In this Newsletter podcast, Drip Irrigation expert and garden book author Robert Kourik troubleshoots the most common drip irrigation issues for home gardeners. Drip Irrigation: How Long Do I Water? 90% of all plant problems are water related, either too much or too little. Compounding the problem: gardeners who are operating a drip irrigation system but using a sprinkler mentality. Talking to gardeners, after describing a plant problem, will be asked: "How are you watering that plant?" More oft...
Jun 17, 2022•34 min
It's a common site this time of year: gardeners with sprayers in hand (or on their back), applying weedkiller to the unwanted greenery that has popped up around their desirable plants. Winter - USDA Zones 8 and 9 - would seem to be a better time to do this: cool-season weeds are easier to control when they are small and actively growing; around valuable deciduous plants, there is less danger of the spray accidentally hitting the leaves (there aren't any); and, those new, green weeds are like a f...
Jun 10, 2022•18 min
In this interview with America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, we discuss how to stave off plant diseases and insect pests by rotating your crops. And heck, if you’re gonna rotate, it might as well resemble a wheel, right? This interview originally aired in Episode 114 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast . I have little or no artistic sense whatsoever, especially in the garden. I tend to plant in rows, in rectangular raised beds, all designed for funct...
Jun 03, 2022•11 min
In today’s “Beyond Basics” podcast segment of the newsletter, “Sustainable Food Gardens” author Robert Kourik discusses tips for attracting beneficial insects to your yard. Hear the entire interview in Episode 191 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast . In last week’s newsletter, we discussed three of the best beneficial insects to have in your garden: lacewings, ladybugs, and hoverflies. Today, we cover several more garden good guys worth putting to work in your yard to subdue the pests...
May 20, 2022•7 min
In today’s Beyond the Basics podcast (above), we talk with Ralph Morini, Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener and researcher about his compost tea article for the Piedmont Master Gardener’s newsletter, The Garden Shed . The March 2019 article is entitled, “The Truth About Compost Tea: Making It, Using It, and What To Expect From It ”. Read it for yourself for even more information about the Compost Tea-making process. In that article, Morini delved into the online compost tea rabbit ho...
May 06, 2022•21 min
In this past week’s two episodes of the “Garden Basics with Farmer Fred” podcast, we covered several timely topics in Episodes 188 and 189 including: Episode 188 : • Tips for Controlling Bermudagrass (Note: the word is “control”, not “eradicate”). Bermudagrass is forever. • How plants communicate to get nutrition and ward off pests. (Steve Zien of Living Resources Co. spends a lot of time with his ear to the ground. Maybe he’s fallen and can’t get back up? Anyway, he says plant roots sweat a lot...
Apr 29, 2022•11 min
As we learned in Episode 186 in the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast , the most fragrant roses make the best meal. Really. Well, maybe not a meal, more like an appetizer. Master Rosarian Debbie Arrington of the Sacramento Rose Society explained that rose petals are actually quite delicious, either served raw in a salad, used as a garnish, or steeped into a tea. Listen to her tips for choosing the right blooms for your rose tasting experience in Episode 186 of the Garden Basics podcast . On...
Apr 22, 2022•18 min
Some of the highlights of this week’s two podcasts on Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, Episodes 184 and 185 , are featured in today’s “Beyond Basics” newsletter podcast. One of the highlights of Episode 184 was Raffaele DiLallo, author of “ Houseplant Warrior” , venturing into his other horticultural passion in his yard in Cleveland, Ohio: getting tropical plants to survive and thrive…outdoors…in an area of the country where snow blowers are more in demand than a chipper/shredder. From Episode 18...
Apr 15, 2022•14 min
Above is an interview about the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens in Santa Rosa, California. Luther Burbank, of course, is probably America’s most famous botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in agricultural science. He is responsible for the development of over 800 varieties of plants in his 55 year career of plant hybridization, his most famous, possibly is the Burbank Russet potato, which is still available in supermarkets and restaurants every day. His biggest flower achievement? Probably the S...
Apr 01, 2022•10 min
That audio snippet (above) is from Episode 178 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, featuring author Emily Murphy, talking about her new book, “ Grow Now-How We Can Save Our Health, Communities, and Planet, One Garden at a Time ”. Go to Episode 178 to listen to the entire conversation. The audio sampler above touches on one section of her book, where she discusses the importance of knowing your “Nature Quotient.” As she puts it in her book: “Your nature quotient (NQ) is a measure of yo...
Mar 25, 2022
Professional chef and Sacramento County Master Gardener Andi Macdonald shares her California-style gumbo recipe in the brief chat at the top of this edition of the Garden Basics’ “Beyond Basics” newsletter. Mardi Gras season is also gumbo season in Lousiana. And we know a good thing when we taste it. Gumbo dishes have spread, and can be found served on a regular basis everywhere, including the dining rooms of Congress. What makes Andi’s gumbo recipe unique: it’s vegan. “Sacrilegious!”, you say, ...
Mar 18, 2022•3 min
Looking for tried and true pepper varieties to grow this year? How about proven varieties of tomatoes, greens, squash, okra, melons, as well as pollinator-friendly flowering plants such as begonias and petunias? Give a listen to Episodes 168 and 169 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. In Episode 168 , we chatted with Sacramento County Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour. She and the other Master Gardeners there have been growing an array of All-America Selections winners...
Feb 18, 2022•6 min
As you can hear in the podcast above, adding bagged soil products to your garden might cause problems with your plants, due to impeded water movement. What to do? Debbie Flower, our favorite retired college horticultural professor, says to stick to the native soil. But, she does offer tips on how you can use bagged soil in your garden. Give a listen. And if you want to hear the whole conversation, head to Episode 166 of the Garden Basics podcast, released Tuesday, February 8. Also in that episod...
Feb 11, 2022•9 min
Above: In today’s Garden Basics “Beyond Basics” Newsletter podcast: Brad Gay of JB’s Power Equipment in Davis , CA explains what to look for when choosing garden pruners. And, Debbie Flower has a garden tool storage tip you may not be aware of: your garage floor could rust your shovels! Here’s a hint on what to do: We are back to two Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcasts a week as we start Season 3 (plus Friday’s newsletter podcast). On Tuesday’s Episode 164, we talked with Matthew Ampersand o...
Feb 04, 2022•4 min
In this special podcast for the Garden Basics Newsletter, Beyond the Basics, I wanted to highlight five great garden hints offered by Debbie Flower from the original podcast, Episode 163 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred : • Soaking pepper seeds in hydrogen peroxide can speed up germination; and, how seeds germinate. • Why seeds don’t need fertilizer. • How to know when to transplant those seedlings into larger containers. • Why seedlings need a light period and a dark period each day. • The...
Jan 28, 2022•10 min
Podcast Bonus: High Scoring Roses for Most of the United States We like to check in with Master Rosarian Charlotte Owendyk of the Sierra Foothills Rose Society, to find out which roses have captured her fancy in the last year or two. And beyond that, which roses she recommends because they can be easy to grow in a variety of climates. The Sierra Foothill Rose Society, after all, has California members from near sea level in Sacramento and Roseville all the way up to Lake Tahoe, more than a mile ...
Jan 21, 2022•10 min
ABOVE: Tips for Germinating Pepper Seeds in Less Than Two or Three Weeks Episode 161 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast delved into two popular issues: tips for choosing the easiest to grow succulents; and, the best plants and themes for a school/home school garden. In this newsletter, we expand on those two topics, plus a bonus podcast (above) with information on getting pepper seeds to germinate quicker. More tips are included at the bottom of this “Beyond the Garden Basics” newslet...
Jan 14, 2022•3 min
All About Tomatoes! Gardeners LOVE growing tomatoes. So much so that the subject of tomatoes made the Top 5 audience favorite segments among all of the 2021 Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcasts . The latest episode, #160, The Greatest Hits of 2021: All About Tomatoes , runs over an hour. And the top listened-to segments are directly or indirectly related to growing tomatoes: Starting Tomato Seeds ( episode 79 ), Reusing Potting Soil ( also Episode 79 ), Transplanting Tomatoes ( Episode 93 ), ...
Jan 07, 2022•24 min
In episode 159 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast , we discussed gardening trends of 2022 that might have appeal for you. We talked with Andrew Bunting of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which released its list of garden trends worth pursuing in the coming year. Among the trends catching on in many parts of the country (some of which are fairly well established in other parts of the U.S.), are putting in pollinator-friendly plants, converting lawns into gardens, attending a pl...
Dec 31, 2021•19 min
YOU DON'T WANT THESE WORMS IN YOUR GARDEN, COMPOST OR WORM BIN The damage that jumping worms (aka Asian Jumping Worms, Crazy Worms, Alabama Jumpers, or Snake Worms) can do to your garden soil. (video originally produced by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ) More on how jumping worms damage your soil structure, from Oregon State University : Because they have very large mouths akin to mechanical excavators, jumping worms are able to grasp and consume large amounts. With their voracio...
Sep 19, 2021•5 min
