My Garden Goals for 2026

If there’s one thing gardening has taught me, it’s that every year looks a little different. And honestly, that’s part of the magic!

This year isn’t about building a bigger garden for me. It’s about building a better one.

I’m focusing on small-scale expansion, but mostly I’m pouring my energy into improving what I already have. Healthier soil, stronger plants, more life buzzing around…that’s the real goal. Because once you learn that good gardens start underground, you can’t unsee it. So 2026 is the year I double down on soil health and really step up my compost game. More compost, better compost, and hopefully a system that keeps up with how much I actually garden.

I also want to add more flowers throughout my beds this season. Not just because they’re beautiful (though they absolutely are), but because they bring in pollinators, beneficial insects, and a kind of balance you can actually feel when you’re out there. A garden full of blooms just feels alive.

When it comes to what I’m growing, I’m leaning into something I always tell people but don’t always follow myself and that is grow more of what you actually eat. For us, that means loading up on root vegetables like parsnips, carrots, and beets, and cutting back on things we don’t reach for as often…looking at you, winter squash!

And maybe the biggest new thing this year? This space right here.

Starting this website and blog is a whole new adventure for me, and I’m genuinely excited about it. Gardening has given me so much joy, peace, lessons, and yes, plenty of humbling moments too, and I want to share all of that with you. The successes, the experiments, the failures, and the little things that make growing your own food feel so rewarding.

So whether you’re planting your very first seed this year or you’ve been gardening for decades, I’m really glad you’re here.

Tell me…what’s one thing you’re excited to grow this season?