Beyond the Garden Basics

Don from Indiana has a late summer visitor to his tomato plants. He is not pleased: “I flicked 10 of these “bad boys” off one of my tomato plants last night. Ten! I look at this plant every day. I water it every day. I pick and eat tomatoes off it every day. Every day! How did so many appear seemingly overnight? I believe it is a Tobacco Hornworm caterpillar (Manduca sexta). There were actually 11...

While editing Episode 406 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast (out now), I was taking copious notes, about all the great garden tips Don Shor and I discussed in an episode that was ostensibly a chat about growing tomatoes this summer (we both like Cupid , despite its propensity to sprawl). In fact, it was the most notes I have ever taken for any episode. Were you taking notes, too, while...

In the podcast (above) retired UC Farm Advisor Rachel Long has tips for attracting songbirds to your property. They're nice to look at, sing wonderfully and eat insects. No, we're not talking about the Dixie Chicks on a fad diet. It's the gardener's best friends, a backyard filled with birds. We're talking about the family inhabited by warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates, characterized by feathers...

One of the best places to get your garden questions answered (or pick up the 2026 Sac Co Master Gardener Gardening Guide and Calendar ) is at the annual gathering of Master Gardeners, gardening professionals, and horticultural consultants at Harvest Day, held the first Saturday of August each year at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center in Sacramento County. And last Saturday was no exception. A ques...

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. The Beyond The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred newsletter is a reader-supported publication. Both free and paid subscribers are welcome here! Talking to gardeners, after describing a plant problem, they will be as...

This edition of the newsletter is a deeper dive into this week’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, Episode 398, “Aromatic Plants, Plus Roses! ” Here, we’ll see what these “shows for the nose” look like, along with more details about these aromatic plants, as selected by a group of Sacramento County (CA) Master Gardeners. Plus we take a look at some of the most fragrant roses, as selected by...

The above audio track is from a long time ago, when things were - at the very least -tense. It was during the initial panic as COVID-19 struck the United States, back in May of 2020. The confusion around COVID-19 was my impetus for starting the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. At that time, there were a lot of people developing a sudden interest in gardening, thinking they might be stuck at...

One question I have been getting a lot of lately: Should I prune off (snip off, pinch out) the first tomato flowers that appear, in order to get more tomatoes later? Those early tomato flowers, especially if the weather doesn’t cooperate, will fall all by themselves, thank you. Your assistance is not needed. In today’s newsletter podcast (above), Sacramento County Master Gardener and vegetable exp...

Today’s Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter expands upon a topic we were briefly discussing in Episode 395 of the Garden Basics Podcast, “Survival Garden Basics” . In this case, the short chat was about the value of microgreens, and how they are easy to grow, and because of their small size, super-packed with nutrients. In today’s “Beyond the Garden Basics” newsletter podcast (above), Sacramento C...

If you’re reading this as May turns into June, and you live in the West, you know you’re going through a heat wave, including triple digit temperatures in parts of California. A more widespread - and longer - heat wave is expected in mid-June. And, long range forecasts are calling for a much hotter summer (July through September) than usual throughout most of North America. This is not good news f...

Both free and paid subscribers have full access to the Friday edition of the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter. Because cutting off free subscribers in the middle of a newsletter isn’t a nice thing to do. At the top of the page: an excerpt of a conversation with Don Shor of Redwood Barn Nursery about growing tomatoes with drip irrigation in raised beds from Episode 288 of the Garden Basics with...

In Episode 390 of the Garden Basics podcast , Master Gardener Gail Pothour offered some great tips for growing peppers this spring and summer. We also discussed sweet, warm and hot pepper varieties that might be worth a try in your own garden. That portion of our discussion is also in the newsletter podcast at the top of the page. Also in today’s newsletter podcast, Diane Blazek, the Executive Dir...

A bout of colder, wetter weather means ants will 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. She includes her home recipe for a lethal (but only lethal for ants) outdoor a...

In Ep. 381 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast , Urban Chicken Consultant Cherie Sintes-Glover offered tips on how to protect your backyard chicken flock against the spread of the current version of avian influenza, the deadly H5N1, also known as the Bird Flu. The discussion on the Garden Basics podcast about protecting your flock from the bird flu took up about a half hour. At the top o...

If you’re reading this today, Friday morning, a gentle reminder: did you forget today is Valentine’s Day? Oops. If you are about to scurry out the door for a "run to the supermarket" or "the trip to the hardware store" to find something romantic for your gardening sweetheart, take your phone with you, especially if you’re headed to the flower shop. You may need to call 9-1-1 for an ambulance when...

Recently, a listener’s question did not get fully answered on Episode 378 of the Garden Basics podcast. Katie was asking about how to thwart the squirrels and raccoons that attacked her persimmon tree fruit. But she included this little scenic bypass: “So when the persimmon tree we’ve waited on for NINE years to fruit (it did get fruit in years 6, 7, and 8, but they all dropped. Overwatering? Unde...

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 mem...

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 flames. This is a public episode. If you'd like to d...

Previous episodes of the podcast, show notes, links, product information, and transcripts at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, GardenBasics.net . Transcripts and episode chapters also available at Buzzsprout . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardenbasics.substack.com/subscribe

I read an intriguing garden column (many years ago) in the Redding, CA newspaper that suggested one way to get tomatoes to ripen outdoors in Autumn. It said: "A rule of thumb is, in the fall, take off all leaves and stems and all fruit that will not have time to develop before frost. You'll end up with skeletal vines and bare fruit, which is exactly what you want, since now all the plant's energy...

Mid-October is usually the time here in Northern California to harvest two of my favorite backyard crops: popcorn and persimmons. But what if the roof rats beat you to the harvest? Today - roof rat control tips! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardenbasics.substack.com/subscribe

If you listened to the full interview with avocado grower/Master Gardener Greg Alder in Ep. 360 of the Garden Basics podcast , you got a good fundamental education on growing backyard avocados. We covered such topics as: * Growing Conditions for Avocados * Fertilization Tips * The importance of watering avocado trees * The Role of Mulch * Soil Testing for Success * Cold Tolerant Avocado Varieties...

In this insightful conversation (above), Farmer Fred speaks with Diane Blazek, executive director of All-America Selections and the National Garden Bureau , about the seasonal transition from summer to fall and how it presents an opportunity for gardeners to refresh their landscapes with vibrant fall colors and cool season blooming plants. Diane's extensive experience in the horticultural industry...

In this episode of the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter/podcast, we engage in an in-depth discussion about weed killers with Debbie Flower, America’s favorite retired college horticultural professor. We delve right into the complexities of weed management, addressing the various options available while navigating the maze of products at our local big box stores. As we stand before a daunting wa...

Autumn officially begins on Sunday. Fall planting season, however, is already here. The cooler air temperatures, combined with the still-warm soil, are the perfect growing conditions for a new plant. Increasing in popularity, thanks to increased production by wholesale nurseries and the plants’ needs for less water once established, are an increasing number of California native plants. From the ga...