Momma’s Little Cottage Garden

My mom has had a rough couple garden years.

Mom has grown flowers and vegetables her whole life. My grandfather had a big, beautiful vegetable garden and she learned a lot from him. Then she married into a farming family, worked the farmers market store and more lessons were learned.

But a few years ago, “they” ( actually it was her partner idea and she was has never let poor Barry live that down-but I digress. ) added an amendment to her garden of a lot of peat moss dust. Like ALOT.

Peat moss dust -and this is a cautionary tale with any amendment except compost- will alter the PH balance of your soil. Especially, if you don’t know what you are starting with, or where you are starting from. Soil samples are our friends.

It has been a long road to garden recovery. We added truckloads of compost and tilled and tilled. We planted a cover crop.

And finally, mom is noticing she has turned the garden corner. All her vegetables are growing well. Flowers are thriving . Herbs are producing longer. Her harvests are giving bigger yields. Potatoes still aren’t back fully but are a far cry from the scabby messes she hauled out the first year, after the peat moss dust addition.

Momma still has problems like all gardeners do. Deer, mice and potato bugs mostly. But a net keeps the deer out and she try’s to stay on top of the bugs by frequent watering and picking . But she is feeling much happier overall with the health of her garden, for the first time in a few years.

I love momma’s little cottage garden. I think a little wrought iron bistro set would be perfect under the swallows house by the high bush blueberries, loaded with berries. A birthday gift perhaps ??

Her garden is perfect for tea with a friend, a stroll to pick produce and herbs for a summertime supper with friends and family.

Good garden DNA is a thing, and I’m glad I got it from both parents.

Love,

Jenn xx