Garden recap- what to remember next year

Well with temperatures threatening the 30s already it is safe to say growing season here is coming to an end. I thought I would look back on my very first garden and analyze things I could do different next year. 

1.) don't plant things you aren't going to eat.  I planted peas... I don't really like peas. Why did I even plant them? Lol I also planted lettuce and was a little creeped out by it, so I didn't eat that either. 

2.) after my first section of my garden was growing I learned the benefits of proper spacing. There are spacing recommendations on those labels for a reason. So you don't have 10 spinach plants growing in the same 1inch diameter 

3.) don't plant certain things too close together. My second planting area may have had the seeds better spaced, but my rows were close and I planted zucchini right next to the squash. The result was lots of squash plants and very tiny suffering zucchini who didn't have enough space to grow. Again, read those darn labels! 

4.) don't plant pumpkins in the middle of your garden.dumb. Also, don't weed out pumpkins when people tell you that you only need one plant. You may not end up with any. :(

Recap of my garden:

I planted peas, spinach, cilantro, lettuce and pumpkin seeds. Everything starts growing so I got excited and added on. Planting watermelon, squash, zucchini, peppers and strawberry, and tomato plants.

I had a ton of spinach and cilantro, but then they went to seed and I guess their lives are over after that. I should have then planted more, but I didn't.  

I trimmed down my pumpkin plants and only ended up with one. As soon as it got its first pumpkin it died. It regrew but it was too late in the season. 

I had a half a million squash flowers, but to date have only gotten one squash! There are a ton of baby squash but the plant is starting to die from the cold temps, so I think next year I need to plant them earlier. My zucchini had no chance. The giant squash plants took over all of them.

I've a decent amount of strawberries, but those suckers are tiny! 

My tomatoes were a bust. For some reason they never grew any bigger than when I bought them! Lame! I got a few cherry tomatoes, but that's it.

My watermelon and peppers both grew very well, but were late bloomers and are just now flowering ... Not helpful! So I guess I need to start them sooner too! 

Basically I had spinach, cilantro, a handful of tomatoes and strawberries and that is it. Not happy with my outcome... But determined to do better next year!