Beyond the Garden Basics

If you’re a transplant from a colder USDA Zone to a warmer zone, you may have fond memories of rhubarb pie, strawberry-rhubarb jam, rhubarb crisp, or something more exotic, such as Rhubarb-Blueberry Upside Down Cake. But if you now live in USDA Zones 9 or 10, you may be wondering, is it too hot here in the summer to grow rhubarb? Is it too warm in the winter here to grow rhubarb?

Yes you can! But leave your rhubarb growing techniques back in Wisconsin. The trick to growing rhubarb here is: start from seed, not roots; use varieties that are developed for milder climates; and grow them in the shade.

In the podcast above, we talk with Ronni Kern of the West Los Angeles chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers Association. She has all the details for growing it successfully here in California and in other milder climates.

But before we dive into the pit of endless rhubarb, a bit of business:

“It’s All About the Soil (for a Successful Garden!)”

Did you listen to Episode 353 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast? It’s entitled, “It’s All About the Soil (for a successful garden!)”.

We chat with Kevin Marini, a community education specialist with UC Cooperative Extension in Placer and Nevada Counties, about the topic of soil and gardening. We discuss the pros and cons of using native soil versus commercial soil, the importance of improving native soil, the use of bagged mixes and raised beds, and the role of organic matter and fertilizers in gardening. We also touch on the benefits of mulch and the importance of proper watering techniques. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding and improving soil for successful gardening.

You’ll want to listen to it twice, as well as reading the transcript, for all the handy gardening tips and tricks we mention to achieve an outstanding garden.

The podcast (along with a transcript) is available now wherever you get your podcasts. But if you want an accurate, corrected transcript along with the podcast, go to GardenBasics.net . Thank you for listening (and/or reading!)

Farmer Fred’s Ride for the Kids!

I'm fundraising on behalf of the Sacramento Rotary Club’s 2024 Sac Century Challenge bike ride on September 28th to raise money for the Sacramento Children's Home Crisis Nursery and I could use your support. Here’s the link.

On that date, I’ll be riding my bike, a Surly Midnight Special (NOT an e-bike) 100 miles along the Sacramento River to help out the Sacramento Children’s Home Crisis Nursery. I’ve ridden 100 miles in one day plenty of times…when I was younger. 

But at 73, I could use some moral support, and the Sacramento Children’s Home Crisis Nursery can use your pledge money. So, how about it? Maybe pledge 10 cents a mile (that’s $10) along with a hearty, “You go, Fred!” Or a more generous one dollar a mile ($100), to give me the mental endurance for the entire ride, to dodge the pothole-filled levee roads and pedal harder in the ferocious headwinds that makes this ride a real challenge!

The Sacramento Children's Home Crisis Nursery is the only program of its kind in Sacramento County and directly prevents child abuse and neglect by supporting families with small children at times of crisis. The nursery allows parents to bring their children ages newborn to five for emergency hourly or overnight care during difficult times, with the goal of keeping families together and reducing the number of children entering foster care. To care for our community's most vulnerable children, we rely on support from community members like you. By donating, you empower us to provide a safe haven for children throughout the Sacramento area, offering respite to parents during times of crisis, and building a strong support system for the future. Your support helps provide a safe place to stay local kids in need. Again, here’s the link to make a donation to the Sacramento Children’s Home Crisis Nursery. Or do it because this newsletter is still free (for now).

Thank you for your support, and say "Hi!" if you see me pedaling like crazy out there along the Sacramento River on Saturday, September 28th!

Can You Grow Rhubarb? Yes!

Here’s the transcript of the podcast (above) chat with Ronni Kern of the West L.A. California Rare Fruit Growers. There are lots and lots of hot links in the transcript to get you to more information about rhubarb and more!

TRANSCRIPT - How To Grow Rhubarb in USDA Zones 9 and 10.

Farmer Fred:

 As you are probably very aware, I've been answering garden questions here in Northern California for, well over 40 years, actually. And nobody ever asked me about rhubarb until I visited the eye doctor a few months ago. And besides her questions, which are usually, “Which is clearer, the first one or the second one?” “One or two?” Her other question was, “Can you grow rhubarb here?” 

And nobody in all those years has ever asked me about growing rhubarb before. And I mentioned that to her and I said, well, I'll look into it and see what it is. Now, this was back about five months ago. And since then, what an adventure it has been about the history of rhubarb, the history of rhubarb in California, and how to grow it, and all the varieties. And the short answer to my eye doctor's question is, “yes,” with a few reservations. But to even add more to this story, at a recent gathering of the Master Gardeners of Sacramento County, of which I'm one, I came across a Master Gardener who is growing it here in Sacramento, and she sent me a picture of it. And it is gorgeous. It is growing in full sun, which to find out, can be chancy. But it's doing great. It's a variety called “Success” that she found in Australia, in a seed catalog, French Harvest. We'll get into that, too, because this little voyage with rhubarb is going to take us around the world.

Farmer Fred:

 It's an amazing journey, so stick around and you'll find out a lot. We are talking with Ronni Kern. Ronni Kern is with the California Rare Fruit Growers Association, and she is down in West Los Angeles for that chapter. And I'm very familiar with the California Rare Fruit Growers here in the Sacramento area. And one thing I know about them, they love to experiment. They love to try new things. That's the whole idea of being a gardener. And the California Rare Fruit Growers Association is full of very curious gardeners. And Ronni is one of those. Ronni Kern also had the same issue I had with finding rhe answer to the question, can you grow rhubarb in California?

Farmer Fred:

 And for years, it was like, no, you can't. It gets too hot here. It doesn't get cold enough in the wintertime. Well, California has a lot of climates. And in fact, in her research about growing rhubarb in California, she discovered that actually it was a thriving crop at one time here. Actually, the rhubarb seeds that were developed here, that grew here, came from a very famous seedsman, and you know him well, Luther Burbank, who farmed in Santa Rosa, which, as you may know, gets rather hot as well, over 100 degrees in the summertime. And he was very effusive about the varieties of rhubarb that he was growing. When I start mentioning this about rhubarb to people, if they're from the Midwest, oh, their eyes light up because they remember, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I used to love rhubarb pie, fresh rhubarb, jellies and jams.

Farmer Fred:

 And they're usually from the Midwest or back east, as is Ronni Kern. Ronnie, you were born and raised in Rhode Island?

Ronni Kern:

 Well, actually, I was born in Brooklyn, but I was raised in Rhode Island.

Farmer Fred:

It sounds like your parents, though, would have no business being in New York City, considering how much they loved fresh picked fruit.

Ronni Kern:

 Well, my mother loved fruit. My dad was the one from Brooklyn. My dad was not much of an eater until lwhen I was in my 20s, I had a huge organic garden in Vermont and suddenly discovered, oh, “vegetables have taste”. Because when he was growing  up, his mother didn’t cook. And my mother cooked frozen vegetables. So he basically was not an eater. My mother was. So it was my mother who was the fruit person. My dad, not so much. Steak, a couple of vegetables. That was it. And I went to college without knowing what a cauliflower was. I mean, to give you some idea of New England upbringing in the 50s. But no, I mean, fruit growing, fruit was a huge part of my childhood because of my mother and because of New England and where I lived. A lot of fruit grew there back then. And I guess it still does. I'm not there now, I've been in California for over 50 years.

Farmer Fred:

Well, rhubarb has sort of the same kind of legal history as tomatoes, in that it took a court in New York to decide that rhubarb should be considered a fruit, because it is primarily used in desserts.

Ronni Kern:

Right. Well, you know, the actual name they used to call it in England was “pie plant” because it was the first thing to come up in the spring when there was snow was on the ground. So people could make pies out of it. And yeah, they consider it definitely a fruit. Though one of my main propagator friends in the West LA chapter, Charles Portney, actually doesn't use it as a fruit because he is pre-diabetic. So he roasts it and cooks it with onion and garlic and olive oil. And he loves it that way. So you can consider it a vegetable. It isn't a vegetable. Burbank considered it a vegetable, but most of us consider it a fruit. And the California Rare Fruit Growers, all right, we're growing it as a fruit. Others grow it as a vegetable.

Farmer Fred: 

 It has quite the history here in the United States. Allegedly, Ben Franklin brought it over from France. The history of rhubarb goes back to ancient China, where they found it in the mountains of China. So it has a very good cold tolerance. I think here in the United States, it can grow down into USDA Zone 2, which would be probably where my relatives were farming back in North Dakota. But  the problem with growing rhubarb, though, has to do with summertime heat, which can really can knock it back for certain varieties. And tell us about your adventure and how you came upon Luther Burbank and all these other rhubarb varieties.

Ronni Kern:

 Well, you know, when I came to California, I wanted to grow rhubarb. I mean, that's what I grew up eating. And so I go to the nursery, but all they sell is Victoria. Victoria, some people can grow, but does not really do well in Southern California. It grows as an annual. You put it in the ground, you get a crop, and it dies. And I was frustrated because it never got really big. It never got really sweet. And rhubarb, actually, if it's good, it's sweet. But I gave up on it.

Ronni Kern:

 Basically, I said, all right, this is not working. I grew other things. And then four or five years ago, five years ago, I got cancer. And after that, I said, I've got to really figure out rhubarb. You know, time is limited here. So I started researching, and that's when I came upon Burbank and his book, “Luther Burbank, his Methods and Discoveries” has a big chapter on rhubarb. And he said it can be grown, his could be grown in arid, warm, arid climates. I thought, oh, I need some of that stuff. And I thought, okay, no big deal. He was in Santa Rosa. I'll get some of his roots.

Ronni Kern:

Unfortunately, the more I researched, the more I discovered, the roots had disappeared. Somebody bought the patent when he died, and then they got moved on and moved on. But the land was more valuable for housing development or industrial development. And ultimately, his roots were all plowed under, which broke my heart, broke the heart of David Karp, who was a great writer on fruit, well-known around the country. I knew that there were people who must have still had the roots. I bought rhubarb at the farmer's market here from a woman from Valley Center (near San Diego), which is where the last commercial fields were. I have friends who live in Valley Center, but I couldn't find any. And nobody knew about any of that. They had other varieties, cherry and this and that, but nobody knew if they were actually Burbanks. And so that's when I went back to his book and discovered he'd gone to New Zealand to get the roots. And I couldn't get roots then. It was during COVID. I found this wonderful company, French Harvest in Australia.

Ronni Kern:

It's a family that's been growing rhubarb for four generations. Colin Clayton (and his wife, Tina) is the last generation. He wrote a book on rhubarb, which I have in front of me. I started ordering seeds from them. And I passed them out to my members who were interested in propagating. Mostly Charles and I produced most of the plants that have now been spread across Southern California. And people are just going crazy for the stuff because it does grow year round. It does grow in our heat. I do grow it in shade. I have it on my north side of my house where it's happier. But people are growing it almost anywhere. And it's doing really, really well. And we're now in year four and it keeps coming. It's perpetual. It doesn't ever really die back entirely. It slows down. This time of year, it's already starting to curl up. Probably September, October, it'll be looking pretty peaked. And then November when the rains come, hopefully it'll start coming back again. In fact, my big problem is figuring out how to divide roots here because you normally divide divide roots when they're dormant in the winter on the East Coast or Midwest or wherever. And we don't really have that season. I'm a stubborn person. I've been researching my whole life. I was a writer my whole life. A lot of my work was historical, and I just got into the habit of doing a lot of research. And so finding Burbank's book on archive.org or the old news articles that would announce his latest discovery. I mean, he grew strawberry-flavored rhubarb. He grew raspberry. He was a lunatic, and I don't know how much of it was just hype and marketing and how much of it was real.

Ronni Kern:

 I don't want to diss Luther Burbank, obviously, but other people were growing it.

Farmer Fred:

 I can do that. I can diss him for you if you would like. You made a reference to an old newspaper clipping, and you had it posted in one of the West LA CRFG chapter newsletters, which is online. And it was from the Los Angeles Herald newspaper of 1904. Thank you. And it says, “concerning an improvement on the Australian crimson winter rhubarb, so highly prized by all who have used it, Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa answers an inquiry from the California fruit growers as follows. He said, my last new rhubarb is a variety which produces luscious, juicy stalks perpetually throughout the year, and which do not have the rank strong acid taste, or as some express it, ground flavor, which we naturally associate with the older rhubarb. In place of this is a mild but pronounced fruity flavor, very much resembling strawberries or raspberries, so much so that when this rhubarb is once tasted, no one ever cares to taste the old kind.” Now there's a salesman.

Ronni Kern:

 Right. The wonderful thing about this is something called the California Digital Newspaper, whatever it's called, collection at UC Riverside. So you can find all these old California newspapers in there, including something called the Pacific Rural Press, which goes back to 1905(?), where they're talking about his winter, crimson winter rhubarb. And it's coming into great prominence in California. And they were growing hundreds of thousands of acres of rhubarb at a certain time in California. They were shipping it all over the country because it was growing so well here. That's what is so heart-threatening. Now there's almost none, almost none being grown, just backyard gardeners and a couple of commercial, small, small-scale commercial gardeners.

Farmer Fred:

 You mentioned David Karp, and he pointed out, I think this was about 10 years ago, so the number may have grown since then. He pointed out back then that there's only four commercial acres left in California of rhubarb, whereas back in the 1920s and 30s, it was over 1,000 acres.

Ronni Kern:

Right. And, you know, I just gave some roots of my Tina's Noble to Dominic Shainer, who's part of Shainer Farms down in Valley Center, the original place where the roots went. And he works with Gray Martin a lot on growing interesting things. And I'm hoping maybe they're commercial growers. I'm hoping maybe they'll get... Them growing again commercially but even at the farmer's market there are maybe two people that sell them and one sells the green stuff which never gets soft and you feel like you're eating celery when you're eating it in a dessert and then this other woman from the valley center was actually growing the really good red stuff but i haven't seen her in years so i don't think there are very many commercial growers. What's one of the things that california fruit growers do we kind of pick up the slack and the same thing with rhubarb. we're going to get rhubarb growing. I must have, I don't know, 25 people growing it now around mostly Southern California.

Farmer Fred:

 Do you have any growing it in the Central Valley of California?

Ronni Kern:

 I personally don't know. Even though it can handle heat, I would say if you were going to grow it in where you are, I would put it in shade. I would put it either under shade cloth. I actually threw a shade cloth over one of my plants, which is not in shade and was looking kind of, eh. Some of the people that are growing it here said,  it's not looking good. I said, put a shade cloth both on it. And it helps. I mean, it makes a huge difference. It seems to be surviving and it's grown well. And some of these, Especially the variety “Success”, the woman that you talked about growing. Success is one that I have. It's one of my favorites because it is the sweetest of the ones I grow. And that comes from Sydney, which is actually much more a climate like we have down here in Southern California.

Farmer Fred:

 Sydney, Australia.

Ronni Kern:

 Yeah, Sydney, Australia. Whereas the Claytons live in Melbourne, which is further south, which means it gets colder. It definitely gets colder there.  I think Colin brought in seeds from Greenland, for Pete's sakes, Who found it in Greenland. I don't need that. I don't have a Greenland climate, but I do have a Sydney climate.

Farmer Fred:

 For the sake of those who don't know where Valley Center, California is, where is Valley Center, California?

Ronni Kern:

 That's outside San Diego. That's North San Diego County. It's a prime growing area. Most of the avocados come from there. Citrus come from there. It's a wonderful, wonderful growing area. It's just a really good agricultural area. 

Farmer Fred:

That's a rather Impolite name then, for an area that is close to the Garden on Eden, calling it Valley Center. 

Ronni Kern:

I don't know Where the name came from. It must have been derived from something else. And that's where the last sighting down here of the Burbank roots were.

Farmer Fred:

Well, let's go back to those Burbank roots, because you've been doing updates just about every year on the California Rare Fruit Growers website newsletter for West LA.

Farmer Fred:

You always have something to add every year. And we were talking beforehand that you just discovered that if you go to Santa Rosa, to the Luther Burbank Farm and Gardens, and it's in downtown Santa Rosa, they're back to selling the original roots.

Ronni Kern:

 Well, they may be. That's what I was told. And their website seems to indicate that they have located them. Whether you can get them today, I don't know. And I've been tempted to call them and say, are you still selling them? But I haven't done that. But yes, two different chapter chairs have obtained them from the Burbank.

Farmer Fred:

Do we know what varieties are available?

Ronni Kern:

 They just call it Burbank Perpetual. That's the name. It's a single variety. Even though he ultimately developed 36 varieties, these are all called just Burbank Perpetual. So I assume that they... Basically have found one variety or they're not distinguishing among them after all this time i sometimes get sounded on the growing fruit forum for saying oh i'm growing glasgow perpetual or i'm growing this one i say well you're not really, because glasgow's been dead 100 years so lord knows what's happened to those seeds over time and it's true. and actually colin when he sent me the seeds the first time he said, “grow them up and if you decide to grow seeds name them whatever you want. these are going to be your california seeds and the ones that do best for you, name them what you want to call them, because they'll be specific to your area.”

Farmer Fred:

 Well, that brings up a very good question about what do these seeds develop as? If you buy the Success seed of rhubarb, is it going to come up as Success? Or because it is a hybrid, is it going to be some combination of a lot of different ones?

Ronni Kern:

 They are seedlings. They are seedlings, so they are not going to be 100% true. But I think Colin  actually has some statistics in his book. I actually glanced at it this morning … But he said basically 50% true, 10% will be even better than they should have been, 10% will be worse than they should have been, and the rest is somewhere in between. So his suggestion is you grow a lot of them and that's why he sends you 100 seeds in a packet for like 15 bucks. He keeps telling me to pull out my Success because it keeps trying to send up seed pods. And you don't want to send up seed pods because then you lose the energy to the roots and then you don't get the rhubarb. But it makes the best rhubarb. So I just cut the seeds off, I don't worry about it, and then have the rhubarb. But I actually have a Tina's Noble that has now formed three different heads. And I'm actually going to separate those out at one point and let one of them go to seed because it is an exceptional plant. And some of the other Tina's I've had have been, they're all been good, but some have not been quite as vigorous as this one. So that's worth perpetuating. I was expecting us just to be sending out, planting out roots and selling roots. But if I can get one of these to go to seed, it seems like pretty easy. Then yeah, we would try that. Back at the Venice Learning Center at the Venice High School, they have a seed bank and they were really big on saving seeds that do well for them there. And they do have some rhubarb seeds of just a sort of generic variety. And I looked at them, then I was big as mine, so I don't care.

Farmer Fred:

 But you really do want to grow the colored variety, like the red leaf rhubarb.

Ronni Kern:

The red ones, yeah. Yeah. Well, not the red leaf, the red stalk.

Farmer Fred:

Red petiole, yeah.

Ronni Kern:

There is a red leaf one called Ace of Hearts, but that's really just an ornamental one. You don't need it. It's just a pretty guy.

Farmer Fred:

 Yeah, you're right. I should say red stalked.

Ronni Kern:

 Red stalk. And yeah,  The Glasgow Perpetual, for example, is a green stalked one. It's an excellent, excellent rhubarb. I just happen to like the red ones, when you cook them up, they stay red and you don't have this sort of muddy looking, whatever, compote. You have a nice red compote. You don't have to put cherries or strawberries or raspberries in it. It just is red. I like that. And also, as I said, Success is sweet. The Success is a sweet one, sweeter than any of them. I haven't tasted Crimson Sunrise yet. That's my newest one. But Tinas is a delicious one, but it's not really sweet. You have to add sugar to it. Whereas Success, not so much. You know, it's pretty amazing.

Farmer Fred:

I had mentioned that I came across a master gardener here in Sacramento County, Ruth Ostroff, who is growing Success rhubarb in the Sacramento area. The plant is in full sun. She sent me a picture of it. It is gorgeous. It is large. And it strikes me that rhubarb is a crop that is sort of like asparagus. You want to put it at the back of the garden.

Ronni Kern:

 Yeah, it's big. It can be, well, I keep having members say, can I grow this in a pot? And Colin does sell a couple of varieties. I'm actually trying to get one to come up now called Urban Harvest, which is smaller and can be grown in a pot. But these guys, by and large, are big. Crimson sunrise is huge. It needs wind protection. And yeah, so you want them at the back of your plot. Or in my case, I just have it in its own plot all by itself.

Farmer Fred:

 And where it's getting, what, afternoon shade? You said it's on the north side of the house. So it's getting afternoon shade.

Ronni Kern:

 It gets mostly permanent shade. Oh, okay. It's permanent shade. This time of year, the middle of the day gets sun. But it does fine. You know, the leaves do crinkle up a little bit. I mean, my Tina's Noble is starting to turn a little brown on the leaves. But yeah, it's doing great.

Farmer Fred:

 We should mention who Clayton and Tina are. They're the ones that are running French Harvest, the seed company, down in Australia, and they truly are rhubarb heads. And I just ordered a container rhubarb from them, Ruby Red, and the seeds will be arriving soon. If you can find seeds locally, that would be the way to go, because ordering seeds from Australia, while the seeds are cheap, it's like $10 for 100 seeds, but then there's a $25 shipping charge.

Ronni Kern:

 This is why this woman in Orange asked me if we could go in together. I bought four packages. And the shipping was finally less than the seeds were.

Ronni Kern:

And also, the other reason why I like to order a lot is because the U.S. Postal Service uses these automated things to cancel the packages, and Tina sends them in an envelope. I've had a lot of seeds arrived crushed. And Tina, she's great about replacing them, but it's a hassle. You wait months to get them, and then they're crushed. And this time, I had my Tina’s Noble and my Crimson Sunrisers just exploded out of the germination beds. And the Urban Harvest and the Success, which has always done well for me, did nothing. And I suspect that they were crushed. It's not anything on the Claytons. They grow great seeds. It should sometimes the vagaries of getting them in from overseas is if you can get them locally, that would be the best. That's why I'm hoping at some point to start growing seeds. And if your friend, the master gardener who's grown success can get seeds off hers, that would be fantastic. Success goes to seed really easily. So she should be able to do that.

Farmer Fred:

 As a matter of fact, I have. We try many different varieties here. I mean, that's what gardeners do, too.

 So let's get into the nuts and bolts of planting rhubarb seeds. When do you plant them here in California? How do you care for them?

Ronni Kern:

 I basically plant them year round. Since I'm getting mine from Australia, they're coming in. This is their winter. So fall is when they're harvesting and putting them up. So any time after I got mine, I ordered mine in June, tend to order mine usually around June, partially because we have our plant sale in December every here so i like to grow them up so we can sell them sell the plants at our plant sale i tend to be a very conservative person in terms of putting things into the ground i want them to be really good strong plants so i let them and make sure they have a lot of leaves i basically get them into one gallon pots before i put them in the ground but  i've tried many many different ways of germinating them. it really depends sometimes. i used to float them in water on a heat mat until they formed a little seedling and then then put them in my standard one-third sand, one-third perlite, one-third peat starting mix. i've tried this last batch i tried some of that. i just started another batch in what i happen to have around which was pumice, perlite, and peat, and then just one thing that Colin says is that in nature rhubarb seeds just fall on the ground and germinate, so he says you don't have to bury them. you can just put them on top of your planting mix and then put maybe a little light something on that. i put some perlite on mostly because there's a guy in Eagle Rock who germinates really hard seeds from Brazil, and that's what he does. It's just a very light coating of perlite, very easy for the plants to come up through, doesn't get them overly wet.

Ronni Kern:

 Colin keeps saying, do not get them too wet, do not get them cold. They do not like that. As I said, some of these things with Tina’s Noble that have like 90% germination, Success usually had excellent germination, this time not so much. And the Crimson Sunrise also has excellent germination.

Farmer Fred:

 I didn't soak my rhubarb seeds, as some instructions might imply. There are several states that are facing the same issue we are as far as growing rhubarb. Down in Texas, they have a great publication about growing rhubarb, especially around the Austin, Texas area. and they talk about the fact that you're better off just growing it as an annual because it just gets too hot there in the summertime. And they have fungal issues too, which can be a detriment to rhubarb because of their higher humidity levels in Texas. Whereas here in California, for the most part, we don't have humidity issues. Of course, it depends where you live.

Ronni Kern:

 Right. So this year, the humidity has been insane, but I do plant them up a little high. Some places, they actually plant the rhubarb on mounds. I think even Colin plants his on mounds, so you can walk between the mounds to harvest. Any plant that you're worried about, root rot, whether it's a tropical tree or perhaps a rhubarb, there's no harm in planting it on a mound that sort of protects you from too much water. Mostly, I just planted it. I had a birch tree die. The house was 100 years old. The birch had been here 100 years. It died.

I had the people who took it down ship it and leave it there. So the rhubarb was planted in birch chips and did very well there.

Farmer Fred:

 Yeah, Colin points out that they send a nice little piece of literature with every order of rhubarb seeds, and they mention, “rhubarb seed hates to be wet and cold. Rhubarb seeds should not be treated like other seeds. Use high-grade propagation mix. Water once when first sown, then don't water again until the seed starts to germinate in approximately 10 days. Depending upon the air temperature, if the soil becomes really, really dry, then water very lightly if absolutely necessary.” I took a chance and I took some of those seeds. I had a blank spot in a raised bed that is in full sun. I scattered some seed. I put on maybe an eighth of an inch of vermiculite on top of it. And it all germinated within three days.

Ronni Kern:

 Wow. And that's the ruby, the ruby red?

Farmer Fred:

 No, that was the Success.

Ronni Kern:

The Success. Yeah, because the Ruby Red, we've had a terrible time. I think the smaller the seed, the more likely it is that it's going to get crushed. These are the Success seeds from your friend or from Australia?

Farmer Fred:

These are the ones from Australia. And I grew a second batch of rhubarb seed, the ones from the Master Gardener and the ones that are also from French Harvest. I grew them as suggested in containers, in seed starting mix, in a protected area, and they never sprouted. 

Ronni Kern:

 that's interesting. So the ones that you planted outside in the sun, in a raised bed, sprouted. My problem is animals eat everything, including my dog. I tend not to start things in the ground because they just disappear.

Farmer Fred:

 I mentioned this publication out of Texas, How to Grow Rhubarb Texas Style, and they talk about it as growing it as a winter annual. And so I would think that planting the seeds for that would be similar to what it would be in Texas throughout most of California. And that would be to start those rhubarb seeds in August or September.

Ronni Kern:

 Well, again, if you're going to grow it as an annual, you can. I mean, I started this batch. The ones in the garden, I've got Crimson Sunrise and a Success of new ones. I planted the seeds in June of 2023. and then I think in July, my granddaughter was here and we up-potted them out of the little seed things to bigger pots. And then I must have put them in the ground in September. And they're huge now. They're absolutely huge. I tend not to harvest my first year because I want good roots. I want these things to be around. But I could have harvested them if I wanted them as an annual crop. Actually, in all honesty, you can grow them anytime in California. We're not going to get the the deep winter so it's not going to go dormant and if you're growing them especially if you're starting them inside you're not going to get the killing heat when they're just little tiny seedlings actually that's the problem for me if you started them now and put them out in time for the Santa Ana’s (heavy winds) down here. Do you get santa anna's up there?

Farmer Fred:

No, we have delta breezes.

Ronni Kern:

Yeah my brother lived in Sacramento for decades and you've got of course you've got uc davis. you've got  the mothership of growing fruit. you could probably follow the Texas thing and start them in the fall.  Because of wanting to be able to sell them in December, I start them usually around June, July. And by December, they're definitely big. One of my friends, Charles, actually starts his earlier and then they get too big by December. They're actually, they've outgrown their pots. I don't like to sell plants that have outgrown their pots.

Farmer Fred:

 Talk about how you harvest the leaves because I understand  you don't cut it, you yank it.

Ronni Kern:

Yank it. And this is a problem because I'm not a young kitty cat anymore. And it requires a certain amount of arm strength because you pull it and twist it at the same time. And some of these plants, if they're not really well rooted, you will pull up the whole plant. I have done that with Tina’s Noble a couple of times. And that's why I give plants away because I accidentally pull them out. But you technically don't want to cut them. But Colin has said, if you have to, you can. You know, it's not going to kill the plant. Again, the big issue if you cut them is the risk of rot. If you left a stub and it rots, then it can affect the plant. But at least down here, even where you are, it's so dry. We don't really have the same issues with rot that other places have. But the correct way  is to pull it and twist it at the same time. Usually, there's one way to twist it, and you learn faster because it's different. Each stalk, whether you want to twist right or left, and that sort of signals the roots to grow some more. If you cut it, it doesn't get that same signal to grow some more stalks. So, theoretically, you want to pull it and twist it. I did it as a kid. I just can't do it so well anymore.

Farmer Fred:

Did you eat the leaves as a child?

Ronni Kern:

 No, no. I was not dumb. I always have people say, oh, is that charred? Can I eat the leaves? No. The leaves are poisonous. The leaves of rhubarb is full of oxalic acid, great rust remover if you have a rust, but you do not want to eat it. When I pull the stalks up, I just break the leaves off and drop them right down back in the garden for mulch. Some people say you have to cut down two, three inches from the leaves.

Ronni Kern:

 I don't worry about that.

Farmer Fred:

 So what you're preparing in the kitchen then is that petiole, the center part of the leaf, the spine of the leaf.

Ronni Kern:

 I just shy away from any mention of eating any part of the leaf because people, I don't want anybody to die.

Farmer Fred:

 So basically, you rip off the green part and eat the middle.

Ronni Kern:

 Right. Absolutely right.

Farmer Fred:

 There. Okay.

Ronni Kern:

 And according to Colin, if you catch it in time, when the thing is starting to put up a seed pod, it'll actually have this little lumpy looking thing. He says, you can actually eat that too. Oh, okay. But I never find it in time. But by the time I see it, it's already got flowers. It's like, okay, I got to get this out of here before they sap my root strength.

Farmer Fred:

 And if you want a recipe for rhubarb, just ask anybody from the Midwest or back East.

Ronni Kern:

 Right. Well, I mean, we have a couple on our website, but there's East Coast. It was always strawberry rhubarb pie. I'm sure that's the Midwest too, because those are the two fruits that ripened in spring, and they were both red. And especially if you had green rhubarb, you wanted that nice red strawberry to make it look not quite so disgusting. My husband actually prefers raspberry rhubarb cobbler. As I said, Charles prefers to roast it, eat it as a vegetable. And most of us who are obsessive are from either the East Coast or the Midwest. And there's a couple of guys from Connecticut who drove all the way up here to get plants for me. I think they've now put in a big order with Colin themselves because they just really wanted rhubarb. And Steve's always sending me recipes for everything that he finds, beverages and desserts and main courses.

Farmer Fred:

 I saw one for snacks for kids where you take that center stem and you chop it into little pieces and you cover it in sugar and serve those little pieces as candy.

Ronni Kern:

 Well, when I was a kid, that's what I did. I’d steal the rhubarb from this neighbor. I was not a good kid. And we'd run to somebody's steps and with a lap holding a napkin full of sugar in our laps, we would just dip the rhubarb stem in the sugar and eat it. And that's that's that was our happiness and inexpensive treat.

 Well, the sugar was cheap back then. Not so much now.

Farmer Fred:

 And there is a very short harvest season, isn't there?

Ronni Kern:

 Well, no, see, that's the thing. There's a short harvest season if you are in Rhode Island, because it's a spring crop. But here, no, I've been harvesting. I can't even remember when I first started harvesting this year. Basically, it starts November, December. I'm still harvesting. In fact, if I hadn't just harvested 200 bananas, I'd be harvesting now. But right now we're trying to eat our way through the bananas. I can't tell what's a rhubarb.

Farmer Fred:

 We should point out we're talking in August. You're talking eight, nine months you've been harvesting from the same plant.

Ronni Kern:

  And I think, I think that I probably will be able to... I mean, I have some big stems out there. I'll probably be able to harvest right into September. And then I'll probably stop September, October. November is when it starts to cool down and they'll start to... That's probably when I'll start dividing them. I think I got to talk to Colin about when I should do that. And yeah, so it's basically a nine-month... I mean, I wouldn't call it entirely perpetual. Though I suspect if I had a lot of different varieties under shade, I probably could stretch it out. Because Success and Tina's Noble tend to be strong at different times of year. Crimson Harvest, Sunrise, I don't quite know because it's new to me, but it's looking huge and very healthy. I'm willing to see what it's going to do for me.

Farmer Fred:

 Is all that work worth it?

Ronni Kern:

 It's not a lot of work. I mean, the starting of the seeds is a hassle just because I'm not a seed person. I'm not very good with little tiny things. I like to be able to dig in big holes. Once you put them in the ground, it's sort of easy to take care of. They don't have bugs. We don't have the diseases. I guess people talk about the fungus. We don't have that. You give them a big, good snack at the beginning of every growing season, some people use manure, I don't use animal products, but I use fish bones, maybe. Give them a good snack at the beginning of the growing season. That's it. And then you harvest them and you eat them. Or you cook them and eat them, depending on what you want to do.

Farmer Fred:

 So one warning that I've seen in several places is don't overwater them.

Ronni Kern:

 Yeah, well, you don't want them to rot. You want to water them enough that they don't look wilty. But I just have them on the same drip system as the rest of my yard. I water them the same as I water my avocado trees and my lemon trees and my banana trees. Well, my bananas are also on gray water, but everything just basically gets the same amount of water because in California, at least, I don't know where you are, but down here, we can only water twice a week. It's actually, of all the plants I grow, it's probably the least high maintenance because once you get the seeds up and in the ground, they do it themselves.

You just have to keep an eye out for the seeds. You don't want them to go to seed. That's it.

Farmer Fred:

 So the answer to the question, can you grow rhubarb in California? Ronni Kern would give you a resounding yes, you can.

Ronni Kern:

 Absolutely. Absolutely. Do not hesitate. Just give them some shade. That's the only thing I would say.

Farmer Fred:

Ronni Kern is with the West Los Angeles California Rare Fruit Growers Association. We'll have links in the notes today about where you can read her literature. And it's very enlightening. So if you have a relative from back east and or you're from back east and you fondly want some rhubarb, well, get to it and start growing it. Ronni Kern, thank you so much for all this great information.

Ronni Kern:

 Well, thank you, Fred, for finding me. I have no idea how you did it, but you did your research. That's for sure.

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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

In today’s newsletter podcast, fruit tree expert Ed Laivo of Ed Able Solutions gives us tips for dealing with varmints that get to your tree fruit before you’ve had a chance to sample it. And, he has tips for growing fruit trees in containers. I mentioned in the podcast that we would have a video link to Ed’s Harvest Day 2024 presentation at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center on August 3, which was about growing fruit trees in containers. That video is not yet available; but here, enjoy Ed talking about that topic on his YouTube page.

In the typed remarks below, we get into another way to thwart the crawling, walking, hopping, flying pests that get into your fruit trees, and that is to skirt prune those trees that have low hanging branches, that reach the ground.

For those of you who were hoping for stories of the high school girls at U.S. Grant High School in Van Nuys who would surreptitiously raise the hem of their mandatory skirts above the knee near the end of lunch period because the vice principal would leave the premises after one lap through the cafeteria area, sorry. And yes, it was a public school. And yes, skirts were mandatory for the female students. Except for one school day a year (Senior Day) in June, when the senior girls got to wear slacks (but not blue jeans!). How long ago was that? An up and coming band was the entertainment in the high school auditorium that Senior day, Three Dog Night.

When to Prune, When Not to Prune, Citrus Trees

If your citrus trees – the oranges, lemons, limes, mandarins, grapefruit, and more – are looking a bit overgrown and bushy, pruning can help reinvigorate them to produce more fruit. But don’t prune them now.

Cindy Fake is the Horticulture and Small Farms Advisor for the University of California Ag and Natural Resources in Placer County, who wrote their “Pruning Citrus” webpage. She agrees there are benefits to pruning citrus trees, but the timing is important.

“Citrus trees are evergreen trees, generally requiring less pruning than deciduous trees. However, they do need to be pruned regularly for optimal fruit quality and productivity. Pruning can improve fruit quality through increasing light in the canopy. In some cases, pruning out water sprouts (vertical shoots) may improve yields. Reducing tree height facilitates harvesting as well as risk of injury from ladders.”

However, Fake adds: “Pruning citrus trees is best accomplished in spring and early summer, after it sets flowers and then again when the small fruit appears.”

Retired citrus grower Lance Walheim, author of the book “Citrus”, seconds that motion. “Late summer and early fall citrus pruning is discouraged. Late pruning often stimulates vigorous tender growth, which doesn't have enough time to harden off before cold weather, increasing chances of frost damage. Pruning in late summer, especially here, where triple digit temperatures are common, can cause citrus bark and fruit to become exposed to too much intense sunlight. Citrus bark is highly sensitive to sunburn. The bark can be killed, which can girdle the tree, especially if the tree is in a south or west exposure. Whenever bark is newly exposed to intense sunlight, paint the exposed area with a whitewash, made of 50% water and 50% interior white latex paint.”

However, there are a few minor citrus pruning chores that can be done anytime of the year: removing the suckers that begin below the bud union just above ground level; and skirt pruning the citrus tree. “Skirt pruning” is exactly what it sounds like, removing any branches that reach the ground.

“Skirt pruning facilitates weeding, mulch laying, and other cultural practices, as well as reducing risk of soil borne pathogens affecting the fruit,” explains Fake. “The pruning may also reduce insect and disease pest problems.”

And, as Laivo points out in the podcast, netting the tree can be a somewhat effective pest deterrent, especially if you drape the netting completely over the tree to the ground, and tie it around the trunk of the tree. Try doing that with a non-skirted tree!

Fake says to keep an eye out for low-lying branches on mandarin trees, especially. “Satsuma mandarins tend to have pendulous branches that hang to the ground. These are called skirt branches, and they can impede weeding, fertilizer, and compost application, as well as provide pathways for ant populations to use the trees. With heavy fruit loads, these branches can bend, and fruit may touch the ground. Fruit may then be contaminated by soil borne pathogens. These pathogens may be plant disease-causing such as Brown rot, or potential food safety risks.”

The Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia (actually, it’s the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) offers these reasons for commercial growers of citrus to skirt prune their citrus trees (warning: their dates are for the Southern Hemisphere, where summer there is winter here and winter there is summer here):

Skirting (skirt pruning)

Skirting is the removal of branches and limbs which hang down to the ground. It should be done as soon after harvest as possible.

Skirting of Valencias and summer navels is more difficult as the trees are carrying two crops. Some crop loss is inevitable whenever late varieties are skirted. Skirting in October or November after fruit set is probably the best option.

Mature trees should be skirted to a height of at least 75cm (29 inches). This allows for branches dropping lower when fruit develops. Machine skirting is quick and easy (I didn’t see any tree skirting machines on Amazon, but they did have a parking lot striping machine!).

Skirting provides the following advantages:

* better air movement under the trees

* easy application of below-tree herbicides and fertilizers

* reduced access into the tree for insects and pests such as Fuller’s rose weevil and snails

* clear throw of irrigation water from mini-sprinklers and ease of checking on the operation of mini-sprinklers and drippers

* no splashing of soil-borne fungi into the canopy from rain or irrigation

* better access when harvesting

* prevents lower set fruit from hanging in the dirt

* required practice as part of the market access protocol for some export markets.

Dress for the Occasion

As a general rule, Citrus trees should be skirted up about 18 to 24 inches above the ground every couple of years.

And before you tackle any pruning chores with citrus, Walheim says to dress for the occasion.

“Before you prune citrus, take measures to protect yourself from the sharp thorns, warns Walheim. “Wear thick gloves, a long-sleeved shirt (or thorn-resistant sleeves) and protective glasses. Wear a hard hat, too.”

Young citrus trees are especially prone to gangly growth says Walheim. “These younger citrus trees produce highly vigorous shoots, the water sprouts, that give the tree and unkempt, out of balance appearance. These shoots can be cut back to maintain a more uniform shape. Also, remove suckers that originate from below the graft union, known as the suckers. They are nonproductive and only sap strength from the tree.”

During prime citrus pruning time – late winter and early spring – that’s the best time to control the height of your citrus trees.

“The most vigorous types of citrus trees, especially lemons, are often trimmed or cut back 20 to 30 percent every year or two,” says Walheim. “Keeping the centers of citrus trees open by selectively thinning branches (the total removal of the branch) can improve their health. Remove branches that crisscross or crowd one another; prune out any dead limbs. By allowing sunlight to reach the center of the tree, the inner portions remain productive.”

Skirt pruning is also a good idea for deciduous fruit trees, as well, Removing low hanging branches as well as any rootstock suckers from peach, nectarine, pear, apple, cherry and more fruit tree varieties makes it a heck of a lot easier for monitoring your irrigation system, applying fertilizer, weeding, cleaning up fallen fruit, and spreading mulch.

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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

Today’s Newsletter Podcast features Ann Ralph, author of the book, “Grow a Little Fruit Tree”.

Fruit Tree Pruning, Step by Step

Last Friday’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, Episode 351 - “Honey I Shrunk the Fruit Trees” also dealt with the benefits of keeping the height of fruit trees to no taller than you can reach to the top of the tree to pick fruit. Because, who wants to fall off a ladder?

UC Cooperative Extension Communications Specialist - and Consulting Arborist - Kevin Marini walked us through the steps of keeping your fruit trees healthy, and at a reasonable height (listen to the episode for his tree reduction tips).

Among our topics:

• Maintaining the height of fruit trees at a manageable level allows for easier fruit harvesting and reduces the risk of broken branches.

• Thinning fruit trees is necessary to remove crowded fruit and allow the tree to breathe, resulting in bigger and juicier fruit.

• Bringing down the height of a fruit tree can be done gradually over a few years to avoid stressing the tree.

• Using the right pruning cuts, such as reduction cuts and thinning cuts, helps maintain the structure of the tree and promotes better fruit production.

• Cutting newly planted fruit trees at the knees stimulates the growth of lower branches and makes fruit more accessible.

• Rootstock selection is important for controlling the height and spread of fruit trees.

• Thinning cuts are essential for improving air circulation within the tree and ensuring fruit production in lower areas of the branches. Pruning suckers and water sprouts is essential to maintain the structure of fruit trees.

• Removing branches that grow towards the center of the tree helps prevent overcrowding and disease.

• Cutting dead, dying, and diseased branches is important to maintain the overall health of the tree.

• Proper pruning cuts, including the three-cut method for larger branches, help prevent damage and decay.

• Using sharp pruning tools and cleaning them regularly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of pruning.

You can listen to our complete conversation here.

And one more pruning term, according to the U. Of Florida: Reduction Cut

A reduction cut (also referred to as a drop-crotch cut) shortens a branch by removing a stem back to a lateral branch that is large enough to resist extensive disfunction and decay behind the cut. This is generally interpreted as cutting back to a lateral branch that is at least one-third the diameter of the cut stem. Sprouts commonly follow a reduction cut. In most cases these should not be removed because they help the retained portion of the branch retard decay. When the branch that remains is less than about one-third the diameter of the cut stem, the cut is considered a heading cut. Heading cuts are not considered appropriate in most instances in the landscape. Heading cuts are sometimes necessary when attempting to restore trees following storm damage.

Kevin Marini’s Steps for Pruning Your Fruit Trees For Better Health

From the Ep. 351 podcast transcript:

Farmer Fred

Kevin, you mentioned there are some steps, like four or five steps, when it comes to reducing the height of a fruit tree?

Kevin Marini  35:28

Yeah, well, let's start with  one that maybe doesn't reduce the height, but it's the easiest step. And everyone could do this any time of year. And they don't even have to be very careful about where they make the cut. And that is the suckers.

Because fruit trees are grafted on to a root stock, you get suckers that grow up from the ground from the root stock. Believe it or not, this can be a big problem. Because if you let those suckers continue to grow, they can eventually convince you that they're part of your fruit tree until you actually see this weird looking fruit on them. And you realize, Wait, what's that all about? Prune out those suckers. Step number one, go out to your fruit tree anytime during the year. If they're shooting from the ground, obviously, from the root stock below the graft union, cut them out, do not let them take over your tree. So that's easy. Step number one.

Farmer Fred  36:21

Yeah,  let's define that. First. For people who are trying to find the bud union, if a tree was planted properly, that's going to be like a little lump or a little bump that should be just a few inches above the surface of the soil. And so anything that is emanating from below that point, can be removed completely and safely.

Kevin Marini  36:39

Yes, I'm actually glad you drilled down on that a little bit, because one thing that I have encountered quite a bit is that people bury the graft union. So they buy their fruit tree in a container. And the graft union is above the soil line when they bring it home. But when they pop it out of the container and put it into the ground, many times they'd bury it too deep. And if that graft union is subsurface, if it's underneath the ground, it can absolutely quickly rot. And then you can lose your fruit tree in a nice stiff wind down the road. That's super important, The graft has to be above ground. It has to be daylighted. You really have to take care of that, right? Ideally, you don't want it facing west, where the afternoon sun is hammering it, you kind of want it facing the other way. It's not a deal breaker, if you didn't do that. Don't worry, folks. But having that graft union up above ground and then controlling any sucker growth from below that coming from the ground, from the rootstock, or just beneath the graft on the stem, is important.

Farmer Fred  37:44

Yep, there are other suckers -  I don't know if this is unique to citrus or not - they're called water sprouts, that can just spring up almost anywhere in the tree. But the thing with them is they're growing straight up. And they're easy to spot and easy to remove.

Kevin Marini  37:59

So that is I would say your step number two. So you start with your suckers down below, get rid of all those, get them out of the way. Some of them can be quite thorny, and vicious as well, especially on citrus. And so then you're looking for these other type of suckers called water sprouts. They generally occur as vigorous vertical shoots on lateral branches. So branches that are going out relatively in a horizontal fashion, they will have these sprouts that vertically shoot up to the sky. On certain plums and cherries, sometimes these water sprouts can be seven, eight feet in length. I mean, they can completely destroy this beautiful structure that you're trying to work on with this fruit tree. Identifying those water sprouts and getting them out of there is super important. You know, some people will use water sprouts to rejuvenate fruit trees. That would be getting really technical here. We're not going to go into that, but I just want to point out that they could have a use in certain circumstances. But overwhelmingly in our backyard orchard, you see a waterspout, it should be taken out.

So, let's talk about number three. Okay, so you've got your suckers, got your waterspouts right. So now you're going to start actually looking for some problem children. Okay, what are the problem children? Well, those shoots that are going into the middle of the tree that you spoke about earlier, are probably I call them problem children. By themselves. They're just little shoots the branches and you might not think anything of them. But for me, trying to maintain a certain structure to the fruit tree, those can really muck it up very quickly. They really  become cumbersome to deal with, if you really let them grow in there, you really have to get in there and find their origin and cut them out and yank them out. And it can be a little troubling. So I say, stay on top of this, those branches that are crossing, rubbing, and then going from branches into the middle of the fruit tree, get those out of there. They are pretty easy to identify and remove. Now, of course, there's also I mentioned the crossing, rubbing, those aren't necessarily only branches that are going towards the middle of the fruit tree, those are branches that are just growing too close together. And if they're touching already, with a fruit load, it's even going to be worse. And they can create wounds, which then of course lead to potential disease. So you don't want that.

And then of course, the next step is those dead, dying, diseased branches. If you know a branch is dead, cut it out of there, don't let it be a host for  other bacteria or fungi that could reinfect the live tissue somewhere on the planet from the tree. If it's dying, if you see something dying back, sometimes the best thing  to do is to prune that puppy out quickly, potentially stopping the infection in its tracks. Right? Those four or five quick tips, if everyone just did those, the fruit trees would be in good shape. For the most part, you still would probably have to do what we talked about in the beginning, which is reduction cuts, and a mix of dormant and summer pruning to keep that height down. But those easy steps - like walk out to the tree - and take out suckers, water sprouts, branches going towards the center, dead, dying, diseased, crossing, rubbing. Five. So there it is, you do those five things, you are doing way more than most people do.

A Few Q&A’s about fruit tree pruning:

• How far back should I prune my deciduous fruit trees?

The latest trend for backyard orchardists: keep your fruit trees no taller than you can reach. All the fruit above your extended arms, after all, is for the birds. For fruit trees five years old and less, this is fairly easy to do. For older, taller established fruit trees, remove one-third of the total tree height each year until the desired height (under ten feet) is achieved.

• How much of a branch should I cut?

Never cut back a healthy branch of any tree by more than one-third its entire length. Don't make a "flush cut" (removing a branch right next to the stem). Leave the nub or "branch collar" that protrudes out less than an inch from the stem. That area contains the chemicals necessary for the tree wound to heal.

If in doubt what to cut, especially when the branches are out of easy reach, don't hesitate to call in a tree pruning professional.

• How Do I Prune a Thick Branch?

Don't try to get rid of any branch thicker than an inch with just a single pass of the saw; you could end up with a fallen branch that may have removed more than you had anticipated, such as a strip of the main stem. When tackling the big branches, use the three-cut method with a pruning saw:

•Cut number one: make a cut halfway through the underside of the branch to be removed, about one foot out from the collar where the branch attaches to the main stem.

•Cut number two: Saw through the top of the branch, about two inches farther out from cut number one. The branch should give way about half way through this cut, with the undercut portion preventing any damage to the tree along the stem.

•Cut number three is the clean up cut, sawing through the remaining stub of the branch you want to remove. Make this cut close to the collar (the enlarged portion encircling the branch that attaches to the main stem) but do not make the cut flush with the stem; damage to the vascular system (a tree's pipeline for nutrients) may result.

How to Sharpen Hand Pruners

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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

The newsletter podcast (above) is an excerpt from last Friday’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, #350, “New Home? First Garden Tips”. America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor(℠), Debbie Flower and myself, help out a very rhythmic listener figure out how to prep a garden space at her new home. And one of the first steps to take is to do a home analysis of the soil, referred to as the “Soil Texture Triangle Test”.

Although it might look like something designed by a Freemason on Acid, the Soil Texture Triangle is quite ingenious in its design, as well as the ability to give you an insight into many of the qualities of the soil you are attempting to garden in.

But before we get into the “why” and the “how” of the Soil Texture Triangle, here’s what you may have missed if you didn't listen to Episode 350 of the podcast in its entirety:

• Get a soil test done to determine the texture of your soil and its nutrient levels.

• Plan your garden carefully, considering the spacing of plants and the eventual growth of trees.

• Hydro-zone your vegetables in raised beds to meet their specific watering needs.

• Limiting factors if using raised beds on concrete for gardening in partial sun spaces.

The Soil Texture Triangle Test: Why do it?

Ahhh, the things you will learn about your soil when you figure out if you have sandy loam, silty loam, clay loam, sandy clay (great name for a Top 40 DJ), something in between, or - Heaven forfend - all sand or all clay.

Christine Anne Clark is a soil health specialist with the Crops and Soils Division of the Extension Service of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She works with farmers, researchers and agricultural industry experts, to help the farmers in Northeast Wisconsin better understand their soils. In this University of Wisconsin publication - “The important role of soil texture on water” - she points out the obviously most important part of understanding the Soil Texture Triangle right there in the title. Know your soil, and you’ll know where the water is going (or not going) in your crops:

“It is not nitrogen, but water, that is the most limiting factor in crop production. Soil texture, structure, percent organic matter (OM) and management practices also influence the amount water and nutrients a soil can retain for crop use.  You can better understand your farmland’s strengths and weaknesses by digging deeper into the physical characteristics of your soil and where different soil types are located on your farm.

Soil texture refers to the feel of soil. Soils are made up of different amounts of sand, silt, and clay. There are 12 soil textural classes according to the USDA classification system.  Each soil texture has varying responses to water, affecting major crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa differently. Here’s a general overview:

1. Sand: Sandy soils have the largest particle size, which allows water to drain quickly. As a result, sandy soils tend to dry out faster. Sandy soils have low water and nutrient-holding capacity and struggle to retain sufficient amounts for crops. Shallow-rooted crops are more susceptible to drought stress in sandy soils, as they may experience water deficits that hinder their growth and yield.

2. Silt: Silty soils have medium-sized particles, providing better water retention than sandy soils. They have moderate water-holding capacity and drainage characteristics. During drought, silty soils can retain moisture for longer periods compared to sandy soils.  Silty soils have more plant-available water capacity than clayey soils. 

3. Clay: Clay soils have lots of small fine particles with many inner layers creating lots of surface areas that hold water and nutrients tightly. They have higher water and nutrient holding capacity but lower drainage, resulting in slower water movement and potential waterlogging. Also, they have lower plant available water capacity than silty soils because clays hold water tightly as they dry. During drought, clay soils can retain moisture relatively well, which benefits crops like corn, soybeans, and wheat. However, excessive water retention in clay soils can also lead to root oxygen deprivation and negatively impact crop growth in wet years. Any crop with a deeper root system may perform better in clay soils during drought as it can access the stored water.

Water infiltration speed and plant water availability are dependent on soil texture. In coarse sandy soils the bigger pore spaces increase the rate of water movement and have higher infiltration rates than fine textured soils. Coarse soils can “soak” up a drenching rain or recharge quickly but is unable to hold as much water as finer textured soils. A coarse sand infiltrates very fast, up to 10 inches per hour, while a clay is the slowest can be less than 0.05 inches per hour. However, sandy soils have a low water holding capacity compared to loamy or clayey soils. On the opposite end, soils with very high clay contents hold water tightly and provide less water storage for plants than loamy soils. The table below illustrates the water that can be absorbed by soil that is available to plants, which varies with soil texture. 

Organic matter increases water retention

Clark continues:

Typical Wisconsin soils have 1.5- 4% organic matter. Peat or muck soils can be over 20%.  The organic portion of soil is important, it improves soil properties that help plants grow by promoting structure, pore space, and a home and source of food for soil life. Yet anytime you till and mix oxygen into the soil, organic matter is burned off a bit. Over time this can decrease the amount of organic matter in soil. Increasing soil organic matter can take 5 to 8 years depending on soil type, climate, and management.

Organic matter has a natural attraction to water. Organic matter acts as a sponge in the soil, capable of holding and storing water. It has a high water-holding capacity due to its porous structure and ability to absorb and retain moisture, plus it helps aggregation and pore space where water can be stored. Here are some general examples of the impact of organic matter on soil water:  

* For each 1 % increase in soil organic matter helps soil hold 20,000 gallons more water per acre.

* An ideal soil with 4-5% organic matter can soak up a 4-6” rain event.

* A 1994 study by Hudson showed that a silt loam soil with 4% organic matter holds more than twice the water of a silt loam with 1% organic matter. 

Understanding the role of soil texture in water-holding capacity, and that organic matter significantly improves water-holding capacity can help us understand the strengths and weaknesses of a field during rainfall, irrigation, and during flood or drought conditions. Wisconsin has a wide range of soil textures. The challenge in managing sandy soils is to improve water retention or water holding capacity. In fine texture soils, however, the challenge can be to remove excess water depending on drainage conditions. Both goals can mean increased profit.  Farmers cannot change the soil texture that mother nature has provided them. Although increasing organic matter content takes time, practices such as adding compost or manure, using cover crops, and practicing organic farming methods can enhance the soil’s ability to retain water and support healthy soil and healthy plant growth.”

So, there you go. Even if you have achieved “Soil Nirvana” (see below), you would still need to regularly add compost, cover crops, mulch, and practice no-till gardening to keep the area thriving with microbial activity and a consistent supply of water that’s available for your plants.

Marin County (CA) Master Gardener Nanette Londeree puts it succinctly in the UCANR Publication, “Garden Good Guys - Soil”:

“An ideal soil would be made up of 45% minerals (sand, clay, silt), 5 % organic (plant and animal) material, 25% air and 25% water. The mineral portion would be loam (20 – 30% clay, 30 – 50% silt and 30 – 50% sand). It would be crumbly, relatively dark in color, smell earthy and rich, teem with microorganisms and earthworms, have plenty of nutrients and a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. This soil would be described as having good tilth. Tilth is to soil what health is to people. If you have this kind of soil now, you don’t need to read any further.”

And now you know what “tilth” is! Memorize that. It might be on the Final. Especially if St. Peter is a gardener.

So, How Do You Shake it Up, Shake it Up, Shake it Up, Shake it Up?

For that, we turn to Clemson University’s College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences’ horticulture and natural resources agent, Andrew “Drew” Jeffers. This is from the aptly named publication, “The Jar Test.”

Materials:

* Straight-edged, clear jar

* Permanent marker

* Ruler

* Watch or stopwatch

* Mesh sieve or old colander

Procedure:

1) Using a mesh sieve or old colander, sift the soil to remove any debris, rocks, and large organic matter (leaves, sticks, roots, etc.).

2) Fill the jar ⅓ full of the soil to be tested

3) Fill the remainder of the jar with clean water, but leave some space at the top. (At this point, I am sure Debbie Flower is mumbling at her phone: “And add a drop of dish soap!”)

4) Cap the jar and shake vigorously (“For 10 minutes!”, yells Debbie) until the soil turns into a uniform slurry.

5) Set on a level surface and time for one minute. (“Not two minutes?” questions Debbie)

6) Place a mark on the outside of the jar, showing the coarse sand layer settled at the bottom of the jar.

7) Leave the jar in a level spot for 2 hours. (“Finally! Something I agree with!”, says Debbie)

8) Mark the top of the next settled layer with the permanent marker. This is the silt layer.

9) Leave the jar on a level spot for 48 hours. (“I concur!”, says Debbie)

10) Mark the top of the next settled layer with the permanent marker. This clay layer has settled on top of the silt layer.

11) Using a ruler, measure and record the height of each layer and the total height of all three layers. Use the soil texture analysis worksheet below to record the results.

12) Use the soil texture triangle to estimate the soil type for the site.

a) The clay percentages are listed on the triangle’s left side. Lines corresponding to clay percentages extend from the percentages reading left to right (see red line).

b) The silt percentage is on the right side, with lines extending downwardly, diagonally from right to left (see green line).

c) The sand percentage is on the bottom side, with lines extending upwardly, diagonally from right to left (see blue line).

13) Track the lines with the percentages measured and find the spot on the triangle where all three lines intersect. The region where these lines intersect indicates the soil type present. The example shown represents a loam soil texture.

Adding organic matter to clay and sandy soil can help with:

* Nutrient holding capacity

* Improved drainage

* Reducing compaction

Soil Texture Analysis “The Jar Test” Worksheet

Measurements

Height of sand layer ________inches / cm

Height of silt layer ________inches / cm

Height of clay layer ________inches / cm

TOTAL HEIGHT OF LAYERS ________inches / cm

% SAND=(sand height)/(total height) x 100 =___________ % SAND

% SILT=(silt height)/(total height) x 100 =____________ % SILT

% CLAY=(clay height)/(total height) x 100 =____________ % SILT

Thanks for reading Beyond The Garden Basics Newsletter. Subscribe for free to receive new posts. Pledge Your Support, thank you!

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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’re wondering about blackberry discoloration this summer, you won’t find that information in the podcast (above). What you will find for your ears: great information about superior blackberry varieties to grow, along with tips for pruning and trellising blackberries.

As to why you might start seeing some discoloration in your blackberry patch right now might be due to the weather.

But before we shine a light on that, here’s what you may have missed in last Friday’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, Ep. 349: “Stressed? Your Garden Can Help.” And haven’t we all seen an increase in the stress levels this past couple of weeks. One easy way to soothe the worried mind: single malt Scotch Take a whiff of the garden. Really!

America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, and myself sniff out the answers that may be in your own yard.

• Gardening and spending time in nature can help reduce stress and anxiety.

• Forest bathing, or enjoying a slow walk or sit in a natural environment, can have calming effects.

• Having a garden or indoor plants can provide stress relief and improve mental well-being.

• Aromatic plants, such as jasmine, lavender, and mint, can have a soothing effect on the mind and body.

Why Are the Blackberries Turning White?

From the garden e-mail bag, Teri asks: "What is wrong with my blackberries?"

Dewey & Ann write: "What is causing this problem with my Chester blackberries? This is on the majority of them.  I had it last year too. I checked with the local Hmong community farmers, and they also had it and said it was the 111 degrees we had in Oroville. We are at 2500 feet and 10 degrees cooler, but it wasn’t this hot last year. My Black Satin Blackberries were forming and doing well and I thought the problem was only with the Chester. Well, pretty soon I see it on them also. Am I missing something in our soil? It’s not on every one of them. It’s a dried seed eventually, but goes from a pink to beige and then worse if you don’t pick them. I would like to get to bottom of this. Can you help me?"Your local Hmong are wise horticulturists. The recent week of very sunny 100+ temperatures, along with several of triple digit scorchers in the first week of July, could very well be the culprit.Usually when we think of heat stressed plants, the cool season ones that tend to croak when it gets hot come to mind, such as lettuce plants in early summer or snow pea vines by Memorial Day weekend.Even warm season vegetables that like sunlight, especially tomatoes, can be adversely effected by too much high intensity sun. Abiotic disorders such as cracking, solar yellowing or green shoulders are common this time of year on young tomato crops. 

One remedy for those tomatoes: don't prune off any of the leaf canopy of tomato plants; or, cover with a lightweight row cover to provide some more shade.

And now, you can add blackberries to the list of crops that develop problems when it gets too sunny, too hot, dry and windy, especially because of extended heatwaves. The problem is known as White Drupelet Disorder (WDD).

According to the UC Integrated Pest Management Guidelines for Caneberries:"White drupelet is a tan-to-white discoloration of one to many drupelets on the fruit. Most often, white drupelets will appear when there has been an abrupt increase in temperature accompanied by a drop in humidity; it is especially pronounced when there is wind. In the Monterey Bay area, white drupelet typically occurs when temperatures that are fairly steady around 70 degrees suddenly go above 90 degrees, and there is an absence of fog.While white drupelets may seem to be directly caused by weather, they are actually caused by ultra-violet (UV) radiation. Weather conditions modulate this by the effect they have on penetration of UV radiation into the fruit. Cool, humid air scatters and absorbs UV radiation, while hot dry air has the opposite effect and allows more direct UV rays to reach the fruit. The movement of humidity away from the canopy by wind only heightens the effect of hot dry air. Additionally, as humidity is moved away from the plant canopy, more UV rays penetrate the canopy and damage fruit that may not even have been exposed to the sun. Fruit inside of the canopy is not acclimatized to UV radiation and is subsequently more susceptible when it reaches them.Some growers of caneberries in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, where rapid changes from a normally mild climate to temperatures up to and above 100 degrees occur through the summer, use overhead irrigation to minimize fruit loss to white drupelet. This is not merely to mist the fruit; instead, large amounts of water are applied to thoroughly wet the canopy and maintain cool temperatures and high canopy humidity for as long as possible. Sprinkling is not done too late in the evening to allow fruit to dry before nightfall.While some varieties, such as Apache blackberry, Kiowa blackberry, and Caroline red raspberry tend to get white drupelets more frequently than others, almost all caneberry varieties are susceptible to white drupelet to some degree."

From North Carolina State University:

White drupelet disorder (WDD) is a discoloration of some of the drueplets on developing blackberry fruit. The drupes appear as tan to white and can be concentrated in patches or randomly distributed on the fruit. The causes of WDD in blackberries are attributed to multiple factors. Environmental factors include the exposure of the drupelets to ultraviolet-B (UV-B) light or high light intensities, low humidity, wind, rainfall, and interactions of these factors. WDD is often observed earlier in the fruiting season when the canopy is less dense. We know that there are some cultivars are particularly prone to displaying this disorder, so there is a genetic factor as well.  The blackberry cultivar Apache appears to be especially vulnerable.

From the University of Arkansas:

Thoughts on White Drupes on Blackberries by Dr. John R. Clark - Fruit Breeder

“I would like to make a few comments on white drupes (WD) and related topics in the early part of this blackberry season in Arkansas. My experience is from the research plots in the Arkansas breeding program, based in West-Central Arkansas, and are based on observations from early June until June 17, 2013. I have seen more white drupes this year than normal, and I think it is due to several factors. A primary one is that our environment shifted quickly, from daytime high temperatures in the upper 70s and nights in the upper 50s to daytime highs near the mid-90s, with above 70 nights (all are Fahrenheit temperatures). I think the plants were rather shocked with this change and responded with more susceptibility to this increased heat and possibly sunlight. I also saw more true sunburned berries during this time –the whole sides of berries burned red or white. The problem appears to have lessened somewhat as fruit maturity has moved along, and I suspect the plants may have adjusted to some degree. One cultivar I noted to have no white drupes was Prime-Ark®45. As I was looking closely at cultivar and new breeding developments I could not find any white drupes on it while some selections were covered with WD berries. Natchez had a few white drupelets with the first ripe berries, while Ouachita had no ripe berries. Note this was in the floricane fruit of PA 45, and it began ripening about June 5 (our season is running 7- 9 days late this year).

Prior to this heat, we saw a tremendous amount of dry drupe berries, often concentrated at the tips of berries. I am not sure if this was anthracnose or another problem, but the weather was very wet several weeks prior to this, the plants were only sprayed with liquid lime sulfur at bud break, and heavy foliar anthracnose was seen during this time. I don’t have a solution to this problem other than as a breeder to try to select and advance selections to release that have less or none of the WD problem, and not spraying to try to identify the most resistant plants to the dry drupe issue. I still feel this WD event is associated with wet periods and sunlight damage; it can be much worse on berries located lower on the plant and closer to the ground that stay wetter longer.”

From the University of Missouri’s Integrated Pest Management Program:

July is the prime time for harvesting and enjoying blackberries. The fruit is ripe when the drupelets are uniformly black. However, sometimes individual or multiple drupelets on a blackberry are off-colored. White, tan, red, or brown drupelet discoloration can be caused by various factors during the growing season.

White drupelet disorder on blackberry often occurs during hot, dry summers. Although drupelets enlarge during the growing season, they fail to turn red. These white or tan drupelets can be interspersed individually among dark-colored ones or in groups. In the past, white drupelet disorder was attributed to stinkbug feeding. However, white drupelets are caused by ultraviolet radiation and high temperatures. In studies conducted on red raspberry, unpigmented or white drupelets developed when fruit was exposed to temperatures of 107°F or higher with four or more hours of ultraviolet radiation. In another study, researchers found that the use of 30% shade cloth during the growing season reduced white drupelet disorder by 63%, but the total soluble solids (i.e., sugars) concentration of shaded fruit was 1% lower than non-shaded fruit, which slightly reduced blackberry sweetness. Some of the older blackberry cultivars, such as Kiowa and Apache, are more prone to developing this disorder than others, but several are susceptible. While white drupelets on blackberries may not be aesthetically pleasing, affected fruit are edible.

Interspersed red drupelets on ripe blackberry fruit can develop before or after harvest. Excessive rainfall before harvest has been associated with red drupelets that are soft and never turn black. In 2020, red drupelets were observed on the floricane crop Prime-Ark 45 blackberries grown in the field and in high tunnels in North Carolina. Also, a tiny eriophyid mite (Acalitus essigi) is known to cause "redberry" fruit on blackberry. Late-maturing blackberry cultivars are particularly prone to redberry mite infestations. These mites feed on the fruit core and at the base of berry drupelets. However, these mites are not common in the eastern United States.

Reversion is the most common cause of red drupelets on blackberry fruit after harvest. With this disorder, some of the black drupelets at harvest change to a red color. Reversion occurs on blackberries that are damaged by bruising or fruit compression during harvest or shipping. Also, blackberries that have a core temperature above 73°F at harvest tend to have a higher incidence of red drupelet than cooler fruit, especially during the early part of the season. Thus, a step-cooling process to lower fruit temperature is used to reduce the incidence of this disorder.

Anthracnose is a fungal disease that produces brown, shrunken drupelets on infected blackberries. Infection occurs in the spring during warm, wet conditions. Pruning to enhance air circulation among plants and removal of old fruiting canes in the dormant season reduces the amount of overwintering inoculum in the planting. Also, weed control improves air flow through the planting during the growing season and helps reduce disease infection. An application of liquid lime sulfur (Sulforix) can also be applied to dormant blackberry buds just before they begin to produce new growth will control anthracnose. Blackberries infected with this disease are off-flavored and are unfit for sale.

All those Universities agree: blame it on our “Heatdome” weather.

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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

Are you trying to grow a salsa garden? It's great that most of the ingredients for salsa ripen at about the same time in the backyard garden. The main salsa ingredients - tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic - are ready this time of year. And if you wait until September or October to make the salsa, there might be some limes ready from a backyard lime tree in citrus growing regions. But there is one ingredient that throws off that salsa recipe timing: cilantro. Cilantro is easy to grow in hot climates in fall, winter, and early spring. But in hot summers? You can forget about it being ready when the rest of your salsa ingredients are all growing fine. Because of the rising frequency of extended, triple digit summer temperatures (“heat dome” seems to be the 2024 phrase that pays), cilantro is going to turn bitter and send up flower stalks (which, by the way, the beneficial insects love).

You could buy cilantro at the store or farmer’s market. But the aroma and tangy taste of fresh, homegrown, just-picked cilantro can’t be beat.

Before we delve into the solution for getting fresh homegrown cilantro in the summer, here’s what you may have missed in last Friday’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Podcast, #348:

Right now - mid-summer - is peach and plum harvest time for most of us. Phil Pursel of Dave Wilson Nursery talks about choosing the tastiest peach and plum tree varieties, along with care tips, including watering and fertilization. Phil points out the difference between freestone and cling peaches, the importance of chill hours for peach trees, and the major insect pests of peach trees. Phil’s favorite peach: the Red Baron. Fred’s favorite: a dwarf variety, the Garden Gold peach. Phil’s favorite plum: the Emerald Beaut. Fred’s tastiest favorite plum: The weeping Santa Rosa plum.

We’ve talked in the past about ways to improve clay soil; but what about sandy soil? Maser Gardener Gail Pothour offers tips for a listener in Michigan on what to add to that sandy soil to help it retain nutrients and water. And it turns out, Gail is also knowledgeable about how parts of Michigan got its sandy soil to begin with!

The episode concludes with our America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, dissecting a listener’s plan for adding sticks to the bottom of a new raised bed. Even though it’s counterintuitive, that can actually slow down the flow of water through the bed, leading to possible wet soil problems for the plant roots. Unlike what water does above ground (fall through the air, downward). Underground, water must travel along soil particles, not air particles - to head downward. Thus, the importance of using a uniform soil type throughout the container or raised bed.

Find out more when you listen to Ep. 348, The Tastiest Peaches and Plums. Improving Sandy Soil. Raised Bed Drainage Tips.

How To Grow Cilantro in a Hot Summer Climate

There is a solution for cilantro lovers who garden in a hot climate, according to Renee Shepherd, owner of Renee’s Garden seed catalog: Grow cilantro as a microgreen. “Pick it when it's very young, just a few inches tall,” advises Shepherd, based in Santa Cruz County, CA. “The hotter the weather, the younger you pick it. I have seen it growing that way in the Napa Valley. I work with a grower there who besides growing the cilantro seed for us, grows very fancy greens for upscale restaurants in San Francisco. And it's very hot in Napa, just as hot as where you are. He's successful growing cilantro as a microgreen. He uses row covers for protection and grows it in an area that gets afternoon shade through the summer.”

Shepherd says it is a quick, easy crop to grow as a microgreen in just a couple of weeks. The seeds will sprout in five to ten days. But even though you're harvesting the cilantro at a very young age after just a few weeks of growing, you increase your chances of success by planting it where it gets afternoon shade.

That’s just one of the crops Renee discusses in today’s newsletter podcast (above). At Renee’s Garden seed catalog, the Cut & Come Again Salad Garden is prominently featured.

Here is a sampler of carefully chosen varieties for growing in the Cut & Come Again Salad Garden from Renee’s Garden, especially when gardening in containers or small space gardens:

There are replacements for cilantro that may complement your homemade salsa. Some common substitutes mentioned online include mint, basil, parsley and chives, all of which grow well here this time of year. However, there are herbs that ripen in the summer that contain a more cilantro-like flavor. Most of these herbs originate in Southeast Asia, usually Vietnam, and they're available at better nurseries that have a wider range of herbs.

According to Rose Loveall-Sale of Morningsun Herb Farm in Vacaville, CA: “One of the best cilantro substitutes is Vietnamese coriander (Polygonum odoratum), which is also called Rau Ram. The flavor is very similar to cilantro, with a hint of lemon and without the soap flavor that's often associated with cilantro. It makes a great cilantro substitute during the summer when other cilantro species suffer and die under the hot dry conditions.”

Morningsun Herb Farm will be one of the participating vendors at the UC Sacramento County Master Gardener’s big free event, Harvest Day, at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center on Saturday, August 3.

If you bought cilantro seeds today, you could be harvesting it by August for your salsa recipes, by growing it as a microgreen. The UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County offer these cilantro microgreens growing tips:

• Grow microgreens indoors in pots or trays that are a few inches deep; outdoors grow them in a flat that gets afternoon shade and is protected with a row cover.

• Make sure all containers have good drainage.

• Use a commercial seed starting soil mix to avoid soil pathogens.

• Sow seeds 1/8 of an inch deep. Mix seeds with fine sand to help with even distribution.

• Water regularly with a spray mister to avoid disturbing seeds. Maintain moist, but not wet, soil.

• Growing indoors? You can start the seeds in a container in low light, but move the pot or flat to an eastern, western, or south-facing window after germination.

• Provide six to eight hours of sunlight as soon as sprouts appear. Indoors, if lacking a sunny window, use specialized grow lights over the trays, about 12 hours a day, with the lights 6-12 in. above the sprouted greens.

• Harvest microgreens after they develop their first set of true leaves and are about 2-4 inches tall.

• Snip small clusters of stems with scissors a little above the soil level; rinse before eating.

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter!

Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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

Today’s podcast deals with any hot climate vegetable gardener’s dilemma: what greens can I grow in the summer that are bolt resistant and won’t end up tasting bitter? We talk with Sacramento County Master Gardener and avid vegetable grower Gail Pothour, who talks about the finalists in the heat-resistant greens growing trial held at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. And the Fresh Physician (and avid gardener), Florida-based Dr. Laura Varich, who extols the virtues of a diet loaded with green, leafy vegetables. And she has a favorite leafy green vegetable that (in her own yard) can withstand the Florida summer heat.

But before we delve into the delicious, nutritious, easy to grow world of leafy green vegetables, here’s what you may have missed in last Friday’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, Episode 347: The Garden Basics travel playlist -“Top 5 All Time Episodes” (which was also featured in last week’s newsletter), “Growing Raspberries and Boysenberries”, and “Getting Rid of Slugs in a Compost Pile”.

The Take-aways:

• Proper spacing, irrigation, and pruning are important for growing berries successfully.

• Slugs can be managed in compost bins by ensuring proper moisture levels and using barriers like iron phosphate or copper.

Why, thank you, AI, for that succinct, bland recap of a 40 minute-plus podcast! Please, take a WD-40 break and I’ll add the flowers.

The ever-ebullient and knowledgeable Master Gardener Pam Bone loves to grow raspberries and boysenberries.

And with 40 years of backyard growing experience of those vining sweet treats, she’s got the keys to success down pat. Originally aired in April of 2022.

Susan Muckey, Master Gardener and worm whisperer, volunteers at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center’s Composting/Vermicomposting Demonstration area.

And she was surprised, amused and befuddled that a question from a listener asked: “There are slugs in my compost! How do I get rid of them?”

We both wondered, how did those slugs get in there? We went through our litany of slug and snail control suggestions, although Susan has one unique take: “Turn the pile at night, so you won’t see them.”

Again, all that, plus that Garden Basics playlist of 5 episodes for long car trips, is in last Friday’s episode 347 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast.

In Search of a Heat Resistant Green

(Today’s Podcast Transcript)

Originally aired on Garden Basics Ep. 264, “Top 10 Homegrown Vegetables, Part 2”

Farmer Fred   I have been on a lifelong garden search for a lettuce variety, a loose leaf lettuce variety, that can take the heat. Some are better than others as far as getting through July, perhaps. But it seems like when July turns into August, they all start bolting.

Gail Pothour   Right. And actually, several years ago, we did an experiment two years in a row at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. Because we get this question a lot, “Why can't I grow lettuce in the summer?”. So we thought okay, let's find some varieties, and grow them through the heat of summer and see how they do. First off, you need to start with some varieties that are heat resistant, like Jericho that was bred in Israel, so it's a little more heat resistant. And we tried half dozen or so different varieties we monitored when we planted them, how many weeks it was before they started bolting. Some did better than others. Some did pretty well. But what we found is you need to mulch heavily to keep the moisture in, to keep them well watered, provide shade during their entire lifespan in the summer, and then be prepared as soon as one starts to bolt, take it out and then replant with another transplant. So kind of a succession planting. It is possible but it's a lot of work. It takes a lot of water and shading and monitoring. Not sure if it's worth it or not. Grow it in the shade if you have a shady location but often it's not just the sunlight, it is the heat and that’s true even in the shade in Sacramento. We can be fairly warm in the summertime. So it's a tough thing to do.

Farmer Fred   The closest green I found that can be grown year round and especially if you do it in the shade it does okay here, and that’s swiss chard.

Gail Pothour   right yeah, that can be grown year round. I have done it in an area of my yard where it got some afternoon shade in the summertime. And it was able to survive over summer. But yeah, any of the other leafy greens are going to be a little tough. One of my favorites or absolute favorite lettuce is called Pomegranate Crunch. It's a red romaine. And it is very good. I get it as pelleted seeds, which makes it a little bit easier to germinate. Lettuce can have a difficult time germinating. Lettuce does need light in order to germinate. So don't plant the seed too deeply. Pelleted seeds don't have that problem. But I think sometimes if people have difficulty getting lettuce to germinate, it’s because maybe they buried it too deep. It needs light. It's one of the few vegetables that needs light to germinate.

Farmer Fred   And I believe it's one of those seeds that will not germinate in heat.

Gail Pothour   Right, right. If you tried sowing lettuce seed in the summer, maybe for a fall crop, it is difficult. If your soil temperatures are too warm, the lettuce seed can go dormant. So if you're also starting it indoors, whereas I use a heating mat to get a lot of my seeds to germinate, you don't use a heating mat for lettuce because the soil will be too warm and lettuce seed will go dormant in heat.

Farmer Fred  Some of the varieties that have been recommended as heat tolerant lettuces that I've grown over the years, and they're barely heat tolerant, are Black Seeded Simpson and Amish Deer Tongue. They're pretty good. But like I said, they do eventually bolt. But  I think one good rule to remember is if you want lettuce to last in the yard as long as possible, grow loose leaf varieties, not head lettuce.

Gail Pothour   Right. And of the ones that we did in our heat tolerant trial, the ones that did well besides Jericho was Year Round Bronze. It's an oak leaf variety, and it was late to bolt in the summer so it actually did very well. Red Cross is a red butterhead, Merlot is a dark red leaf lettuce, and “Paradai”, a red oak leaf. That's one of my favorites, but I can no longer find seeds for it. And then Nevada. It's a green loose leaf, kind of a semi heading type. So all those did well as well as completely expected in our summer heat. So they did better than a lot of other varieties.

Farmer Fred  I'm glad you mentioned Nevada because I have grown that one before and it it was pretty good. But I think if you want a dependable green, do the Swiss chard.

Gail Pothour   Right, I agree.

Link: Sacramento County Master Gardeners’ Warm Weather Lettuce Trials

============================

Dr. Laura’s Tip for a Heat Resistant Leafy Green Vegetable

Originally aired on Garden Basics Ep. 327, “The Heart Healthy Garden” Guest: Dr. Laura Varich, the Fresh Physician

Farmer Fred I have been on a search for a bolt resistant lettuce, and you gave me that tip last year when we talked last June. I believe it was episode 269 about a healthy diet. You said you need to try the Chinese cabbage, the Tokyo Bekana Chinese cabbage. It is bolt resistant. It can take the heat. And I go, well, gee, I'll try that because I've been searching for years for a summertime lettuce, a green, that I can grow and have with just about every meal. And sure enough, that Tokyo Bekana Chinese cabbage, which isn't really a cabbage, it's more lettuce-like, it has a crunchy flavor, it's a loose leaf variety. Grow it in the shade in the summertime. Grow it in the winter in full sun. And it is delicious. It grows easily. You can plant a short row every month and you can cut it and it comes back and eventually it wears out.

But you can still plant it several times a year. Try it. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. And you even said to try it! it's a game changer. And it really is for anybody searching for a bolt resistant, leafy green that can take the heat. Try that Tokyo Bekana Chinese Cabbage.

Dr. Laura Varich You get a nice big head of that growing and you could just cut off the outer leaves like you said and keep it going and keep it going. And for some reason, the cabbage pests don't seem to like it that much. I haven't had trouble with them, whereas I have trouble with some of the other cabbages. Another one I want to tip you off to, in case you haven't tried it, is one called Devil's Ear lettuce. Have you tried that? 

Farmer Fred No. OK, I'm writing it down. Devil's Ear lettuce.

Dr. Laura Varich That's another one that I feel like it probably goes a lot longer before bolting than the rest of them. And it's kind of got a long skinny leaf. It's a smallish kind of head with a long skinny leaf. It's a loose leaf. And it's got some purple on the edges. Super wonderful, very nice flavor. And it doesn't bolt, at least not for a long time. So I love that about it.

Farmer Fred They've done some trials out at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, the Sacramento County Master Gardener Demonstration Garden, and  one summer they did try a lot of different heat tolerant lettuce or allegedly heat tolerant lettuces. And their final verdict was, well, they're barely heat tolerant. And they included things like black seeded Simpson, Amish deer tongue, Red Cross, Jericho, Year Round Bronze and a dark red leaf lettuce called Paradai, P -A -R -A -D -A -I, which is a red oak leaf lettuce. And also they tested Nevada, which is a green loose leaf. And it's kind of a semi -heading type. Again, they did as well as expected in summer heat, but as expected means, well, it might get you to August, but that's about it. So you think Devil's Ear lettuce can last through August? 

Dr. Laura Varich Oh, I don't know if I'd say that. But it seems to go longer than the rest of mine as far as before it bolts. 

Farmer Fred All right. Well, I will definitely pick up some devil's ear lettuce and give that a try this summer and see how it does. Great. Let's talk a little bit about greens. They're so good for you. They're low calorie and you can serve them in a variety of ways. You can serve them raw in a salad. You can saute them. You can mix it up in stir fries. There's just so much you can do with greens.

Dr. Laura Varich Yeah, and they really are good for you. If you think about healthy foods, they're probably our number one healthy food. They have the most nutrients, again, that nutrient density that we were talking about. So yeah, greens are terrific for us. 

And some of the things that are really, really good for us in the foods that we eat. I know we talked about this a little bit before, the strong colors and the strong flavors in our food. And greens have both of those things going for them. Those dark green colors are really a combination of colors. It's a whole smattering of colors that's making that dark green. So they've got a lot of phytonutrients there and they do have some of those stronger flavors, right? Some of that bitterness to it and things like that. That tells us that there's a lot of those are really good phytonutrients in there. So yeah, greens, we can do so much with them. And it's just a matter of finding the ones that you really love. 

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s). Uphill.

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

Before we start digging through the mulch looking for termites, here is what you may have missed in last Friday’s (June 28) Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Podcast,

Ep. 346: All About Soil Thermometers, Soil pH, and Cardboard Mulch.

• Soil thermometers are precise measuring devices that need to be taken care of properly. They should not be left sitting in the soil or exposed to direct sunlight.

• The depth at which you measure soil temperature depends on what you are planting. For seeds, measure at a shallow depth, while for transplants, measure at a deeper depth.

• Some soil thermometers have a calibration nut that allows you to calibrate the temperature reading. This can be done by placing the thermometer in a glass of ice water and adjusting the arrow to read 32 degrees.

• Soil pH can vary at different depths, especially when using layered mulching techniques. It is important to wait for the layers to break down and mix together before relying on pH readings.

• Professional soil tests from reputable labs can provide accurate information about soil pH and nutrient levels. It is recommended to follow the specific instructions provided by the lab when taking soil samples.

• Cardboard can be used to smother grass and weeds when starting a new garden bed. It should be plain and unadulterated, and watered before being placed on the soil. It takes time for the cardboard to break down and create a suitable planting environment.

=========

After nearly five years of podcasts, here are the five most listened-to episodes of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast:

#5. Ep. 263 The Top Homegrown Vegetables, Pt 1

Farmer Fred and Master Gardener/vegetable expert Gail Pothour discuss the top 5 homegrown vegetables. They cover topics such as growing tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, beans, and carrots. They provide tips for beginners, including starting with easy-to-grow varieties and using supports for indeterminate tomatoes. They also discuss favorite tomato and pepper varieties and share tips for growing cilantro in the summer.

#4 Ep. 258 10 More Garden Quick Tips

Fred presents 10 more garden quick tips. The topics covered include creating a container garden, making a cheaper seed starting mix, storing and washing chicken eggs, taking better pictures of garden insects, growing small apples, and growing the Suncrest peach tree. The episode also features interviews with experts in the gardening field who provide valuable insights and advice. In this conversation, Fred discusses various gardening topics, including growing fruit trees in small spaces, warding off pests, propagating strawberry runners, improving drainage, and growing popcorn. He provides tips and advice on each topic, sharing insights from experts and personal experiences. The conversation covers a range of gardening techniques and practices that can be helpful for both beginners and experienced gardeners.

#3 Ep. 256 Container Gardening Basics

Fred interviews Pam Farley, author of the book 'The First Time Gardener, Container Food Gardening.' They discuss container gardening for beginners, including tips on choosing the right containers, ensuring proper drainage, and selecting the right plants. They also cover troubleshooting common issues in container gardening and provide a quick planting guide for vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

#2 Ep. 266 Cucumber Growing Basics

This conversation with America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor (and cucumber aficionado), Debbie Flower, covers topics such as cucumber varieties, growing techniques, harvesting tips, and how to prevent bitterness in cucumbers. The episode also touches on the importance of bees in pollinating cucumber flowers and discusses common pests and diseases that can affect cucumber plants. They provide recommendations for trellising cucumbers and share favorite cucumber varieties. In this conversation, Fred also provides recommendations for further reading and resources.

#1 Ep. 319 How to Plant and Care for a Shade Tree

Consulting arborist Gordon Mann joins Fred and shares his expertise on planting and caring for shade trees. They discuss the importance of choosing the right spot with good soil, proper planting techniques, and the long-term care required for tree health. They also emphasize the role of soil in tree growth and the need for organic matter and mulch. The conversation covers topics such as tree watering, root pruning, and the correct way to plant a tree. Overall, the episode provides valuable information for homeowners looking to plant and care for shade trees. They also delve into the topic of tree pruning, emphasizing the need for proper pruning techniques and debunking common misconceptions. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the importance of tree diversity and the role of water management in tree care.

Mulch vs Termites

From the garden e-mail bag, Carol wants to know: “We mulch all over the place, but all those wood chips got me thinking about termites! Has anyone mentioned a problem with the little guys? We keep the chips away from the wood siding, but how far is far enough? Any thoughts?”

My first thought is: mulch is good. A layer of organic mulch, such as wood chips, chipped/shredded tree limbs, compost, or straw, applied a few inches thick around (but not touching) the plants in your garden and walkways, has a lot of benefits.

Mulch retains moisture; it keeps soil temperature constant; it reduces plant stress; mulch suppresses weeds; organic mulch will gradually increase soil organic matter; it attracts beneficial organisms that improve soil fertility and porosity; mulch encourages healthier plants; it reduces the needs for pesticides and fertilizers; mulch protects roots and plants from mechanical injury; and applied on a hillside to thwart the development of flammable weeds, mulch can suppress the spread of brush fires.

Worrying about introducing termites to your yard via a load of mulch is a waste of worry wrinkles. Former college horticulture professor Debbie Flower and I talked about this in an episode of the Garden Basics podcast (Ep. 284 “Ranking Garden Mulches”), because it is a good question for anyone wondering if that load of chipped/shredded tree parts (my favorite form of mulch) that is dropped off in front of your house might contain termites.

“There could have been a pest or disease in that plant that was taken down,” explained Flower. “But all research has shown that those diseases and insect pests, as well as fungus and bacteria, do not survive the process of the chipping and then the moving of the pile. They rely on the intact plant to live. Termites don't live in wood mulch. They rely on bigger pieces of wood, not on this chipped-up stuff that's piled up with lots of air between it. It gets wet, it dries out, it's a very different environment that termites don’t like. The diseases, as well as the insect pests that may have caused the demise of the tree do not survive this process, so they don't come to your house.” You can hear our entire conversation about mulch in today’s newsletter podcast (above).

University research agrees with that assessment. However, there are some warnings.

The University of Florida cautions users of mulch to only apply a thin layer of mulch – or none at all – next to the foundation of the house or outbuildings. Thick, consistently wet mulch can provide a living bridge from the mulch pile to the wood foundation of a house.

Iowa State University points out a problem with termite species that might live in the soil in that state, but still say mulch is a good thing. “Does this mean, as some pest control advertisements claim, that mulch attracts termites to your home or that the mulch somehow causes termites? The answer to both questions is, ‘no.’ In the field, termites were detected with equal frequency beneath mulches of eucalyptus, hardwood, pine bark and pea gravel, as well as bare, uncovered soil. Sustained activity over time was significantly higher beneath gravel mulch.”

Linda Chalker-Scott of Washington State University agrees, but also warns about using cardboard as mulch, which can attract termites: “Many people believe that they shouldn’t use wood chip mulches around their house for fear of attracting termites to their home. This is not true. Termites are not attracted to wood-based mulches, they prefer higher nutrient woody materials like cardboard. If termites were in the tree when it was chipped to make mulch, the termites would have died through the process and will not be introduced into your garden from the mulch. However, if you have an established termite population in the ground surrounding your garden, wood chip mulch can be a bridge from the soil to the structure. If you are concerned with termites around your garden, it would be best to consult a professional to set up monitoring or barrier control methods around your home.”

I would add that keeping mulch 12 inches away from the foundation, allowing that area to occasionally dry out, will dissuade termites from entering that non-moist environment.

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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

Before we delve into the sweaty details of getting your garden through the summer, here’s what you may have missed in last Friday’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, the Heart Healthy Garden, recorded live at the Sacramento Rose Society in February of 2024:

• Eating a heart-healthy diet and exercising regularly can help improve heart health and reduce the need for medications.

• Fiber is an important component of a heart-healthy diet and can be found in a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

• Growing your own fruits and vegetables allows you to have a constant supply of fresh, fiber-rich produce.

• Choosing heirloom varieties of vegetables can provide higher nutritional content compared to hybrid varieties.

• Seeking information from reliable sources, such as university websites, can help ensure accurate and trustworthy gardening advice.

What’s in Today’s Podcast at the top of this page?

The perfect companion piece to the information below, Debbie Flower and myself discussed more container planting tips, recorded last summer at Harvest Day at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, a free community event held the first Saturday of August every year, including this August, on Saturday, August 3. Details here about Harvest Day. This segment originally aired in Episode 278 of the Garden Basics Podcast. Among its highlights:

• Why you don’t want to use garden soil in containers.

• The best potting mix to use for a container plant.

• What’s happening to the roots of plants in containers on a 100-degree day.

• How to better protect your outdoor potted plants in a heatwave.

• The differences in shade cloth, and how to use it.

• How to reuse old potting soil.

• Are you watering your container plants effectively? Probably not.

• What do you put in the bottom of a plant container to aid drainage? Nothing! We tell you why.

• How to save garden seeds to last for years.

• And, how to get pepper seeds to germinate in half the time.

Helping Plants Cope with the Heat

Much like most of the country, our area here in Northern California just went through the first real heat wave of the season, with temperatures hovering around the century mark for several days this past week. The “Excessive Heat Warning” issued by the National Weather Service for Tuesday through Thursday predicted, “Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures 95 to 108 possible and widespread major heat risk.” As if that was not enough, try getting a good night’s rest with “limited overnight relief with temperatures in the 60s to mid 70s.” My apologies to those of you who normally try to sleep at night when summer nighttime temperatures are above 70.

Several meteorologists are calling for more intense heatwaves for the United States this summer. What’s a gardener to do to make their lawn and garden more heat-tolerable? Here are some tips for having a thriving garden during the summer’s upcoming heat waves, as well as save water:

• Mulch like mad. Create a one to three-inch layer of organic material such as bark, shredded leaves, or chipped/shredded tree branches, laid on top of the soil. This will reduce moisture loss from soil, moderate soil temperatures, control weeds which compete for water, and will return nutrients to the soil as it breaks down. Be sure to keep mulch a few inches away from the stems or trunks of plants.

• Count on compost. Mix compost into the soil to increase the soil’s ability to absorb and hold water, and to slowly release nutrients to plants. This reduces stress, making them less susceptible to pests.

• Plant early ripening varieties of vegetables that are mostly harvestable after only 60-65 days of growth. Plant in blocks instead of rows to create shade for roots and reduce evaporation.

• Choose vegetable varieties that will produce a lot of food from one plant, such as tomatoes, squash, and peppers. Corn, on the other hand, is a thirsty crop that may only give you one or two ears per stalk, depending on the variety.

• Hot afternoons can kill a container plant in a single day. Consider grouping potted plants together in an area that gets some afternoon shade. Or slip that pot into a larger pot so the sun isn’t beating down on the sides of the pot containing the soil.

• If you feed plants, use a slow release, organic fertilizer to discourage excessive plant growth that attracts pests and increases water needs. 

• Hold off on major planting chores. When working on a large planting project, remember that the best time to plant is in the fall when the weather starts to cool. Winter rains will help these plants establish deep, healthy root systems before they are exposed to the summer heat.

• The less lawn, the better. Lawns need more water than most other landscaping, so consider reducing or replacing your lawn with water-wise groundcovers, low maintenance perennials or a porous hardscape. If you plant a lawn, chose drought resistant varieties.

• Mow lawns less often and raise the height of your mower blade to 3 inches. The longer grass will shade roots, lessen evaporation, and inhibit weed growth.

• Get wise to the weeds. Keep up with controlling these unwanted plants since weeds compete for water. The combination of a drip irrigation system and several inches of mulch will help prevent weeds.

• Go with the low flow. Use soaker hoses for irrigation. Or invest in a drip system or micro sprayers that can cut down on water waste. This allows the slower trickle of water to penetrate further into the soil without running off.

• Consider installing a ‘smart controller’ for your irrigation system. This can save water by helping to calculate your water requirements and automatically adjust as the weather changes.

• Irrigate early in the day. Watering early in the morning with cooler temperatures and lighter winds will minimize evaporation.

• Go deep. Water less often, but more deeply. This encourages deeper root systems that can better tolerate dry periods.

• Get in the zone. Group plants with similar water needs together to make watering easier and more efficient.

• Go native. Consider replacing declining plants with a species better suited to your climate, such as plants native to your area. Once established, many of these plants can survive on rainfall alone.

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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

Last week, we did a little podcast tour of my garden, with Debbie Flower asking the questions. Turnabout is fair play, so this episode features Debbie’s unique, water-saving landscape and her collections of plants and garden tools that have some very interesting stories.

But again, an audio tour is missing the picture. Pictures, to be more exact. So, while you’re listening to this repurposing of Episode 343 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, scroll down to enjoy the visuals that go along with the stories of Debbie Flower’s landscape.

But first, here’s a link to what you might have missed on Tuesday’s Garden Basics podcast (Ep. 342) - our weekly Q&A session, this time tackling the challenges of planting carrots in hot climates; and, the pros and cons of using landscape fabric/weed cloth in your garden (the “pros” list will be quite short).

Word of Warning: Latin Used Here Today

A word of warning: a lot of Latin-based botanical names are tossed around here. Some people think we’re just bein’ highfalutin’ elitists, jabbering in a dead language. Actually, the botanical names can be very accurate in pinpointing the exact plant.

For example, according to the Sunset Western Garden Book, the plant known commonly as “Dusty Miller” could refer to any of five distinct plants with differing growth habits: Artemisia stelleriana, Centaurea cineraria, Lychnis coronaria, Senecio cineraria/Jacobaea maritima (old name/new name), and Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum. The “Dusty Miller” Debbie refers to as a plant she remembers from her youth in New Jersey was the Lychnis; and to avoid any confusion, she only used the term, “Lychnis”. Here in California, I grew up with Senecio cineraria in the front yard, which was always referred to as, “Dusty Miller.”

“What Does That Have to Do with the Price of Tea in China?”

That was a favorite saying of my mother, to prod me to get to the point of whatever I was talking about. OK, here’s the point: After listening to this, you may be intrigued by one or more of the plants in Debbie’s garden, perhaps the California native plant, Eriogonum grande rubescens that she mentions towards the end of our chat.

But, just hearing her say, “Eriogonum grande rubescens” may have you wondering…

“What the hell? How do you spell that?” At least, that is what I was thinking when she said it. But I’m too polite to interrupt. Besides, if I had asked the question, “What is the common name for that plant?” There’s a darn good chance the answer would be a variation of, “I don’t keep common names in my brain,” bringing the chat to a standstill, while we ponder the answer. In the interest of keeping the conversational ball rolling, I move forward, knowing I can solve this issue easily enough:

CHECK THE OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT!

Don’t check the Substack transcript. Don’t check the Apple or Spotify transcripts. Unless you want a good laugh. And it’s why I include my own edited transcript for each episode of the Garden Basics podcast available at either GardenBasics.net or via my podcast uploader, Buzzsprout. Not only will you get the correct plant spelling (usually), but you will also get the common name, usually (but not always) in parenthesis. For example, here is the portion of the Eriogonum plant chat from the transcript provided at GardenBasics.net:

Farmer Fred  

But this is quite the view, sitting here on your front porch, especially this time of year with the Palo Verde in bloom, and just the understory of all the plants and the flowers of the sage peeking up over the the wall.

Debbie Flower  

And the Eriogonum grande rubescens (red or rosy buckwheat) that's flowering red right now, with the lavenders in front of it. And then the yellow calendulas. I like that combination too. And the pink Pelargonium behind.

Now, here is the same portion, generated by AI and used by many podcast transcription services:

Farmer Fred 

this is quite the view sitting here on your front porch, especially this time of year with the Palo Verde in bloom, and just the understory of all the plants and the flowers on the stage peeking up over the the wall

Debbie Flower 

and the Areoginum grandrubescens. That's an flowering read right now with the lavenders in front of it. And then the yellow color Angelus. I like that combination too. And the pink Pelargonium behind, see

And this is why we are safe from world domination by Artificial Intelligence. It’s just a robot that has never pulled a weed or smelled a rose in its mechanical life.

Nor, even after five years of manually correcting their transcripts to make them more gardener friendly, have they figured out the difference between “root” (as in, a tree root) and “route” (as in, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”). Even though Oklahoma City is “oh, so pretty,” you’d think they could figure out after all these years, I am probably referring to that bulge in your lawn, not offering melodious praise to Amarillo, TX or Gallup, NM. Or Flagstaff, AZ.

(P.S. “Angelus” is not a plant. It’s daily church bells at noon and 6 p.m.)

Again, just punch play above, and begin scrolling through the pictures of Debbie’s Garden:

“Native fescue lawn in foreground, Leymus condensatus ‘Canyon Prince’ grey-green grass behind. Pink flowering shrub is my neighbors. It’s probably an oleander”

“Hollywood juniper at the end, far right, Matilia poppy next (Romneya coulteri) 

Butterfly weed with white blooms (Asclepia speciosa), Meyer Lemon on right, perhaps the dead remains of a young Tower of Jewel plant in the bottom.

Three Tower of Jewel plants (2 in their second year, one in its first year) (Echium wildpretti). Scarlet Oak in back. Unnamed “Governor’s Mansion” pelargonium on left.

Closer look at the “Governor’s Mansion” pelargonium.

Palo Verde ‘Desert Museum’ tree

“Fat Albert” Colorado Blue Spruce with Verbena bonariensis in front, desert willow on right

Eleagnus x Ebbingei cultivar. Commonly called oleaster or Ebbing's silverberry, it’s a cross between Elaeagnus macrophylla × Elaeagnus pungens (according to the Missouri Botanical Garden)

 Eleagnus, Muhlenbergia rigens (deergrass), toyon, Fat Albert Colorado blue spruce 

In a hot climate, it makes sense to put a greenhouse in afternoon shade

Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s day (Sprenger's asparagus fern)

Dymondia margaretae (Silver Carpet). An interesting story about this groundcover.

Birdbath with high-spout dripper. Caged for cat deterrence.

The gardener’s path. On right: calendula, abutilon, Eriogonum giganteum (St. Catherine’s Lace buckwheat). On left, around birdbath: liriope (lilyturf)

Smart Pot with vegetable seeds planted and bamboo sticks to deter animals.

Green Cone composter.  Strawflower and Borage behind.

 lavender, Eriogonum grande rubescens (red or rosy buckwheat) on right, calendula in back. Upside down wine bottle is in a small olla at base of newly planted lavender.

closeup of wine bottle in olla.

Counterclockwise from front left: Palo verde, Euphorbia charisma’s ‘Wolfenii’, Hesperaloe parviflora, sulfur buckwheat, white pacific coast Iris, salvia leucantha, another salvia leucantha. “This is one of the dryest parts of my garden,” says Debbie.

Thanks for reading Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.

Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).

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