and carrots in 2025 and have never had luck with bok choy as much as we love them. We’ll likely revisit all three again in the future. We didn’t enjoy eating tomatillos as much as we thought, so we won’t dedicate garden space to them again this year. Finally, we enjoyed the mustard greens we grew, but we ran out of ideas for how to use them. They needed to be harvested all at the same time, and it became overwhelming.

The vegetables that we’re growing again in 2026 are beans, broccoli, bunching onions, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, ground cherries, melons, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes. We either had success with all of them in 2025 or want to have another go at growing them.

Finally, there are three new vegetables that we want to try: leeks, okra, and cauliflower.

Varieties We Won’t Grow in 2026

There are also a number of varieties that we attempted to grow in 2025 that we won’t try again in 2026, but it doesn’t mean we’re writing off the entire vegetable or fruit. These are:

Melons: Tigger, Ali Baba, Noir des Carmes, and Kajari
Beans: Chinese Red Noodle Yard Long
Squash: Zapallito Del Tronco
Tomatoes: Yellow Pear, Queen Aliquippa

There were various reasons for not growing these varieties again. Some were because we didn’t like the flavor (Tigger, Kajari), others were because of the texture (Chinese Red Noodle Yard Long bean, Zapallito Del Tronco), and determining when the tomatoes were ripe was a nightmare. Finally, the Ali Baba watermelon probably would have been delicious, but it requires a longer growing season than we can consistently expect and want a shorter-season watermelon for 2026.

Growing Habits/Types of Vegetables That We’re Interested In

In 2025, we learned what growing habits and vegetable types that we like and dislike growing. That was refined during our meeting:

Beans – As many bush habit plants as possible, with one or two pole bean plants sprinkled in.
Cucumbers – Fewer plants overall, with most having a compact growing habit.
Melons – Short-season varieties, with an emphasis on ones that were bred for cooler environments. Also interested in growing varieties that can be trellised.
Tomatoes – As many determinate varieties as possible, and none that stay yellow or green when ripe. They’re too difficult to know when they’re ready to be picked.

A common theme is that we want as many compact plants as possible. While we have plenty of room in our garden, my preference is to not have vines all over the place. Last year, we had vines intersecting each other, which made it difficult to know where each vine originated. Plus, with compact plants, we can actually plant more things.

Seeds vs. Starts

Last year, I was all about starting as many varieties from seeds as possible. We did end up buying some vegetable starts from our local greenhouse, including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, and ground cherries. This year, we’re going to be really intentional about what vegetables and varieties we buy seeds for and which ones we get starts for.

For example, if it’s a new vegetable we haven’t successfully grown before but want to try, we’ll likely buy starts for it. Broccoli, cauliflower, and ground cherries fall into this category. We want to get really good at growing a vegetable before trying to start it from seed, removing one potential point of failure. There are also some vegetables, like eggplant, that we bought starts for and had a lot of success. We simply want to replicate that success in 2026. We’ll also likely supplement our tomatoes with starts to increase the likelihood that we have plenty of tomatoes for sauce.

Basically, it boils down to this: if it’s a vegetable we have experience with, we’ll grow it from seed. If it’s one we’re inexperienced with, we’ll buy a start.

Final Thoughts

If there’s going to be a theme for this year’s garden, it’s “improvement and refinement.” We want to get really good at growing the vegetables we are already good at. We’re placing an emphasis on growing fewer varieties and vegetables but having a high success rate with the ones we do grow. Last year, we were so excited to have an in-ground garden that we picked far too many varieties, and toward the end of the season, it became a bit overwhelming. This year, we’ll have fewer varieties but grow more of each variety and have an abundant harvest.

Now that we’re in the new year, the excitement is building for the upcoming garden. All but one of our seed catalogs have arrived, and we’re starting to narrow down what seeds we’re going to order. It’s wild to think that we’re only a few months away from getting back into the dirt.

January 13, 2026 0

If We Were Villains

I read a book, that woke me up from a dream. At least that is what it felt like. That book was by M.L. Rio, entitled “If We Were Villains” a dark academia book compared to the “Secret History” by Donna Tartt. But honestly, I found this book to be far more about literature and what happens to your brain when you lose yourself in Shakespeare, than just a “dark academia” book.

It reminded me of the time we spent in high school studying Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets under the intense direction of my English/Speech teacher.

In English class, we would not simply read and discuss, we would perform. To my chagrin, we were tasked with memorizing scenes and performing them in front of the class, either solo or in pairs. I vividly remember performing the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, and reciting Mark Antony’s speech from Julius Caesar in a bed sheet toga over my clothes. Probably red faced, and heart pounding by the need to make eye contact as part of the assignment.

Later, when we dove deeper into the plays, I remember reading many parts for Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, King Lear. Performed with fake swords and random props with our desks pushed in a corner to make a stage floor in the front of the room.

For senior year, we went to see two plays in Stratford, Canada at their globe theater. We saw Taming the Shrew, and later on As You Like It which I preferred. Although I struggled to follow at points, I loved how the play felt like it swallowed up the actors in a world all their own, in verse and story that has endured for centuries.

That is what I felt once again, reading “If We Were Villains” like I was back in Stratford, in the audience. The way Rio pairs plays to the plot, shows a deep intelligence for theater in a way, I don’t think many authors could do.

Some claim the plot was predictable, but I’d say, too mamy twists would have spoiled the point of this book. Which I believe is a love letter to the stage, and the pressures, and the bizarre obsessive love that comes with passion for you craft. I could have done with less of the f-word, it was a bit grating, so was the amount of drinking and drug use. I’d compare it to Skins UK, but I understand everyone’s college experience is different. I appreciate that all the main characters were in the early twenties, with the source material being so dark.

Anyways, I came away from this book feeling inspired. Inspired to read and study Shakespeare once again, not for a grade this time, but to remember how to tell a story. I’ve felt the desire to write another work of fiction, but loose all momentum once I begin writing. Because no matter what your opinion is of Shakespeare, there is no denying that he could write a good story, stories that continue to remain popular for the stage and film. If I want to remember how to write, this is a good place start, along with reading other books. Like I’ve reflected on before, to write you must read.

Now, before I end my reflection, I’d like to talk about something that is weighing on me. The shooting and killing of Renee Good by ICE agents, who shot her inside her car in broad daylight, in Minnesota.

This was an illegal and evil act, but it is just one of many evil acts carried out by organizations violating my country’s constitutional ammendments.

In addition to that the people who are being kidnapped, and persecuted by racism and hate, we must stand with them. They are suffering. We cannot ignore their pain. As a believer it is clear what we are called to do.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2 NIV

So my fellow Americans, if you are under the spell of political manipulation, and believe the acts of ICE are necessary – wake up and speak up against evil. If you are believers – wake up, repent, and speak up against evil.

January 12, 2026

Reviewing Territorial Seeds’ 2026 Catalog

Ahead of the 2025 gardening season, one of my first posts on the blog was titled “Where to Buy Garden Seeds.” There was a heavy emphasis on the seed catalogs we requested, what we liked about each one, and the ones we purchased seeds from. This year, I’m doing things a bit differently by dedicating a post to each seed catalog. In each post, I’ll review the catalog, go over the things I like and dislike about it, and score the catalog. Here’s how I’m scoring all the catalogs.

Scoring Criteria

I’m going to be looking at the following areas and applying them to each catalog we receive:

Number of pages – 1 point per page over 100 pages; minus-1 point per page under 100 pages.
New varieties – 1/2 (.50) point for each new variety for 2026.
Total number of seeds – 1/4 (.25) point per seed.
Selection of “Specialty Seeds” – By “Specialty Seeds,” I mean any specially designated seeds that are separated from the other seeds. Examples are All-American Selections, Italian Gourmet, and Indigenous Royalties. – 1 point will be awarded for each specialty category.
Images – 1 point if there is an image for every seed; 1/2 (.50) point if fewer.
Non-Seed Offerings – 1 point for each category (fertilizers, seed-starting items, merchandise, weed control, pesticides, garden gear, etc.)
How Is it Organized/Ordered? – 1 point if its order is a positive; minus-1 point if it’s a negative.
Beauty – This is completely subjective, but it’s my way of determining if it’s aesthetically pleasing to look at. Does it include original artwork? Are the images crisp and clean? Is the text easy to read? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.
What Sets it Apart or Makes it Unique? – This is another subjective category. What about a catalog makes it stand out from the others? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.

Links to Other Reviews

Pages – 58 Points

Territorial Seeds’ 2026 catalog is 158 pages.

New Varieties – 46 Points

Territorial is offering 92 new varieties for 2026: 23 vegetable, 64 flowers, and 5 herb seeds.

Total Number of Seeds – 278 Points

They are selling 698 vegetable, 325 flower, and 89 herb seeds for a total of 1,112.

Specialty Seeds – 2 Points

Territorial offers two specialty seeds: All-American Selections and seeds that are part of the Territorial Select Maintenance Breeding Program.

Images – 1 Point

There is one image for each item offered.

Beauty – 8 Points

The catalog is lovely to look at. It features beautiful images and is very easy to read.

Non-Seed Offerings – 18 Points

Territorial offers non-seed items in the following categories: potting, containers, seed starting, irrigation, trellising, soil testing, season extenders & mulches, row covers, labeling, fertilizers & amendments, insect & pest control, beneficial insects, bees & bee supplies, tools, books, composting, greenhouse, and storage.

Unique Quality – 5 Points

Territorial’s catalog is wonderful and offers everything that you would expect from a seed catalog; however, it isn’t overly unique. It features everything you want but doesn’t stand out from any of the others.

How Is it Ordered/Organized? – 1 Point

The catalog is categorized by vegetables, flowers, and herbs and then each section is alphabetized.

Review

Time to be honest: We received Territorial’s catalog last year and didn’t enjoy it, but that wasn’t the company’s fault. We used to watch a YouTube channel and the people were big fans of Territorial. However, as the channel’s direction and the people’s approach to life changed, it put a sour taste in my mouth about Territorial. It’s unfair, but it’s the truth. I didn’t request their 2026 catalog, but it arrived in the mail one day, and I was fully prepared to not have an interest in it. But I flipped through it and was excited about how beautiful it was as well as how many unique varieties it featured. It reminded me why I requested their catalog in the first place.

The 2026 catalog is as beautiful as the previous ones have been. The cover artwork is gorgeous and features, insects, bees, and a butterfly. They offer bean and tomato varieties that I haven’t seen anywhere else. It’s a great catalog with competitive pricing that will result in us buying from them this year.

Score – 417 Points

January 9, 2026 9

The Search for Affordable Yarn – A Review

When my go-to yarn, Big Twist, was temporarily discontinued in 2025, I felt adrift in a sea of unfamiliar yarns with unfamiliar prices. Which raised an interesting question: what will be my new tried and yarn? I thought I would share this journey with short reviews of the yarn I explored in search of a new favorite.

Yarn Criteria:

What am I looking for in a yarn? Big Twist was my favorite for a few key reasons – affordability, quality, color range, and ease of accessibility. Big Twist had a large selection of colors in a worsted weight that did not split easily or snag in knotted tangles. The skeins contained 380 yards, selling for 4.49 USD, which made sweater projects affordable. It was easy to source in person. Now I am not looking for in-person yarn purchases like I used to. It’s just not possible at this time.

Wool of the Andes

Wool, worsted weight, has a large color range, and can also be purchased in a superwash variety. This yarn is a Knit Picks, made from Peruvian Highland Wool is sold for 4.99 USD per 110-yard skein. I like how sticky this yarn is. When it is stitched up, it stays in place and has great stitch definition. It’s not too itchy. I am sensitive to wool, and I find this yarn to be fine. I also used the superwash for a hat, so that could be where the extra scratchy feeling came from. I think this is a great yarn for budget wool, and for beginners, the best part is that it arrives in a skein, not a hank that you have to unwind. Yes, I would buy this again. I just purchased this for an upcoming rabbit-related project.

Mighty Stitch

Silky and soft. This yarn had great sheen for an 80% acrylic, 20% wool fiber. It was labeled as worsted, but I found it to be too thin compared to my other worsted yarns, which created some issues in my project. This Knit Picks yarn is 7.99 USD for 208 yards. When I purchased this yarn, it was on sale, but still more than I am used to paying for acrylic. Due to the thinness of the yarn, I failed to meet the gauge. I found myself using a lot more than I thought I would. The most disappointing thing was the way it slides out of knots, which was a problem for the colorwork and color blocking sections. The yarn also doesn’t respond well to my husband’s beard. I found this out because I knit him a sweater, and the top was falling apart where it caught on his beard. Would I buy again? No. I don’t trust it not to pull out of the weave, and I felt let down by the price for the experience.

Lion Brand Pound of Love

I found these oversized yarn skeins at Michael’s, and I was thrilled. Lion Brand is a fantastic budget yarn that I used before on a previous sweater project. At 1020 yards for 11.99 USD, this yarn has been a game-changer for experimentation. I can try new projects, have room to mess up, or be able to make gifts, blankets, etc, on a budget. It does not split. I can knit or crochet easily, and it meets the gauge. My only negative critiques are the color range and the composition of the fiber. I wish there were more colors; the range is small compared to Knit Picks or Big Twist. I also wish acrylic were not made from plastic. I wish this were wool, and was kinder to the environment. Yes, I will buy this again. It is the best budget acrylic yarn I have found that is easy to purchase and would be a great beginner yarn to learn with.

Loops and Threads Soft Classic

Before Big Twist fully came back in Fall 2025, I thought Loops and Threads may be Michael’s brand expression of Big Twist, after they acquired Joann’s IP and the yarn vendor contracts, so I gave it a shot, and I have some mixed feelings. The color range is large, which I like. Some of the shades are lovely, and some are a bit garish. Some of the yarn dyeing is odd. Some of the texture of the acrylic fiber is also odd. It can be a bit limp, almost too soft. I love the mushroom and curry color ways. The black yarn I purchased, however, smelled like a cheap pleather purse- a bit fishy and a bit like burnt hair. I still can’t get the smell out of the yarn with airing out, Febreeze, and laundering. Maybe it was the chemical dye? For this reason, I have some pause. But you can’t beat the 3.99 USD price and 354 yards per skein. Let the creativity reign! Yes, I will buy again.

Palette

Palette Fingering Weight yarn from Knit Picks is a 100% Peruvian Highland wool yarn that has become my go-to winter accessory yarn. With its lightweight ply, I combine it with other yarns to create marled and warm hats, mittens, and socks. The hat to the left is three strands of Palette held together on US 7 needles. The hat to the right is made with two strands of worsted-weight acrylic (Big Twist) and one strand of Palette. It’s a non-superwash and has a lovely squish to the skeins. This yarn is already skeined up, no Hanks to unravel, and contains 231 yards for 5.49 USD per ball of yarn. I will rebuy. I actually panicked on New Year’s Eve, that I had drained my whole stash, to find they were at the bottom of a tote bag.

Caron Cakes

I have worked with two Caron Cake varieties in 2025 – Blossom Cakes and Big Cakes. The Blossom Cakes are a blend of 61% cotton and 31% acrylic fibers. They are variegated, worsted-weight cakes of 481 yards that sell for 14.99 USD per cake. They tend to do a BOGO sale at Michael’s, so I get them on sale, or else I would be less enthused about this item. The Big Cakes are also worsted-weight acrylic yarn, which is self-striping. I love the quality of the yarn, but the striping is a bit tricky. I am currently using them for blankets, but I did consider separating the sections of color to make something different. The Big Cakes contain 603 yards, which are sold for 14.99 USD. On a sale, you can make a blanket for a great price. For this reason, I will try the cakes again, with the proper project. They are complicated, and without a plan, they feel like a waste of money. With a good plan, they are a great resource.

Final Thoughts:

I found more options than I expected last year, and this led me to actually be happy that I had to find a new option for my tried-and-true yarn. Moving forward, I don’t have a sole favorite; instead, I feel like a nuanced palette of tastes is the better way to describe it. If you are a new knitter or curious about trying some of these yarns, I hope my thoughts helped. These are all my opinions, and all the yarn was purchased with my own money.

January 7, 2026

Emotional Endurance, No Cap

What do you do when you need a break, but you can’t? I’ve been wrestling with this for months. It’s been a tricky thing to discuss on here, and without feeling ready to write without revealing too much, I have been spinning on it, to quote NMIXX.

Any time I feel overwhelmed, I take that space. But what if you can’t? Like what if the thing that is weighing on you is as interwoven in your life as a single thread in the warp and weft of your jeans? It’s a tricky one that I don’t think anyone has taught me; it’s just kinda hanging there. We struggle alone, because we are human.

Relationship University

I’ve been thinking alone, pondering my frustrations, my overwhelm, my weariness for a break because I am a neurodivergent, deep-feeling, overthinker. It does not come easy to me to pause, to force my mind to stop and breathe. It’s something I wish we had learned in school. Any of the schooling – elementary, high school, or college? How wonderful would it be to learn about emotional intelligence and algebra? Traumatic stress coping mechanisms and world history? What about grammar and proper communication tools to de-escalate a tense argument? Literally would be life-changing. Meditation with a side of physical education? We mostly played soccer(football) because it was cheap, and it was monotonous. Both Kyle and I would feel less we are drowning in the complications of personal struggles if we had an education in relationships.

We did the brief marriage counseling, sure, which I guess prepares you for marriage? I think getting through the first year is truly what teaches you the most. (We are a few months away from celebrating ten, so we do have some experience.) We also had the years of friendship experiences, some previous dating experiences, and the lifelong knowledge of being part of families – but they don’t prepare you for the stress that comes with multiple, personal struggles that you and your spouse sometimes have to tackle all at the same time, meanwhile life keeps moving forward, and you feel like a hamster in a wheel.

Burnt Out, Like Toast In Obsidian Crumbs

What I felt the most since these stressful situations began to weigh on Kyle and me was the desire to hit pause and process what I was feeling while the world held still. You know? Just a moment, where you could feel without the expectation to be who you are and do the things others depend on you for. Even the little things, you depend on yourself to do. Of course, that feeling grows to a desire to stop the world for days, and escape to a zone where the stressful things can’t bother you. A yearning for the before and a hunger for the after, this is all resolved and back to normal. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the big emotions of personal things that you forget to have fun together. You forget to just be yourself. It’s a bizarre version of your life that doesn’t feel familiar, and I think after months of feeling like this, 2025 ended with me feeling chewed up and angry.

So why do we pretend like this is a normal state of being a responsible adult? Like if I hadn’t decided to stop drinking alcohol in 2021, this season would have been months of riding out a buzz, ignoring my problems, and choosing unhealthy coping mechanisms. Subbing in a source of temporary joy, depending on a thing or a feeling to get you through, is avoiding the inevitable mess that upset you in the first place. But I think this is the box we put ourselves in as adults, to stop from appearing weak or vulnerable. Substitute a drink for a shopping haul, sports betting, s*x, doom scrolling – what I’m talking about is far more common than we admit. So why do I feel so alone in this feeling?

It is still my present burden to bear, Kyle’s present burden to bear. Contrary to the calendar, your problems on Dec 31 are still there when you wake up on Jan 1. Doesn’t that suck? I felt myself wishing more than ever at the end of 2025 that the “fresh start” effect was real. Because life requires emotional endurance with no cap. That is quite difficult for us humans to do. It requires patience, hope, faith, self-control, gentleness, and love. We grow weary, we hide our struggles like they are something to be ashamed of, instead of a common part of life. We are odd creatures. That’s why I decided to share this, because I don’t think we discuss this enough, and I plan to talk about it more.

Marriage is hard, in more ways than I could even comprehend, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. As we are both kids of divorce, we stubbornly refuse to address the stress that is negatively affecting our relationship because to do so feels like we are already failing, but that’s not true. So I’m writing this for you, the one who feels the weight of their parents’ divorce on all of their relationships, like a curse you are inevitably going to repeat. It’s not true. Keep going and stop bracing for the bottom to drop out, like I waste time waiting for. We are survivors, and we are going to make it through the mess.

January 6, 2026

Reviewing Fedco Seeds’ 2026 Seed Catalog

Scoring Criteria

I’m going to be looking at the following areas and applying them to each catalog we receive:

Number of pages – 1 point per page over 100 pages; minus-1 point per page under 100 pages.
New varieties – 1/2 (.50) point for each new variety for 2026.
Total number of seeds – 1/4 (.25) point per seed.
Selection of “Specialty Seeds” – By “Specialty Seeds,” I mean any specially designated seeds that are separated from the other seeds. Examples are All-American Selections, Italian Gourmet, and Indigenous Royalties. – 1 point will be awarded for each specialty category.
Images – 1 point if there is an image for every seed; 1/2 (.50) point if fewer.
Non-Seed Offerings – 1 point for each category (fertilizers, seed-starting items, merchandise, weed control, pesticides, garden gear, etc.)
How Is it Organized/Ordered? – 1 point if its order is a positive; minus-1 point if it’s a negative.
Beauty – This is completely subjective, but it’s my way of determining if it’s aesthetically pleasing to look at. Does it include original artwork? Are the images crisp and clean? Is the text easy to read? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.
What Sets it Apart or Makes it Unique? – This is another subjective category. What about a catalog makes it stand out from the others? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.

Links to Other Reviews

Pages – 75 Points

Fedco’s 2026 catalog is 175 pages.

New Varieties – 16 Points

They are offering 32 new varieties for 2026.

Total Number of Seeds – 415.75 Points

Fedco is offering 965 vegetable, 120 herb, and 578 flower seeds for a total of 1,663 varieties. That is the most seeds offered by any company this year, which shocked me. I expected Baker Creek to offer the most.

Specialty Seeds – 5 Points

Fedco sells seeds that include Indigenous Royalties, Black Benefit Sharing, Breeder Royalties, Independent Plant Breeders, and A Seed Without a Price. Fedco is dedicated to seed/plant freedom and independence, and they are open about which seeds include royalties going back to the breeder, farmer, or people group that developed the variety.

Images – .5 Points

Fedco doesn’t have any real images; however, they do have artwork that depicts the vegetable, but not every seed has a piece of art.

Beauty – 6 Points

The catalog has beautiful artwork, but there are no images, as mentioned above. Plus, the artwork is all in black and white, which makes it tough to know what the vegetables look like. I love the artwork, and we’ve used color pencils to colorize past catalogs, but the lack of colored images does make it more difficult to pick seeds.

Non-Seed Offerings – 14 Points

Fedco features non-seed offerings in the following categories: inoculants & probiotics, soil amendments & fertilizers, Fedco’s fertilizer mixes, compost & potting soil, mulches, fencing & netting, floating row covers, plant protection & plant control, seed starting, garden tools, orchard tools, drip irrigation, garden garb, and books.

Unique Quality – 10 Points

I think Fedco produces the most unique and interesting catalog of any company we buy from. It is printed on paper that feels like a newspaper, and the entire catalog looks like a mail order catalog that was sent out in the 1800s. If you’ve played Red Dead Redemption 2, envision the catalogs you buy things from in the stores. All the artwork is fun and stunning.

How Is it Ordered/Organized? – 1 Point

Fedco’s catalog is categorized by vegetables, herbs, and flowers with the varieties being alphabetized. Then, they go further and break down each seed variety in subcategories. For example, beans are broken down into bush (green, Roma, purple, wax), Bush haricots verts, shell and dry, pole, miscellaneous, lima, and soybeans.

Review

Fedco’s 2026 seed catalog lives up to expectations. It’s always one of the most beautiful catalogs that we receive, and it’s one we look forward to each year. It was not free, but at only $3, which also includes a $3 coupon that can be used when you place an order, it’s still a bargain. The seed artwork is as beautiful as it always is, and Fedco’s transparency about its stances on seed independence, breeder royalties, and more is always welcome. We love companies that care about gardeners and the preservation of seeds, which is certainly Fedco.

Score – 543.25 Points

January 5, 2026 9

New Habits to End 2025

First off, Happy New Year! Thank you to anyone and everyone who took the time to check out our work in 2025. You are a blessing to us!

It’s been a much better end to the year, from where we wandered in 2025. I swear this year was mentally, more taxing than others. I never knew marriage could be this difficult. Or being a daughter. There were some big moments, behind the scenes where I felt like my life as I know was as stable as an earthquake and I couldn’t tell anyone.

I’ve gotten better at sitting with my problems by myself. That is one thing, I am finding comfort in again. Being by myself, without a bunch of screens to make me feel like I am being “social” when I am not.

Habit #1

Since Thanksgiving Day, I have been limiting my time on social media. I have a timer set to a few minutes for Instagram, most days. I have done this successfully now for 5 weeks. At first it was a but tought to keep it at zero, so I cushioned myself to 15 mins. By Christmas week, I didn’t feel any pull to open the app. The only connection I do feel to my account is a few online friends I have met, who without Instagram, are disconnected from my life. Therefore I am keeping my account, but I am detoxing my addiction. With a record of two weeks without posting.

Habit #2

In December I started challenging myself to do pushups again. They started with knee pushups and have risen to a record of 20 real pushups in a set. My goal moving into 2026, is to do these consistently throughout the week and be more fit, along with the other exercises I do – rebounding, wall pilates, and yoga. More consistency.

Habit #3

Books. I am watching less Youtube when I knit and reading more. I listen to audiobooks through Libby and read while working on other days. So far I have completed four books, which sounds pathetic, but I had not been reading at all for years. I would read a book or two per year since we moved to our current town. I missed the previous city’s library and the mental wellness to focus. But this summer, we joined a local to us library and restoked my desire to be bookish again.

Final Thoughts

Unintentionally, I already started my “resolutions” and it feels great. It shows me that maybe finishing a year on a good note is about setting yourself up with good habits before the “fresh start” and if you are feeling a bit off going into 2026, maybe get off of socials too? Except for wordpress, truly a great group of people on here. 💖

December 31, 2025 0

Reviewing Baker Creek’s 2026 Seed Catalog

Scoring Criteria

I’m going to be looking at the following areas and applying them to each catalog we receive:

Number of pages – 1 point per page over 100 pages; minus-1 point per page under 100 pages.
New varieties – 1/2 (.50) point for each new variety for 2026.
Total number of seeds – 1/4 (.25) point per seed.
Selection of “Specialty Seeds” – By “Specialty Seeds,” I mean any specially designated seeds that are separated from the other seeds. Examples are All-American Selections, Italian Gourmet, and Indigenous Royalties. – 1 point will be awarded for each specialty category.
Images – 1 point if there is an image for every seed; 1/2 (.50) point if fewer.
Non-Seed Offerings – 1 point for each category (fertilizers, seed-starting items, merchandise, weed control, pesticides, garden gear, etc.)
How Is it Organized/Ordered? – 1 point if its order is a positive; minus-1 point if it’s a negative.
Beauty – This is completely subjective, but it’s my way of determining if it’s aesthetically pleasing to look at. Does it include original artwork? Are the images crisp and clean? Is the text easy to read? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.
What Sets it Apart or Makes it Unique? – This is another subjective category. What about a catalog makes it stand out from the others? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.

Links to Other Reviews

Pages – 63 Points

For the Baker Creek catalog, I’m referring to the free version that is 163 pages. There is also an expanded version that is more than 500 pages and costs $14.95 to order.

New Varieties – 5.5 Points

They are offering 11 new varieties for 2026.

Total Number of Seeds – 359.75 Points

Baker Creek offers 886 vegetable, 448 flower, and 105 herb varieties for a total of 1,439. To this point, this is by far the most seeds offered by a company. Not all of them are featured in the free catalog, however.

Specialty Seeds – 0 Points

All of Baker Creek’s seeds are heirlooms, which I don’t count as specialty since that’s all they sell.

Images – 1 Point

They include one image for every item sold in the catalog.

Beauty – 10 Points

I’m a big fan of Baker Creek’s catalogs. The images are beautiful, and most of the time, you see more than just the vegetable or flower. They often include images of how the item can be used in juices, salads, etc. There are also several pages dedicated to a single seed, essentially giving a full-page ad for one item.

Non-Seed Offerings – 5 Points

They offer non-seed items in the following categories: books, clothing, fertilizer, gardening tools, and sourdough starters.

Unique Quality – 7 Points

Baker Creek has fun with its catalogs. As mentioned above, they like to include images of how the item can be used, such as teas from edible flowers, juices from vegetables and fruit, and custards from pumpkins. If a variety is especially large, they’ll feature an image of someone holding the item to show how large it is. Baker Creek is owned and operated by an eclectic group of people, which comes across in the catalogs.

How Is it Ordered/Organized? – 0 Points

I actually don’t enjoy how Baker Creek organizes their free catalog. I haven’t looked at their larger catalogs, but I’m assuming it’s organized in a similar manner. While it’s alphabetized, which I appreciate, the seeds aren’t categorized by vegetable/flower/herbs, so it’s actually a bit difficult to find specific seed varieties.

Review

We have been fans of Baker Creek for probably six years now. The first mini garden we had together was grown from a lot of Baker Creek seeds. Their seeds are of the highest quality, and they have varieties that no other companies offer. They are a company that is dedicated to seeds and helping people live self-sustaining lives. They host several homesteading events each year at their headquarters in Missouri, and gardening plays a key role in those events. Their catalog conveys the care and dedication they have for gardening and seed preservation.

Score: 451.25 Points

December 30, 2025 9

Reviewing Seed Savers Exchange 2026 Seed Catalog

Scoring Criteria

I’m going to be looking at the following areas and applying them to each catalog we receive:

Number of pages – 1 point per page over 100 pages; minus-1 point per page under 100 pages.
New varieties – 1/2 (.50) point for each new variety for 2026.
Total number of seeds – 1/4 (.25) point per seed.
Selection of “Specialty Seeds” – By “Specialty Seeds,” I mean any specially designated seeds that are separated from the other seeds. Examples are All-American Selections, Italian Gourmet, and Indigenous Royalties. – 1 point will be awarded for each specialty category.
Images – 1 point if there is an image for every seed; 1/2 (.50) point if fewer.
Non-Seed Offerings – 1 point for each category (fertilizers, seed-starting items, merchandise, weed control, pesticides, garden gear, etc.)
How Is it Organized/Ordered? – 1 point if its order is a positive; minus-1 point if it’s a negative.
Beauty – This is completely subjective, but it’s my way of determining if it’s aesthetically pleasing to look at. Does it include original artwork? Are the images crisp and clean? Is the text easy to read? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.
What Sets it Apart or Makes it Unique? – This is another subjective category. What about a catalog makes it stand out from the others? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.

Links to Other Reviews

Pages – 55 Points

Seed Savers Exchange’s (SSE) 2026 catalog has 155 pages.

New Varieties – 8.5 Points

SSE is offering 17 new seed varieties for 2026.

Total Number of Seeds – 158.25 Points

SSE is selling 475 vegetable, 120 flower, and 38 herb varieties for a total of 633.

Specialty Seeds – 1 Point

Seed Savers features one type of specialty seed. They’re called the “From the Collection” seeds, which are varieties that are featured by the company on an annual basis. To quote the catalog, these seeds “were entrusted to SSE for preservation in our seed bank to ensure they are protected and available both today and for generations to come.” They are designated in the catalog with a copper badge.

Images – 1 Point

There is one image for every item sold.

Beauty – 10 Points

The SSE catalog features beautiful, clear images that highlight the differences between the different varieties. The font is large and easy to read. I also love the non-seed images. It’s a lovely catalog to look at.

Non-Seed Offerings – 5 Points

Seed Savers has non-seed offerings in the categories of apparel, books, garden tools, kitchen gifts, and seed saving tools.

Unique Quality – 9 Points

As a seed catalog, it’s pretty standard. It does everything you would expect without missing anything. However, it’s the non-seed content where the catalog really shines. There are numerous stories, growing tips, recipes, and more. SSE is a non-profit that is devoted to preserving seeds and helping gardeners to best use the vegetables they grow. This dedication shows in the catalog.

How Is it Ordered/Organized? – 0 Points

The seeds are categorized into vegetables, herbs, and flowers, with each category being alphabetized. That is a positive. However, the tomatoes are organized by color rather than “type,” which makes it a bit difficult to find specific varieties. That’s a negative.

Review

We received Seed Savers Exchange’s 2025 catalog, which was our first experience with the company. However, we didn’t purchase any seeds from them last year and weren’t expecting to receive a catalog for 2026. But since we did receive one, we are giving it a very detailed look through and have found so many seeds that we’re interested in. We also love the company and everything they stand for. If you’re dedicated to the preservation of seeds and food cultures, SSE is a seed company that you’ll love.

Score: 247.75 Points

December 29, 2025 9

Reviewing High Mowing Organic Seeds’ 2026 Seed Catalog

Scoring Criteria

I’m going to be looking at the following areas and applying them to each catalog we receive:

Number of pages – 1 point per page over 100 pages; minus-1 point per page under 100 pages.
New varieties – 1/2 (.50) point for each new variety for 2026.
Total number of seeds – 1/4 (.25) point per seed.
Selection of “Specialty Seeds” – By “Specialty Seeds,” I mean any specially designated seeds that are separated from the other seeds. Examples are All-American Selections, Italian Gourmet, and Indigenous Royalties. – 1 point will be awarded for each specialty category.
Images – 1 point if there is an image for every seed; 1/2 (.50) point if fewer.
Non-Seed Offerings – 1 point for each category (fertilizers, seed-starting items, merchandise, weed control, pesticides, garden gear, etc.)
How Is it Organized/Ordered? – 1 point if its order is a positive; minus-1 point if it’s a negative.
Beauty – This is completely subjective, but it’s my way of determining if it’s aesthetically pleasing to look at. Does it include original artwork? Are the images crisp and clean? Is the text easy to read? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.
What Sets it Apart or Makes it Unique? – This is another subjective category. What about a catalog makes it stand out from the others? A maximum of 10 points can be awarded.

Links to Other Reviews

Pages – 21 Points

The 2026 High Mowing Organic Seeds catalog has 121 pages.

New Varieties – 24 Points

The company is offering 48 new varieties this year, which are conveniently featured on the first page of the catalog.

Total Number of Seeds – 227.5 Points

High Mowing is selling 775 vegetable, 87 flower, and 48 herb varieties for a total of 910.

Specialty Seeds – 1 Point

The only specialty seeds offered are the Galaxy Suite Tomatoes, which are tomatoes bred at Cornell University. High Mowing is the only producer of these tomatoes.

Images – 1 Point

There is one image for each seed and item listed in the catalog.

Beauty – 10 Points

The catalog is full of stunning, high-quality images that allow you to clearly see the color differences between varieties. I also love that they place the images beside each other (rather than always beside the seed listing) so that you can compare vegetable sizes and qualities.

Non-Seed Offerings – 9 Points

High Mowing sells non-seed items in the following categories: Seeds and Pots, Potting Soil, Heat Mats, Seeding, Labels, Inoculants, Clips, Harvesting, and Merch.

Unique Quality – 9 Points

High Mowing only offers organic seeds, which is unique in its own right, but that’s not specifically related to the catalog. Their catalog also has thumb tabs that make it quick to find the different vegetables, which other catalogs have. However, what makes their tabs unique is the addition of seed images on these tabs. I don’t know of another catalog that does this. Another unique aspect is the presence of stories through the catalog. These include stories about the farms and co-ops they work with, projects they support, and individuals who are making a difference in fighting food insecurity.

How Is it Ordered/Organized? – 1 Point

The catalog is categorized into vegetables, flowers, and herbs, and each category is alphabetized. The pricing system is very clear and easy to read.

Review

High Mowing is yet another seed company whose catalog we received for the first time last year. I learned about the company through a Google search, and I think we’re both very thankful that we did. Everything about High Mowing conveys how much they care about providing gardeners and farmers with the best seeds possible. But they take it further with their clear mission of helping to educate and provide food security to those in at-risk communities. That is something Magz and I are passionate about, so it’s fitting that we have found seed companies that also care. Their catalog reflects everything they are about: the vegetables take center stage with quality images and detailed descriptions. The pricing tables are also easy to understand, and I love reading stories about farmers, partners, and those who are helping give back.

Score: 303.5 Points

December 19, 2025 9