All of the optimism and confidence I had after last year’s adventure in gardening was squelched by this year’s experience.

I was a lousy gardener this year.

We had incredibly cool temperatures during the first half of the summer.  Then it got ridiculously hot.  Then I got ridiculously lazy.  I also made some critical mistakes when  planting. I had small pest problem that took care of some of my plants. I forget that the harvest comes during our busiest time of year.

I learned that careful planning is crucial.  I learned that gardening takes work.  And water.

I planted my tomatoes and my beans too close together.  I planted the beans against the garage wall.  As the tomatoes took off, they sheltered any sliver of sunlight the beans would have liked.  In the end, I harvested a handful of beans from several plants.

I didn’t thin my carrots enough, and so I was proficient at growing baby carrots.  Until the tomatoes behind them took over their sunlight and slowed their growth too.

I had broccoli and was even able to freeze some, but a late summer mini vacation distracted me, and my broccoli flowered before I was able to get to it.

My green pepper plants got shadowed by the broccoli and the leaves decimated by something.  This is the second year I have tried to grow green peppers and failed. I think it’s a sign to give up on them.  My basil did well, but I didn’t have a clear plan for what I was going to do with it. (I’m not a huge pesto fan).

The wild raspberries in my neighborhood were extremely late this year.  The berries were small, and they’re weren’t very many of them.  I picked a couple of pints, but didn’t freeze any this year.  I think the heat was just too hard on the plants this year.

The tomatoes did very well.  I had lots of tomatoes and they turned red in waves.  The day before our first hard frost, I ran out and picked every green tomato I could find (easily 100 of them) and laid them on a card table in my basement.  They are now turning red.  We ate a lot of tomatoes, and I’ve frozen a lot, too.  I’m looking forward to having fresh tomatoes in sauces and soups this winter.

I didn’t carefully weigh my harvest like last year, but I’m estimating I probably harvested several pounds of carrots, about 40 pounds of tomatoes, and a few pounds of broccoli.

My garden did provide us with food – and certainly enough food to justify the money we put into it this year, but it wasn’t nice to look at, and its shortcomings haunted me every time I went into the backyard.

I cleaned out my garden beds and will get some mulch to help it out over the winter.

I’m thinking ahead to what I’ll do differently next spring.  I know I will plant broccoli and tomatoes again, but I’m not sure what other vegetables or herbs I will plant.  I’m also planning a long overdue project – to start composting.  I know that I will be much more careful about what I plant and where I plant.

As they say in baseball, there’s always next year.

How did your garden grow?  What will you do differently next year?

You may also like:

• Garden Update: Things are Growing
• Garden Update: It’s Too Darn Hot
• Garden Season Finale: Frost is Here