Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Can there be too much of a good thing? Yes, indeed, if we are talking about fertilizer for your outdoor fruit and vegetable plants. In fact, too much fertilizer can actually reduce the production of fruits and vegetables. Professor Debbie Flower tells us why. Every state in the union can grow table grapes. And this month, you just might have too many grapes, waiting to be picked. Unless you are a professional bird feeder, save those grapes for yourself by making raisins. One method involves using a dehydrator. We get tips on how to do that from a Master Gardener. With all the stuff that’s happening around us these days. We need to be transported more often to our happy place. Not only is a garden the happiest place on earth (sorry Disneyland) but if you have plants that produce enticing aromas, those delightful smells can calm you and send you to a peaceful place. We help make your garden a more relaxing place with plants that are a show for the nose, fragrant plants, like that winter daphne in the picture; and plants that are a show for the ears, after all, who doesn't enjoy the sound of hummingbirds whizzing by; or bees, landing on flowers? It’s all on Episode 44 of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, and we will do it all in under 30 minutes.

More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

For those of you who live in the West, the South, parts of the Midwest and mid-Atlantic states, (USDA Zones 7, 8, and 9) we get down to specifics in this episode on the best varieties of vegetables to grow during the cooler months of fall and winter:  lettuce, spinach, Swiss Chard, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cilantro, broccoli (pictured), cauliflower, beets, snow peas, fava beans, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsnips, shallots and turnips.

We’ll tell you about some tasty, easy to grow varieties that maybe you’ve never eaten, such as pak choi, black seeded simpson lettuce, Danvers half long carrots, and Romanesco broccoli. What’s that? Give a listen. 

It’s Episode 43 of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, “Veggies for Fall”. Plus, we’ll tell you why now is a good time to give a final 2020 feeding to your fruit trees.

We learn something new, every time, on Garden Basics with Farmer Fred.  And we will do it all in under 30 minutes.

Links
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Tips for the Fall and Winter Vegetable Garden
Podcast Episode 18: "Greenhouse Basics"

More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

Many gardeners are still enjoying the summer vegetable garden. But get ready…the days will be getting shorter and cooler this month and those vegetables may start to go into decline. Now is time to be planning and planting your second garden of 2020, the fall and winter vegetable garden. Our favorite college horticulture professor (retired), Debbie Flower, has tips for getting your lettuce, spinach, Swiss Chard (pictured), cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cilantro, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, snow peas, fava beans, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsnips, shallots and turnips started….if you live in the right zone. We explain the USDA plant hardiness zone maps as well as cold frame basics (for those of you who own snow shovels). Today's episode is presented by Smart Pots, the original, lightweight, long-lasting fabric plant container, made in the USA. Visit SmartPots.com/fred for more information and a special discount.
We learn something new, every time, on Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. And we will do it again today in Episode 42, "Cool Season Garden Basics". And we will do it all in under 30 minutes.

Links
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Fall/Winter Vegetable Garden Varieties for USDA Zone 9
Charley's Greenhouse and Garden
Vent Openers (wax hinges)
Frost Cloth
Row Covers

More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

Welcome back to our little insecticidal soap opera, "Who’s Eating My Tomatoes?" College horticulture professor Debbie Flower joins us for our big finale of this three part series, which looks at the insect critters that don’t necessarily chew the tomatoes, but they sure make them look ugly and unappetizing. It's the sucking, piercing, rasping insects of tomatoes that get our attention today, along with a look at the beneficial insects, the garden good guys, that can do a better job than most chemicals at controlling your tomato pests. (Those are braconid wasp eggs on the back of that tomato worm in the picture. When they hatch, the larvae will burrow into the worm and eat the worm from the inside out. Look carefully, you might even see the braconid wasp!)
But those good guys need a home in your yard, so we talk about their housing requirements: the flowering plants that should be in everyone’s yard to provide natural control over tomato pests. Think of yourself as building the "Good Bug Hotel."
And to wrap up all this tomato talk, we answer the question: The Tomato: Is It a Fruit or a Vegetable? Turns out, both are correct. We’ll tell you why.

Links
An interactive master list of all tomato pests
A chart of beneficial insects for the garden
Building the Good Bug Hotel: beneficials and the plants they love
Natural Enemies Handbook
"Pests of the Garden and Small Farm" 3rd edition

More episodes and info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

We continue our conversation with retired horticulture professor Debbie Flower about the critters that are munching on your backyard tomatoes. Last time, we discussed the smaller pests: hornworms, fruit worms, fruit beetles, snails, slugs, earwigs. This time we tackle the larger interlopers who are getting into your tomatoes: rats, squirrels, birds, possum, raccoons, and, of course, deer.
Plus, we talk with farm advisor Rachael Long about inviting an eager rodent hunter onto your property…barn owls...if you’ve got the room.

Links:
"Deer in My Garden" (Controlling deer with unappetizing plants) by Carolyn Singer
"Managing Deer Damage" from the University of Maryland
"Low Cost Fence keeps Deer Out" From Good fruit Grower magazine.

Bird Netting for Garden Protection from Wilson Orchard & Vineyard Supply

Garden Animal Tracks Guide
Earwig Control Tips
Tree Squirrel Control Tips
Ground Squirrel Control Tips
Possum Control Tips
Gopher Control Tips
Rat Control Tips
Vole, Meadow Mice Control Tips

Snail, Slug Control Tips
Pet-safe Slug, Snail control products
Copper Barriers for snail, slug control

“Songbird, Bat and Owl Boxes” book info:
Barn owl nest box plans
Using barn owls for rodent control
More Info on songbirds, bats, and owls

More episodes and info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

How many times have you gone out to your backyard tomato patch, reached in to harvest what looks like a big, juicy, ripe, red tomato…only to have your fingertips realize…someone’s been eating my tomatoes. Who’s the culprit? Our favorite college horticulture teacher (retired), Debbie Flower, rounds up the suspects and interrogate them one by one. There’s so many possible offenders, it will take us two episodes to get through them all. Plus, we will offer tips on controlling those unwanted tomato chewers, and tell you about the garden good guys that are helping you out. And some of those good guys…you might not even think of them as being beneficials. But they are.

U.C. Farm Advisor Rachael Long tells us about the mud dauber wasp, which can be very effective at controlling another backyard nemesis: black widow spiders.

And, Phil Pursel of Dave Wilson Nursery offers a quick tip: why organic fertilizers are so good for your plants.

Links:
The life cycle of the tomato hornworm.
Video of a wasp eating a tomato hornworm.
Parasitic wasps lay their eggs on a hornworm.
Effective against tomato hornworms: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)
How to tell the difference between a yellow jacket and a paper wasp.
Impress your friends! Yellow jacket fun facts.
Meet the beetles! (The Green Fruit Beetle, that is)
Where the blue mud dauber wasp lives in the U.S.
Organic fertilizers for fruit trees

More episodes and info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe and leave a comment or rating at Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

It’s a rather general garden question we received that has a lot of possible answers: "Why am I not getting any tomatoes or zucchini?" But that very general question, with no other details, gives us the opportunity to go through a checklist of all possible causes. One of those reasons just might hit home for you.

Blueberry harvest is ending here in California, but it’s still going on in many other states. We pay a visit to a demonstration garden where the Master Gardeners share their secrets for growing great blueberries. And, how to protect those berries from marauding birds. Even if you don’t have an interest in growing blueberries, you just might be interested in the details of their easy-to construct bird barrier to protect your other garden goodies.

We learn something new, every time, on Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. And we will do it again today in Episode 38, If your tomatoes or squash not producing, We tell you why. And we will do it in under 30 minutes. Let’s go.

Helpful Links:
Squash Pollination Tips
Fair Oaks Horticulture Center Berry Links
Bird Netting for Berry Protection from Wilson Orchard & Vineyard Supply
Blueberry Growing Advice from Dave Wilson Nursery
Nutri-Rich Fertilizer

More episodes and info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe and leave a comment or rating at Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

Don’t let drip irrigation become drip irritation. Today’s entire show is on drip irrigation basics: how to install it, how to run it, how to maintain it. We talk with garden author Robert Kourik, he wrote the seminal book about the subject, it’s called “Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates.” He’ll tell us that not only will drip irrigation save you money by using less water, drip irrigation can also increase your yield. And drip irrigation isn’t just for states that have typically dry summers; it’s for any area of the country where you might get a 2-week, 3-week or month-long stretch of no rain. A drip irrigation system, ready to go, could save your garden in case that short drought pops up. And if you tried a drip irrigation system years ago and were unhappy with the results, we’ll tell you how the equipment has improved recently to be more dependable and trouble resistant.

We learn something new, every time, on Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. And we will do it again today in Episode 37, Drip Irrigation Basics. But we won’t do it in under 30 minutes; it’ll probably be closer to 40 minutes…because water is hard. sorry.

Helpful Links:
Robert Kourik website
The book, "Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates" (Second Edition)
Dripworks Drip Irrigation website
Raindrip drip irrigation parts website
Evapotranspiration Rates for California
Evapotranspiration Rates for the World

More episodes and info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe and leave a comment or rating at Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

Welcome to another edition of the Garden Basics podcast, once again with the subtitle, "I didn’t know that!" College Horticulture professor (retired) Debbie Flower tackles the question, is it better to fertilize your plants in the morning or the evening? Or does it matter? Debbie points out…it depends on the temperature. 

It’s not celery, it’s not a lettuce you'd recognize, it’s Celtuce! Also called stem lettuce, asparagus lettuce or Chinese lettuce, Celtuce is popular in upscale restaurants for its crispy, flavorful stems and leaves. And now is the time to be growing it. We get all the basics about growing Celtuce on today’s show, from Matt Mattus, author of the book, "Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening: Rare Varieties, Unusual Options, Plant Lore and Guidance"

It’s harvest season for many popular backyard garden fruits and vegetables. But do you know the ideal time for harvesting tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, eggplants and more? And, once you take them in the house, do you know where to store them? It’s probably not the refrigerator. Also, here's a link on how to store your backyard fruits as well as more vegetables.

We learn something new, every time, on Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. And we will do it again today in Episode 36, and we will do it in under 30 minutes! Let’s go.

More episodes and info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe and leave a comment or rating at Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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

We pick up where we left off with the last episode, with a taste test of one more edible flower that you just might have growing in your yard: roses. Both the rose petals and the rose hips from the rose plant are edible. We talk with Master Rosarian Debbie Arrington who says, some rose petals and rose hips taste better than others. Which taste the best? Stick around.

When it comes to applying pesticides, read and follow all label directions. That’s the takeaway message from Gisele Schoniger, the organic educator for Kellogg Garden Products. But, she explains, maybe you don’t need to apply any pesticides to control those problematic insects and diseases in your garden. We will tell you about less toxic alternatives that work as well as what to look for in a safer pesticide product.

When you first handled your tomato plants at the beginning of the season, did you rub your finger along the stem and pick up the scent of those tiny hairs? Don’t deny it. You did. We all enjoy that first whiff of the scent of a tomato, a promise of things to come. You might recall back in Episode 3 we learned the benefits of planting tomatoes deeply. Many gardeners think those fine hairs become roots when you bury much of the stem of that young tomato plant in the ground. Our favorite college horticulture professor (retired), Debbie Flower, says no, they don’t become roots. Where do the new tomato roots come from? Then what’s the purpose of those tiny tomato hairs along the stem…other than to give you a show for your nose every spring? You might be surprised to learn of their true purpose. I was. 

We learn something new, every time, on Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. And we will do it again today in Episode 35, and we will do it in under 30 minutes!

Links:
More about rose hips.
Sacramento Dig Gardening Blog by Debbie Arrington.
Growing Edible Flowers in Your Garden (GN 155) Sacramento Co. Coopertive Extension
Colorado State University Extension “Edible Flowers”
"The Edible Flower Garden", by Rosalind Creasy.
More about those tomato roots along the stem, tomato stem primordia
Organocide, Bee-Safe 3-in-1 Spray.
More on Kellogg Garden Products.

More episodes and info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629.

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe and leave a comment or rating at Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, or 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.

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

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