“Where does the water go?” That’s a question I frequently ask myself while bicycling throughout the region, staring at rain-soaked suburban yards. This is also a question homeowners should ask themselves before, during, and after the rainy season. One of the best pieces of advice I can offer any new homeowner: before you spend any time and money on landscaping projects or a garden, live with the existing property for a year. This allows you to take monthly pictures of the area where you want a f...
Jan 20, 2023•8 min
In today’s newsletter podcast (above): America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, discusses the pros and cons of bypass and anvil pruners; and the best tool for sharpening pruners. This time of year, stroll down the tool aisle of any garden center and you'll find a vast array of cutting instruments, all designed with the backyard gardener in mind. Blade heads of short-handled pruners and long-handled loppers usually come in two different styles: bypass and anvil. B...
Jan 06, 2023•9 min
The recent bout of colder, wetter weather means ants have begun their march towards the warmth and comfort of your house, greenhouse or outbuildings. In today’s newsletter podcast, America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, lists many ways to control ant populations, both indoors and outdoors, including her home recipe for lethal outdoor ant bait: 1 part boric acid (1 teaspoon, e.g.) - available at most garden centers 9 or 10 parts sugar (9 or 10 teaspoons sugar) A...
Dec 30, 2022•15 min
In today’s newsletter podcast: Back in November of 2020, we chatted about poinsettia plant basics, with Bill Eisley, a wholesale grower of poinsettia plants in Auburn, CA. Searching for that last minute Christmas gift? Many stores, including supermarkets, are now offering red and ivory-colored poinsettias, tropical plants native to Mexico, that are showstoppers this time of year for any dining room table. Even more colorful varieties are available at area nurseries and garden centers. Don’t grab...
Dec 23, 2022•6 min
What are Fruit Tree Chill Hours? Do They Matter? In today’s newsletter podcast (Above. Originally aired in Episode 105 of Garden Basics ), Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery explains the term “chill hours” and how cold winter temperatures helps production on many deciduous fruit trees, especially apples. Chill hours refer primarily to low temperatures (usually between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit) during a fruit tree’s dormant months in the winter. But Tom Spellman is throwing a monkey wrench i...
Dec 16, 2022•25 min
In today’s newsletter podcast: Diane Blazek , Executive Director of All-America Selections (AAS) and the National Garden Bureau, explains how a plant is selected to become an All-America Selection winning plant. In Episode 243 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Podcast , Diane goes into the details of each of the winning plants in the 2023 AAS plant competition. Give it a listen while looking at the pictures and comments. More info, plus 90 years worth of previous winners, at the AAS website ...
Dec 09, 2022•6 min
TODAY’S NEWSLETTER PODCAST: UC Davis Arboretum Superintendent Warren Roberts talks about persimmon trees, both American and Japanese persimmons. California's Central Valley was ablaze in October and early November with the other “orange” fruit tree: the brightly colored persimmon. And it's not just the fruit. Persimmon tree leaves can turn a brilliant hue of red before the first big wind and rain storm of late November washes them off their branches. What's left behind is the unpicked fruit, dan...
Dec 02, 2022•9 min
Want to grow garlic? In milder climates (where the ground doesn’t freeze), now is the time to visit your favorite nursery, garden center or garden catalog company to choose the garlic varieties you want. Note I said, “varieties.” Grocery store garlic is primarily one or two varieties. Around here, it is usually California Early or California Late. And these two softneck, Artichoke varieties of garlic do grow well in USDA Zone 9. They take our late spring heat, are very productive, and can be sto...
Nov 25, 2022•9 min
Even though it is mid-November, many gardeners in milder areas of the country may still be harvesting tomatoes. What to do with those remaining, healthy tomatoes? Can or freeze them! Roasted tomatoes add so much more tomato flavor to any recipe you prepare that calls for tomatoes (such as pasta sauce, whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes). And it's an easy way to preserve the harvest for use throughout the year, either canned or frozen. To preserve the most flavor, roast them at a low temperature fo...
Nov 18, 2022•7 min
Today’s Podcast: Consulting Arborist Michael Santos tells us about online resources for homeowners to get more information about the trees in their yard. How to (Possibly) Thwart Tree Damage Before a Storm During or after a particularly violent fall or winter wind/rain/snow storm, TV news crews rush to the most photogenic damage during these rare occasions: downed trees, usually leaning against a house or crushing a car. Without the correct care of the trees on your property, winter storms and t...
Nov 11, 2022•6 min
Does Foliar Feeding Plants Really Work? Are there benefits to spraying a water soluble fertilizer to the leaves of plants? Can leaves absorb nutrients? If a gardener were to believe what they read on Wikipedia , the answer would be yes. However, one only need to read the warnings associated with that article, which state repeatedly, “Citation Needed” and “This section needs additional citations for verification ”. The study touting the use of foliar feeding that is cited in that Wikipedia post g...
Nov 04, 2022•6 min
CURRIED PUMPKIN SOUP (serves 6-8) by Andi Macdonald , Chef and Sacramento County Master Gardener INGREDIENTS * 2 tablespoons olive oil * 1 cup diced onions * 1/2 cup diced carrots * 1/2 cup diced celery * 1 tsp minced garlic * 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional) * 6 cups vegetable stock * Salt to taste * 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper * 1/4 cup curry paste* (or more, to taste) * 4 cups pumpkin puree** * 1 can coconut milk (12-13 ounces) * Chopped parsley for garnish * Toasted pumpkin seeds fo...
Oct 28, 2022•7 min
Here in Northern California, sweet peppers continue to ripen on the plants in October, turning rich shades of red, purple, and yellow. The result? Peppers that are sweeter. And probably more peppers than you know what to do with. We spend this time of year making several batches of sweet red pepper relish, using a recipe we found in an old copy of Sunset's Home Canning book. It's delicious on many dishes, including as a topping for hot dogs and hamburgers...or just dolloped onto a cracker. It's ...
Oct 21, 2022•16 min
In today’s “Beyond the Garden Basics” podcast, we talk with Douglas Kent , author of “ Firescaping: Protecting Your Home with A Fire-Resistant Landscape ”. He has a slightly different view of thwarting home and yard damage for residents of the urban-wildland interface, who are increasingly keeping a wary eye - and nose - in the air for smoke. And as we pointed out in the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast this week (Ep. 235), in our chat with University of California Fire Advisor Luca Carmig...
Oct 14, 2022•17 min
America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower , discusses garden chemical safety, including: when organic controls can be hazardous; the dangers of homemade pesticides; how to check for organic ingredients in a pesticide product; and, ways to determine if your organic garden “inputs” (water, mulches, manures) are safe to use. Despite your best organic efforts, this CDC study says there’s a high chance that glyphosate is probably in your urine: Here’s the background on ...
Oct 07, 2022•19 min
Growing Citrus Trees Indoors Here in California, or if you live in Arizona or Texas or Florida, you get to grow citrus in your backyard, year round. For most of the rest of the nation, though, that would be a challenge. A challenge to the point where maybe you have to bring it indoors for the winter. That could even be true here in California if you’re growing a citrus variety, such as lime trees, that can lose their fruit when the thermometer drops to 32 degrees, which happens here in the Centr...
Sep 30, 2022•15 min
Fresh Corn Soup (plus the cob) Recipe by Andi MacDonald, Sacramento Co. Master Gardener and Professional Chef Serves 4 During the dog days of summer, this soup is so refreshing served chilled. The secret ingredient is the corn stock, made from the corn cobs that generally get tossed. If corn is out of season, frozen can substitute and vegetable stock can be used instead of the corn stock. Perhaps not as good , but still pretty good! 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 ears of fresh corn, 2 cups altogether...
Sep 23, 2022•3 min
In today’s newsletter podcast, we continue our chat with Dr. Laura Varich , from FreshPhysician.com , a conversation that we began on Episode 228 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast . Dr. Varich is a former pediatric radiologist who is now focused on what’s really the cause of so many of the diseases in our society: poor eating habits. Specifically, we are missing a critical element in our diet: phytonutrients. We’re eating too much of colorfully-packaged, highly-processed factory food...
Sep 16, 2022•28 min
Debbie Flower, America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, brought up the subject of “Cation Exchange Capacity” back in Episode 193 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, while discussing the limited lifespan of bagged worm castings. That alone should pique your interest. Go ahead and listen to that segment or read the transcript. I’ll wait. In the podcast in this newsletter, Debbie goes into depth about cation exchange capacity. If you were a high school chemistry class w...
Sep 09, 2022•6 min
In today’s newsletter podcast, America’s Favorite Retired Horticultural Professor, Debbie Flower, explains plant hormones, and how they can help you become a better gardener. Want to propagate your own plants from cuttings? Depending on the plant, hormones can help. The book, “Propagating Plants” by Alan Toogood has more information. Online, the site “ Untamed Science” has an easy to understand page on how the five major plant hormones work . Want bigger table grapes? Hormones, such as Gibberell...
Sep 02, 2022•12 min
A question into the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast raised more questions for myself and Debbie Flower, America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture professor. First, the question: “Recently, a Pest Control Company came by to inject my birch trees (soil) with a chemical (Imidacloprid) that helps prevent sticky droppings from landing on my driveway, etc. This year they came by and also started inject all shrubs and also injected my plum tree and lime tree. I asked why and they said it w...
Aug 26, 2022•9 min
It happens without warning every summer. A tree branch from an oak, eucalyptus, elm, ash, or other large, old tree crashes to the ground on a warm, non-windy day. It’s a phenomenon referred to as sudden limb failure or summer branch drop. According to the Butte County (CA) Master Gardeners newsletter : “A break due to summer branch drop usually occurs three to twelve feet away from the trunk, along the length of the branch. The broken branches are usually long and horizontal, as opposed to uprig...
Aug 19, 2022•26 min
“Of all flowers, methinks rose is best” . Shakespeare said that. He lived in Stratford-upon-Avon, about halfway between London and Birmingham, England. However, the roses he saw 600 years ago never endured 100 degree heat…until recently. Although roses were found originally in Central Asia, they spread quickly throughout the Northern Hemisphere between the 12th and 18th centuries. Those old roses wouldn’t stand a chance in the heatwaves of the 21st century, succumbing to scorched flowers, leaves...
Aug 12, 2022•9 min
Today’s “Beyond the Garden Basics” podcast takes a closer look at a very popular organic fertilizer: chicken manure. As retired organic landscape consultant Steve Zien of Living Resources Company points out, manures are an excellent soil amendment, especially their contribution to the soil biology. In this day and age, however, should chicken manure still be considered organic? Up to 90% of the corn produced in America is from Genetically Engineered seed. A major part of a chicken’s diet is corn...
Aug 05, 2022•11 min
The conversation started innocently enough. Penny Pawl, Napa County (CA) Master Gardener, was chatting with me about soldier flies: ominous-looking, wasp-like creatures who, along with their grubby larvae, might be populating your worm bin or composting bin. You can listen to what she had to say about that in Episode 214 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. Or, read a previous edition (July 1, 2022) of the “Beyond Garden Basics” newsletter where we talked in depth with Sacramento Count...
Jul 29, 2022•8 min
Back in Episode 212 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast , we chatted with Sacramento County (CA) Master Gardener Pam Bone - an expert caneberry grower - about summertime problems with backyard blackberries, raspberries, boysenberries and other caneberries. The question arose: “So Pam, what do you do with all those berries?” She marched us into her kitchen to show us a freezer filled with jam, especially the jars and jars of her specialty, raspberry jam. She shared her favorite recipes ...
Jul 22, 2022•3 min
GARDEN SHOWS FOR THE NOSE Looking for a garden show for your nose? There are a wide variety of fragrant plants that do well in various USDA zones, providing olfactory pleasure at various times of the year. Besides such sensory stalwarts as gardenias and roses, there are many other aromatic perennials and shrubs that can add a welcome scent to your evening stroll through the yard. • Brugmansia versicolor ‘Charles Grimaldi’ (pictured above, USDA Zones 9, 10). Also known as “Angel’s Trumpet”, this ...
Jul 15, 2022•3 min
In this podcast, retired college horticulture professor Debbie Flower explains about the use of rooting hormones and fertilizers for newly-installed plants. You’ll find out: How rooting hormones work. How auxins (the rooting stimulant in root hormones) can either inhibit or promote growth. Why you don’t want to use rooting hormones on an established plant or transplant. Why you want to cut the roots of a tree or shrub before planting. Why you don’t want to add fertilizer at planting time. The be...
Jul 08, 2022•9 min
In Episode 206 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast , we did a deep dive into worm bins (Oops. That sounds like a new, bad reality sports competition TV program). Sacramento County Master Gardener Susan Muckey told us everything we need to know to start vermicomposting, the end result being raising worms to create excellent quality compost for your garden. One thing she warned us about is mentioned in the short podcast segment, above. And it may be a critter that might have initially sh...
Jul 01, 2022•41 sec
On today’s newsletter podcast segment, Cherie Sintes-Glover, Urban Chicken Consultant and proprietor of the website ChickensForEggs.com , has egg care tips for backyard chicken flock hobbyists: should eggs be stored in the refrigerator or on the kitchen counter (it depends)? Should you wash the eggs, and what temperature should that water be? (It’s important!). Which eggs make the best hard boiled eggs? How can you determine if an egg is past its prime? How many eggs will a hen lay in its lifeti...
Jun 24, 2022•8 min
