Progress out in the Garden - Complete with photos of course :)

So far things outside have been a little up & down, I'm sure that's not uncommon, especially for a pair of inexperienced permies like myself & Eli. However we are persisting, & we're both confident that over time we'll be successful with most (if not all) the things we're trying to grow ]: )
The main issue where we are is poor soil, it seems a little compacted, clay heavy, lacking in organic matter, has pretty average drainage, etc. The yard has been bare for many years, mostly just grass & common 'weed' species (which I have learned give clues to the issues with the soil) As a result our present aim is to improve the soil as quickly as possibly. Our main techniques so far have been compost, worm tea (not enough castings yet) & support plant species. Given that this is really our first major attempt at gardening I'm pretty pleased with how things are going.
So far the plants we've had the most success with are snow peas, potatoes, salad greens, choko & daikon. The strawberries, cabbage & onions are ok too. The carrot seeds unfortunately never made it, & the watermelon was a no show ]:( However, recently I did buy a significant number of new seeds, so adding some diversity should (hopefully) really help :)
Today I also began using Fukuoka's seed ball technique (or something similar anyway) so I'm very anxious to see whether it will be successful... only time will tell :/


Photos -->

Both the chokos are going strong. We started these by basically

burying a whole choko, & both were successful & sprouted :D

I love these squiggly vines, they remind me of the long curly cord

on those chunky old telephones <3

My father gave me some random beans, I planted a couple & both

sprouted lovely shoots, this is one, which I have planted next to

some Rosemary. They are companion plants (or so I read) so I'm

hoping they do well next to each other :)

Salads-a-plenty \:D/ & so very tasty .___.

One of the many pea shoots that have sprouted from seeds within

the pea straw covering the beds. I'm pretty much just letting them

do their thing, & I'm glad I did, they're starting to flower, & this

one caught & held some of last nights heavy rain, very beautiful!

And and and! our very first snow pea! /'XD\

Officially this is really our first vegetable (aside from lettuce)

Having grown virtually everything from seed & in soil that's not

the best, I was really excited to spot this lovely little thing :)

Here's hoping we start seeing a lot more produce very soon ^___^

I always seem to have heaps to do out in the garden, loads more seeds to sow, compost to make, photos to take, it's keeping me very busy, & I feel like I'm learning a lot by finally being hands on, up to this point most of what I know has come from books or the internet. I'm starting to understand little things that didn't quite sink in when I'd read it, & I've also gained new perspective, a lot of things I had previously considered to be annoying or useless I can now see as being the opposite 'X)
Getting outside & becoming involved in gardening using permaculture techniques has been amazing, I'm really glad I've had the opportunity to do it, & I really hope that permaculture spreads & more people get started growing food using these techniques. It's certainly making me very happy, & soon I'll have some lovely fresh vegetables to eat & share :)


Definitely time for bed!
More tomorrow,
Ja ne...