Things I learned ....

from this year's vegetable garden.

1. Raised beds are awesome! So sometimes it is better to think within the box.
2. Roasted beets are the best...but for the quantity we will eat, I would rather not grow beets. Somethings truly are false economies.
3. No one really wants to eat nasturiums and marigolds, but they are pretty to have in the garden, and sometimes pretty needs to win over function.
4. The Glanville kids will eat green beans and green tomatoes straight of the vine, proving the good things sometimes come to those that do not wait.
5. Carrots are so not worth growing....they're cheap and don't taste any different.
6. We need to plant winter squash next year. Mmmmm, butternut squash, proving that new experiences enrich our lives!
7. More lettice and sugar snap peas, we never got enough!
8. More green beans are needed...see #4.
9. Zucchini and yellow squash are good in everything. Tacos, lasagna (instead of the noodles!), sloppy joes, soup, cake, cookies, mashed potatoes, meatloaf and so much more. However, even with all that variety, you still get sick of it and begging only makes your neighbors take so much off your hands.
10. Brussel sprouts are like people. We have grown them year after year and some years we have beautiful plants and some years the plants are small and scraggley, but that is not an indication of which will reproduce. This year we got exactly zero sprouts off of eight plants. Poor barren brussel sprouts.
11. Sometimes life surprises you. Like when your rhubarb plant comes with a hitch hiker in the form of a pumpkin plant that completely takes over your strawberry bed and driveway.

What did you learn from your garden this year?