Saving seeds from your garden is one of the most rewarding ways to bring gardening full circle. It allows you to preserve your favorite varieties, save money, and grow plants that are better adapted to your local growing conditions. That being said, saving your own...
Canning is the classic method for preserving tomatoes, but here’s the catch: to make canning worth the time and effort, you usually need a large harvest all at once.Gathering enough tomatoes, prepping them, sterilizing equipment, and spending hours over a hot stove...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Pruning tomato plants correctly can do wonders for your garden. It boosts your harvest, improves airflow around the plant, and helps prevent common diseases like blight and powdery mildew.But before you start snipping away, it’s...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Tomato flowers are self-pollinating, but they still need movement to release pollen. This can come naturally from buzzing bees or wind. However, conditions may not be ideal in various situations that include, gardening indoors or not...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Blossom-end rot is one of the most frustrating issues for gardeners growing tomatoes, peppers, squash, and some other vegetables. It can ruin a significant portion of your harvest, and because the damage often appears after the fruit has...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.When planning a garden, one of the most common questions is whether to grow heirloom or hybrid vegetables.Both have their own strengths, weaknesses, and ideal growing situations. In this blog post, I'll explain what sets the two apart...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Upside-down gardening sounds great in theory. Theoretically it can: save space, reduce pests, improve airflow, make harvesting easier, and keep produce cleaner by growing plants suspended off the ground. It flips the script on...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Tomatoes are self-pollinating, which means each flower contains both male and female parts. However, that doesn’t mean they’ll pollinate themselves without a little help. The most common ways they'll pollinate naturally are through wind,...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.If you’ve ever struggled to get a good tomato harvest (especially during hot, dry summers) hand-pollination might be the secret weapon you’ve been missing. Even though hand-pollination goes above and beyond what the average gardener...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Tomatoes are one of the most rewarding and popular crops to grow in a home garden. Their flavor, versatility in the kitchen, and wide variety make them a favorite for beginners and seasoned gardeners alike. They definitely are a personal...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Buying vegetable transplants from a nursery or garden center is a great way to jump-start your growing season. These young plants, often called “starts,” save you the time and effort of germinating seeds indoors or waiting for them to...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Starting seeds outdoors is an exciting time of the year!It's amazing how quickly vegetables spring to life with the right weather conditions. Additionally, it's so nice to not have to harden off plants that are started outside.This guide...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Roots might be out of sight, but they’re the most important part of a healthy plant.Understanding how roots develop during early growth can make all the difference when you're starting seeds or transplanting young plants. It’s not just...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.Caring for little seedings sometimes feels like taking care of a baby because they can also be fragile and hard to read. Too much water can drown the seedling’s roots or cause disease, while too little can stunt their growth or cause...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.As many of you know, my favorite garden vegetable/fruit to grow are tomatoes.I’m sure many of you have used the classic cone-shaped wire trellises. Unfortunately, they don’t work that well for tomatoes. There are several types of...
Jeff has a deep passion for gardening. Each year, he cultivates hundreds of pounds of vegetables—along with the occasional fruit—turning his garden into a thriving and productive space. Combined with Kyrié’s cooking, together, they create exciting meals using Jeff’s harvest.
