Epic Gardening

Found this kneeling device for bricklayers last year and had to give it a shot in the garden. It’s a bit bulky to walk around in, but honestly, it made weeding and harvesting way easier than I thought! 🙌🏼 Still believe it could be a game-changer for us gardeners. What do you think—would you give it a try? 🤔

We decided to try something different with our dragon fruit: grafting four varieties onto one plant. The result? A Frankenstein dragon fruit that’s as fun to grow as it is to look at. 🧟🌱

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

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.

Growing wasabi has been one of our toughest challenges. To date, we’ve yet to pull off a successful harvest. A big part of that struggle is trying to cultivate this cool, shade-loving plant in San Diego’s warm, sunny climate (Zone 10b). Wasabi thrives in temperatures between 45-70°F, hates direct sunlight, and is part of the cabbage family. It’s so difficult to grow that what you typically find in stores or on restaurant menus is often a blend of horseradish, mustard, food coloring, and other additives. For the real deal, look for Wasabi japonica as the first ingredient on the label—or better yet, try growing your own!

Meet Inga edulis, also known as the ice cream bean tree. Native to Central and South America, this fast-growing legume belongs to the Fabaceae family and thrives in tropical and subtropical regions. Its oversized, pod-like fruits can grow over 2 feet long. Crack one open and you’ll find a sweet, cottony pulp wrapped around shiny black seeds. The flavor? Think vanilla ice cream meets cotton candy, with some varieties even throwing in a hint of cinnamon. It’s easy to see why it’s a favorite among kids and foragers alike. But this tree isn’t just about sweet treats. Indigenous communities have long valued Inga edulis for more than just the fruit. Its nitrogen-fixing roots enrich the soil, making it a popular agroforestry species for regenerating degraded land. The wood is also used for fuel and construction, while the dense canopy provides shade for crops like coffee and cacao. Locally, it goes by many names—guaba in Ecuador, pacay in Peru, and cuaniquil in parts of Mexico. However you say it, the ice cream bean tree is a delicious and multifunctional gem of the tropics.

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! 🧄

If you’re lucky enough to have a loquat tree in your backyard, you’re in for a treat. These tropical beauties are not only super tasty but also packed with nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber. Plus, they bring some serious style with their fragrant blooms and golden-orange fruit. Loquats thrive in warm climates and make for a stunning ornamental tree year-round. 🌳 Fun fact: loquats go by a bunch of different names depending on where you’re at – Japanese plum, Chinese plum, or even Pipa in China. The tree’s leaves and fruit have a long history in traditional medicine, with the fruit being used to ease coughs and the leaves believed to help with skin conditions and respiratory issues. 💊 If you’ve got the right climate, go ahead and plant one—it’s definitely worth it. 💯

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? 🥜

Learn how bananas thrive on a literal family tree and meet the unique characters in their circle of life. 🍌

Tomato planting tip: Don’t mess up your timing 🍅 Most gardeners do the first part right - starting 6-8 weeks before the last frost where they live. But they miss the second step… The secret is waiting until soil temps hit around 60°F or higher consistently. 65°F is even better! You can get transplant shock and a struggle to thrive if temps are too low, EVEN if there's no more frost in your area. Use a soil thermometer to check - they're about $10 at the local garden center. Get it right and watch those tomatoes thrive 🌱

We’ve never grown broccoli this big—over 1.5 feet in diameter! Normally, when you harvest broccoli, you let the plant continue to grow so you can get a few side shoots of “mini-broccoli,” but in this plant’s case, even the side shoots are massive!

If you want your citrus to thrive, you need to fertilize it and NOW is the perfect time. Right when winter breaks and spring starts to creep in. Use a slow-release organic fertilizer, clear out a circle roughly the circumference of your tree's canopy and sprinkle over the soil, then cover with mulch. This is what I've done for 4 years with my 15-tree citrus hedge and it's EXPLODED with growth. 🍋

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. 👌🏼

If this is the end…good luck in the garden, and keep on growing 💚 - Kevin #tiktokban