Lessons from Our Tiny Tropical Homestead: Growing Patience, Purpose, and a Little Bit of Food

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🌿 Our yard isn’t big. It’s a small patch of green tucked between city streets in San Juan—chickens scratching in the dirt, banana trees stretching over the fence, and two barefoot boys chasing each other while I try to hang laundry in the marquesina.

We’ve never had a full vegetable garden—just herbs in pots and the occasional tomato plant that may or may not survive—but somehow this tiny space has turned into one of my favorite teachers. What started as a way to feel a little more self-sufficient has become an ongoing lesson in motherhood, patience, and growth.

Because here’s the thing about trying to grow food (or humans): it never goes exactly how you plan, but it always grows you.

1. Growth Takes Time — and That’s Okay

When we first started, I thought we’d have baskets of fruits and vegetables within months. Instead, I’ve learned to celebrate one ripe tomato or a handful of herbs, reminding myself that everything in its own season. Seasons aren’t always predictable, either. The bananas take their sweet time, and the guanábana tree seems to grow on its own mysterious schedule.

It’s taught me to slow down—to trust that growth is happening even when I can’t see it. Some days, that lesson hits home harder in motherhood than in gardening.

Research even backs this up: spending time tending plants or being around green spaces helps lower stress and improve focus (Soga, Gaston, & Yamaura, 2017). Sometimes, five quiet minutes outside with the soil under my hands does more for my sanity than anything else. Digging in the garden helps me to dig in, in my other roles as mother, wife, and even employee. 

2. Nurturing Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Work

I’ve forgotten to water, overwatered, and had chickens dig up things I swore I’d protect. Still, somehow, life keeps growing.

Motherhood feels the same way. It’s not the days I do everything right that matter—it’s the days I keep showing up anyway, even when grumpy or overwhelmed.

Gardening has reminded me that nurturing doesn’t require perfection. Just presence. Research shows that caring for plants, even imperfectly, boosts emotional well-being and gives people a stronger sense of purpose (Clatworthy, Hinds, & Camic, 2013). Finding time and space to get my hands dirty and let my kids find joy in the dirt changes our attitudes and helps us grow together.

3. Nature Is the Best Teacher for Kids

Our backyard is basically a tiny science lab. The boys have learned how eggs are made, where food comes from, and that patience can’t be rushed. They’ve seen bananas appear out of nowhere after months of nothing and felt the excitement of picking guanábana spiky and still warm from the sun.

Slugs, caracoles, spiders, lizards are part of our yard and ecosystem. Compost helps the soil. Seeds grow. These are all things we are learning daily. 

Children who spend regular time in nature show stronger attention spans, less stress, and better social behavior (Chawla, 2015; Wells & Evans, 2003). Watching them outside, I see it—it’s like the air itself makes them calmer, more curious, more alive.

4. The Mess Is Part of the Magic

Chickens escape. Compost smells. Fruit overripens faster than I can use it. The mess drives me crazy—and yet, it’s all part of the magic. (I don’t always treat it that way.)

Motherhood is the same way. The noise, the spills, the exhaustion—they’re all signs of life in motion. And just like dirt, the mess can actually be good for us. Studies suggest that exposure to soil microbes boosts immune health and reduces stress (Rook, 2013). So maybe that pile of muddy shoes by the door and dirty dishes in the sink is just good science.

5. Small Spaces Still Grow Big Things

I used to think we needed land to grow “real food.” Al and I still dream about a little house with space in the campo. But even in our little San Juan yard, we’ve got bananas, parcha, guanábana, piña, sugar apple, granada, mango, avocado, quenepa, aloe, herbs, and tropical plum. And the occasional tomato that refuses to quit. Our vegetable garden is in progress. I’m excited to add to our list!

Native and adapted tropical plants are more than just practical—they’re powerful. They support biodiversity, pollinators, and local ecosystems while needing less care (Tallamy, 2019).

We are continuing to reach out to gardeners in the area, visiting botanical gardens, and researching to ensure that we aren’t just creating our own corner of paradise, but adding to our local ecosystem as well.

🍌 Bonus Lesson: Nothing Goes to Waste

Our little homestead runs in circles: scraps go to the chickens, what they don’t eat goes to the compost, and that compost feeds the soil that grows more food. It’s simple, imperfect sustainability.

Even research agrees—home composting reduces waste, lowers emissions, and improves soil quality (Bernstad Saraiva Schott & Wenzel, 2014). And it doesn’t have to be complicated. We have a compost Tupperware with a very tight seal that sits in our kitchen. During the week, we fill it with scraps. When it’s full, we find a spot to bury it in the garden, wash the Tupperware, and begin the process again. 

Simple. Imperfect. Sustainable.

And in a bigger sense, I think that’s motherhood too. The hard days, the mistakes, the exhaustion—it all breaks down into something that nourishes us later.

6. Growing Where You’re Planted

This tiny backyard has taught me more about life than I expected. About patience. About imperfection. About how growth doesn’t have to be grand to be meaningful.

We may not have a “real” farm. But we have fruit, laughter, and lessons that keep feeding us in more ways than one.

Are you a gardener? Farmer? Could you share anything you’ve learned?

🌿 Sources (APA 7th Edition)

Bernstad Saraiva Schott, A., & Wenzel, H. (2014). Environmental assessment of household waste prevention, reuse and recycling – A review. Waste Management, 34(12), 2469–2480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.08.019


Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of nature contact for children. Journal of Planning Literature, 30(4), 433–452. https://doi.org/10.1177/0885412215595441


Clatworthy, J., Hinds, J., & Camic, P. M. (2013). Gardening as a mental health intervention: A review. Mental Health Review Journal, 18(4), 214–225. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-02-2013-0007


Rook, G. A. (2013). Regulation of the immune system by biodiversity from the natural environment: An ecosystem service essential to health. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(46), 18360–18367. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1313731110


Soga, M., Gaston, K. J., & Yamaura, Y. (2017). Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis. Preventive Medicine Reports, 5, 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.007


Tallamy, D. W. (2019). Nature’s best hope: A new approach to conservation that starts in your yard. Timber Press.


Wells, N. M., & Evans, G. W. (2003). Nearby nature: A buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and Behavior, 35(3), 311–330. https://doi.org/

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