I spent several hours putting out separate 'drip' irrigation setups today.  I had drawn some rough plans, did some measurements and today we stopped by Mitre10 Mega to pick up some supplies.  I picked up 2 'starter kits' and it had just enough tubing for each section.  I need to get some more barb connectors to finish connecting bits and bobs, and want to get a few more drippers and a few more 360 degree sprayers.  I also need to exchange the "nut/tail" connector caps and end caps --I got 19mm instead of 13mm on accident.  And I might pick up some more 4mm piping.   It's already cost $141NZ but I really think it's worth the investments we have in the plants and the food we'll be saving on in the next several years.

Since most my plants are in pots spread thoughout the garden I couldn't really put one main hose down through the whole garden,  too much of a tripping hazard.   But I did lay out 4 main lines to cover most the garden.  There are 3 areas I haven't covered & 5 pots.  2 of these I'll use a soaker hose on because they're mostly in the ground, one area will be done by sprinkler.  The 5 pots I'll cover with regular hose watering.   It will be a big change from the haphazard watering I have done in the past.  I've already got plants suffering and with my current work hours and having to do more cooking I just won't be able to cover them all even if I tried.  I can still suplement-water with worm tea and tank water, but this way I can give them good soaks with minimal water loss and splash (maybe less powdery mildew on the plants this year??).

And I picked up 2 big bags of Tui's Pelletised Pea Straw.  This stuff is good, I've used some already and when I dug into the soil in one of the pots with it in, the soil was moist (compared to dry without).  http://www.tuigarden.co.nz/show.php?pageid=38  When I finish off the drip stuff tomorrow I'll give the plants a good drink and put some more of the pellets down.  They swell up and then 'harden' again, forming a nice layer on top of the soil that keeps it moist.  The only prob is that the ducks eat anything pellet-like.  This includes sheep pellets and pea pellets.  And speaking of, with the pellets on top I put my sheep pellets and other fertilisers in the hole around the plant trunk since I don't put the straw pellets right up against the plants to prevent rot.

It should take me a couple hours to a few hours tomorrow to finish the rest of the drip irrigation and maybe another hour to soak and lay the pellets (soaking so they expand & the ducks don't eat them).  I might leave placing the straw pellets until next weekend.

I hope this will make the garden happier and healthier this year.

ETA: I think I found a solution to my Romanesco Broccoli problem.  The problem is I planted Romanesco Broccoli not realising the plants get up to 3 feet.  I planted them in a small green plastic 'trough'.  This is fine at the mo since they are seedlings but they're going to be wanting more room and soil SOON.  www.tuigarden.co.nz/show.php  Those baggie things are a really really cool idea.  I think the broccoli would do well in there and the spinaches and lettuces and silverbeet would all prefer those to the shallow green plastic troughs I put them in.