Reviving the lost art of self-reliance, one small step at a time
Garden fresh tomatoes are hard to beat for flavor.
Oh, who doesn’t love fresh tomatoes straight out of the garden?! They are so much more flavorful than the pink orbs available at the grocery store. If there’s one crop that is a must have in most gardens, tomatoes is it.
Tomatoes are easy to grow in most parts of North America. Sadly, not so here in the islands. My success with tomatoes here pales in comparison to the crops I’ve harvested in the past, thanks to humidity and fruit flies. If you’ve got the right conditions for growing fresh tomatoes, rejoice in eating them straight off the vine, and have an extra one for me.
Here you’ll find details on growing tomatoes, from planting techniques to growing them upside-down, and using tomatoes in your kitchen.
Fair warning, though: Adding a tomato plant to your garden may start you down a path from which you will never return, as you try new varieties each year, ever in search of the tomato with the best flavor.
This tomato chutney recipe is one of my favorite ways to preserve an abundant tomato crop from the vegetable garden. It’s sweet & tangy & full of flavor.
Make this Sweet and Savory Tomato Chutney to Preserve the HarvestRead More
This simple salsa recipe is a good “beginner” recipe for home canning. Canning salsa is one of our favorite ways to preserve the summer tomato bounty.
Make This Home Canned Salsa from Garden Fresh Tomatoes and PeppersRead More
Tomatoes are a staple for most gardeners and for the most part, they’re pretty easy to grow. But knowing how to plant tomatoes properly will give them a very solid start.
The Best Way to Plant Tomatoes for a Bountiful HarvestRead More
Growing a veggie garden with the intention of feeding your family? You need to know how much to plant. It’s not an exact science, but this will help!
Growing Roma tomatoes nets a meatier, less seedy variety of tomato, perfect for cooking up into thick, rich sauces or for dehydrating to stock your pantry.
Growing Flavorful Roma Tomatoes for Cooking and Home CanningRead More
Growing tomatoes in pots is a great way to generate a crop in a small garden space. Here, the best way to plant tomatoes, the best soil for tomatoes, and how to maintain plants for success! You can plant any kind of tomato in a container. But if you’re planting tomatoes in pots or growing …
These vegetable crops are fast to mature. This means that even if you’re starting late, you can still harvest a crop this year.
12+ of the Fastest Growing Crops for Your Vegetable GardenRead More
This fresh garden salsa is a summertime treat. Memorize these five ingredients; you’ll never need a salsa recipe again. Nothing makes salsa as good as fresh ingredients from the garden. This fresh garden salsa will become your favorite way to use up the summer abundance of fresh tomatoes.
Give some of these canning recipes a try to preserve your summertime abundance. They’re a great way to utilize local crops to stock your real food pantry.
Canning Recipes to Preserve the Summertime Garden AbundanceRead More
A hanging tomato planter is easy to make at home. Here’s how to transform a 5-gallon bucket into a DIY upside-down tomato planter for a vertical garden.
Upside-Down Tomatoes — Grow Vertically to Save Space!Read More
This green tomato chow chow relish is excellent as a condiment for meats, on hamburgers, and even as an appetizer with crackers.
Chow Chow Recipe: Green Tomato Relish for the PantryRead More
