Year End 2025 Vegetable Seed Report Card

As I plan for my 2026 garden, poking through the seed catalogues and my journal notes, I am also looking back on last summer’s garden.

How did the garden fare? Which seeds performed well and which ones did not. Which ones do I want to grow again?

Here is my report card, of sorts. Which seeds were my favourites last summer and the seed company I bought them from. They are all from Canadian seed sources.

I grew two types of paste tomatoes this year… Heinz 2653 and Heinz 1350. They both grew super well. Is amazing how different they look though. The first ones are small and lightly lobed while the 1350’s are large, round, and smooth.

Tomatoes I Loved In 2025

Tomatoes – Heinz 2653. (Annapolis Seeds) This little pumpkin shaped paste tomato has been my go to for the past 5 years. It produced so many tomatoes this past summer, each determinate plant was just loaded down with tomatoes (see the first photoabove). As the name implies, these tomatoes were used in the commercial making of a certain brand of ketchup for many years.

Pros – For me, the gardener, these are a dream to grow. They are easy, early ripening, abundant, never get blossom end rot.
Cons – Hubby does the canning and says that because they are smaller paste tomatoes, they are a bit more work. They have a lesser depth of flavour than San Marzano.

Favourite Beefsteak – Pink Berkeley Tie Dye – (Incredible Seed Company) An early producing, open-pollinated beefsteak tomato. Often earlier than many of the pastes and slicers. Colourfully striped large, juicy, flavourful tomato. A must grow in my garden/greenhouse. Like it so much that I named my dog after it ; )

Favourite Cherry – Gardener’s Sweetheart – (Annapolis Seeds) – I love this one, have been growing it for the past 4 years and has become a staple in my garden. I love the way it grows in long trusses. Always produces well, in any kind of weather.

Favourite Slicer Tomato – Sasha’s Altai – (Incredible Seed Company) – determinate, early producer. The tomatoes are quite large for such an early tomato. Great for sandwiches.

Bloody Butcher and Glacier are worth a mention as they were really early producers, but must not have liked the rain and lack of sunshine/heat, as they did not produce as readily as in other years.

Vegetables (Seeds) I Loved in 2025

Cucumbers – Tendergreen Burpless – (Incredible Seed Company) – These were really great producers. They took a while to get going as they missed the heat, but boy, when they started producing, they kept on giving. The more we picked, the more they made. I grew them in the greenhouse. I find that I have better luck with cucumbers in the greenhouse than in the ground, here on the prairies. Raised beds also work really well for them.

Cucumbers – Parisian Gherkins – (T&T Seeds) – love, love, love these cute little mini cucumbers. Pick them when they are tiny or when they are pickling size. Either way, they are so tasty. I munch on them as I garden. This was my 3rd year growing gherkins, all years have been super successful. I will never go back to pickling cucumbers ; )

Beets – Cylindra – (Incredible Seed Company) – As a gardener, I truly enjoy growing the long Cylindra beets. They love my soil and will grow 8 to 12 inches long! If you want to make pickled beets, I highly recommend these beets.

Beets – Lutz Green Leaf – (Annapolis Seeds) – These large roundish beets grew super well for me, too. Nice beet tops for those that like the tops, with tasty, big beetroots, too. Honestly, all the beets we have grown in our compost rich garden have grown super well, so I could say the same about the Chioggia and Bull’s Blood, too. If you are having a hard time growing great beets, load up your garden with compost.

Onions – Red Wethersfield – (Incredible Seed Company) – Great storage onion, grows to a great size, easy to grow. This is the only onion that has thrived in my garden the past two years… after I ended up with onion maggots. This upcoming summer, our garden bed will be covered with insect netting, so all onions will grow well again.

Carrots – Tendersweet – (Incredible Seed Company) – This heirloom carrot is an imperator type. They are long, sweet, crisp, and so easy to grow. I used to grow 3 varieties per year, different kinds (nantes, danvers, chantenay) but I now only grow these. They have a 63 day maturity so if you sow in May, you are eating carrots in July. They store really well, too, for those of us here on the prairies. Will also keep nicely in the ground for west coast gardeners.

Cabbage – Early Jersey Wakefield – (Incredible Seed Company) – These heirlooms were the very best cabbages I have ever grown! Early to mature and resistant to cracking. Just 50 days till maturity! Seriously! You must grow these, if you have not yet done so.

Shelling Peas – Tall Telephone/Alderman – (Circle Farms) – I have been growing this heirloom variety for a decade or more. Love them. Great peas every time, on 6 to 8 foot tall vines. Lots of peas on tall vines, with great flavour. Super reliable.

Cauliflower – Purple Crush – (Renee’s Garden Seeds) – I have grown the purple cauliflowers from Renee’s and also Baker Creek. They are both fantastic. I find the purple ones so much easier to grow than the whites. Always get fantastic, large heads as you see in this picture. Yes, they taste exactly the same as the white : )

Basil – Mammoth Leaf/Lettuce Leaf – (T&T Seeds) – Such an easy basil to grow and you only need a leaf or two for most recipes. The basil tastes like a sweet Genovese, just has super large leaves. Highly recommended. I grew some from seed, direct sown in the greenhouse, and the others I pre-started in the potting shed.

Potatoes – Orchestra – at my local Co-op – These spuds were so good. I had never tried them before, was a bit let down when my usual favorites were all sold out this spring. Wow, have I ever changed my mind. A white skinned potato, similar to the Yukon Gold, but so much better. It is good for everything! They were very large and very tasty. I will grow these again in a heartbeat. This one and Red Norland in the garden will make me super happy.

Zucchini – Black Beauty – (Incredible Seed Company) – I mean, this one produced well, but so has every other zuke I have grown. I am not so fussed about variety, but if you are ordering from the ISC, then this is a great choice. I harvested lots of zukes, in all sizes from small to extra large. Actually grew the biggest zuke I have ever seen, as I missed it when harvesting. It was well hidden in the foliage. You can see one of my harvests in the photo above. Wowsers!

And to finish… this was one of my favourites to grow for the bees. Whether you like to feed the bees or feed yourself, the Purple Romagna is one of my artichokes to grow. It is pretty, oh so pretty, and also relatively fast growing at 85 to 100 days to maturity. Start the seeds in January or February, plant it out in May (April on the west coast) as it does not mind a bit of cool soil to get started.

Harvest when the choke petals are tight, as in the picture at the top, or allow it to go to seed for the bees. They adore artichoke flowers. I have had so many bees sharing the one flower!

I am posting this video here so that I, too, can look back on it in spring time. How to use your soil blockers! Use less plastic by making soil blocks to start your seeds. I got these soil blockers as a gift a few years ago but have yet to use them!

*Disclaimer. As an Amazon affiliate, if you were to purchase any items from one of my links, I earn a wee small commission to support my blog. Rest assured, it does not cost you any extra to purchase through my link than if you went to that item on your own.