Whats your biggest garden fail so far this season? #garden

Epic Honesteading book orders ship with a FREE pack of seeds, and a FREE digital supplemental guidebook. When I first saw this little 1,000sqft house in suburban San Diego, I KNEW I had to build a homestead here. It was the biggest house I could afford, but more importantly it had empty land on it - untouched. So I got to work. Adding an orchard with @jacquesinthegarden , a chicken coop, rain capture, solar panels, in-ground gardens, raised bed gardens...and so much more. If you think “homesteading” isn’t for you...I can’t blame you. Frankly, I think the word has been gatekept a bit by folks suggesting you need 100,000 acres, a cattle farm, a log cabin with no electricity besides a wooden stove from 1823, and more. To me, a homestead starts where you are. It’s the act of becoming a LITTLE more production-focused in your life. Capturing a little rain, growing a little food, caring for chickens. You can pick one and slowly build, or you can go crazy like I did and try to do them all at the same time. This book is the culmination of three years of experimentation, design, learnings, and lessons that I’ve collected into a 224-page tome, chock-full of photos, charts, graphs, diagrams, explainers, and more. It also comes with a supplemental digital guide that links you to ALL of the Epic Gardening and Epic Homesteading content that’s relevant for each chapter: Site Selection Outdoor Food Growing Indoor Food Growing Productive Orchards Composting Energy Systems Water Conservation Mini Livestock Food Preservation and Storage I hope you enjoy Epic Homesteading. May you go out and use the knowledge to better your life and the life of your family and loved ones. Keep on growing, Kevin

Just a day in the life of a gardener

Two years of updates to my epic urban homestead…hope this inspires you to grow more of your own food and become even a bit more self sufficient in the coming year! #garden

If you’re behind on planting seeds, here’s a little trick that might help.

Ever walked out to your garden and found it totally dug up? @jacquesinthegarden went through the same thing. But he figured out who the culprit is and how to stop it. 🚨 Here’s the fix: red crushed chili flakes. First, he moves the soil back, covers the roots, and sprinkles these bad boys everywhere. Next time the digging pest comes through, they’ll get a nose full of spice and rethink their plans. 💥🌶️ It won’t last forever though, so keep reapplying when they strike. Lesson learned. 👌🏼

My 1/3-acre suburban garden is STACKED right now...30 types of lettuce, rows of veggies, fruit trees, and even an ice cream bean (haven’t eaten that yet, let me know if you’ve tried it yourself). If you’re growing something TOTALLY new this year, let me know down below ⬇️

Before Epic Gardening was a thing, I was slinging trays of microgreens to high-end restaurants in San Diego. Growing these tiny powerhouses was my first taste of mixing plants + business, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Microgreens are easy to grow, packed with nutrients, and ready to harvest in just a couple of weeks—perfect for beginners or anyone short on space. 🌱

It might sound strange, but painting young fruit trees has made a huge difference in our Epic Orchard. We’ve planted over 40 fruit trees, and using an all-organic “paint” from our friend Charles at IV Organics (not sponsored) has helped keep them healthy. Trees can get sunburned, just like we can. Sun damage makes it harder for them to move water and nutrients, and it also makes them more vulnerable to pests like borers. Now when should you paint? 🖌️ Ideally, when you plant the tree. Cover the main trunk and major branches, especially on the southern side, since that gets the most sun. This works well for citrus, avocados, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, and more. And don’t worry—the paint is breathable and safe for the tree. 🌿 Have you tried this before? Let us know in the comments ⬇️

Pruning fruit trees can feel terrifying—what if you mess up and ruin years of growth? But after using this strategy on peaches for 3+ years, we’ve had so many peaches we have to give them away. 🍑✨ Here’s the pruning method we swear by: 🌿 3 D’s – Remove anything dead, diseased, or damaged first. It’s the easiest (and least stressful) place to start. 🌳 Open Structure – Peaches thrive with an airy, open interior. Remove crossing branches and those shaded inside the canopy to improve airflow and fruit quality. 📏 Lowering the Canopy – A shorter tree = easier harvesting! Even at 6’4", I struggle to reach the top, so I trim it down to 6-8’ for easier access. ✂️ Thinning Cuts – Too many buds = too many peaches = snapped branches. Cut back 30-50% of the length on overgrown branches to reduce fruit load and keep your tree strong. Yes, some cuts may seem extreme, but trust us—your tree will be healthier, stronger, and loaded with delicious peaches! 🍑💪🏼

Starting your first garden? The key to success is growing crops that are easy AND fast. These 5 groups of crops will give you a quick harvest and boost your gardening confidence. 🚀🌱

Growing ginger at home? It’s way easier than you’d think—just grab some from the store, and boom, you’ve got a plant. 🫚

Two years ago we planted some giant sunflower seeds, and they grew massive—about 15 inches across. 🌻🤯 Instead of letting the seeds scatter, we harvested them, boiled them in saltwater, roasted them in the oven, and tossed them with olive oil and ranch seasoning. The result was a delicious, fresh snack that tasted even better than store-bought. If you’ve got sunflowers, definitely give this a try! 🌻✨

New to gardening? Start with herbs. 🌿 They’re easy, low-maintenance, and save you $$$ on groceries. Plus, you can make your own spices, teas, and seasonings right at home. What’s your favorite herb to grow?

I've tried to grow peanuts for years without much success. I even hid an old YouTube video called “My Pathetic Peanut Harvest,” where I grew just five peanuts and roasted them in a tiny kid-sized cast iron pan. It wasn’t a great day for me. BUT—@jacquesinthegarden had a big harvest, so at least someone on the team figured it out! Peanuts aren’t actually nuts—they’re legumes. Their flowers shrink, turn into “pegs,” and push into the soil, where the peanuts grow. It’s one of the strangest ways a plant grows, at least for something we eat often. For a good peanut harvest, you need a long, hot growing season. Who knew peanuts had such a wild way of growing? 🥜

Luffa is one of the most fun and useful plants to grow. You can eat it when it’s small, let it climb to make your garden look beautiful, and when it’s fully grown, use it as a scrub brush or shower sponge. The key to growing luffa is starting the seeds indoors early. The seeds are big and tough, so gently scrape or clip a tiny bit of the edge to help water get inside and make them sprout faster. Once they sprout, plant them outside only when it’s warm, and there’s no chance of cold weather. Luffa loves a long, hot season. If you want to use luffa as a sponge, let the fruit fully mature. It should turn brown and feel dry and papery. Peel off the skin, cut the luffa into pieces, and it’s ready to use. For extra creativity, you can put the luffa pieces into homemade soap for a cool exfoliating soap bar.

Want to grow giant onions? 🧅✨ Here’s how: 🌱 Gather your tools: onion starts, a trowel, gloves, and a slow-release organic fertilizer high in nitrogen (for leaves) and phosphorus (for bulbs). 📏 Measure 8" from the side of your raised bed and dig a 4" wide trench. Fertilize the trench, cover with soil, and plant onions 6" apart, 1" deep, 3" from the trench. 💧 Keep the soil moist, fertilize only in the trench, and watch those layers build into massive bulbs! P.S. This method works for other allium crops too—like leeks, shallots, and garlic! 🧄