🌿 My 2026 Burpee Seed Haul: Tomatoes, Peppers, Squash & Everything I'm Growing This Year

Nothing jumpstarts my "let's build a whole new life" energy like a big, colorful seed haul, and this season, I went all in with Burpee. They're classic for a reason: reliable germination, beginner-friendly varieties, and tons of options for small-space growers like me.

This year, I focused on tomatoes, peppers, squash, greens, and a few fun extras. Basically… if it grows well on a little homestead and tastes good roasted, grilled, or thrown into a summer salad? It went straight into my cart.

Here's everything I picked up from Burpee and what I plan to do with each!

🍅 Tomato Varieties I'm Growing

Celebrity Tomato

A disease-resistant workhorse. Perfect for slicing, canning, and anyone who wants a dependable tomato plant that actually behaves.

Roma Tomato Seeds

A must-grow for sauces and salsa. Reliable yields and firm, classic Roma flavor.

BushSteak Tomato

Compact, bushy, and ideal for containers or small gardens. Perfect for my porch setup.

Fresh Salsa Tomato

Yes, I'm manifesting weekly homemade salsa this summer. These are bred specifically for that purpose: thick flesh, low water content, chef's kiss.

Rainbow Blend Heirloom Tomato

A colorful mix of heirloom tomatoes that makes every harvest look like a Pinterest picnic.

Atlas Tomato Seeds & Plant

Huge beefsteaks with rich flavor. Great for sandwiches and bragging about how giant your tomatoes are.

🌶️ The Pepper Party (I Might Have a Problem)

Emerald Giant Sweet Pepper

Big, blocky peppers are perfect for stuffing or slicing. Classic garden variety.

Candy Apple Sweet Pepper

Sweet, glossy, and beautiful. Great fresh or roasted.

Rainbow Bell Blend Sweet Pepper

All the colors = all the joy. Great for stir-fries and salads.

Costa Rican Sweet Pepper

Mild, sweet, and tropical-flavored. I'm excited about this one.

Big Daddy Sweet Pepper (Seeds & Plant)

Large, thick-walled, and delicious. A total grilling pepper.

Bull-Nosed Large Bell Sweet Pepper

An heirloom with deep flavor and a cute, old-fashioned pepper shape.

Chinese Giant Sweet Pepper

Massive fruits — these are literally famous for being huge.

California Wonder Sweet Pepper

The classic bell pepper. Reliable and foolproof for beginners.

Sweet Banana Pepper

Perfect pickled, sautéed, or thrown on sandwiches. A total staple in my garden.

🥬 Lettuce & Greens I'm Growing

Little Gem Lettuce

Mini romaine perfection. Tender, cute, and crisp.

All Season Romaine Blend

A mix of romaine varieties so I can harvest spring through fall without things bolting instantly.

🥒 Beans, Okra & Cucumbers

Porch Pick Bush Bean

Compact, productive, and perfect for small spaces. I love a container-friendly veggie.

Baby Bubba Okra

A dwarf okra that thrives even in limited space. Great for frying, pickling, and soups.

Spacemaster Cucumber

A bush cucumber that doesn't take over your entire yard. Great for containers and hanging baskets.

🍆 Eggplant

Patio Baby Eggplant (Seeds & Plant)

Mini eggplants that grow beautifully in pots. They're adorable AND tasty.

🎃 Winter Squash Varieties

Tivoli Winter Squash

A spaghetti squash that matures early. Perfect for meal prep girlies.

Pilgrim Winter Squash

Classic fall flavor with long storage life. This one feels very "grandma's root cellar."

🌞 Summer Squash & Zucchini

Burpee's Best Squash

A tried-and-true, classic summer squash. Very versatile.

Butterstick Summer Squash

A bright yellow variety with tender flesh — great for grilling.

Sure Thing Summer Squash

Produces well even with poor pollination. Great for unpredictable seasons.

Great Griller Summer Squash

Literally made for slicing lengthwise and throwing on the grill. Peak summer energy.

🌱 Why I Chose Burpee This Year

Burpee is one of those brands that feels nostalgic, like something your grandparents kept in the kitchen drawer next to the clothespins and last year's almanac.

I love their seeds because:

• They're beginner-friendly
• Many varieties grow well in small spaces
• They offer seed + plant options
• Their hybrids are reliable and disease-resistant
• Their heirlooms still give that "heritage garden" charm

Plus, Burpee seeds fit perfectly into my "cozy homestead meets suburban farmcore" vibe.

🌼 What My 2026 Garden Will Look Like

This year's garden mood board is very:

✨ Salsa garden meets kitchen witch

✨ Tomato forest but make it aesthetic

✨ A rainbow of peppers for grilling & roasting

✨ Squash vines that look like they're auditioning for a fairy tale

✨ Lettuce bowls all season long

I'll be focusing on:

• Tomatoes for canning, salsa, and slicing
• Peppers in every color known to mankind
• Squash for summer grilling & fall storage
• Container-friendly veggies for my small spaces
• A few "fun" plants like okra and baby eggplant

I'll be documenting the whole journey here on the blog as things sprout, climb, and (hopefully) thrive.

🪴 Final Thoughts

This haul feels like the start of a really intentional garden season. Every seed feels like a tiny little promise — of meals shared, jars canned, salads picked straight from the yard, and quiet summer mornings watering the beds with coffee in hand.

If you're building your garden this year, I hope this inspires you to try a few new varieties too. Let's grow something beautiful together.

 Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall — A Book Review

A slow burn that turns into a full-blown emotional reckoning

If you’ve had Broken Country sitting on your TBR or library holds list for what feels like forever, you’re not alone. I did too. And after finally listening to the audiobook this week, I understand why it’s landed on so many “Best of 2025” reading lists.

This is one of those books that doesn’t rush you… and then suddenly refuses to let you go.

What Broken Country Is About (Spoiler-Free)

At first, Broken Country feels almost deceptively simple.

We’re introduced to Beth and Frank, a married couple living a quiet rural life, alongside Jimmy, Frank’s brother. The opening chapters are grounded, domestic, and familiar, almost too familiar. You settle into the rhythm of their world, thinking you know exactly what kind of story you’re in.

You don’t.

What unfolds is a layered, emotionally charged novel where nothing is quite as it seems. Relationships shift. Perspectives fracture. And just when you think you’ve found solid ground, the story pulls it out from under you.

By the end, it’s clear this was never a straightforward narrative; it’s a carefully constructed unraveling.

Why This Book Works So Well

What Broken Country does best is misdirection.

Clare Leslie Hall lulls the reader into a sense of comfort before quietly introducing doubt, tension, and moral gray areas. The twists don’t feel gimmicky or shocking for the sake of shock. Instead, they feel earned, like realizations that snap into place once you finally have all the pieces.

This is a novel about:

• The stories we tell ourselves
• The versions of people we choose to believe in
• How love, loyalty, and truth are rarely as clean as we want them to be

It’s introspective without being slow, dramatic without being overdone.

Audiobook Experience: Worth It?

Absolutely.

Listening to Broken Country on audiobook made the experience even more immersive. The emotional shifts land harder when you hear them unfold, and the pacing works beautifully in audio form, especially once the plot accelerates.

If you’re someone who likes listening while doing chores, driving, or winding down at night, this is a great choice.

Themes That Linger After the Last Chapter

Without giving anything away, this book stays with you because it explores:

• The unreliability of first impressions
• The cost of secrets
• The way past choices quietly shape the present
• How easily certainty can dissolve

By the final chapters, you’re no longer reading for answers, you’re reading to understand how everything became so complicated.

Final Thoughts: Is Broken Country Worth the Hype?

Yes, but not in the way you might expect.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller right out of the gate, this might test your patience at first. But if you enjoy slow builds, emotional depth, and layered storytelling, Broken Country delivers in a big way.

It’s the kind of book that starts quietly, twists unexpectedly, and ends with you sitting there thinking, Wow. I did not see it that way at all.

Best for readers who love:

• Literary fiction with twists
• Rural or domestic settings
• Character-driven stories
• Books that reveal their meaning slowly