What I have learned ...

So, my garden is quickly coming to an end. It hasn't been a great year for this garden, but I learned a few key lessons. All of them learned the hard way.

1. Cilantro self-seeds. If you don't want the garden to be infested with cilantro next summer, make sure you pick it all before it goes to see and takes over your soil. But they sure do smell good when you're pulling them out.

2. There is a reason why you should thin the carrot seedlings. Once they start growing, they get big. And envelope each other. And come out in all sorts of funky shapes and sizes.

3. Watering regularly keeps everything from dying. I know, this one is a no brainer. But I forgot. For a while. And my lovely peapods, which were doing quite well, all died.

4. If you can't remember to water things, container gardening is not for you. Everything will die and shrivel up.

5. Pea plants are big, and will overshadow anything growing behind them. There is not enough room in my garden for pea plants and tomatoes.

6. It is more satisfying to pull a vegetable out of the dirt than to pick it off a stem. Not sure why this is, but clearly the kids and I both enjoyed pulling up radishes and carrots more than anything else.

7. I really miss having a good crop of cherry tomatoes. They will be a priority next year.

8. Zucchini and cucumbers take up too much room for my tiny garden.

9. When you tell the kids they can help pull out weeds, you need to watch them closely, or else they will joyfully pull out every living plant in the garden.

10. Those of us with blackish thumbs should probably simplify. Already planning next year's garden: Carrots, cherry tomatoes, and sugar snap peas. And that's it. Plus, I will set up electronic reminders to water the garden ...

Collection update:

We are up to almost 130 pounds of produce collected and dropped off to Food Gatherers! Such great news! And we're always looking for more ...