Our Cabbage Patch Tales

I say 'our' but it's not really mine in any way, I've just been drafted in by the missus to build the darned thing.  Don't get me wrong I quite enjoy a spot of gardening, especially in the warm (well, occasionally) summer months.  This is right up there with the getting back to nature activities one can carry out when it suits (mud wrestling with traffic wardens is another suitable organic past time).  Yes – I'm building and 'designing' (it's a small, square patch of land with a mini Vic Reeves'esque picket fence as it's boundary for crying out loud!) the thing but will hand over responsibility following the 'topping out' ceremony sometime this week.  Luckily we've had one of those compost bins for the past couple of years and as such, a healthy amount of good looking soil (if soil can ever be considered good looking).

It's almost complete as of writing.  I just need to rake and level the ground, pick out a few remaining sods of grass and then add the funny picket fence.  Then I guess the fun starts.  Staple vegetables will be the main clientèle for 'Good Life Island' as I've just this second named it...actually perhaps I can create a 'Welcome to....' sign as the icing on the cake.  I like that idea.  Thanks.

I'm personally up for a bit of Mediterranean veg growing: hot chilli's; peppers; courgettes; tomatoes etc.  I guess that requires some kind of greenhouse activity however.  I have spotted some mini tent like greenhouses in the local hardware/garden centres, so I may (even though I've vowed not to get involved bar the building of the thing) look into this.  Sat next to my herb patch (coriander, oregano, olive, bay and kiwi plants) I'd hope to reap some fine ingredients for a healthy, tasty and cost effective 'mealstyle'.

Can't guarantee this will work as we hope, but plenty of friends run successful plots on nearby allotments, something we could perhaps 'upgrade' to soon enough.

It's a long process so I'll be reporting back here on how it's going, hopefully providing tips, titbits, pit stops and pots and organic pips.