My 2026 Vegetable Garden Will See Major Changes

The Trusty Gardener-For Several Reasons, I Will Be Downsizing This Year

The Yard Under Construction to Install the Leach Field/Author Photo

Welcome back. Is it too early to be thinking about the garden here in Central New York? Considering the weather this winter, the answer is yes! So far, this winter has featured temperatures way below normal and a decent amount of snow. And that wind!

Factors Affecting the 2026 Garden

First-If you follow my articles, you can probably guess what the first factor is that could influence the garden this coming season. My back. As many of you know, I had lower back surgery on December 4th. And you probably also know that my recovery is going very well. Much better than I expected.

However, this surgery has made me realize that maybe it’s time to start cutting down on gardening and other activities that are hard on the back. I’m not sure that continuing to care for 2 large gardens is a good idea. I don’t want to injure my back, that’s for sure. On the other hand, I don’t think I could just give up gardening completely. I have been gardening for about 55 years! Give or take.

Second-The second reason for major changes to my gardens involves us having the leach field for our septic system redone this fall. After 33 years of living at our home, the dry well that served as the overflow for the septic tank (that was here when we bought the house in 1992) failed. When we came back from our 2-week camping trip in early August, I noticed the yard was really wet near the dry well, which has never happened. This was during a really hot and dry period, so it wasn’t due to excessive rainfall.

Long story short, we had to have a leach field put in to replace the dry well. Unfortunately, the leach field is really close to the gardens. When they were digging for the leach field, some comtamination (black water) of the gardens occurred (downhill from the leach field). So I am not comfortable with using the gardens since more contamination could occur, since the leach field is so close to them. It was really the only place the leach field could be placed.

The Leach Field, Very Close to the Gardens/Author Photo

Initially, I was very upset. I’ve put a lot of work into the gardens over the years. As time went on, and I had my back surgery, I started to think that maybe this happened for a reason. Maybe it is time to start slowing down a little.

A New Plan

So the garden this year will be different, much different. What will I do? Well, luckily, there is another garden. Yup. All be it small. You may remember me mentioning another garden. The auxiliary garden. Down behind the pond.


This garden consists of a hugelkultar mound, about 2 by 10 feet, that I made a few years ago, plus a traditional garden, about 4 by 10 feet. Although small, I can continue to use this garden. Perhaps even expand it a bit.

The Auxiliary Garden in June 2025/Author Photo

Will This Garden Be Big Enough?

Although I may be ready to downsize, I don’t think I can handle such a drastic change. I love gardening too much. So what to do? I decided that I will also add a few raised beds. Not the raised beds that sit on the ground, as I had for lettuce in the big gardens. These will be elevated to be easier on the back and also to prevent critters from eating the lettuce, etc. I will probably cover them to protect from birds and bugs, and during extreme heat, I can still use the shade cloth

Raised Bed I Ordered From AliExpress

I ordered 2 of these, which are about 2 feet by 6 feet. We’ll see how they work. I will use one for lettuce and other greens, and the other may be for some peppers. I will probably place them next to the auxiliary garden.

With this new setup, I will be able to grow Zucchini, cucumbers, winter squash, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and peppers for sure. I won’t have room for potatoes.

Next on the Agenda

In my next article, I will write about sorting through my seeds and ordering seeds for the upcoming season. Spoiler alert: I have already placed my seed order.


Thanks for reading, as always.