Beyond the Garden Basics

Beyond The Garden Basics is a reader-supported publication. To receive exclusive posts and complete access to past editions , consider becoming a paid subscriber. Today’s podcast interview focuses on consulting arborists and how they help property owners evaluate tree health. Gordon Mann explains that a consulting arborist provides independent inspections, identifies problems such as leaning, bran...

Today’s newsletter podcast is a special treat for readers and listeners of the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter/podcast who might also be weather nerds…and what gardener isn’t? It’s an interview with climate scientist Daniel Swain, who, besides being a University of California Ag and Natural Resources employee at the California Institute for Water Resources, is well known on social media. Swain...

You may recall a couple of weeks ago on June 12, the Beyond the Garden Basics podcast featured myself and America’s Favorite retired horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, talking about protecting your outdoor plants in containers from the searing summer heat. That conversation was recorded during a live presentation at the 2023 Harvest Day festivities, put on by the Sacramento County, California...

Today’s newsletter is all about starthistle, and all the ways you can control this summer weed…organically. If you want to read about chemical controls for starthistle, check out this University of California Ag and Natural Resources publication, “ Yellow Starthistle ”. In today’s podcast (above), America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor and I talk about the chemical side of weed...

We tackle how to help your garden cope with the late spring and all-summer heat waves coming our way in today’s podcast and newsletter. In the first part of the podcast (above), America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, and I, concentrate on helping your plants in containers stay cooler in the summer. The second part of today’s podcast features a September 2022 chat...

Today’s podcast features Sacramento County Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour, extolling the virtues of growing okra in the summer. Gail’s encyclopedic knowledge of this warm weather crop will amaze you. Perhaps it’s her South Carolina heritage that adds to her love of okra. Sometimes disdained for its mucilanginous flavor (aka “slimy”), okra is a plant of many uses, including its l...

Garden book author and citrus expert Lance Walheim, is a big proponent of growing citrus trees in containers. We discuss his techniques in today’s podcast, along with shameless plugs for his new book, “ Citrus: A Gardeners’ & Fruit Lovers’ Guide .” For those of you in a hurry, here are some of the important points we touch on in the podcast: Choose compact citrus varieties for containers — Meyer l...

The Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter and podcast has been around awhile, with over 450 editions since August of 2022. That’s a lot of gardening info! Checking out nearly four years of newsletters and podcasts to learn more about gardening can be a daunting task. So, to help ease the process a bit, here are the seven most clicked-on (and time spent with) editions. This is a public episode. If yo...

In case you need a refresher course, here are some points about the benefits of using compost in your garden, according to the UC Master Gardeners of Alameda County : • Improves Soil Structure (Tilth): Lightens heavy clay soils and adds structure to sandy soils. • Saves Water: Increases the water-holding capacity, reducing runoff and water usage. • Feeds Plants & Soil Life: Adds slow-release nutri...

Is there a better-looking, longer lasting, cut flower than the alstroemeria? Is there a more invasive, underground spreading plant than the alstroemeria? Sometimes, to get to heaven, you have to go through a little hell. Also known as the Peruvian Lily, Lily of the Incas, Parrot Lily, Princess Lily, and “How the Heck Did You Get Over to the Other Side of the Garden?”, alstroemerias can easily last...

If you’re looking for a superfood to grow, it’s hard to beat blackberries. They can be grown in just about every state in the United States. They’re highly adaptable, and they thrive in USDA zones from 4 all the way up through 10. Here in California, in USDA zone 9, they do quite well. They grow nearly anywhere that has enough sun. Today, we talk with Master Gardener and berry expert Jeff Smoker,...

In this episode, we discuss the essentials of basil cultivation, highlighting the basil basics for home gardens. We cover basil soil preparation, planting, timing, and a few of the various flavorful basil varieties such as Sweet, Thai, and cinnamon basil. We include basil care tips such as watering, fertilization, and pest management. Special guest Rose Loveall-Sale from Morningsun Herb Farm share...

Sweet potatoes are one of the most under-appreciated crops you can grow. But it will reward those gardeners who give sweet potatoes what they really need: heat. As you will hear in the podcast with Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour, sweet potatoes have some very particular needs. A San Joaquin County (CA) listener wrote in asking how to alleviate the frustration of trying to sprout...

Soil mycorrhizae. What is it? If you’ve seen any of the “Avatar” movies, you would know that James Cameron probably has a good grasp of the subject…and you would have a basic understanding of what we are going to talk about today. Without mycorrhizal activity, there would be very little gardening. To return to the “Avatar” comparison, you know how in those movies, if anyone fell ill or was near de...

We talk about water safety and rain barrels with Sacramento County Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour who swears up and down on her stack of Ruth Stout gardening books that she would NEVER drink water from a rain barrel…nor would she water her edible plants with it. What’s a gardener to do? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

If we sound excited, we are! It’s getting close to tomato planting time! In this week’s podcast and newsletter, Don Shor of Redwood Barn Nursery in Davis, CA and I discuss this year’s unusual weather, emphasizing the importance of proper soil temperature and patience when planting. Don shares insights on different tomato varieties, explaining determinate, indeterminate, and heirloom types, alongsi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com Farmer Fred interviews horticulturist and commercial citrus grower Lance Walheim about the history and cultivation of citrus fruits, covering varieties, growing tips, pest challenges, and the joys of homegrown citrus.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com In this podcast episode, I speak with Staci and Jeremy Hill, authors of "The Preserver's Garden," at their 11-acre farm Gooseberry Bridge in the Ozark Mountains. We explore their transition from urban life to sustainable farming, emphasizing self-sufficiency and healthy eating through preserving homegrown food.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com What is Backyard Orchard Culture? According to Dave Wilson Nursery, the goal of Backyard Orchard Culture is the prolonged harvest of tree-ripe fruit from a small space. This means planting close together several fruit varieties that ripen at different times and keeping the trees small by summer pruning. Accordi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com Some passersby or visitors might think you have a yard full of shiny coffins in your front or backyard. OK, using large steel cattle watering troughs as gardening containers might not appeal to those who heed form and design before function. But that staple of rural areas for supplying water to horses, cattle,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com Today’s podcast here on Beyond the Garden Basics is all about grapes. We have two interviews with two Sacramento County UC Master Gardeners, who specialize in grape selection, planting, trellising, feeding, watering, protecting, and harvesting both wine grapes and table grapes. You’re going to discover the best...

Please share this with any of your friends or family embarking into the exciting world of backyard gardening, especially starting a food garden! America’s Favorite Retired College Horticultural Professor, Debbie Flower, and I explored these “lessons learned the hard way” (aka “Garden Wisdom”) back in 2022. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com Blueberries Grow Well in Containers At our former residence, the blueberry harvest from our six plants was outstanding; there was plenty for us, as well as the birds (note: add netting). The six southern highbush varieties that we planted there included Sharp Blue, Jubilee, South Moon, Blue Ray, Sunshine Blue a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com In today’s newsletter podcast, Master Rosarian Debbie Arrington waxes rhapsodic about the new rose varieties that will be at nurseries in 2026. In USDA Zone 9, those roses may already be available locally. If not, they’re usually available from rose catalogs. For paid subscribers, Debbie talks about 12 new rose...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com We are entering the shivering season for the Central Valley, Bay Area and low foothills of California, along with other mild winter states, especially those that grow citrus. Late November through mid-February is the most critical time here for protecting frost-susceptible plants. This is especially true for ci...