My garden is a 4 year old food garden at a rental property. The backyard used to be a twist of out of control bougainvillea and lawn, but within the first three months I clipped the bougainvillea back for planting a veggie garden. Since then, I’ve worked within the limitations of renting and planted a mix of annual and perennial edibles with quails that give me eggs and manure.
Over the seasons, I’ve learned that the annuals don’t survive the extreme summer heat, while the perennials remain unscathed. Against my original intentions, I began planting more and more fruit trees in the ground, and their growing shade is now helping to protect the rest of the garden. If I owned this property, I would add swales, rainwater tanks, and other permanent structures to create a better microclimate for the vegetables.
