Growing outside of the UK - Costa Rica

[sitarable]

Hi,
I hope I'm posting in the right section.

I have just moved to Costa Rica and would love to get some advice about growing my own vegetables and herbs. I have started a load of veg and herbs off in pots and most of them are coming up slowly but surely.

I am wondering about if I should plant them in the little garden space I have or not. As you can imagine, Costa Rica gets lots of warm sun but also lots of rain at the moment because it is the rainy season. The rain recently has been extremely heavy and there has been a lot of it so I am wondering if I should plant my tomatoes and basil in the soil, at the moment the pots are sheltered outside.

My tomatoes are doing quite well (6-7 inches tall if quite a few bigish leaves) but I am worried about whether the intense rain will damage them (when it rains here it really really rains) from the shear force of the it. Also, I'm not sure about placement, my little patch has quite high walls so it doesn't get sun all day, although it does get a fair amount of light (diffused I suppose). Should I plant them in the sunniest spot?

Same goes for basil. I have just bought a plant (I needed some straight away) and have read that I should plant it next to tomatoes. So should I plant this where it will get a lot of rain and water or should I have it in a more sheltered part? The soil never seems to dry out here, probably due to the high humidity, so I don't want them to get too much water, if this is possible.

The rainy season is due to finish in a month or so and we should be getting lots of hot sunny days. Should wait to plant until the heavy rain has gone?

I also have pepper, jalapenos, aubergine and beetroot growing so any tips for these would be great.

As for mint, I really want to get lots of this growing. Will it grow well anywhere? Does it need lots of water or direct sunlight or can i place it in some of the more sheltered spaces?

Thanks for any advice you can give me and I can't wait to read your replies.

[Thomas W]

Originally Posted by sitarable

... My tomatoes are doing quite well (6-7 inches tall if quite a few bigish leaves) but I am worried about whether the intense rain will damage them (when it rains here it really really rains) from the shear force of the it. ...

Here's a photo from New Orleans. It looks like the tomatoes are protected by a small roof:

Raised Bed | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Originally Posted by sitarable

... Also, I'm not sure about placement, my little patch has quite high walls so it doesn't get sun all day, although it does get a fair amount of light (diffused I suppose). Should I plant them in the sunniest spot? ...

I think that would be fine. I grow tomatoes outdoors beneath south-facing walls and it works really well, but then again, I'm way up north.

[MatthewWilliam]

Okay, I grew Tomatoes, Potatoes, Onions, Basil and Chiles, the tomatoes worked out best, then basil. the rest were a bit crap really.