Brad Gates, owner of Wild Boar Farms,  joins me again to discuss problems gardeners may be encountering with their tomatoes. We also discuss the process that goes into him finding the next new variety… some are by chance, others are by purposeful breeding. Plus, he let’s us in on the new varieties to be released in the near future.

Brad and Wild Boar Farms can be found at:

• Instagram: @wildboarfarms
• Facebook: @wild boar farms
• YouTube: @brad gates
• Website: wildboarfarms.com

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

Sadly fire is becoming a way of life in California and the greater west. It’s important to maintain a healthy landscape for wildlife habitat, but there are key tasks homeowners can do to mitigate fire danger. I talk to Master Gardener education specialist, Kevin Marini, all about fire-wise landscaping. Learn about the different zones around your house and how to plant and maintain them. Learn what planting in islands means and the “safest” mulch for your plants.

Further fire-wise landscape information can be found at:

• Website: ucanr.org

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

Over 80% of plants need pollinators to reproduce -- this includes a majority of crops humans eat. To say that pollinators are important is an understatement. The founder and CEO of the non-profit Pollinator Posse, Tora Rocha, joins me to discuss what we can do on our part. She gives tips on how to create a pollinator friendly garden, plants that are both food and host plants, and how to create a Monarch habitat. We learn how many native California bee species there are…. it’s a lot.

Tora can be found at:

• Instagram: @pollinatorposse & @toranado12
• Facebook: @Pollinator Posse
• Website: pollinatorposse.org
• Website: xerces.org

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

5 foot tall pepper plants? Yes, your peppers can get this large. Chad Iman, owner of Sky High Scoville Pepper Farm breaks down step by step how to grow the best most productive peppers possible. He shares his secret recipe for seed starting mix, transplant techniques and how to overwinter your plants. Plus we talk about the beautiful hot peppers he grows.

Chad and Sky High Scoville Pepper Farm can be found at:

• Instagram: @skyhighscovillepepperfarm
• Facebook: @ Sky High Scoville Peppers

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

Producing your own honey and having your own bees can be a fun and rewarding backyard hobby. But how do you go about starting -- do you need to buy bees or can you catch your own swarm?  I talk to professional beekeeper, Blake Dacy and backyard hobbyist/host of Good Day Sacramento Tina Macuha all about bees. We discuss how bees go about building a hive, what they require, how to treat for mites and everything in between. Plus -- Blake and Tina share their fun swarm collecting stories.

Blake can be found at:

• Instagram: @sacramentobeekeeper
• Facebook: @ BlakeSacramentoBeekeeperDacy
• Website: sacramentobeekeeper.com

Tina can be found at:

• Instagram: @tinamacuha

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

Lots of tasks during the hot summer season, including:

• Plant cabbage, carrots, beets, celery, kale, onion seeds, potatoes, mustards, chard, collards, leeks
• Deadhead flowers
• Hose off whiteflies, sticky traps
• Clean up old fruit on trees, ground
• Still time to summer prune fruit trees
• Order fall bulbs
• Support melons on the ground or on vines
• Continue to deep water young, newly planted trees
• Deadhead, cut back mophead hydrangeas

A wide variety of listener questions are addressed, including:

• How to control Leaf Miners on cucumber
• What type of milkweed for Monarch butterflies
• Lawn clippings for mulch?
• How to get rid of green hornworms
• Yellowing leaves on mandarins & limes
• Bubbles from the soil while when watering potted plants
• Pepper plant with black at the base of stems
• Do sunflowers stunt the growth of surrounding plants

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

Who doesn’t love flowers, and they are even better when you can pick and make a bouquet out of them. I talk with the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden’s horticulturalist, Wyatt Emig, about his process of growing flowers. He shares his must have seed trays, soil conditioning tips and favorite flowers to grow.

Wyatt can found at:

Website:  gardenbythesea.org

Instagram:  @wyatt.emig

Instagram: @mendocinocoastbotanicalgardens

Facebook:  @MendocinoCoastBotanicalGardens

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

Every great garden starts with healthy soil. But what exactly is “healthy” soil, how do you achieve this and what is soil really. Robert Pavlis, author of “Soil Science for Gardeners” and of “Garden Myths” fame joins me once again to talk everything soil. We discuss micronutrients versus macronutrients, can you add sand to clay soils, how to test your soil for texture and a lot more.

Robert can found at:

Websites: 

• Gardenfundamentals.com
• Gardenmyths.com

Facebook: @gardenfundamentals

YouTube:  Gardenfundamentals1

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
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• email Marlene at [email protected]

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We all know the importance of trees… oxygen, shade, habitat, food, beauty and more. And we all know they can live centuries beyond us. But they can also have difficulties growing in urban settings. I talk to consulting arborist, John Lichter, on what you can do to ensure that your trees are healthy and vibrant in your lifetime as well as for future generations. We discuss how to properly water both young and established trees, what to look out for in diseased trees and where you can find the best tree selection for your yard.  

John can be found at:

Website:  treeassociates.net

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
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• email Marlene at [email protected]

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July gardening is actually one of the less busy months in terms of number and volume of tasks.  There is a lot of maintenance, but no major, backbreaking work.

We combine the July list on this episode with a deep dive into listener Q&A – with a focus on tomatoes.  If you have questions or need advice on tomato growing, this is a must listen.    

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook