The ancestors made their gardens only in the rich damp soils of the bottom lands around rivers and creeks.
My yard is mostly clay and sand and is well up the hill from a creek.
Growing most vegetables would require unsustainable and wasteful irrigation using water from the municipal water supply which is taken from the Chattahoochie River.
It doesn’t make sense to do that if the goal is to maximize biodiversity and habitat overall.
Instead of a garden with an emphasis on vegetables, the small patch of land around my house would be better used as a pollinator meadow that hosted many birds and insects.
Of course, Cherokee black beans would still be part of the meadow mix, as well as tiny tomatoes.
Why would you have a high-maintenance lawn intended to look like a golf course when you can have life itself?