Beyond the Garden Basics

Looking for tried and true pepper varieties to grow this year? How about proven varieties of tomatoes, greens, squash, okra, melons, as well as pollinator-friendly flowering plants such as begonias and petunias? Give a listen to Episodes 168 and 169 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. In Episode 168 , we chatted with Sacramento County Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour. S...

As you can hear in the podcast above, adding bagged soil products to your garden might cause problems with your plants, due to impeded water movement. What to do? Debbie Flower, our favorite retired college horticultural professor, says to stick to the native soil. But, she does offer tips on how you can use bagged soil in your garden. Give a listen. And if you want to hear the whole conversation,...

Above: In today’s Garden Basics “Beyond Basics” Newsletter podcast: Brad Gay of JB’s Power Equipment in Davis , CA explains what to look for when choosing garden pruners. And, Debbie Flower has a garden tool storage tip you may not be aware of: your garage floor could rust your shovels! Here’s a hint on what to do: We are back to two Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcasts a week as we start Seaso...

In this special podcast for the Garden Basics Newsletter, Beyond the Basics, I wanted to highlight five great garden hints offered by Debbie Flower from the original podcast, Episode 163 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred : • Soaking pepper seeds in hydrogen peroxide can speed up germination; and, how seeds germinate.  • Why seeds don’t need fertilizer. • How to know when to transplant those se...

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...

ABOVE: Tips for Germinating Pepper Seeds in Less Than Two or Three Weeks Episode 161 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast delved into two popular issues: tips for choosing the easiest to grow succulents; and, the best plants and themes for a school/home school garden. In this newsletter, we expand on those two topics, plus a bonus podcast (above) with information on getting pepper seeds t...

All About Tomatoes! Gardeners LOVE growing tomatoes. So much so that the subject of tomatoes made the Top 5 audience favorite segments among all of the 2021 Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcasts . The latest episode, #160, The Greatest Hits of 2021: All About Tomatoes , runs over an hour. And the top listened-to segments are directly or indirectly related to growing tomatoes: Starting Tomato See...

In episode 159 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast , we discussed gardening trends of 2022 that might have appeal for you. We talked with Andrew Bunting of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which released its list of garden trends worth pursuing in the coming year. Among the trends catching on in many parts of the country (some of which are fairly well established in other parts of...

YOU DON'T WANT THESE WORMS IN YOUR GARDEN, COMPOST OR WORM BIN The damage that jumping worms (aka Asian Jumping Worms, Crazy Worms, Alabama Jumpers, or Snake Worms) can do to your garden soil. (video originally produced by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ) More on how jumping worms damage your soil structure, from Oregon State University : Because they have very large mouths akin to...