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When you move to Panama, you can grow your own food if you want to. You can live a more self-sustaining lifestyle when you live to Panama.
Of course, fresh food is readily available at fruit & veggie stands or the grocery store if you’re not into gardening.
Sadly, some other countries restrict growing food on your property. But you will not have those problems in Panama.
Because Panama is only 9 degrees from the equator, the temperature is consistent all year. That also means that you can grow food all year!
The elevation in Panama will be the only restriction to what you can or cannot grow. Some foods will grow better in the highlands, and some will grow better in the lowlands in Panama.
See the video of the garden I had below. It’s at a 4600-foot elevation (1402 meters). My neighbor John manages the organic garden where we grow four kinds of lettuce, kale, swiss chard, zucchini, yellow squash, herbs, strawberries, blackberries, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, eggplant, carrots, cucumbers, green beans, onions, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and more.
We also have bananas, pumpkins, guava, oranges, limes, and mangoes on the property.
I also have hundreds of coffee plants but have let them go because they are very labor intensive. It’s just easier to buy coffee already processed and ready to brew.
As an experiment, I added hydroponic to part of the garden to compare growing some foods that way instead of in the ground. Hydroponics uses 90% less water, and there is no weeding!
I order all non-GMO seeds and send them to Panama using a mail-forwarding company.
A greenhouse protects plants from too much rain or wind, especially in the highlands. Instead of a greenhouse, you can also erect a cover for the plants to grow food all year!
We also have chickens which produce eggs every day. No permit is needed to set up a greenhouse, have a garden, or raise chickens in Panama. My neighbors have cows, goats, and pigs and a huge garden.
I have a lot of banana plants on my property, too! The problem with bananas is that you have 100 ripe bananas all at once. They are perfect for smoothies and banana bread, or I freeze them to make “nice cream” or dehydrate them for use later.
Some people have a rainwater catchment system too. Yes, you can catch rainwater in Panama!
There is potable water for the three houses on the property. It’s $100 a year/house for potable water. And I have agricultural (non-potable) water for the gardens. Ag water is about $100 a YEAR for unlimited use. So, even keeping your garden alive is more affordable in Panama!
Some people grow extra food to sell some for extra income. I do not sell any food grown on my property. But I do share with friends and neighbors.
This is a truly amazing greenhouse chock full of fabulous fresh veggies & fruit. We moved to Boquete & our rental doesn’t have space for a greenhouse but we’re growing tomatoes, cucumbers & green peppers in patio pots. We can move them out into the sun during the day & if it rains too much (during the rainy season), we move them under an awning. So it’s possible to grow a small garden here even if you’re a renter. Thank you for sharing your fabulous garden & chicken coop!
Hi Debbi, My husband an I are planning our first, brief trip to Panama in February. We are going to take a tour of either the Highlands area or the Azuero. I really want to be able to grow some of our own food and it seems the Highlands would be more suitable for this. Where do you live? Thanks for any tips! Laura
Hello, this is Jackie. I live in Boquete and grow food there.
I’m just coming across this article. This is a big interest for me. I am an avid gardener and would love to continue this practice when I move to Panama later this year. I am planning to move to the city and have not yet been to Boquete, but I hope to visit once I get settled. Thanks again for sharing. I would love to hear more about gardening in Panama!
Hello Alfreda. I’m glad you found us! In Panama City, you’ll mostly be doing container gardening. But you CAN grow food in Panama City too. There are also many excellent farmer’s markets in the City
When is the growing season, if not growing in a greenhouse?
You can grow food all year in Panama. But in the rainy season, you will need to provide some kind of cover for your plants or they could get mold rot.