What makes good soil? January is our gardening reset month. Raking tons of mulch for an Italian herb garden, resealing the shop roof, and fixing the pathways in a warm spell makes you reflective. One of the first questions being: why does every winter gardening book suggest doing repair projects in winter especially putting in pathways for wheelbarrows, but Lowes, etc. don’t run sales til March? Neighbors have been busy installing new decks, trellises, and painting trims. Seems like a missed marketing opportunity. For thousands of years, humankind from Plato to Francis Bacon dabbled in growing better plants. Folk wisdom answers are: add manure, wood ash, blood/bone meal, lime, and other soil amendments. Old gardeners here baby their fruit trees with Milorganite. No idea if it works, but every answer seems to also involve elbow grease. Which involves keeping up the calories.
Thankfully, our local asian grocery store has started carrying mango and fruit shaped ice creams which are EXCELLENT for recovery from work! Perfect for those of us with a sweet tooth and miles to go before you sleep. Maybe you have a dinner party to impress? Definitely get this TikTok trend. It’s always nice to see a design team hit the mark and do a great job for under $12 for a 3-pack.
Wonder what new unexpected fashion trends we’ll see for 2026. In gardening and fashion, this month is about dreams and ordering seeds. Aren’t dreams the seed of an idea too? Embroidery remains the one locally. True Leaf Market seed catalog has also started offering heirloom colored cotton in earth tones which is pretty cool as someone who wanted some Fox socks for decades. This past week, tested a new navy dye. It dyed the socks….and my feet. Definitely a few laughs. Another point for embroidery.
Fantasy is another easy answer seeing tv and movies. Maybe myth is a better word with both Odyssey and the Death of Robin Hood movies which look like money. There’s too many tv shows to call winners and losers yet, especially in the indy category. Something to look forward to for 2026. In the opposite court, the Pantone white 2026 color makes you scratch your head. White isn’t a color that sells well traditionally. Are people going to ignore it or get creative? Definitely ignore. Too much interesting other stuff going on.