Hello Friends! I missed posting yesterday because I was busy scrubbing the basement bathroom after our main sewer drain backed up Saturday. We couldn’t run water down the drains or use the bathroom all day until the plumber finally made it out at 8:30 that night. James had to wet vac the basement utility room floor and then I also had to scrub the hallway floor and spot clean the main floor where the plumber left dirty boot prints. And then I got to catch up on the laundry.

To add to all the fun, we had a winter storm blow through. James took the bus to work because of the near-blizzard wind conditions. We ended up with 5.8 inches/14.7 cm of snow, which is on the low end of what was forecast. Late yesterday afternoon when it was still lightly snowing and not yet arctic windchills, I ventured out to shovel the walkways, the path to the chicken coop and around the recycling and trash bins because today is trash day and they will skip your house if your bins are not cleared of snow.

This morning I was out before sunup shoveling the additional bit of snow that fell overnight and the snowdrifts the wind had blown across the sidewalks. Cleared a fresh path to the chicken coop and around the bins. Because there was a lot less snow than Sunday afternoon, this took not much time at all.

Now I’m sitting in a suddenly quiet house. The tile guys are here this morning working on my bathroom and the tile saw died. Kaput. So they are off buying a new one and will be back shortly to make more noise.

Last week they got two of the three sides of the shower walls done. I thought a tiny bathroom meant the work would go faster, but it turns out small spaces take longer because they have more angles and require more cutting. But today, after they get their new saw, they should be able to finish the shower wall and the floor. I don’t know if they will be able to do the grout today or whether they have to let the “mud” the tile is set into dry first. Guess I will find out.

Garden planning! I have a lot of seeds saved from last year’s garden. We really like all the tomato varieties we’ve been growing, most of the beans, cayenne peppers, garden peas, butternuts, marigolds, tulsi, and greens, but I always like to try new plants, and there are some plants that I’ve not been able to save seed from because they are biennial and I haven’t motivated myself to dig up carrots and onions and overwinter them in my basement to plant out in spring so they can flower and set seed. I’ve also not found a radish I like enough to save seeds and grow on. Maybe this will be the year carrots and onions and radish all come together?

I’ve got my new garden seed orders sorted out, but haven’t placed the orders yet in case I decide to change my mind or add something. My plan is to order them Thursday, but I’m beginning to think that leaving it open that long might be a mistake because I am not likely to remove anything from the plan, but highly likely to add. And I really don’t need to add anything else. So I’m going to declare it here and y’all can hold me to it and shame me if another seed packet or two somehow sneaks in!

Herbs:

• Cilantro. I decided I don’t like the variety I’ve been growing the last few years, so trying a new one.
• Sweet basil. I’ve been growing Genovese basil but the leaves are so small. This one has bigger leaves.
• Greek Oregano. Mostly perennial but last year’s polar vortex arctic blast killed it. I could buy a plant at the plant sale in May, but we like oregano so with seeds I can grow several plants.
• Broadleaf sage. Allegedly perennial but I have yet to get one through a winter. Instead of buying a single plant I’m going to sprout several and plant them all around the garden to increase the likelihood of winter survival.
• Elka poppy. Poppy seeds! I guess not technically an herb, but I thought it would be fun to have pretty pink poppies for the pollinators and seeds for me to use baking sourdough delights.

Peppers:

• Jalapeño. For some reason, none of the seeds I had been saving sprouted last year and I need some fresh ones.
• Poblano. James really wants peppers for stuffing, so I’m going to try growing these.
• Orange lunchbox. A small, sweet snacking pepper, also a James desire since we’ve had zero luck growing bell peppers and the one time we got any, a squirrel ate them all. Of course.

Roots:

• Early scarlet horn carrot. A pretty standard carrot and supposed to keep well.
• Dragon carrot. Purple on the outside, orange on the inside. Did you know that all carrots used to be purple? We have orange carrots because Europeans decided they were more interesting or something.
• Dakota tears yellow storage onion. I’ve not grown this variety before. It’s supposed to be very strongly flavored, thus the tears.
• Southport red globe storage onion. New to me variety with a slightly shorter season than other red varieties I’ve tried.
• Sora red round radish. Big radish that is supposedly tolerant of summer heat so I can succession plant all season.
• Spanish black radish. A spicy radish black on the outside and white on the inside. To plant at the end of July for fall harvest. I’ve not grown this variety before.
• Macomber rutabaga. I had some free rutabaga seeds from the library last year and the plants grew big and strong but I didn’t plant the seeds deep enough so just got long spindly above ground “roots” I couldn’t eat. Lesson learned and worth trying again.

Other:

• Red Kalibos cabbage. My green cabbage has been pathetic so I’m trying red. If red doesn’t do well, then I’m giving up on cabbage growing.
• Whirlygig zinnia. Birds ate all the zinnia seeds last year before I could save any so I need a refresh. I’ve never had birds eat zinnia seeds before. I will need to figure out how to protect some of the flowers next summer for seeds to plant on.
• Long pie pumpkin. Turns out the pie pumpkin I planted last year was a hybrid variety so I couldn’t save seeds. This one gets picked before it is ripe and ripens in storage. I am hoping to pull a fast one on the squirrel pirates.
• Hidasta shield pole bean. A pretty white bean with brown markings. Grown by the Hidasta people in North Dakota and good for soup and baking. I love growing beans and since I’m not growing disappointing succotash beans again, I have space to try something new.

New! New! New!

• Mother Mary’s pie melon. I’ve not had much luck growing melon in the past but this heirloom is from a woman in Minnesota and is reportedly a sweet melon good for making pie and jam. I have to try it!
• Purple Vienna kohlrabi. I’ve not grown kohlrabi before and the broccoli I tried to grow last year only produced a few small heads that almost immediately bloomed. Disappointing. I thought Kohlrabi might make a good substitute. We’ll see.
• Mexican sour gherkin, also known as cucamelon and mouse melon. Neither a cucumber nor a melon, this vining plant produces small green and white fruit that look like tiny watermelons. They supposedly taste a little like pickles, can be eaten raw or pickled and you either love them or hate them. I’m banking on loving them.
• Green striped cushaw. Also sometimes called sweet potato pumpkin. A large, sweet long-keeping green striped winter squash good for pies, squash butter, pudding, and roasting. I’m longing for the squash butter and the pudding.

There they all are. The garden is really going to be packed come summer. But then I say that every year and somehow end up with large patches of feral arugula because I didn’t have anything planted in that particular spot. Perhaps this will be the year I actually do pack the garden.

I had originally planned to also try growing fava beans after I discovered a recipe for
fava bean hot chocolate. I see the look on your face, hang with me for a second. Creamy vegan hot chocolate is a challenge. We could use coconut cream but then it tastes like coconut. We’ve used medjool dates but then it gets really sweet. Fava bean puree makes it creamy while not tasting beany.

Of course I had to try it before committing to growing the beans. Sadly, my food co-op doesn’t sell fava beans, either dry or in a can. I thought to try the recipe substituting white beans instead because there are many vegan recipes that use white beans to make creamy sauces , soups, and dressings since white beans are mild and other flavors cover over the beans. We tried navy beans and it worked! I’ve been enjoying a cup of creamy hot chocolate now and then of an afternoon during my vacation time. Mmmmm.

But still, I thought I might try growing fava beans untilI I found out from the Fedco seed catalog, the only one that had fava seeds, that “In susceptible humans who have inherited a specific enzyme deficiency, within a few minutes of inhaling pollen or several hours after eating fava beans, a severe allergic reaction occurs. Most individuals have this enzyme and are not affected.”

Say what? This might explain why my food co-op doesn’t sell fava beans. I have never eaten fava beans and have no idea whether I have said enzyme deficiency, but given all my seasonal allergies and my inability to eat raw cucumbers and raw onions, I decided to not push my luck. And since navy beans are a cheap and easy substitute, well sorry fava beans.

The tile guys are back. Sawing and listening to music. Currently it’s the Violent Femmes. I haven’t heard them in ages. Blast from the past!

We’ve somehow made it to the end of 2025. What a year. Enjoy safe and happy year-end celebrations! May 2026 be filled will joy, beauty, and peace, as well as the strength and resilience to meet whatever surprises and struggles arise.