I've gotten so busy (and my garden's gotten so done growing) that I haven't updated in a bit, but here's the word: I need to gather my tools from the garden plot tonight. Today is the last day that it's mine, all mine.

So much has happened throughout the growing season and I've learned a lot. Mainly, that it takes a lot of work to have a garden! I also just learned what it means to be patient through the growing season, somethng I'm not exactly known for.

Thanks for all of your help this season. I appreciate the recipes, tips and questions so much. Have a Happy Halloween and a wonderful winter!

I wrote a couple weeks ago that my goal for next summer was to be in a house with a yard so that I could have a garden at home.

Well, I'm very happy to report that the goal has been all but accomplished! I'm moving at the beginning of December to an adorable home that has a big front and back yard, including two raised beds and a little greenhouse! We looked at it this weekend and were in love with it.

I'll be sad to leave community gardening behind, but it will be so nice to be able to have my own garden. And having the greenhouse means I can do my own starts ... if I'm so motivated.

I saw this on BoingBoing.net, one of my favorite web sites, today: The ugliest veggie competition.

Here's the winner:

Yum!

The good news: The competition was held in England to celebrate ugly veggies, which usually don't make it to tables and plates because they aren't shiny and pretty, like the ones in the grocery store.

The community garden is changing so fast! On Sunday, I noticed that many people had pulled up their black plastic, taken home their tools or pulled up their dead plants.

As for me, I harvested my carrots and checked out my pathetic eggplant. It's a little dwarf -- I think it just never got the sunshine and heat it needed. Or maybe it's a dwarf eggplant, I don't know.

I don't have any plans for my 30-some carrots ... aside from washing them and putting them away. We don't (or try not to) eat many sweets -- any ideas for a healthy recipe with carrots? Maybe I'll research this today.

I'm headed out of town yet again this weekend (home to see my niece and my family -- yay!), so I won't be doing much gardening. But if you're in town, I recommend you check out the Tacoma Fall Home & Garden Show at the Tacoma Dome.

Full details will be in Saturday's paper, but count on everything you'll need to build, remodel or revamp your home, plus lots of fun and interesting plants for the garden.

Enjoy! I'm headed out.

I got it in the mail the other day: A notice that my garden space is no longer mine as of Oct. 31.

It was sad, but happy at the same time. In my first year of gardening solo, I've learned quite a bit!

For example, I've learned that I don't have as much time as I thought I did. My day planner for the past five months looks like a tour schedule: Portland, Astoria, Eastern Oregon, Corvallis, more Portland, Waldport... On weekdays, I work and try to make time for running, the boyfriend and friends, sometimes all at the same time.

So I don't always have time for everything, the garden included. But I've enjoyed it there and have some ideas for next year. What about you? What did you do wrong? What were your biggest triumphs? Let's compare!

I read this article in The New York Times (login required) this morning and haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Basically, the author went on an "energy diet," which involved making small, cheap and easy changes -- like replacing a couple of light bulbs with compact fluorescents -- with the goal of reducing his household's CO2 emissions by 10 percent.

Turns out the two bulbs were worth 300 pounds of emissions per year. Yes: Two bulbs, 300 pounds. Crazy.

I thought about his experiment in relation to my own life. I go to the store -- from summer to the middle of winter -- and buy relatively cheap produce that's been shipped from around the world. But what's the cost on the environment?

The moral is, gardening isn't only good for me, it's good for the world! Even better reason to get out of work on time so I can garden in the daylight.

My goal for next summer is to be living in a home with a yard, where I can have my own little garden space.

Of course, as several people have reminded me, that's a lot of work. I get it! But here's the deal: No fancy plants for me. If I had my choice, I'd stick with native plants, which need less water and care than non-natives.

If you have similar aspirations, you're in luck: This Saturday is the Native Plant Sale. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can buy groundcover, shurbs and trees at the Tacoma Nature Center, located at 1919 South Tyler Street (near Cheney Stadium).

Go early for the best selection. And thank me next year, when you've created a low-maintenance habitat for local birds and insects.