I guess that I have learned that we have to anticipate that a season's gardening will be much the same as in the past. Go with that. Then, expect the unexpected. We may like it.
Well, I
plan as if everything will go normally... with the expectation that it won't. Every year brings both successes & failures, so I tend to hedge my bets & over-plant. The worst that could happen is that if everything does well, I'll be suffocating under a pile of produce - and giving lots away.
I am always experimenting with something, be it new varieties, better spacing or culture of something I've grown before, or learning new ways to preserve the harvest. Probably the best technique I've learned this year was to tie up
anything that could lodge. Besides making the plants more accessible, it minimized spoilage, vastly improved the yield for peppers & tomatoes, and reduced rodent damage on soybeans. I'm still trying to figure out a way to support bush beans to reduce rodent damage, but that might be a lost cause.
Fortunately most of my beans are pole varieties... but for all bush legumes (including my soybeans) maybe I just need a couple cats?
I learned that squash bugs like to hide in dead leaves. They got into my Tromboncino twice this year, the second attack is still ongoing. The dead squash leaves remained attached & hanging; numerous squash bugs hid in those dead leaves during the day. I cut off & squashed all of the dead leaves; and with nowhere left to hide, most of the bugs have now been dispatched by soap spray.
After several years of experimentation, I found the okra spacing that works best for me. Clusters of 3 plants, clusters spaced 18" apart, in two rows 24" apart. This spacing causes the plants to put all of their energy into a single stalk, an early & consistent yield, and an unbroken canopy with just room to harvest. It also means that I can get all the okra I can handle from just one 32-cell tray of transplants.
The "German Butterbean" limas are spaced 24" apart, which is my default spacing for limas; but the yield & leaf cover shows room for improvement. In the future, I'll experiment with closer spacing.
Dehydrated okra makes an interesting, very crunchy snack. It is a good way to use the culls that are too curved or too old for pickling. Still a lot of experimentation possible with dehydrated okra; perhaps over-sized pods could be dried, ground, and added to soups... its good to find a use for what would otherwise be discarded.
But probably the biggest lesson learned this year was humility. As a gardener, I expect & anticipate that the garden will do a little better each year... but ultimately, success or failure is largely due to conditions beyond our control. Weather, weeds, pests & diseases all hold trump cards, and can be a challenge to overcome. This year, a severe infestation of flea beetles completely destroyed my water spinach; the chard (directly adjacent) was untouched. Last year, leaf miners destroyed the chard, and the water spinach was untouched - every year is different. I've always taken success with runner beans for granted; but this year two varieties of runner bean - in two widely separated locations - just refused to grow for most of the summer. They are only now climbing & blooming, and I can only speculate as to the cause. I've lost my entire garlic collection 3 times (for several reasons) to the point where I am almost ready to give up growing it. And this year, the weeds in my rural garden were a nearly insurmountable obstacle, that took almost 2 months & countless hours for DW & I to eliminate.
As frustrating as gardening can be at times, all one can do is focus on the successes, learn what can be done better, and leave the rest to a higher power. I count my blessings that this year's garden, for all its failures, still provides enough bounty for me to eat well & share with family & friends. It could easily be worse, those in the Northern part of Wisconsin are expecting
frost tonight.
when you need a nap, take it.
Couldn't agree more. It's a tough sell getting DW to embrace that philosophy, though.
. I have been riding the hide off Syringa and we are both loving it. It's important to keep your priorities straight in life. 
