Ricen's Footpath garden

Because the land for this house is tiny I wanted to use every bit I could so why not that bit od sand out by the front footpath? Traditionally everyone in Australia has mown grass out the front. My philosophy- if you cant eat it why grow it-water and land are precious.
So
Mulched and mulched then planted 2 Locquat trees plus a load of spuds.
Now 3 months later.
One locquat tree is dead, the other going well but needing wind protection. Most of the potatoes are near dead- not quite but near. Seed potatoes rotted- they were in sand not mulch. I suspect winds off the sea loaded with salt? I don’t know!
Around the back of the house the same seed potatoes are doing well.
This week I have added water weed as more mulch. I am curious to see how the soil reacts.
I am trying to make the soil worm friendly so that the soil biota grows. I’m working the theory that if the soil improves and supports lots of life it will be good for growing plants.
It will be interesting to see the result