Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Quit growing fruit trees, will you? Grow fruit bushes, instead! We talk with a nursery person who wrote a book advocating keeping all your fruit trees no taller than you can reach from the ground. That way, you can grow more varieties of peaches, plums, apples, oranges and other fruit-bearing plants in your yard, without a need to ever get on a ladder. And you will still harvest enough fruit for y...

New to gardening? Or, you just want to learn some better ways to garden? This is the episode for you. College horticulture professor Debbie Flower has tips to make your first garden a successful garden. And, for you more experienced gardeners, we have tips that can make your garden more productive. Or to put it more bluntly, you will be learning from the previous mistakes of two gardeners with ove...

Yes, you can grow tomatoes in containers! Maybe all you have is a small, sunny patio or maybe you have lousy soil, or maybe you just want to be able to move the plants around. With some help, of course. We have tips on great containers for great tomatoes from nursery owner Don Shor who loves tomatoes.  There are a lot of fertilizers out there. Which ones are best for growing vegetables? Our soils...

Snails, slugs, earwigs…who’s chewing on your plants? Well, in fairness, it could be birds, too. But today we have control tips for the slimy and sinister looking Big 3 of Snails, Slugs and Earwigs.  Did you know that one out of every three bites of food you eat is courtesy of a bee? We have advice on attracting bees and other pollinators to your yard. We chat with author Kim Eierman about her late...

Taken a trip lately to a grocery store? Notice the empty meat shelves? Notice the price jumps on what’s left of the beef, chicken and pork? Worried about you and your family getting enough protein? Maybe it’s time to grow your own protein. And I’m not talking about a backyard full of creatures that moo, cluck and oink. I’m talking about garden plants that are rich in protein. We talk with Master G...

Want to get your kids out in the garden, growing food that they will enjoy eating, too? Pam Farley, The Brown Thumb Mama , has suggestions for Vegetables and Fruits Kids Love To Grow.  Roses are blooming, and the bad bugs have found them! Our favorite college horticulture teacher, Debbie Flower, tackles two of the prime culprits this time of year: aphids and thrips. Want to grow food? But all you...

Quit fertilizing your plants! Feed your soil instead. Episode 7 goes deep into what makes for a successful plant. If you think plant roots are sucking up the liquid or granular fertilizer that your pouring on them, think again. Plant roots aren’t straws. Instead there are billions of microscopic beneficial fungi and bacteria in the soil that are converting those fertilizers into a usable form for...

People lately aren’t just starting vegetable and flower gardens as a way to help them get through the Coronavirus pandemic. They’re getting chickens, too. There’s been a big demand for baby chicks. People want to have more available forms of protein… just in case that much talked-about meat shortage comes about. But what do you know about picking out and raising baby chicks? Not much, I bet. We br...

We save some money and some time on today's episode. Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms tells us about his "Cheapskate Salad Bowl": how you can grow and harvest lettuce quickly (within a month) and cheaply (using nursery planting trays). And, you don't have to worry about it bolting in the summer heat. Watch his video of the process here. Plus, Brad talks about all the unique and wi...

We talk with nationally known family life blogger Pam Farley, also known as the Brown Thumb Mama , about garden activities to do with the kids while you are sheltered in place.   Our favorite college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, delves into your questions about controlling one of the most prevalent of springtime garden pests, aphids. More info on controlling aphids. Tips on how you and y...

On Episode 3 of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, we have a nifty way to stick tomato and pepper plants in the ground, a method guaranteed to produce a stronger plant. More information. We talk about a really basic seed saving technique: how and where to store those half-filled, left over packets of seeds you have…somewhere. Did you look in the garage? I hope they’re not there. And the reason you ma...

Master Gardener Gail Pothour tells us how to have a microgreens garden in the kitchen. Choosing the tastiest blueberry varieties; how to grow blueberry plants . The importance of thinning young vegetable seedlings and young fruit . What are you grateful for? Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics  Newslette...

:00 Why another garden podcast? 1:14 The importance of gardening during these days of "Shelter in Place". What is Integrated Pest Management? The right plant in the right place. 5:51 The Victory Garden 2.0 with Diane Blazek, All-America Selections. 18:30 Answers to Your Garden Questions - "What are the Most Dependable Tomatoes to Grow?" 27:12 Questions to Ask Yourself while She...