New Things to Try in Your Garden in 2026

Whether you grow vegetables on a balcony or manage a small backyard patch, 2026 is a great time to try something new, from planning to planting. From growing what you actually eat to sharing your harvest with loved ones, these ideas will help you build a garden that fits your life better and brings more happiness into your home.

1. Plan Your Garden Around What You Actually Eat

Before buying seeds, take a moment to think about what you and your family cook and eat every week. If spinach, tomatoes, chillies, or herbs are always on your plate, they deserve space in your garden. Drawing out a simple garden plan based on your meals helps reduce waste and ensures you harvest crops you genuinely enjoy. Even a rough sketch on paper can make your garden more practical and rewarding.

2. Try a No-Cook Microgreens Recipe Straight From the Garden

Microgreens are fresh, flavourful, and packed with nutrients - and the best part is you don’t need to cook them. Try this simple, no-cook recipe with your fresh harvest.

Mix freshly harvested mustard microgreens, radish microgreens, pea shoots, and basil microgreens in a bowl. Add chopped cucumber, grated carrot, lemon juice, a drizzle of cold-pressed oil, salt, and crushed roasted peanuts. Toss gently and enjoy immediately. This raw side dish keeps all the goodness intact and tastes bright, fresh, and satisfying. Serve it with your main course for this new year eve dinner.

3. Grow One Native Desi Variety From Your Region (or Another)

Planting local, desi varieties helps preserve biodiversity and often results in stronger, more climate-resilient plants. From North India, try desi spinach or pahadi rajma; from the West, grow traditional cluster beans or local gourds; from Central India, native brinjals perform beautifully; from the South, heirloom tomatoes or traditional greens like manathakkali thrive well; and from the East, local cucumbers or leafy saag varieties are excellent choices. Even one native plant can make your garden more meaningful.

4. Experiment With New Spinach and Radish Varieties

If you love leafy greens and quick harvests, 2026 is a great year to try something different, and we have that sorted for you. Spinach America offers fast growth and tender leaves, while Spinach Black Magic stands out with its dark colour and rich taste. Pair these with radish varieties like Scarlet Half Long, Black Spanish Round, and French Breakfast Radish for colourful, crunchy harvests. These varieties grow well in home gardens and add variety to everyday meals.

5. Let Children Choose What Grows in the Garden

Giving kids a voice in seed selection makes gardening more exciting for them. Let them choose vegetables, herbs, microgreens or flowers they find interesting, even if it’s just one pot. When children are involved in decisions, they are more likely to care for plants and feel proud of the harvest. Gardening also helps them learn patience, responsibility, and where food really comes from.

6. Build a Simple DIY Trellis to Save Space

A trellis helps you grow more in less space and keeps plants healthy. You can build a small DIY trellis using bamboo sticks, wooden poles, jute or cotton twine, and cable ties. This works well for climbers like beans, peas, cucumbers, and even some gourds. Vertical growing improves airflow, reduces pest issues, and makes harvesting easier.

7. Share Your Harvest and Grow Together

Sharing vegetables, herbs, or microgreens from your garden is one of the most satisfying parts of growing food. Offering a small basket to neighbours, friends, or family spreads the joy of gardening and encourages others to start growing too. Gardening together as a family also supports mental calm, physical activity, and quality time, making it beneficial beyond just fresh produce.

All our home gardeners have made our year a truly special one with the stories of their success, failures, harvests, recipes and sheer joy of growing on their faces and couldn’t be more grateful. We will continue to try and bring you more varieties, more guides and tricks and even more ways to keep growing!

Happy gardening in 2026!