2025 Garden Reflections
Above is one of the apple trees in my backyard. Planted about 5 years ago, we have been able to harvest apples twice so far. This year being the first year we had a huge harvest with enough to store in our garage fridge for winter. It is a fuji apple tree. Last year we had to net our trees in the spring to protect them from the 17 year cicadas, and it prohibited the flowers from being pollinated. We did not have a harvest. The year before that, we had a small, yet exciting, harvest of about 20 applies. We have 2 other trees that have yet to flower and another one that died and was replaced last year. All different cross pollinating varieties. I really hoping 2026 is the year all the trees flower and produce some fruit. There is nothing better than perennial food. And when I have to move or start over with a new property at some point, I will focus my initial attentions on perennial plants before putting in an annual garden. This goes for flowers and food plants alike.
I have been growing some portion of our food since 2017. That was the first year I had a garden at our house. It was 4 large raised beds (first picture in the gallery above). I started everything from seed right in the beds and ignored all the spacing directions and thinning directions on the seed packet. Having no idea what I would actually want to grow or what I could grow and fully expecting to fail. I just used a general garden seed packet collection purchased off Amazon. I know, yikes… I was pleasantly surprised when everything grew, and I had a thriving garden full of plants. Plants that were eventually over grown and over crowded but plants just the same. After that each year, I strived to do better. Starting seedlings inside, drawing out garden plans, trying succession seeding. After we moved, I started over slowly and eventually I started to grow more perennials. Berries, asparagus, apples to start. That has been a real turning point and eye opener for me. Planting something once and then having endless harvests year after year is the ultimate gardening hack. I have been adding beds and expanding my current garden for 7 seasons now. I am not sure exactly what 2026 will hold. I know it will be a year of really big changes and because of this, may start a new chapter of gardening for me. For now I am going to reflect on some things I felt I did well in 2025, tools I used to help me that I think are worth trying and a few things I will take away for next season.
New Things I tried that I liked in 2025:
- Tomato Roller Trellis
- Epic Gardening Garden Planner
- Starting less seedlings inside
New Things I tried that I did not like in 2025:
- Vertical Garden for pumpkins and squash
- Planting too many Bush Beans
Things I said I wasn’t going to do, then did it anyways…
- Over planting
- Planting cauliflower and Kale (baby kale but still, why?)
- Not thinning my onions
- Planting corn-never, really never again
Things I think I did really well:
- Weeding
- Watering
- Succession planting
Now success is a measure different for everyone but I did a far better job keeping up on weeds this year over years past. As well as, keeping everything watered but not over watered. I was also pleased with my succession planting. No bed was ever empty and that is really due to using the garden planner. I used the online planner through Epic Gardening. It was great and I would definitely use it again. Now some of the things I did that I said I wouldn’t though were due to last minute decisions on succession planting. Because I happened to have corn and cauliflower seeds, I went ahead and planted them in places where I didn’t have anything else to plant. And it went about as well as any after thought does. Meaning it didn’t. The corn was tiny and ridiculous and the cauliflower plants were enjoyed by the chickens. Hats off to farmers. I mean this where my DIY homesteading skills really come through because growing big juicy ears of corn and giant heads of cauliflower is something I will now always leave to the professionals. This time I really mean it!:) The baby kale came in a free greens mix and again I had an empty spot so I threw it in. I just don’t like kale. So The chickens enjoyed it. I will say, I missed the look of a Lacinato Kale plant. They are so pretty growing up nice and tall and then as you harvest from the bottom, you end up with a beautiful little kale tree. So, yes, I may grow one next year. Sometimes you just grow for the look or perhaps for a friend or family member who likes the item? I think my husband likes kale…?
I did picture the Tomato Roller Trellis above and I have a separate post about it and how to make one. If you have the space, this was a great method, and I highly recommend it. I started a lot less seedlings this year and it was just better. Easier. It’s ok to just plant a seed in the ground and let it grow. I am not a market gardener, so I have the time to wait for a harvest. It’s ok to make life easier and not have seedlings all over your house. I will always recommend starting tomatoes and peppers early, but everything else can just wait. As far as my onions… I mean maybe onion growing isn’t for me. I clearly lack the patience to carefully separate each onion seedling and then thin them if they are too close together. And onions being a relatively inexpensive item at the store: maybe it’s time to leave that to the onion farmers. The only other disappointment last year was my vertical squash and pumpkin garden. Now this I have had success with it in the past, so it was disappointing. I don’t know if it was the soil, the seeds, not enough sun, but it seemed like it just took too long to get going and by the time I had pollinated flowers it was too late in the season and everything froze before there was any growth. So maybe not an error of vertical planting but an error of timing or sun light.
I look forward to trying new methods of planting and growing in 2026. I know there are big changes on the horizon for myself and my family. When it comes to hobbies, they have to fit into your life. If your life changes, the hobby doesn’t have to go away, but it will have to change with you. I am excited to see how my hobbies shift to accommodate my life and look forward to the new challenges ahead.