Looking Back on 2025, and Forward to 2026

Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2026 · Leave a Comment 

Overall, my gardens did well last summer despite the lack of rain – largely because of all that sunshine. Most of us had a wet spring and early summer, then a very dry summer and fall. For people planting new trees, shrubs and perennials it meant lots of watering. Until plants have done some root growth, they really need to have soil that does not completely dry out. Vegetables, of course do best with lightly moist soil.

 

Each year I plant a few more trees and shrubs, even though my list includes over 100 different kinds that I have planted since I bought my house in 1970. Last spring I planted a spring-blooming witch hazel, one called ‘Arnold’s Promise’. I’ve had the native witch hazel for decades – they bloom late in the fall with lovely yellow blossoms. This new one is a Zone 5 tree, only hardy to minus 20 F. I’ve been in a Zone 4 area for decades, but have been trying Zone 5 trees for the last few years, and they have all survived our winters. Hopefully, “Arnold” will, too.

 

Last fall I planted a Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). This is not the California redwood, but a descendent of a trees only found in fossil records until the 1940’s. Then an alert forester found a grove of them in a remote part of China. He contacted the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard, and an expedition was mounted after WWII. Seeds were collected and sent all over the world, and this fast-growing deciduous conifer has succeeded well in many locations. It likes wet soil and prefers full sun, but will tolerate some shade. I have seen several in New Hampshire and Vermont. I can’t wait to see how it performs for us.

 

Sungold cherry tomatoes

Looking ahead, I will soon be studying the catalogs and websites of my favorite seed companies. It’s good to order seeds now, as some popular seeds will sell out – especially small packets of tomato seeds of things like ‘Sun Gold’, my favorite cherry tomato.

 

If you have been thinking about starting your own seedlings, now is a good time to build a simple A-frame stand that will support lights and the flats you will use to start your plants indoors. I’ve written how to make one, so just email me if you want directions on how to do it. Your local lumber store should be willing to cut all the pieces of wood to size for you. It’s quite easy to build – even for non-carpenters.

 

I don’t believe in writing New Year’s resolutions, but do like to reflect each year at this time about what improvements I want to make in how I garden, and what I shall plant. So here are a few of my ideas, and a few from friends willing to share theirs.

 

Young dawn redwood at New England Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA

Although we have large populations of native plants that support pollinators and birds, in 2026 I hope to locate and plant a wider diversity of plants. I am on the list to get the Massachusetts Master Gardener on-line newsletter called The Dirt. In the January issue it lists native plants that are important to support our pollinators that are “at risk” and declining in numbers.

 

Using that list I will see which I can add to our environment. Dr. Gegear, who researched and prepared the list, includes bloom time, whether it is important for pollen or nectar, and what pollinators it is important for. A good source for native plants is the Native Plant Trust garden shop in Framingham, MA and their production facility, Nasami Farm in Whately, MA. Both are open seasonally, opening in mid-April.

 

My friend, Hank, emails this: Over a cup of tea and the last of the holiday cookies I sift through the dog-eared pages of color and hope (the seed catalogs). I take the time to add to the lists, create my To Do’s, and purposely circle plant varieties that I am interested in trying. …I take the time to consider where I’ll be building a new shed and then wander into the barn to spend more time organizing, looking for the tools that need to be cleaned and sharpened.”

 

And Jenny from Vermont emailed saying that she will “try to keep the goutweed in check so the new Mayapple can dominate, and I’ll try to rein in the white cohosh that has gone wild. Last year I tried to add a toad lily and it failed — I may try again …” My thought? Yes, try toad lily again, it’s a great plant (but not a true lily) that blooms in the fall. I always give plants two more tries in different spots if I wasn’t successful with them on the first try.

 

Pawpaw fruit has a tropical flavor but a texture that is mushy.

Last year my friend Mark planted five little pawpaw trees that he got from another friend. Pawpaws send up lots of root sprouts, but they will not produce fruit if they are genetic clones (all from a single mother tree, as his probably are). I have some from another source, so he’ll trade me one of his for one of mine. Most small trees move easily. Pawpaws are a native tree common in Appalachia, but hardy here. Their fruit tastes tropical!

 

Sara told me that she is looking forward to warmer weather. She wants to re-wild areas on her property to include more native species that will support pollinators and wildlife.

 

And my friend Rika e-mailed saying, in part, “My intention every year is to become more relaxed – not casual – and intuitive in the garden.” I like it!

 

I wish you all a successful year in your gardens.

 

Henry‘s column appears once a month. Reach him at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746

 

 

Filed under Article · Tagged with may apple, paw paw, sungold tomatoes

Putting Food By

          It’s a rare gardener who doesn’t grow at least a few tomatoes. We all love them. I eat them at least twice a day in season, and sometimes I even have one with breakfast. But the season is short, so many of us try to put up tomatoes to have their flavor in winter soups and stews. Our grannies slaved over a hot stove in August and September, canning tomatoes. But have I found freezing them is much easier.

          Here’s what I do: I freeze whole tomatoes in zipper bags. I don’t blanch them or remove the skins. All I do is place clean fresh tomatoes in a gallon freezer bag and suck out the air with a straw, sliding out the straw and pinching the bag shut as I do so.

When I want to cook with a tomato, I hold a frozen one under the tap, run hot water over it while rubbing it, and the skin comes right off. I set it aside for a few minutes, then chop it and put in the stew pot. I know it is chemical-free and harvested at peak ripeness. I sometimes freeze cherry tomatoes, and those I toss into the pan with skins on.

In winter I long for tomatoes for my noon sandwich. I’ve found that roasting tomatoes first, then freezing, is a good way to have a substitute for fresh tomato in a sandwich. I thickly slice tomatoes and roast them at 350 degrees until they have given off most of their moisture and caramelized nicely. Then I carefully place them in gallon freezer bags in a single layer. When I need a few slices, I break off the frozen slices and put them in my toaster oven on aluminum foil. I heat them at 350 until thawed. They are not the same as fresh, but they’re the best substitute I’ve found.

A straw used to remove air from a bag of cherry tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are highly prolific, and I generally have 10 plants or more. Although I eat plenty like candy, right in the garden, I obviously have more than I can eat in August and September. So I cut each in half, and put them in my food dehydrator. I set the thermostat at 125 or 130 degrees, and dry them for 18 to 24 hours, depending on water content and the ambient air’s humidity.

Food dehydrators are great for drying tomatoes, apples, pears, hot peppers and more. My favorite is the Excalibur. It has 9 trays, each 15 inches square, and a fan and heater. It uses 660 watts of electricity per hour, which is less than the 1000 watts used by my previous favorite, the NESCO American Harvester. The Excalibur blows sideways across the trays so everything gets dry at the same rate; the NESCO dehydrator blows from the top or the bottom, and one must rotate the trays to get even drying. The trays near the heater dry quickly, those farther away more slowly.

Tomato paste

I also make a lot of tomato paste. To do this I core full-sized tomatoes over the sink and squeeze out seeds and excess juice. Then I cut them in half and toss them in the food processor, which I use to puree them into a thin gruel. I cook the pureed tomatoes in a big enameled cast iron pot at low heat until the contents are thick enough so that I can stand up a spoon in the pot. It takes 2 to 3 hours of cooking to make paste.

I let the paste cool all night with the pot lid off, so more moisture evaporate by morning. Then I spoon the paste into ice cube trays and freeze them. When hard, I take the cubes out and put in freezer bags. One cube is a very nice quantity to add to a soup or stew. By freezing the paste in small units, there is no can of tomato paste left in the fridge to go moldy and blue. No odd flavors picked up in the fridge, either.

I also make spaghetti sauce. Not much, but I like to have some ready for a quick meal in March. I sauté onions, garlic and fresh green peppers to start with. I add fresh basal, marjoram and parsley from the garden. And of course tomatoes, black pepper and a touch of salt. I can one batch in quart jars each summer – 7 jars – and freeze more in quart yogurt containers. Canning must be done properly, cooking the sealed jars for a long time.

But if you don’t grow enough tomatoes to put up all of them you want for winter, don’t despair. Most farm stands take orders for tomatoes by the bushel at a very reasonable rate, much less than the per pound rate. So when the late blight nailed my tomatoes some years ago, I bought a bushel from a farmer and put them up.

I don’t generally grow a lot of peppers, so I often buy a half bushel of green, yellow and red peppers. I clean and slice them, and freeze in zipper bags. I find they freeze so well that I can even add them to a salad, and having 3 colors of peppers makes a very attractive winter salad. Put them in the salad right out of the freezer and eat soon after.

Gardening is fun, even the weeding. But eating the garden produce is even better. Fresh is best, but come winter, anything is good!

Henry is a gardening consultant and garden designer. He is the author of 4 gardening books and a children’s chapter book. His website it www.Gardening-Guy.com

Copyright © 2014 Henry Homeyer

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