With New Year's Day tomorrow, I'm thinking about how to make next year a better garden year. More enjoyment, less work (I hope), better looking, tidier, less watering, more accessible, less waste. That's a lot to think about. It won't be perfect, but those are my guidelines for 2026. The watering work is a big deal. So is the need to make it more tidy. For less to take care of, I already removed most of my fig tree collection, already posted about that. It's too bad, in a way, because they shaded the ground and needed no watering at all. The good news is, the border where they were will be ~6 feet wide instead of ~10 to ~20 feet, and fruit trees that aren't there won't need pruning. I will move lavender plants from the wider border to fill in the gaps. I'll try to keep tomato plants down to 5 Romas and 5 slicing tomato plants. Hybrids this time. All determinate, with cages. I already saved a leaf pile to mulch them better than the cardboard I used in previous years. This year, leaves did a better job. Hand watering needs to be significantly less. I already planted all but two of the container roses in the ground in the rose garden / duck yard and chicken yard. In 2025 I spent a lot of the summer carrying water for container garden and didn't enjoy that, especially as it grew hotter. Also fewer other container plants. I struggle with drip irrigation, but it does help a lot in the kitchen garden. Last year I surfaced the walkways in the kitchen garden with large reused plastic pads, covered with arborist chips. That wasn't all that successful because moles had a heyday with those and it was difficult to walk around and got weedy. This winter I will pull up and discard the pads, smooth the soil, and scatter grass seed. Mowing will be easier than what I was doing. I won't water the pathway grass, so it should turn brown in summer. Some areas will still have plastic mulch for squashes. Trellises worked very well for squashes. Repeat in 2026. Containers were ideal for chilis, despite the need for watering, so I'll repeat. Strawberries did very well in containers, with irrigation lines, so I will repeat. I will try containers for early beans and snowpeas. The main kitchen garden has too much herbivore destruction for beans and peas, until summer is underway (jays, maybe voles, definitely slugs). I can wage war on them, but I want gardening to be a respite, not so much a battle. Miss one entry way and they find the open. When the legumes finish, I can put those containers away for hot dry summer. The former rose containers currently contain overwintering tulips. Easy to plant beans in those when tulips finish. No new containers needed. Being low-carb now, a lot of fruit gets wasted. Resolve to remove more apple trees. Food bank doesn't take damaged fruit, and I don't want to spray. Try to just keep proven favorites, mainly the mini trees. In my mind, I can remove a persimmon tree or three, maybe 4 apple trees, some plums (except I really like those plums). Maybe an Asian pear tree. The other will need grafts in April for pollinating branches. I can do that. I already bought vegetable and flower seeds. Mostly those tomatoes, various beans, dwarf varieties of zinnias, marigolds, cosmos if I remember correctly. One of the hardest jobs will be to dig out the three raised beds that moles got into, and bury a protective layer of hardware cloth to exclude the varmints. I may not be able to do all three beds. I do want to grow sone scented pelargoniums in 2026. They are heat and dry tolerant, look nice enough, and the scents are important to me. All plans subject to change It's more about the guiding principles than the specifics. Less work, more tidy, less clutter, less struggle, more water-wise, more enjoyment, and be adaptable.
I too am already planning. I am trying to decide, after I dig holes and stick stuff in them, should I sit and drink beer and watch it grow, or should I lay in the hammock and drink beer ? But I also have the option grilling while I sit and drink beer. So much to decide. And what beer should I buy this year. And how much ? So confusing
Those sound like great plans Daniel. My mind has been whirling in the same direction. It must be hard to part with your fruit trees. I lost so much to Voles last year. I'm really hoping this year will be better. I'm also going to have to use more hardware cloth . It helped with the strawberries. My access to it is quite limited and costly. Can I ask what size you purchase and if it is metal or plastic? I have to go to 1/4 inch to keep the Voles out. We don't have moles thankfully. I'm also planning/hoping to trellis more squash this year but for some it is not possible. I hoping to prop the larger ones up onto milkcrates with hardware cloth around them. I'm moving more of my smaller items to totes with some protection around the perimiter. Artichokes, bush beans, and some early spinach will all be behind a fenced enclosure and elevated a wee bit. I'm also considering not doing flower planters on the deck this year, but utilizing those large pots for pole beans to climb along the railing, and possibly some artichokes. I had such success with the Rhodos in the hanging basket last year, I'm trying a few different trailing vining flowers from hanging baskets this year, to make up for much fewer flower planters. I have to create a safe zone around the Early cantelope that I grew in the greenhouse last year. Two grew, and had the most amazing flavour. When I picked the second one, the entire back of it had been eaten out by a vole. Weeding is becoming quite an issue for me now with the arthritis in my hands, and I have to come up with some better solutions this year or limit the garden sizes. Hubby and I are talking about building some raised beds in both gardens with the existing garden soil and covering the walkways in between That will be a future project but I think that is where we are leaning. Lots of planning and scheming going on
All I'm doing differently is I plan to dig up the roses out in the East garden that are closest to the fence and move then to the south garden that has afternoon shade. I have to widen the south garden by a couple feet to do that. That's it for me but since that bed is over 50' long, it's gonna take me a while !!
Mel, I think I use 1/4 inch too but possibly 1/2". I don't know how they got into all 3 of the original beds, which were all built on top pf a layer of either metal hardware cloth or plastic chicken wire. Maybe their claws or teeth got through the barrier? Or the metal rusted away? Or maybe they climbed up the sides of the beds and jumped in? I hope not on that last thought. Or maybe they are flying moles amd no subsurface barrier will help. Since I'm growing a less in 2026, I might leave one bed sort of as is, but put a layer of plastic on top, and arrange the strawberry containers on top of that. Those only have few 1/4" holes in the bottoms. I can extend the drip irrigation that is already there. Maybe have larger containers in the middle with a different crop. I could also sit the strawberry pots on pavers to raise the, up a bit more. Thinking... For that matter, I might have enough large containers to dig out one of the raised beds and put containers into it, and grow the veggies in the containers. That might annoy the moles.
Daniel, Mel , Anniekay and OK maybe JD… You all have a lot of plans for next seasons gardens. Like all your thoughtful and creative ideas. At this point I have no plans for plants or seedlings. I have lost way to much to plant any more plants that seem to have become a salad bar for the zoo that hangs out in the forests. The only plans I have for 2026 is putting down Plantskyyd grannuals in early spring to deter the rabbits, voles, skunks, possums , deer etc..it works quite well . It’s a staple in my garden to protect the plants in early spring thru summer. I only need to put it down 2x’s a season. It really does work great. I swear by it. It helps protect all my hard work from destruction and no more critter wars. Other techniques have managed to repel most other animals. Cut down the hazelnut trees attracted to many squirrels & ground squirrels. Keeping the pastures mowed low is a must working against ground critters. I have not seen a bobcat in 2 years or more. Even raccoons they are out after dark. I have not seen many since eliminating a lot of thick shrubs and trees and access to the roof. Have not heard a raccoon rodeo up there in 3 years. Zero voles , moles, and ground squirrels. I clean the roof regularly and have a roof cam to manage most roof issues. Keeping the entire garden clean by leaving nothing overgrown and everything thinned to see thru all the shrubs & trees has made a big difference . I don’t feel like I am a zoo keeper growing a salad bar for animals any more . It’s all finally a peaceful garden where I can enjoy my time outside and feel the happiness and the contentment it all brings. To a Peaceful, Happy and Successful harvest for 2026 to all.
Few plans for 2026. Mostly "garden housekeeping." I've the paths down to the tea-house and the small patio behind the shed, to jet wash and re-point. There's two cross-beams on the garage pergola that need replacing before the wisteria blooms appear. But that's about it. Just "general garden maintenance," will keep me as busy as I want to be.
So very difficult.....I love a full to overflowing garden but like Mel I am having difficulty in maintenance now with my arthritic joints and ,unfortunately, still gammy knee/ leg. In my mind I can visualise what I would like but the road to achieving it is very daunting. So I may just settle for 'less is best' ....but my resistance becomes significantly weakened when seed sowing season hits full swing. So my plans are going to be very, very flexible....
