The vegetable garden in the tropics - Journey to Forever

20cm, with a slightly rounded form: enough to let the surplus water
flow away, but not enough to let the earth be washed away. In the rainy
season it is sometimes useful to put stones, bamboo sticks or plaited
palm leaves around the edge of the beds to prevent erosion.
Figure 8: Different beds
It should be noted here that in several countries vegetables are grown on
ridges. This is especially suitable for the cultivation of big plants such
as maize, eggplant and melon, and on soils with poor drainage.
5.6 Fences
It is worth making fences to protect your crops against animals and the
wind. You can make a fence from solid sticks, live stakes (see below),
thorny branches, palm leaf-stalks, bamboo or barbed wire (expensive!).
It might be a good idea to enclose the garden with branches to keep the
vegetables out of sight of hungry animals.
If you want to plant a live hedge, use some of the following plants
spaced close together:
? shrubs and trees, such as the drumstick tree, which has edible leaves
and of which you plant 1m high cuttings.
? sisal, which gives very good protection and is suitable for the savanna;
plant bulbils in double zigzag rows, about 50cm apart.
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The vegetable garden in the tropics