I just returned from a trip to Puerto Rico. While staying in Luquillo, I noticed a little garden patch of tomatoes in one yard. It got me thinking, “Wow, you could probably grow a lot of your own veggies down here!”
Looking into a tropical permaculture site, I found most of the veggies we grow in our gardens all summer would do fine there grown in the winter months. Giving your plants some afternoon shade, you could grow:
- tomatoes
- eggplant
- peppers
- beans
- squash
- chard
- leaf lettuce
- okra (something I usually associate with the South anyway)
- Herbs: basil, parsley, rosemary
All of these common to our Northern gardens. (Side note: I would miss growing garlic.)
The best part of tropic growing, is that during the summer, you can have fruit trees and avocado that can take the heat and rains. Flavors like vanilla, hibiscus, and ginger would thrive too. Seems like this dude has figured it out!
Permaculture is all about working with nature, not forcing things. If you compost, and water deeply in the morning, I think some serious success stories would unfold.