Epic Gardening

Harvests are starting to kick into high gear at the Epic Homestead... 🐔🥚🐟🥕🍅🧅

FYI: You don't HAVE to wait until your tomatoes are vine-ripe to harvest them. If you have issues with pests munching on your tommies, try harvesting when they're about 50% ripe. This is called the breaker stage - at this point the flavor is pretty much locked in, BUT they'll last way longer in the kitchen due to harvesting a bit early. Pests also won't be as attracted at this stage, so you'll save more tomatoes. Pro tip: When you store your tomatoes, flip them upside down - they'll last even longer this way!

Here's how to harvest #herbs and get MORE from your plants. Basically, it all boils down to understanding how that particular herb develops new growth. In the case of basil, it tends to have a main stem that produces side shoots that help the plant bush out. By harvesting just above those side shoots, you'll encourage more bushy growth. Harvest BELOW and you have a weird dying stick floating at the top of your basil. For plants like chives or green onions, the lawnmower technique works well. Just cut a few inches off of the top, making sure not to cut into the central growth point too far down on the plant. For herbs like thyme and oregano, they tend to 'creep' along the surface of the soil and they're quite prolific, so it's hard to go wrong. But we like to cut stems down to the base to keep the plant a bit more manicured, then re-root the tips of those cuttings if we want more of that #herb in the garden.

These two 🍓 tips have helped us grow bigger, better strawberries for a longer amount of time in the season. First, removing #strawberry flowers. It sounds counterintuitive, but it works...IF you do it right. First off, you have to know what type of strawberry you have: June bearing or everbearing. For June bearing strawberries, remove flowers until the beginning of May, then stop. This allows them to grow more leaves to dedicate more energy to flower production in June through July, when these types produce. For everbearing #strawberries, you can prune flowers off for a bit longer, up until mid to late May. Next up, runners. You don't HAVE to remove these, but if you're growing in a vertical system like we are in this video, there's no point in keeping them. They won't root and propagate into new strawberry plants since they're hanging in air, so just take them off. You can toss in some water and root them to make new plants for next season, though!

If you forget to harvest your artichoke, don't worry - it produces one of the most beautiful flowers you'll see in your edible veggie garden. Artichokes are a thistle, and as such have the characteristic thistle-esque flower head. But in this case, it's a GORGEOUS purpleish blue hue that bees go crazy for. You can't eat your #artichoke at this point, but it sure is pretty to gawk at.

How to grow so much #squash you get sick of harvesting them. When I have too many, I personally leave a few on @jacquesinthegarden’s doorstep... he doesn't mind 😉

Replying to @liltatersss Harvesting rosemary is similar to harvesting basil and other leafy herbs. Either cut 6-8" of a stem off, right above a growth node, or trace the stem back to the base of the plant and remove the entire stem to shape the overall rosemary bush. You can also root the tips of rosemary in soil and create awesome gifts for family and friends with nearly zero effort! #garden

Ditch the yearly replanting and add these garden MVPs to your lineup for a repeat performance! BORAGE: Pollinators can’t resist these pretty blue blooms. Let a couple plants go to seed and you’ll have a fresh batch next season. Pro tip: Toss the flowers in your summer cocktails for a cool cucumber twist. MINT: This hardy herb is a perennial powerhouse in pots or garden beds. Pro tip: Contain mint’s enthusiastic spread by planting in a sunken pot. SUNFLOWERS: Not all sunflowers stick around, but varieties like ‘Maximillian’ and ‘Lemon Queen’ will brighten up your garden year after year. Pro tip: Leave seed heads standing in fall for a bird buffet and bonus seedlings next spring. Drop your favorite comeback plants in the comments!

Ever seen these funky little green balls on your potato plants? 👀🥔 They're called potato berries, and they're actually the fruit of the potato plant. Most varieties don't produce berries, but when they do, it means the plant is putting energy into making seeds instead of plumping up those delicious tubers underground. While potato berries may look tempting, they're not good eats - they contain solanine, which can cause stomach issues. 😣 Stick to harvesting the tasty spuds below ground instead. Want to level up your #potato growing game? Give us a follow for more in-depth tips and tricks to help you grow the most epic potato harvest ever.

Our potatoes got hit by blight, so we decided to harvest early - still got some carbohydrate goodness! BTW - According to our potato farmer friend @Potato Ty you CAN eat a green potato, but 1.) It's not that great and 2.) There can be some mild effects that are unpleasant...so don't bother!

This technique changed our squash game this season. Squash tend to sprawl all over the place, which is tough if you're a small space grower. They also get hit HARD by powdery mildew and vine borers, which growing vertically helps prevent due to increased airflow and visibility on the plant. Plus... it just looks cool - would you try this?

We planted too many #beets this year, so I gave Paul $1 for every pound he harvested. Most of these were donated to a local farmstand! Beets are AMAZING roasted and cubed into salads, if you're looking for a way to enjoy your harvest. I used to hate them as a kid, now I can't get enough of them with some lettuce, pickled onions, goat cheese, and a handful of your favorite nuts.

Every so often, you have a hen that won't stop brooding! This technique SEEMS harsh, but is extremely effective in breaking broodiness. The other Epic Thickies in the flock tend to get frustrated at Butter when she's broody, and they also start laying eggs all around the coop and run. It causes a lot of drama. So this is the trade-off we make to keep everyone in the flock happy. We also make sure to let her into the hen house at night so she's not sleeping outdoors!

It's #garlic harvest time. 🧄 Here's how to dig up and cure your garlic crop for long-term storage: First, check if your garlic is ready. Soft neck varieties will have yellowing and drooping leaves, while hard necks will have brown and papery wrappers. Gently loosen the soil and pull up your bulbs. Brush off excess dirt but don't rinse - you want to keep the papery skins intact! Tie the garlic in bundles and leave them in a cool, shaded spot with good air circulation. Hard neck varieties can be cured with the stalks on, but trim the leaves of soft necks to an inch above the bulb. Bonus tip: Soft neck garlic tends to store longer (6-8 months), while hard necks have a stronger flavor and are better for short-term use or roasting. 🤤 Leave your garlic to cure for 2-4 weeks until the wrappers are dry and papery. Then trim the roots, remove the outer skins, and store in a cool, dark place. Want more garlic growing secrets? Follow along for tips on planting, fertilizing, and harvesting the most epic allium crops! 🌿 @jacquesinthegarden

#ad Much of the common wisdom around watering is either untrue or incomplete. As it's one of the most essential parts of your garden's care, learn what myths you should stop believing! And if you're in the market for watering tools, we recommend Hoselink's award-winning and reliable hose connections. They're all over our garden and make watering dramatically easier - check them out at www.hoselink.com #ad

Should you prune your #pepper plants? This advice has been spread around for ages, and honestly - we've done it as well. But we don't anymore, for a few reasons: First, what is "topping"? It's a weirdly-phrased way to describe snipping the growing tip off of your pepper plants when they're young to force lower branching, creating more foliage and theoretically more peppers. While it CAN work, we'd only use it in one specific scenario: If you have a long, warm growing season, it's early in the season, and the pepper you're topping produces small peppers in large amounts. Think a Thai chili, or a shishito. We wouldn't do it with a large pepper like a bell, or in a short season - there's just not enough time to "make up the difference" when you chop the top off. What do you think - do you top?

What would you make for dinner with this harvest?

Did you know potato flowers lead to berries? They’re not for snacking though; but they signal that fresh potatoes are coming. Harvest early for a treat or wait for full size. Here’s a tip: when the foliage dies back completely, wait 2 weeks before digging. This helps them last even longer in the pantry. So let nature do its thing, then dig in. 🥔

Growing grapes is easier than you think! We're trying Flame Seedless grapes in our San Diego, Zone 10b garden. You need to give them something to climb up, and ideally a spot with a lot of sun. For us, that means a north-facing fence, supported by a wire trellis system we picked up from a local nursery. The first year of your grapes' life is all about setting up structure. Train the vines along the trellis, filling them out and pruning off any shoots that aren't along the fence. Follow along for our first huge harvest of the season!

Though corn is one of the most grown crops in the USA, few people know how it ACTUALLY grows! When corn gets to a certain size, it produces tassels, the male part of the plant. These are at the top of the corn stalk. Below, little ears of corn start to form and silks, the female part, peek out of the top. The tassels and silks work together in a fascinating dance to create perfect ears of corn. The tassels are rustled by wind, releasing grains of pollen that - with any luck - land on the silks and travel down them, into the ear to pollinate an individual kernel of corn. So if you've ever seen a weird looking ear with missing kernels, you know it's a pollination issue! This is why corn is planted in blocks, to maximize the chance that each silk is hit with pollen.