Its December, so its time to think about next year’s plans. Since we are probably moving late 2026/2027 and pontentially buying a property pretty soon, I am shifting my focus to annuals, tuber-based perennials and growing out in pots the perennials I already have. I bought a pretty large order of seeds from Baker’s Creek, filling out my collection for the year.
I plan on growing lots of tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and sweet corn this year. Because of that, I also plan to have better pest management, something I have been extremely negligent about. I also have some sorghum and poppies for breadseed that I will be trying for the first time.
I want to try Yacon and sunchokes again. The tubers I bought late last spring never sprouted. My groundnut did, but I think I want to get some more since starting with only one tuber is slow going. There are some rarer gingers and tumerics I want to get as well. I have a big order of potato tubers coming in at the end of January in addition to the true potato seeds I have already started. Hopefully I can get a good stock of these root tubers going so I can just bring them with me.
As for fruit trees, I will stick with what I have, other than a few select plants/seeds that I really want if they become available. None of my potted plants (other than a Manila Tamarind and pontentially my figs) are of a size that I can’t just up pot them for a year or two. We are pontentially downsizing down to 1 acre, so I don’t want to get anymore trees if we won’t have the space. I won’t have to get rid of anything, but I won’t be buying seeds periodically throughout the year like I have been doing. I do plan on buying some cuttings real soon and probably buy some trees at the Hollis Garden and USF spring plant sales, but not much else. I have plenty of trees to take care off anyways.
What is everyone else focusing on in 2026? Anyone have anything they are really excited to get into or just want to write their plan down so they can remember? Feel free to share!
@sharq It’s negative ten degrees here, so it’s a great time to be dreaming about the 2026 growing season!
I’m excited about a few things for the upcoming year.
First, this past year, we finished the excavation and block retaining wall for our greenhouse in the snow. This spring we plan to put up the frame, and then I can start the fun part- planting plants in it! I’m hoping I can re-expand my turmeric collection in there, plus have (nearly) year-round strawberries, as well as a decent collection of Midwest-grown citrus!
Second, this past year I made some intentional crosses of my apple trees and have seeds to plant out from this. This is certainly a long-term project, but I’m excited to add some of my own crosses to my apple seedling bed. Perhaps in 8 years or so I will have a new fun apple or two (along with several lame ones, of course).
Third, I’m focusing a bit more on making pollinators happy, so I’ll be adding to my native bed and flower beds around my property.
Finally, I’ll probably add a few ducks to the acreage. Four ducks this year WAS helpful (I had a decent potato harvest for the first time ever. In previous years, grasshoppers ate my potato plants down to the ground, leaving me with minimal harvest), so more ducks will likely be more helpful.
We have a few tasks to sort out. We need some low acid tomatoes this year. But we will still plant others. Looking at Blue Beech, Speckled Roman or another larger dry type. Want to get away from little tomatoes for paste. Burpee has a new one called Groundswell that looks really interesting; but nearly $8 for 25 seeds?
Other then that additional things like a white African Sorghum, Some runner beans and Rhubarb will be tried as well as White May Turnips.
Should have 40-45 new apple varieties to start, And will have extra rootstock coming to graft some of our wood on. Also have P.14 and a larger fruit Kaido Crab confirmed this year. And another oddball. A Soviet Sheepnose form of apple.
Planted some potatoes as a perennial crop. That should be interesting.
Shotgun approach at fruit trees here. 150 trees in the ground this fall. 100 more in the ground this coming spring. Same with strawberries for the most part… to see what works best here.
30 tons of woodchips this fall piled and about 20 more tons coming.
Chicken manure runs and henhouse should be welcome come spring as well… i am going with deep litter.
No matter how i look at it… i have created more work than i can handle on my free time… so lots of exercise and enjoyment to come.
I want to get more serious on my tomato growing instead of halfassing.
I have spread another several thousand seed of native pollinator things… as well as made more ‘habitat’ piles out of trimmings. Need more snakes and predators and pollinators going forward.
This winter i will nerd out on plums probably. I am pretty obsessed with growing plums. I want to grow them all.
My bird populations are growing… so more birdhouses and feeders going up this winter/spring.
3 puppies growing like weeds. Will have 5 dogs to enjoy my life and outdoors with. Such a pleasure to me.
40 eggs a day currently… and lots of manure and compost happening.
Looking forward to everyones goals and aspirations and ideas thru the deep dreary winter as i love to read and nerd out on this forum and the many others i visit.
2025 was the year for which I have waited so long: more trees producing than are growing just big enough to offer debut fruit.
Time to consolidate. Only six scions of cultivars new to my experience are on order. One was a name I had studied early on and lost interest since I had yet to learn where the goldmines of scion wood could be contacted. If they play well you will hear about them.
In support of this endeavor I need to build more bird nest boxes, especially for swallows, and a honeybee hive (probably two). I hope the birds can offset the first signs of San Jose scale, for no poisons have been used here to safeguard trees or fruit. Maybe something will find feeding on those scale (tiny) just as ladybugs and lacewings have kept aphids in check. I might add each year seeing more assassin and shield bugs than brown marmorated or green stink bugs; more preying mantis than a beetle (forgetting the name) that likes orchard trees.
I have no idea how you do that much on your own while working - truly no help? Your property sounds like the ultimate dream.
I’m still building up my small space that’s out of space. More trees to come in spring and get planted along with a bunch of wood to graft. A “few” more natives I just “have” to have for my gardens. Of the larger (though still not major) projects list, I’m most excited to add two kiwi trellises and grow out sungold seedlings. Scaling way back on things that got out of control in the vegetable gardens (like planting one of every new kind of melon I got my hands on…), focusing on what has worked in the past, with a little more restraint for the new and enticing. I’m most excited to try a whole bunch of c. moschatas, maybe get some bigger artichokes on my plants overwintering for the first time, grow more storage vegetables, try growing Pumpkins on a Stick and kiwano for the kids, get turmeric to sprout, hopefully have a bountiful crop of strawberries for my kids to plow through and more than a handful blueberries to try.
This is rather silly, but we have named the little areas of our little property (ie elderberry lane, sunny side orchard etc) and we will paint some of the large rocks we have dug up and make wooden signs for each space.
Since I’m maxing out here, continuing to expand my endeavors at family and friends properties. Against my dad’s wishes, I’ll be turning their waterside property into a satellite orchard. I’m trying to pick fruits that will make it with only a monthly visit from me and ripen when most people are out there. (All these grafting learning projects need a home!) We’ll see how that goes being mostly neglected with a novice at the helm! I’ve built up huge native gardens there and learned a lot about real deer resistance versus advertised. I hope to chip smother the front lawn next summer as well and start to build my mom’s cottage garden dream.
My kids want me to follow through on an idea I floated out loud a few years ago about taking over a median in my neighborhood (converting turf to native gardens and enlisting some neighborhood help)…it’s a fall 26 goal.
I love planning, and winter provides too much time to keep elaborating and modifying. Just the crazy lady walking around her yard pointing and muttering to herself…At least seed starting commences in a month(ish), so I’ll have more things to stare at. Sorry, i swear this is the 2% version, but it’s still too long for anyone to be bothered having to read!!
A ring of foodgrade grease greatly reduces crawlers moving up the trunk. I also grease any black phase scale before the temps break 50 degrees averages.
I like your idea about naming different areas of your property. I’m still debating on a name for our orchard as a whole. I just call it “the land.” That’s a rather dull term.
I am sure a lot of us were already thinking about ‘next year’ as we harvested certain things, I know I was!
I will attempt moving a plum tree before spring.
Planning on building some raised beds for certain crops- yacon mostly.
I am going to be trying to grow a few things with focus. (Or try to focus!) True Potato seed, yacon seed, Potato Onion seed, sea kale, aggressive selection of maybe perennial kale.
Gave up garden after 12 years. Too much slavish demands and loads of weeds. Gardening can’t be wildcrafted here. I’m 99.9% fruit trees, except for a few garden containers on the deck. I do no grafting. I’m old and want fruit…NOW! No time to screw around with twigs. I only plant big trees 6’ to 8’+ tall, if I can help it.
Lots of plans for '26 trees.
Big plans are to try the 2 trees in 1 hole method. See how that goes. It is said to keep trees naturally small. My bigger hope is to plant more trees in my smallish area.
Retry plum trees and keep a better eye on them for black knot which took out all my plums.
Get going with potted figs. Hope to have 8 or so potted figs. Garage space is limited. I have (4) 3 gal potted figs being shipped to me so I can learn the ropes of overwintering them in the garage.
Still seeing what trees I can add. It is all due to space. Maybe try some crab apples, Asian plums, mulberry and some euro pears. I’d love to get a different variety of persimmon. I have 2 Nikita’s Gift persimmons currently.
Usually the dormant oil spraying gets them. The winter one and before budding one. But if there are still stubborn mature ones; grease usually gets them good.
It occurred to me maybe my dormant oil mix has not been the greatest. So more learning there could be a good thing.
I’ve been obsessing over brix since listening to Dr. Dykstra and others on the subject. Hoping to get a Johnson-Sue compost going now that I finally got a pallet composter going.
Really ramping up the annual gardens with food costs, etc. Only going to focus on what we eat and get really good at processing for storage.
Also want to do lots of potatoes, white and otherwise. Still debating on if we should use raised beds or not. We have super sandy soil so it could go either way.
Wait… what!?!
Are we supposed to have a plan already!?!
So apparently i am already behind for the '26 season and its still '25. Ha!
Next season will be about variety. And a little bit about expansion. I hope to graft new varieties of apples and pears to existing trees. I plan to start a half dozen berries from seed, plus two airprune beds of fruit tree seedlings. I have a bunch of fig cuttings to root and a few more bushes i would like to plant.
For the garden, i need to get better at growing potatoes and onions. Its hot pepper year! I will add new varieties of tomatoes, green beans, dry beans, summer squash, winter squash, and sweet corn.
In general, i need better management of sunlight and water. I need more native flowering plants(especially for early spring) and four-legged pest management.
