Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.If you have ever bitten into a bland supermarket tomato and thought, “This doesn’t taste right,” you're not imagining it. After years of growing tomatoes in my garden, I often find myself thinking about them during the off-season...
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.Over the past two decades, solar lights have gone from a novelty to a common garden decoration. Thanks to advancements in solar panel efficiency and LED technology, they’re now a practical, affordable, and eco-friendly option for outdoor...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.A Tomato Hornworm (pictured below) is a large green caterpillar that feeds on tomato plants and later transforms into a moth that lays eggs, continuing the cycle of garden damage. They're one of the most infamous pests for home...
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.Cross-pollination occurs when pollen from one plant is transferred to the flowers of another plant, usually by insects, wind, or animals. It only affects the genetic makeup of the seeds and not the fruit in the year that cross...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.I recently had a frustrating experience in the garden. My tomatillo plant looked healthy, had tons of flowers - both male and female - and yet no fruit.I assumed it would pollinate itself just like my tomatoes do. But after some digging,...
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.This year in my garden, I decided to grow several varieties of eggplant I had never tried before. Many of them were chosen with my wife Kyrié in mind - she’s half Japanese and loves cooking with eggplants that work well in Asian dishes,...
Kimchi is a common traditional Korean and Japanese side dish that consists of fermented cabbage and other vegetables that are seasoned with Korean chili flakes (known as gochugaru).Think of it like the Asian version of sauerkraut - but in my opinion, way better....
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.This year, I grew napa cabbage for my wife, Kyrié, who loves making kimchi, a spicy, fermented Korean dish she grew up eating as a half-Japanese kid. I also grew up eating it thanks to my two Korean sisters. Now, making kimchi is...
Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.If you want your garden to have peak production you may want to swap out older, worn-out plants for new plants!Additionally, you may have space that opens after harvesting part of your crops.In both of these cases, succession planting is...
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.
