The bland taste of a supermarket tomato is one that Kevin Espiritu manages to avoid year-round. The expert gardener grows all of his own tomatoes—plus five dozen varieties of other fruits and vegetables—from a 7,000-square-foot plot in San Diego, then shares his hard-won growing knowledge with the 2.6 million subscribers of his YouTube video series, Epic Gardening.
This September he branched out with a food-focused series for Food52 (the next episode drops September 29), and we caught up with him as was knee-deep in preserving mode, canning his own salsa. If that feels too advanced for your skillset, there are easier ways to save your homegrown tomatoes, vegetables, and herbs for winter. Below, Kevin shares his tips for making the most of canning and preserving season with the tools you have.