Who in their right mind would plant bamboo, close to a house, as a privacy screen? Bamboo, which after a few years, could become an impenetrable jungle, spreading in every direction! Well, America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, planted bamboo as a privacy screen, six feet away from her house. How is she going to control this rambunctious runner of a plant? Ingeniously, of course. We pay a visit to Debbie’s garden to find out what to do, and what not to do when ...
May 03, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 190
I can tell what season it is by the tomato questions I get. In fall, it’s "Can I get these green tomatoes to ripen?" In Winter, the question is, “Is It Too Soon To Plant Tomatoes?” In Spring, it’s, "Should I prune those first tomato flowers off?" And in Summer, it’s the frantic tomato grower who asks, “What’s wrong with my tomatoes? They're turning brown and wrinkly on the bottom!" That, of course, is blossom end rot. Let's tackle that summertime question now, in the spring. Because blossom end ...
Apr 29, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 189
Can bermudagrass be controlled, or is it forever? America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, has tips for converting a bermudagrass turf area into another lawn type or to control it to the point you can use that area to expand your garden. Organic advocate Steve Zien tells us how plants communicate to get the nutrients they need and to ward off invading pests. And, he talks about using compost tea for increasing the good guys in your soil biology. Also, we get a Qu...
Apr 26, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 188
We’ve often said here that when designing your garden plan, make sure the edible garden is visible from the kitchen window. Today, we expand on that: tips for planning a garden so that the most beautiful spots outside are visible from the room inside in which you spend the most time. Think of it as the "easy chair garden". Master Gardener Pam Bone has some ideas for you on that. Speaking of edibles, we revisit a chat we had with Master Rosarian Debbie Arrington about the tastiest rose petals. We...
Apr 22, 2022•38 min•Season 3Ep. 187
Are fertilizers overused? That’s what America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, says. She also deciphers all that information on a fertilizer label so you know exactly what’s in it and what it will do, if anything, for your plants. Meanwhile indoors, spring is the time for repotting houseplants. We chat with the author of “Houseplant Warrior”, Raffaele DiLallo about how to go about repotting houseplants for the best success. Also, we get a Quick Tip about answerin...
Apr 19, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 186
You’ve heard of No-Till gardening. How about No-Dig gardening? Or creating a Lasagna garden? Emily Murphy, author of the book, Grow Now, explains. In our Question and Answer segment, one listener wants to know if it is too late to plant potatoes, and how to prepare the soil for potatoes? As we like to say on this podcast, it depends. Master Garden Gail Pothour has the answer, with all the variables. And in a quick tip, we find out why you don’t want to grow your fruit trees in the middle of your...
Apr 15, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 185
Spring isn’t just for outdoor garden tasks. Your houseplants need some springtime love, as well. We chat with the author of “Houseplant Warrior”, Raffaele DiLallo about your houseplants’ needs for the right light, the right humidity, and he has a list of easy care houseplants for low light conditions. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Raffaele also has houseplant advice for those who must muddle through cold, dark winters, as well. And we talk about his business, OhioTropics dot com, and yes…he is growi...
Apr 12, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 184
We pay a visit in today’s episode to the lush yards of a couple of notable gardeners. We chat with America’s favorite retired college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, in her garden, about what you should think about before you start your first garden: a checklist, if you will. It’s like learning from the mistakes of others. Or, to put it more politely, we're sharing garden wisdom. And, Master Gardener Pam Bone talks about her favorite peach variety, as well as the benefits of getting out i...
Apr 08, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 183
Get your day off to a healthy start by adding fresh-picked berries - blackberries, raspberries, blueberries - to your breakfast. Here in California, harvest season for those are perhaps six weeks away. And wherever you live, you can probably grow some kind of berries. We covered growing blueberries back in Episode 67 . Today, in Episode 182, we talk with Master Gardener and accomplished home blackberry, boysenberry and raspberry grower, Pam Bone, who has lots of good tips for growing these tasty...
Apr 05, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 182
There are two very contemplative aisles that gardeners can encounter at big box stores or a well-stocked Garden Center…and that’s the drip irrigation parts aisle, and the garden pesticide aisle. Next time you go, check those aisles out. You’ll always find a gaggle of people, just staring at the products. Staring. Wondering. Considering. Contemplating. Today, Debbie Flower and I try to get you moving a little faster through the garden pesticide aisle. We have tips on what information to look for ...
Apr 01, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 181
It’s "bat day" here on the Garden Basics podcast. By the way, we’re talking about the flying mammal, not the Louisville Slugger. Bats! They are a good friend of every gardener and farmer. Why? Because they’re eating a lot of the flying pests that otherwise would be chowing down on your crops and flowers… or you. We talk with noted bat expert, the University of California’s Rachael Long. Did you ever see that instruction on a seed packet or garden calendar that tells you when to set out plants? W...
Mar 29, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 180
The Poop Loop. No, we’re not talking about the reference in SpongeBob Squarepants (but we will have a link to that in the show notes). We’re not referring to a leash accessory that holds your dog's poop bag so you can finally be hands free to chat on your phone during your daily walks! (you’ll have to look that one up yourself). Nor is this an explanation of composting toilets. You’re going to have to go deep into the Google search engine to find out what we are talking about on this episode. It...
Mar 25, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 179
How in tune with nature are you? Probably more than you think, if you’re a gardener. We talk with Emily Murphy, author of the new garden book, Grow Now , about your NQ, your Nature Quotient. Plus, we talk with her about front yard gardening, the actual definition of full sun, and the special hands of a gardener. Got new, colorful spots on the leaves of your annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs? America’s favorite retired horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, has reassuring answers for one worr...
Mar 22, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 178
If you have a small yard, or crummy soil or even just a sunny patio, you can grow tomatoes…in containers! If you have an area around the outside of your home that gets six hours or more of sun a day during spring and summer, you can be serving garden-fresh, container-grown tomatoes at meal time. However, there are some tomato varieties that are better suited for growing in large pots. Our favorite retired college horticultural professor, Debbie Flower, offers us tips on choosing the best tomatoe...
Mar 18, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 177
Looking for easy to grow succulents for a wide variety of climates? We cover the basics for growing these unthirsty plants both outdoors and indoors. Spice up your salsa garden this year with the tomato relative, tomatillos. We have tips, and a warning. We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery . And we will do it all in under 30...
Mar 15, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 176
Welcome to the tug-of-a-war season. Is it late winter, or early spring? Will daytime highs be in the 60’s and 70’s? Or will the overnight lows dip below freezing? Or both? Deciduous fruit trees, such as peaches, apples, plums, apricots and more everywhere get confused when sunny, mild days are followed by a few freezing nights. And if those trees are blooming, and a frost or freeze is predicted, you just might have fewer fruit to harvest this summer. We have tips to help you stave off the loss o...
Mar 11, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 175
In this episode, our favorite retired college horticultural professor, Debbie Flower, and myself, offer a wide variety of garden tips to get your yard ready for spring. And it’s kind of a special episode, too. It was recorded live, at the Folsom, California Garden Club, where nearly 100 gardeners gathered to also pepper us with questions. Many of these questions, as well as the topics we covered, just might pertain to you and your garden, wherever you may be. So, for this special episode, we’re ...
Mar 08, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 174
For many gardeners in USDA Zones 7. 8, 9 and 10, March is the month for new beginnings. The weather is warmer, trees and shrubs are blooming. But wait a minute… it’s still winter. Jack Frost can still be nipping at your plants, setting back the progress of new buds, flowers and leaves. On today’s Garden Basics, we have late winter and early spring frost protection tips for your new and established plants. Thinking of growing sweet potatoes? Good idea! Sweet potatoes are drought- and heat-toleran...
Mar 04, 2022•33 min•Season 3Ep. 173
It’s that time of year. You’re thinking about what to plant in your spring and summer garden. You’re looking at all those empty plant containers in your yard and asking yourself, what flowers or vegetables should I grow? But are those containers really empty? If you still have last year’s potting soil in those containers, you might be wondering, do I need to toss that expensive soil into the garden and buy brand new potting soil? Our favorite retired college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower...
Mar 01, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 172
Deciduous fruit trees are starting to wake from their winter slumber in warmer areas of the United States, with the rest soon to follow. Why not bring some of that flower show indoors? Today, we get tips on how to get fruit tree branches and other spring flowering plants to bloom on your dining room table, as well as tips for spring flowering shrubs and trees that will look great in your landscape. Also stirring to life with the change in the weather are gardeners heading to nurseries, shopping ...
Feb 25, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 171
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the greenhouse lately, starting tomato, pepper and onion seeds. You don’t have to be a gardener for very long to realize the advantages of having a backyard hobby greenhouse. It's an ideal place to start seeds, get cuttings to root. A greenhouse is also great for overwintering tender plants. We talk with Mark Seibert of Sturdi-Built greenhouses in Oregon about the questions you should ask yourself before purchasing a greenhouse. Originally aired in June of 202...
Feb 22, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 170
Keep your seed catalogs open! Today, we pick up where we left off on the last episode of Garden Basics (168) where we were talking with Master Gardener Gail Pothour at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center about the All-America Selections vegetable varieties that did well over the years here in Northern California. Many of those varieties received national recognition, too. Today, we have more award-winning vegetables for you to try in your 2022 spring and summer vegetable garden. This time we are t...
Feb 18, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 169
If this is the year that you start your vegetable garden from seeds, you have some choices to make before too long. Which tomato, pepper, squash, melon, eggplant and okra varieties should you plant? We talk with vegetable expert and Master Gardener Gail Pothour about the All America Vegetable selections that have been the top performers for her and other Master Gardeners. And we will have a review of the cool season All America Selections vegetable varieties that did well. Plus a preview of the ...
Feb 15, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 168
We recently spoke with Andrew Bunting of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society about garden resolutions, and the Philadelphia Flower Show, which will be held this coming June. Go back to Episode 159 of the Garden Basics podcast to find out more about those topics. We also talked about the interest in gravel gardening back east and in the midwest. If you are a subscriber to the Garden Basics “Beyond Basics” newsletter, you heard about gravel gardening back in the Dec. 31st, 2021 online newslette...
Feb 11, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 167
Winter rose care season is here for many of us. Besides pruning, weed killing may be on your list of things to do in the rose bed. But before you reach for that spray bottle of weed killer, listen to what Master Rosarian Charlotte Owendyk has to say. Plus, she has alternatives for thwarting weeds among your rose bushes. It’s also the time of year for transplanting many perennials and shrubs. Debbie Flower, our favorite retired college horticulture professor, goes through the how’s and the why’s ...
Feb 08, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 166
Yes, it is a little late for a New Year’s Resolution, but here’s one that is better employed late than never: take better care of your garden tools. And, It’s not just keeping them clean. On today’s episode of Garden Basics, Debbie Flower gets into the how’s and why’s of properly maintaining your garden tools…including storage and sharpening advice…and yes, the proper cleaning of your tools. Plus, we have tips for choosing quality garden tools to begin with. We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Stu...
Feb 04, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 165
For many backyard gardeners right now in USDA Zone 9, it’s citrus fruit harvest time. And before you know it, everybody will be in fruit picking mode come summer. Do you have the right equipment for harvesting fruit? Do you know the best ways to do it to help insure that the fruit will last longer in the kitchen? We talk with a fruit picking expert who has organized a tree fruit gleaning program that collects unwanted fresh fruit from backyard gardens and distributes it to the needy. Also, just ...
Feb 01, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 164
'Tis the season for expectant backyard gardeners. You’ve begun to sow seeds of warm season annuals and vegetables indoors, especially pepper and tomato seeds. But when will those little seeds begin to show their heads above the soil? As always, it depends. On today’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, our favorite retired college horticultural professor, Debbie Flower, has tips for speeding up seed germination rates, especially for those pokey pepper seeds, which normally could take up to t...
Jan 28, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 163
In USDA Zones 8, 9 and 10, it’s Rose Pruning Season! And soon enough after frost season passes, everyone else across the country will be faced with the challenge of tackling an overgrown, aging, rose bush. How best to prune that rose bush to regain maximum rose production? We talk with a Master Rosarian who knows. We’ve got rose pruning tips, as well as advice for the best pruning tools to use and clothes to wear while pruning those prickly roses. We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here i...
Jan 21, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 162
You can grow them indoors and outdoors; they’re easy to care for; and, are very unique and colorful! But which ones are the easiest to care for? We’re talking about succulents today with renowned expert Robin Stockwell. Starting a school garden, or even a home school garden? Which plants and concepts should you consider before turning that first shovelful of soil? We’re going back to school, with Debbie Flower, who knows a thing or two about school gardens. We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Stud...
Jan 14, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 161
