Apologies for not blogging very often.  I only bog when I have something to report, and our lack of irrigation has been a 'road block' on the progress front. 

Thankfully, I can say that the irrigation drip hoses are now placed in our garden beds, the water then runs up to the olla's (pronounced oy-ya) which is really exciting for me!  It's great hearing the water filling up the pots. (See my previous post for details on what they are, if you need?).

Unfortunately there are two lengths of hose by the olla's because I didn't listen to hubby when he told me the direction the water would be coming from, so I ended up 'planting' the olla's in the wrong direction.  My version being that he wasn't clear on what he was trying to tell me, but at the end of the day he figured out a solution, until I can be bothered switching the end two olla's and reconnect the hose coming from the other end, so there is only one hose running through that garden bed (so it looks better and is more efficient).  I'm afraid everyone would have gone to sleep reading through that...so I'll move on!

The system so far seems to be working perfectly and I have transplanted the corn seedlings into place by the olla's as well as some pumpkins to grow up the arch, and peas to go up a metal frame (which I was determined to save from a trip to the dump). I am very glad I did as I can see it will be a valuable asset to help support plants in our garden, as well as adding visual interest.  

The pumpkins on the arch were supposed to be zucchini's (which are much lighter), but since the zucchini seeds did not grow, I am assuming the birds had them for lunch at some stage, and I have been watering and checking on dirt. :/ Hmmmm. The pumpkins look very sad at the moment because I literally just transplanted them yesterday, so they are still adapting to their new spot.  No doubt I will need to support the actual pumpkins once they start growing, which is fine. 

Anyway, the peas have been a nice surprise.  I had to pull out a full garden bed of peas as they all had black spots on them which I read was irreversible.  Hubby was really disappointed.  In the meantime random pea plants (which I did not plant) have been growing really well.  Due to posts that I've read here I realised they must have sprung up from the pea straw which I used on top? So I decided to dig them up, attach some wire netting up one wall of the metal frame and transplant them there.  They're looking pretty good so far, so here's hoping?

The next step will be to top up the dirt in all the beds a bit more, before finishing off with a new layer of straw.  The corn etc are planted in crappy soil, but I'm hoping they'll be tough and figure it out, and we will work towards improving it over time? (it can't get worse?!) Then also top with straw to preserve water.

We've realised we don't used a whole lot of coriander (which is flowering beautifully atm), so I will need to pull them out/transplant them somewhere else so I can plant capsicum plants which I have been growing in a container...then I can use the container for having a go at growing chilli! Hopefully I will be able to find where I put the chilli seeds?   Lol, I am enjoying the process.  I love having brekkie on the deck, looking at the garden, or having a cuppa on the garden seat etc.  Enjoying creating our piece of paradise.  I am currently sitting on bean bags under our lemon tree which overlooks our garden.  It is literally my favourite place to be in our garden, so I love it when the conditions are perfect for me to work on my laptop or rest, under the lemon tree.

Keep well everyone.  I'm loving seeing your pieces of paradise growing as well.