From the very beginning we made simple gardens bordered by rotten tree trunks and used the rainforest soil and mulched with leaves or straw. Being on the edge of the forest they received a good balance of light & shade   The plants thrived, we grew tropical spinach, herbs, arrowroot (good for animal feed & grows fast !), sweet leaf, kumara (sweet potato),  aloe vera etc… and then as the gardens progressed I added cassava, cranberry hibiscus, moringa, passionfruit, brazilian cherry, lots of pawpaw, lemongrass etc…
I was generously given many beautiful tropical fruit trees including mango, lychee, black sapote, white sapote, longan, tamarind and jakfruit (yum !!!!) which I planted around the verge of the rainforest as well as about a dozen banana plants (cavendish & lady finger) and approx 20 coconut palms, down the driveway and around the house.

Someone must have ate a pawpaw here

About 2 months ago I started an online Horticulture / Permaculture Design Certificate Course, something I’d been wanting to do for such a long time and now I’m in the perfect situation to utilize what I’m learning as I go.  When I was young my parents bought me a little plastic house (in NZ), it was such a happy place pottering around down the bottom of the garden propagating cactus & succulents, yep such a nerd !!  

With all the plants I’ve put in here I’ve dosed with worm wee.  This is our main compost (although not for meat, citrus or onion scraps) and is so easy & convenient.  I add about a cup of worm wee to my watering can, especially with initial planting, and our kitchen scraps go in the top – the worms do the rest, clever little things !!