Cottage Garden (Part 3) – Water, Weed, and Wait

Hey guys! This week is an update on how the cottage garden is going. Its undergone some big changes, but it seems to be taking them like a champ! I love the garden so much, but man! It’s hard work! Everything we planned for this year we finally planted!! Hurray!! Also, I’m loving the new layout! Slowly it’s turning into the cottage garden I’ve been dreaming about! It’s not perfect, but it’s 100 times better than the big 20×40 rectangle we had before. Let me explain why I love the many little triangles to the big rectangle.

Weeding The Plots

The triangles are 8x8x8. So they aren’t huge. But this is a good thing! I can weed the little plots without having to step into the garden bed That means I get to stay the comfort of the green grass!! I also like that weeding now seems more manageable. Two triangles Monday, two triangles Tuesday, two triangles Wednesday, and so on and so forth. I don’t feel overwhelmed by a huge plot.

Another benefit for weeding specifically is they say by squeezing all the plants into the small space they should choke out the weeds. Right now everything is too little to know if that will actually be the case, but regardless – I don’t mind weeding two little triangles each day!

Garden Oasis For Family Time

During the summer, after the girls go to bed, Justin and I often go outside and walk around the yard to talk about “all the things”. This year, when we do it, we go over to the garden and walk the paths between garden beds, blueberry bushes, and apple trees. Also, during the day the girls and I are always over in the garden. The feeling I get watching the girls run from plot to plot to check on our plants is beyond words. They often get bored faster than I do, but it’s just as wonderful watching them decided to go play tag as they run on the garden paths between the trees, plots, and bushes!! I know its just a cottage garden. But it brings our family far more than food!

Plant Check-in

As far as the plants go everything seems to be doing really well. Let’s get real for a moment though…these are not the tomatoes and peppers we planted from seed. We transplanted and planted seeds outdoors 2-3 weeks ago. In that time we’d seen some things were really thriving, but the tomatoes and peppers literally hadn’t changed. So we initiated plan B – Go to a nursery for tomato and pepper plants. We didn’t want to risk not having tomatoes and peppers! We will make adjustments and try again next year!

Otherwise, we have seen carrots, beets, onions, cucumbers (which is good because our youngest is eating me out of house and home with those) cauliflower, cabbage, beans, corn lettuce, and zucchini!!

We filled the old 20 x 40 plot with flower and buckwheat seeds. We thought about seeding it with grass this summer, but decided to use the super powers of buckwheat for the summer instead. Buckwheat helps put nutrients back into the dirt. I also wanted a section for sunflowers in the garden but we didn’t have the time to get to EVERYTHING. So the old plot is serving as a location for some pretty sunflowers and zinnias to grow too. I can’t wait to see them bloom!

It’s everything I thought it would be, and more! I can’t wait for the plants to start producing, but it’s so nice right now. Its the calm before the storm. Come August the kitchen will be overrun with all the produce. Each summer I can hardly keep up. But in mid-June, it’s simple and relaxing. I don’t want to wish these days away. If you missed the first two garden posts you can click here, here, and here to get the full story! Thanks for stopping by! I hope that taking a walk with me through the garden was as relaxing for you as it was for me. Love you! XoXo