What’s In and What’s Out in the Garden in 2025

There is not much to report where I live in the garden in January but something about the new years always gets me motivated to start planning my garden. I’ve had a couple months of cold and snow. A break from my garden and I’m ready to get back to it. This year my goals are simpler. I want to focus on what I do best and stay within my budget. Sometimes I get overly excited about planting different varieties of vegetables or fruits. I often go overboard thinking I need and want more plants than I have space for or even end up eating. I will get excited about seed catalogs, and then realize later that my climate and soil are not conducive to some of the seeds I chose. I also often set a budget for the garden then find some way to “make sense” of going over budget. This is me being honest. Gardening and growing my own food is a hobby and a passion. I love it but it does not pay the bills. I have to be honest with myself. 2025 is the year of fun and honestly for me. And honestly, I do not need to grow my own luffas. I have never successfully grown watermelon. I like butternut squash, not love it. I don’t like “greens” as much as crunchy lettuce like romaine. I hate kale. There I said it. The thing no “healthy” homesteader woman is supposed to say. 2025 is the year of NO KALE! I end up feeding it all to the chickens. So why not just spread those seeds in the chicken run and let them come up as a little chicken treat because no one in this house wants to eat it. I decided to put together a little list of things that are in and out for my garden in 2025. It will be fun to refer back to the garden blogs this year to see how I am doing and where the garden adventure takes me.

What’s IN the garden in 2025:

• potatoes

• hard neck garlic (planted in fall 2024)

• onions

• herbs

• tomatoes

• carrots

• cucumbers

• beans- for dry shelling and green beans for fresh eating

• peas-sugar snap and shelling

• pumpkins and winter squash

• leeks and scallions

• broccolli- tender stem only

• french radishes

• beets- variety

• sweet peppers

• sun flowers

• romaine

• arugula and spinach

• zucchini

• sticking to my budget. Seriously, when the money is gone, it’s gone.

What’s out of the garden in 2025

• KALE (I’m serious this time. Someone hold me to it.)

• brusslespouts

• cauliflower

• traditional broccoli plants

• tender greens

• melons

• watermelon

• corn

• soy beans

• sweet potato

• spicy peppers (I am the only one who likes them. I reserve the right to plant one plant:))

• yellow squash

• improperly supported tomatoes. I say this every year. “This year I am going to support these plants right”… cut to a tomato jungle. No more. 2025 is the year I invest in tomato infrastructure.

• expanding more beds. This year we will not be adding any more planting area. Part of sticking to the budget is using the garden beds that I already have.

What is in and will always be in: Perennial plants.

Asparagus, strawberries, apples, and raspberries and to a lesser extent blueberries and blackberries. I transplanted my blackberry plant last year and it looks rough. I lack the correct conditions for blueberries so what I have is fine but it is always a disappointment. Of course this includes flowers. I have very few annual flowers. Since I spend so much money and time in our vegetable garden, I really hate to spend money on annual flowers. But I’m hoping my dog can leave my sunflowers alone this year because I love the look of sunflowers scattered throughout a garden. She loves to chomp the seedlings right down to the ground. Maybe Sue needs a 2025 in/out list listing chomping seedlings and pooping in the garden as out and not barking at the mail person as in for 2025. :)

I have some exciting plans this year for tomato trellising and putting in a cow fence arch trellis. These are some of my inspiration photos above. I love operating within constraints. Somehow having parameters helps me to be more creative and productive. I am trying seeds from Territorial Seed Company for the first time (See my order pictured in the second gallery). I ordered their carrot tapes (pictured in second gallery) and I am excited to plant those. I’ll do a review at some point comparing them to some of my favorite seed companies. So far I like the options and the prices. I am looking into getting some tomato roller hooks and building an outdoor trellis for them. I haven’t decided yet but I like the idea of a permanent overhead trellis structure to string up the tomatoes.

This was a long one but this year I am going to try and break down projects, guides and strategies that I am using to help me with my garden goals. Hopefully in smaller more digestible posts. Mixing in product reviews and DIYs. Follow along if you like to garden or if 2025 is the year you are getting started!