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\u2014plus five dozen varieties of other fruits and vegetables\u2014from 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<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n This September he branched out with a food-focused series for Food52<\/a> (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.<\/p>\n Freezing is probably the easiest way to preserve your fruits and vegetables, says Kevin. Before heading on vacation, he chopped his watermelon and placed it in freezer bags to pull out for future smoothies. \u201cWatermelons are the perfect freezing plant\u2026You can’t really dehydrate watermelon.\u201d Freeze drying, says Kevin, \u201crequires a big piece of equipment\u201d that you don\u2019t need in all cases. \u201cHerbs are actually really great to just hang dry. You can just tie little bundles, hang them in a cool, dry place, and then you could grind your own spices.\u201d<\/p>\nFreezing<\/h3>\n
\nYou could even freeze tomatoes<\/a>, say the experts on our Hotline, though they\u2019ll only be good for sauce at that point. Some remove the skins before freezing, others skin them afterward. One community member likes to slow-roast tomatoes<\/a> and then<\/em> freeze them.<\/p>\nDrying<\/h3>\n