Have you ever taken a bite from a garden fresh tomato and had the joyful experience of flavors bursting on your tongue? What about biting into a fresh summer peach and having the juices drip down your chin while the sweet flavors explode in your mouth? This blog is about easily creating these experiences for yourself and your family.

Finding the freshest and best tasting produce for you and your family is easier than you think! Food that has traveled the shortest distance from point A (harvesting) to point B (your table) is not only better for the environment, but more importantly tastes so much more flavorful. Some research also shows that the local, seasonal foods can contain twice the amount of some nutrients!  I will explain how growing just one tomato plant can be a nutritious, flavorful and possibly even transformative experience. I will also include easy ways to grow other vegetables and herbs. Lastly, I will show how supporting local farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) can help sustain the local farm-to-table movements as well as provide you and your family with the best tasting and nutritious fresh foods.

My maternal grandparents lived through the depression and knew about not having enough to eat. Each year they planted and maintained the most beautiful and impressive “backyard” garden I have ever experienced—even to this day. So many long rows of each plant. Visiting them in the summer when we were young, provided me with my first experiences of eating fresh parsley, carrots, green peas, cucumbers, lettuce and green beans. I’m talking about picking it and eating it while still standing in the garden! These early experiences were the foundation of my current lifestyle and fueled my desire to create this website.

Both in San Jose and Golden, I have planted Swiss chard, zucchini, tomatoes, chives and parsley. In both locations I have been fortunate to have neighbors who raise chickens so I can purchase fresh eggs. Several times I will take a photo of the just picked items and then the meal that I create from it, just for my own remembrance. Any waste from the meal is composted. I feel very connected to Mother Earth in those moments and thoroughly enjoy the flavors and colors of my real-life farm-to-fork meal. 

Ever since I experienced my grandparents’ garden in Wisconsin, eating fresh tomatoes has become a necessity. In every home I’ve lived in since 1984 I have planted at least one tomato plant each summer. It can be so easy and there is absolutely no comparison between the flavor of store-bought and your own garden-fresh tomatoes.

My current neighbors and I share a garden box where I will plant one heirloom tomato variety, at least one cherry tomato plant and one “early girl” or Roma variety. If I was only going to plant one tomato plant I would pick a cherry tomato because they are easy to harvest and eat or put in salads. Sweet 100s are my favorites because it truly is like eating candy when you pop them in your mouth. As a side note, Sweet 1000s are also very good, but their smaller size makes it so much more work when picking. 

I love having grandkids and neighbor kids come over and ask if they can have some tomatoes. Watching them pick and consume this treasure brings me full circle to me in my grandparent’s garden.

My final tomato recommendation is to purchase the largest tomato plant you can afford. My reasoning is the tomatoes need sun, water and time. A larger plant requires less time before your first harvest. A small plant or seedling can take several months of extra time to produce its fruit. Since I’ve been waiting since the end of last season (usually September) for garden tomatoes, I want them sooner.

Basil, parsley and chives are very easy to grow indoors or outdoors. In the summertime, many grocery store produce areas will have live herbs in small plastic pots. This makes it convenient to purchase and plant for your own consumption. Again, when making a meal, cutting the herbs as you need them keeps them full of flavor and they release fresh aromas. My grandsons fight over who gets to snip the herbs needed for our meals together, when I have some to harvest.

Have you every purchased lettuce, green onions or watercress with the roots still attached? Once you are finished harvesting the greens, plant the roots with an inch of stalk into some potting soil. Soon you will have regrowth!

I start my gardens, herbs and other plants with the best intentions for regular watering, weeding, etc. Life happens and neglected plants often die. I have found that purchasing “self-watering” containers makes my forgetfulness more forgiving. Now anytime I purchase a pot for a plant, it must have self-watering capabilities. This allows me to fill up the water reserves and “forget” about watering for many days, depending on the outdoor temperature.

Did you know you can grow your own mushrooms in less than two weeks? A company called Back to the Roots has kits for different types of mushrooms that are easy to use and so fun to watch grow. Ayesha Curry is now an investor in this company and she offers a kit with two or three different herbs that includes one of her recipe booklets. This Oakland-based company also sells kits for growing peppers and tomatoes. My favorite kit is the oyster mushroom kit shown in this picture.

The website localharvest.org allows you to type in your city and state and will find farms, farmers markets, and CSAs near you. Nothing beats the taste experience that occurs with fresh produce that was harvested minutes or hours ago versus weeks ago.

CSA is a partnership between eaters and farmers. In most CSAs, members purchase a CSA share from the farmer before the growing season and in return get regular installments of food. Many CSAs are limited to vegetables and fruit. There are a growing number of community supported fisheries for seafood, and some are also beginning to develop for meat. 

If you can only plant one thing, I recommend purchasing a large cherry tomato plant and putting it in a self-water container. This container can be placed on a porch, patio, balcony or in your yard. It can easily be moved if a sunnier location is needed. 

If you can plant only two things, I recommend the tomato mentioned above and basil. Personally, I have more luck with growing basil indoors since it is more prone to drying out. Once you’ve eaten a salad with your homegrown tomatoes and basil, you can bask in the sense of accomplishment and enjoy the flavor explosions. 

Did you learn something new? Have you tried growing tomatoes in your space? How did it go? What did you notice? Do you have a favorite plant/vegetable/fruit/herb to grow? Add it to the comments below!

I have purchased and used each of the products listed below. I may receive a small commission if a product is purchased after clicking on the link, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting the work at Earth Matters Now.

• • Garden GrowBoxes
  • Back to the Roots Mushrooms (and herbs)
  • Self-water Containers for Herbs (a set containing two of these will be raffle prize for May)