Pipe Down

With the patio was completed, the next job on the list was the vegetable garden.
As you can see there was a portion of the old concrete that we kept.

We had so many pavers left over from the patio that Hubby thought it a good idea to use them to build the vegetable planter. Just in case you are wondering, we took out some of the concrete inside the planter area so the water would drain into the ground.

Now it was time to mix in some compost into the clay soil we have here in So Cal.

And lay down the irrigation system.

Hubby set up three watering areas. There 's the main area (seen previously) which will be planted with tropical plants. Then there's the small English flower garden (bottom area above) which is separated from the main area by a paved section. And lastly the vegetable garden above.

We will be putting down soaker hoses linked to taps attached to the white pipes you can see sticking up.

Each tap will be opened up according to the level of water it's particular area needs.

If we want to isolate an area we can turn a tap off so it doesn't get any water, or turn it open more to give it more water. We did it this way because the main area is divided into a very sunny and a very shady area, while the flower bed and veggie garden get full sun.
Oh and the pile of wood is from remodeling the house is and is slowly getting burned at the beach. Once it is gone that area will be home to a herb garden of some kind.

This is the central control tap. From here we can turn on the tap to water all three areas with their differing needs from one place. As you can see from the curly hose, we can also supplement with some spot watering.
Overall the garden area is very small so adjusting the system is not a difficult job.
A timer and sprinklers might have been easier but in this small a garden area we thought sprinklers might cause a lot of over-spray wasting water.
Almost ready to plant!