If you are a fan of tomatoes--the most popular food crop in the home garden, then you ought to grow them at least once so you can know firsthand the joy of an honest, fresh, ripe tomato.

I met Tim Miller in the late 1980s when I was a gardener at Austin Community Gardens, now Sunshine Community Gardens, and he managed the site. He had some wild ideas (or so I thought at the time) about gardening -- especially when it came to the weather.

Growing your own takes patience and knowledge. You're on your own for the patience, but we can help you with a few tips to supplement your knowledge base.

On March 2, 2013, folks in the Austin, Texas, metro area are in for a treat. Two long- running plant sales are taking place, which gives you a chance to scoop up some healthy organic vegetable and herb transplants for your spring garden. You'll want to arrive early and take a place in line, because the crowds get long.

Throw a party for your pie hole with peerless peppers passionately propagated with your own precious paws. Power to the peppers!

Feel the thrill, the power, and the joy of making meals from the ground up when you grow your own food. It doesn't require a farm sized plot, nor does it need to take a lot of your precious time.

Few creations in this world are as miraculous as a single seed. Inside each tiny package, some of which are smaller than the head of a pin, an embryonic plant sleeps, dreaming of the day it’s called to serve its intended purpose.

Another of those glorious cool season dark leafy greens, kale holds the promise of a happy palate, full stomach and good health.

If you have your heart set on growing spinach—either flat leafed or crinkled (savoyed)—so you can be big and strong like Popeye the Sailor Man, then plant this cool season annual when it’s…well…cool outside. Actual planting dates vary depending on where you live.

Mason Popp grows a food garden in his backyard, as well as inside a greenhouse for Sagra Trattoria in Austin, Texas. In the greenhouse he's figured out how to grow healthy, productive heirloom tomatoes and a wide variety of herbs. I asked him to share some of his gardening tips with us, and he kindly obliged.