Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

By Fred HoffmanHealth & Fitness Nutrition Education Leisure How To Home & Garden

Garden Basics with Farmer Fred episodes

April 16, 2021 094 Blushing Pearl Columnar Peach. Damping Off Disease. Lumpy Lawns?
Do you want a peach tree that produces sweet juicy white peaches? And, as an added bonus, is narrow growing, only 8 feet wide, something that can be a real benefit for those with limited space to plant a peach tree? Fruit tree expert Ed Laivo of TomorrowsHarvest.com has the answer to your wishes. He tells us about the Blushing Pearl Columnar peach. Plus, tips for planting several peach tree varieties that ripen at different times, giving you fresh, home grown peaches from June through October.
If you plant from seed, you may have had first hand experience with damping off disease. That’s where your seedlings look fine one day, but the next day, they’ve collapsed. What happened? College horticulture professor (retired) Debbie Flower tell us how to thwart damping off disease.
And, Soils expert Steve Zien has some advice for solving a lumpy lawn.

It’s all on Episode 94 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots and TomorrowsHarvest.com.
And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured:
Blushing Pearl Columnar Peach
Links:
Blushing Pearl Columnar Peach Tomorrows Harvest
Tomorrow's Harvest Fruit Ripening Chart
Smart Pots
More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text or call us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening also to the Green Acres Garden Podcast with Farmer Fred .
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
30 min
April 13, 2021 093 Tomato Transplanting Tips. Compost vs Mulch.
Are your tomatoes getting too big for their britches, but you want to wait to plant? Our favorite retired college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, has some tips about transplanting overgrown tomatoes from small pots directly into the ground. Plus, she shares her tomato and pepper planting secret for turning those newly planted vegetables into even stronger plants. You may never plant your tomatoes the same way again!
Master Gardener Pam Bone tackles a vexing topic: what’s better to put on top of your garden soil: finely sifted compost; or, coarse mulch such as tree trimmings?
And, the Plant of the Week is a small, flowering tree that has what Warren Roberts of the UC Davis Arboretum describes as the purest white flowers of any blooming plant: the Chionanthus, also known as the Fringe Tree, which is native to many areas of the United States.
It’s on episode 93 of the Garden Basics podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured:
Big Tomatoes in Small Pots
Links:
Smart Pots
UC Davis Arboretum
More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics

Text us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.

And thank you for listening.

All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
30 min
April 09, 2021 092 Honey Halo Nectarine. Visit to a Palm Tree Nursery. The Most Important Garden Task.
It’s a peach without the fuzz. It’s a nectarine, the Honey Halo Nectarine, a sweet piece of fruit with a long harvest season with fruit becoming ripe when the fruit is firm and crunchy, then remains on the tree until it is rich smooth and sweet with juice just running down your arm. Fruit tree expert Ed Laivo of TomorrowsHarvest.com is back with all the juicy details.

Plus, we solve your garden question about figs that split while on the tree.

We also talk about cold hardy palm trees with a palm tree expert.

Plus, retired college horticulture professor Debbie Flower tells us the most important garden task that you need to do, no matter what you’re growing!
It’s all on episode 92 of the Garden Basics podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots and Tomorrows Harvest. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured:
The Honey Halo Nectarine
Links:
Smart Pots!
The Honey Halo Nectarine from Tomorrows Harvest
Palm Tree Care Tips
More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text or call us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening also to the Green Acres Garden Podcast with Farmer Fred .
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
29 min
April 06, 2021 091 Potato Planting Pointers. Daphne
Planting potatoes? Our favorite retired college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, has some tips about choosing which potatoes to plant and how to cut and prepare them for planting. Also, she offers a couple of good reasons for growing your potatoes in containers, including ease of harvest and to thwart any diseases that could spread to tomatoes or peppers that might be in the same garden bed.
And, the plant of the week is a shrub that is a real show for the nose, the daphne, a great choice for a dry, shady area. Warren Roberts of the UC Davis Arboretum tells us all about it.
It’s on episode 91 of the Garden Basics podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!
Pictured:
Winter Daphne, Daphne odora

Links:
Smart Pots!
UC Santa Clara Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners: Growing Potatoes
UC Davis Arboretum

More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text or call us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening also to the Green Acres Garden Podcast with Farmer Fred .
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
30 min
April 02, 2021 090 The Sweetheart Cherry. Painting fruit trees. How to stop fruit tree suckers. It's Fabulous Fruit Friday!
Looking for a later ripening cherry that tastes great and is hardy in some of our colder climates? Fruit tree expert Ed Laivo of TomorrowsHarvest.com returns with one beautiful, deep red cherry variety for Fabulous Fruit Friday that can be grown throughout most of the United States… the Sweetheart Cherry. Plus, we answer your garden questions about painting fruit tree trunks to prevent sun scald, and how to keep tree suckers from popping up all over your yard.
It’s all on episode 90 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots and Tomorrows Harvest. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured:
The beautiful white flowers of the Sweetheart Cherry tree

Links:
Smart Pots
Sucker Stopper Label
Tomorrow's Harvest
Sunburn Protection Tips for Trees
Fruit Ripening Chart for a long harvest season from Tomorrow's Harvest

More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text or call us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening also to the Green Acres Garden Podcast with Farmer Fred .
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
29 min
March 30, 2021 089 Drip Emitters vs Micro Sprayers - Which is Better? Rototillers vs Chipper/Shredders. Plant of the Week: the Redbud Tree
Thinking of adding a drip irrigation system to your garden? Good idea. Drip systems conserve water and more effectively irrigate the root systems of your plants. But, you have choices. Should the water be delivered via drippers…or microsprayers? Each has its advantages and drawbacks. Our favorite retired college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, weighs the pros and cons involved with a drip irrigation system.
Thinking of buying a rototiller for your garden? Our resident soils expert, Steve Zien, has a better way to improve your soil with that thousand dollars you might spend. And yes, it, too, is a fun, loud, garden implement.
And the plant of the week is a tree that is putting on a show throughout the United States in early spring - the redbud. Warren Roberts of the UC Davis Arboretum tells us all about it.
It’s all on episode 89 of the Garden Basics podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured:
In-Line Emitter Drip Irrigation Tubing and a Micro Sprayer

Links:
Smart Pots!
Chipper/Shredders
Rototillers
Drip Irrigation Systems
Farmer Fred Rant: Drip Irrigation-How Long Do I Water?

More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text or call us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening also to the Green Acres Garden Podcast with Farmer Fred .
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.
Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
30 min
March 26, 2021 088 Empire Apple on Fabulous Fruit Friday! Pruning Tomatoes for Earlier Production. Gasoline Tips for Outdoor Power Equipment.
Do you like apples? Fruit tree expert Ed Laivo of TomorrowsHarvest.com returns with an apple variety that is not only delicious, but can be grown throughout most of the United States. Today on Fabulous Fruit Friday, it’s the Empire apple.
If you’re having problems starting your outdoor garden power equipment, it might be your gas. We have tips to make sure your mower, weed trimmer, leaf blower and other gas powered equipment starts on the first pull of the rope or turn of the key.
And, our favorite college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, has tomato plant pruning tips that can hasten the arrival of those tasty red orbs in the coming months.
It’s all on episode 88 of the Garden Basics podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots and Tomorrows Harvest. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured:
The Empire Apple

Links:
Smart Pots!
Tomorrow's Harvest
JB's Power Equipment, Davis, CA
K-100 Gasoline Additive

More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text or call us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening also to the Green Acres Garden Podcast with Farmer Fred .
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
29 min
March 23, 2021 087 Hardy Palm Trees. Palm Transplanting Tips. Does Vitamin B-1 Help Your Plants?
Did you know you could grow palm trees in Switzerland? That's great news for all of our eight listeners there. For the 130,000+ listeners here in the U.S., there are hardy palm tree varieties that can survive where winter temperatures drop regularly to below freezing. What are those hardy varieties? Warren Roberts of the UC Davis Arboretum has some suggestions.
Transplanting palm trees, whether in pots or in ground, can be a tricky proposition. Our favorite retired college horticulture teacher, Debbie Flower, has some palm transplanting advice, plus we take the usual scenic garden bypasses to talk about the difference between monocots and dicots. Palms, like grasses or corn, are monocots. Don’t worry we’ll explain. And if you’re doing any transplanting or propagation of plants, should you use a product containing Vitamin B-1? Here’s a hint: there’s something you already have that works just as well at aiding transplant shock.
It’s all on episode 87 of the Garden Basics podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured:
The lady palm, Rhapis humilis. This lower-growing variety is suitable for permanent planting outdoors where the overnight lows tend to stay above 22 degrees. For colder climates, have the local high school football team haul it indoors for you in Autumn near, bright indirect light. Photo courtesy Great Valley Palms.

Links:
Smart Pots
palm care
hardy palms
UC Davis Arboretum

More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.

Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening.
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
29 min
March 19, 2021 086 The Golden Sweet Apricot on Fabulous Fruit Friday!
Fruit tree expert Ed Laivo of TomorrowsHarvest.com returns with another sweet treat of a winner for Fabulous Fruit Fridays. It’s the Golden Sweet Apricot, a tasty fruit that can be grown throughout most of the country, all the way down to USDA Zone 5.

Plus, we have fruit tree planting tips for you, tips that will help insure the success of your new fruit tree or fruit bushes.

There's another way being a gardener can make you healthier: whenever you give someone an extra plant or the harvest from your garden, you are demonstrating the art of kindness. That's an artwork that can make you feel better, too!
It’s all on episode 86 of the Garden Basics podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots and Tomorrows Harvest. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured: The Golden Sweet Apricot

Links:
Smart Pots
Tomorrows Harvest
Frog Hollow fruits
Garden writer Robert Kourik's books on Drip Irrigation and Tree Roots
Planting a Fruit Tree

More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text or call us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening also to the Green Acres Garden Podcast with Farmer Fred .
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.
Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
29 min
March 16, 2021 085 Tips for the Overheated Garden. Figs and Pomegranates. Shamrocks.
What if the only full sun garden space you have seems to be too hot to grow anything? Perhaps your only sunny spot is against a south-facing wall on top of a concrete patio? There are solutions!
Lack of rainfall this year is a growing problem in many states in the west and southwest, as well as other parts of the country. Any portion of the nation is susceptible to an extended drought. Are there any fruit trees you can grow that are considered drought tolerant? We talk about two tasty fruit trees that don’t require much water once established: figs and pomegranates.
Also, Warren Roberts of the UC Davis Arboretum talks about a plant that will magically appear on many people’s clothing this week, shamrocks. They’re part of a family of plants that has some saints, and a few sinners, too.
It’s all on episode 85 of the Garden Basics podcast, brought to you by Smart Pots. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes.

Smart Pots
Dave Wilson Nursery Fig info
Dave Wilson Pomegranate info
Fig Cookie Recipe
Cooling off a Hot Garden
Shamrock bulbs, seed
UC Davis Arboretum
More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.
Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:
leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Text us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.
And thank you for listening.
All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.
30 min

About Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

From the publisher's feed

Tips for beginning and experienced gardeners. New episodes arrive every Friday. Fred Hoffman has been a U.C. Certified Master Gardener since 1982 and writes a weekly garden column for the Lodi…