Beyond the Garden Basics

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...

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 o...

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...

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 pa...

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 st...

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, alon...

“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...

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 co...

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 (J...

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...

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 vers...

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 roo...

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...

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...

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.     Talki...

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 t...

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, e...

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....

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...

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...

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 choosin...

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 a...

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...

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 knowi...

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 din...