His backyard garden, bursting with peppers and other summer produce, is slowly transitioning to make room for fall and winter crops.
"We'll still continue to grow some eggplant, and we've got some corn growing over there," Halverstadt says, gesturing toward his lush garden beds.
But the real focus now is preparing the soil for cooler weather vegetables.
"What we're doing now is getting these beds ready for the winter crop because this is where we will be planting," he explains.
Halverstadt starts his vegetables from seed, using a method that's both affordable and accessible. His go-to tools? Plastic cups and potting soil.
"Cut off some of the bottom as we want drainage holes," Halverstadt says. "You add some potting soil to that. There's all kinds of potting soils. All the big box stores and nurseries have that."
He prefers a mix that's 60% native dirt and 40% compost.
"Personally, I like what this is, which is 60% dirt, like with what came with the earth and about 40% compost," Halverstadt says.
Once the soil is in place, Halverstadt adds water to the bottom of the cup to keep the seeds moist enough to germinate.
"It's now going to wick water from the bottom," he explains. "Just give them a little bit of covering. Spritz these with a spray bottle if it starts to dry out."
While he has a climate-controlled seed starting station, Halverstadt says you don't need anything fancy. A sunny windowsill works just fine for starting broccoli seeds.
"In three to four days, you'll start to see a little green," he says. "Once the plant gets about this big, it should be the first or middle of September and then we'll go plant it in the garden."
By November, gardeners can expect to harvest broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and more.
"It wants to grow. It's not that hard," Halverstadt encourages. "Don't overwater it. Don't underwater it."
He also recommends trying garlic, which is surprisingly simple to grow.
"You take them apart, take the biggest cloves, shove them in the ground and they grow," he says.
With just a few basic supplies and a bit of patience, Halverstadt proves that growing your own produce, even in the cooler months, is well within reach.
Halverstadt adds that planting seeds is much cheaper than buying several six-packs of vegetable plants.
Either way, if the plants don't survive, try it again until you get it right.
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