How do you start a garden on virtual villagers 2?

The first thing you do is fish in the ocean in the west. Make sure you have someone working on research. Sooner or later, the ocean will "run out of fish" (don't ask me why!) and your villagers will refuse to fish from there. Then, use the tech points your researcher(s) has accumulated to by the second level of farming (it costs 5000 tech points). Now your villagers can harvest coconuts from the palm trees in the north west corner. Eventually, your villagers will also stop harvesting coconuts. Your villagers can also build a dam in the stream in the east. Once they complete it, they will begin to grow crops. This is a steady, if limited, source of food. You can also get food by opening certain bags and crates in the Island Events, but be careful! Some of the bags and crates contain something that can harm your village.