Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

The college horticulture professors take over Episode 14, but we keep it to the basics. Don't worry, none of this will be on the Final.
Linda Chalker-Scott teaches at Washington State University, but she may be better known as the author of a couple of best-selling garden books: "The Informed Gardener" and "The Informed Gardener Blooms Again". Both books deal with persistent garden myths and why they don't work. We talk about why rocks in a plant container actually can harm your plants (it's a water issue). But she gives us a cure for soil that might come pouring out of the drain holes the first time you water. Chalker-Scott might also convince you to quit buying landscape fabric to thwart weeds (there's a lot of issues with those fabrics that effect your soil, your plants...and, it doesn't stop weeds, in the long run). Other myths that get shattered here: why adding sand to clay soil will not improve the drainage; why Vitamin B-1 does not help your plants; and why it's OK to water your leafy plants on a hot afternoon (the leaves won't burn. really).

We dive into a big pile of oak leaf mulch with college horticulture professor Debbie Flower. Is it gardener's gold? After listening to this, come autumn, you'll be rounding up all the fallen oak leaves in your neighborhood! I discuss how I grind up my neighbor's oak leaves: put them in a metal trash can until the can is half full, stick in my lightweight electric string trimmer, and whirrrr away! About a 5:1 reduction of leaf volume that makes an excellent fall, winter and spring mulch! If you want more leaf reduction, you might want to invest in one of these.

Flower also explains why the most common mulch available, bark chips, isn't good for vegetable gardens. And, why you shouldn't be using fresh lawn clippings or sawdust as a mulch, period. Here's more about the pros and cons of various mulch products.

It's OK to plant fruit trees in the heat of the summer. We'll tell you the whys and the hows.

Finally, it's blueberry harvest season here. Is there a healthier, sweeter, more versatile taste treat that can grow in anyone's garden? I think blueberries take that trophy. Why are blueberries so healthy for you? Soluble fiber!

Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch: 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.

Thanks for listening to Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. It comes out every Tuesday and Friday (so far, so good). It's available just about anywhere podcasts are handed out. Please subscribe, and leave a comment. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.

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

Garden columnist, Lodi News-Sentinel 

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

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

Do you have old packets of seeds around? Are they still viable? Our in-house college horticulture professor has tips for increasing seed germination from those old seed packages.

Why you should start cuttings and fruit pits in soil, not water.

Spring and summer are the colorful seasons for zinnias, an annual flower that attracts hummingbirds, pollinators, and other beneficial insects. And zinnias just might be good for your mental health because of their brightly colored blooms and their multiple uses, both outdoors and indoors.

It’s all in Episode 13 of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, and we will do it all in under 30 minutes.

Links:
"Grow a Little Fruit Tree" by Ann Ralph
Pepper Seed Germination Tips
Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects
Plants to Attract the Pollinators
Park Seeds Zinnia Collection
Zinnia Seeds from Johnny's Seeds

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
Garden columnist, Lodi News-Sentinel 

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

New to gardening? Or, you just want to learn some better ways to garden? This is the episode for you. College horticulture professor Debbie Flower has tips to make your first garden a successful garden. And, for you more experienced gardeners, we have tips that can make your garden more productive. Or to put it more bluntly, you will be learning from the previous mistakes of two gardeners with over 100 years of experience.

Also, there is a lot of worry and concern about what will become our new normal way of life for 2020 and beyond. We suggest a “new normal” for you that can ease your worries and keep you smiling. Oh, get your imagination out of the gutter…it involves gardening.

It’s Episode 12 of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, and we will do it all in under 30 minutes!

Links:
Tips for a Successful Vegetable Garden
Terrific Tomato Tips
How a Garden Makes You Healthier and Happier


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
Garden columnist, Lodi News-Sentinel 

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

Yes, you can grow tomatoes in containers! Maybe all you have is a small, sunny patio or maybe you have lousy soil, or maybe you just want to be able to move the plants around. With some help, of course. We have tips on great containers for great tomatoes from nursery owner Don Shor who loves tomatoes. 

There are a lot of fertilizers out there. Which ones are best for growing vegetables? Our soils expert, organic advocate Steve Zien, has tips for choosing, and effectively using, fertilizers on your plants. 

Our in-house college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, solves the mystery of the browning citrus leaves.

And, we have a nifty trick for easily planting teeny tiny carrot seeds.

Growing tomatoes in containers, fertilization tips, citrus leaf questions. Welcome to Episode 11 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. And we’ll do it all in under 30 minutes.

Links:
Growing Tomatoes in Containers: Tips
Short-growing tomato plants worth considering
Tomato Troubleshooter
Growing your First Vegetable Garden? Some tips.
Fertilizers FAQ from University of California

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
Garden columnist, Lodi News-Sentinel 

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

Snails, slugs, earwigs…who’s chewing on your plants? Well, in fairness, it could be birds, too. But today we have control tips for the slimy and sinister looking Big 3 of Snails, Slugs and Earwigs. 

Did you know that one out of every three bites of food you eat is courtesy of a bee? We have advice on attracting bees and other pollinators to your yard. We chat with author Kim Eierman about her latest book, The Pollinator Victory Garden.

It’s on this, Episode 10 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. And we’ll have you in and out in under 30 minutes! Don’t worry, we won’t sting you.

Links for this show:
Earwig control tips
Snail and slug control tips
Information about Sluggo Plus
The Pollinator Victory Garden by Kim Eierman
Kim Eierman's Ecobeneficial.com website
Pollinator-Friendly Regional Plant Lists from the Xeres Society
Calscape.org Pinpoints California native plants via your CA zip code.

All About Farmer Fred:
Visit the Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and more on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook:  "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
Garden columnist, Lodi News-Sentinel 

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

Taken a trip lately to a grocery store? Notice the empty meat shelves? Notice the price jumps on what’s left of the beef, chicken and pork? Worried about you and your family getting enough protein? Maybe it’s time to grow your own protein. And I’m not talking about a backyard full of creatures that moo, cluck and oink. I’m talking about garden plants that are rich in protein. We talk with Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour about tips for growing protein-rich plants. During these days of shelter-in-place, your garden can be your happy place, an oasis of gratitude. And gratitude is something that can really help get you through these trying times. Developing gratitude as an attitude…and your garden can be a big part of that.

Welcome to Episode 9 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. We’ll have you in and out in under 30 minutes. Let’s get started!

Links for today's show:
All about growing beans, from the UC Vegetable Research and Information Center
The Little Book of Gratitude, by Robert Emmons

All About Farmer Fred:
Visit the Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and more on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook:  "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube
Garden columnist, Lodi News-Sentinel 

 

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

Want to get your kids out in the garden, growing food that they will enjoy eating, too? Pam Farley, The Brown Thumb Mama, has suggestions for Vegetables and Fruits Kids Love To Grow. 

Roses are blooming, and the bad bugs have found them! Our favorite college horticulture teacher, Debbie Flower, tackles two of the prime culprits this time of year: aphids and thrips.

Want to grow food? But all you have is a small backyard or patio that is mostly shade? Today’s Quick Tip offers up some vegetables that will do just fine there, growing in containers.

All of us are battling cabin fever, along with uncertainty and worry about the future. As gardeners, though, there are some things we can do to raise emotional spirits of residents throughout the neighborhood, even those you don’t know. It's called "Yard Of The Day", and it’s easy, it's fun, and the whole family will get a little exercise, too!

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. We’ll have you in and out in under 30 minutes. No standing in line! No masks! And we won’t take your temperature.

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

Quit fertilizing your plants! Feed your soil instead.
Episode 7 goes deep into what makes for a successful plant. If you think plant roots are sucking up the liquid or granular fertilizer that your pouring on them, think again. Plant roots aren’t straws. Instead there are billions of microscopic beneficial fungi and bacteria in the soil that are converting those fertilizers into a usable form for the plant, and delivering the finished product to the plant roots. The better you treat those beneficial critters, the healthier will be your plants. It’s all about the soil.
On Episode 7, we talk with Giselle Schoniger of Kellogg Garden Products about how this process works, and actually how easy it is to improve your soil, and your plants. We talk with a soils expert about why you should spend your money on a chipper/shredder instead of a rototiller, and how that rototiller can damage your soil. Are your winter greens and cool season vegetables like broccoli and cauiliflower starting to bolt, turning bitter and uneatable? Our in house college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, explains why that happens. But there is a very beneficial side to all that bolting, a result that can actually reduce your garden pest problems.

It’s all on this week’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Podcast, and we will do it all in less than 30 minutes! Let’s get started!

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

People lately aren’t just starting vegetable and flower gardens as a way to help them get through the Coronavirus pandemic. They’re getting chickens, too. There’s been a big demand for baby chicks. People want to have more available forms of protein… just in case that much talked-about meat shortage comes about. But what do you know about picking out and raising baby chicks? Not much, I bet. We bring on an urban chicken consultant, Cherie Sintes-Glover of chickensforeggs.com to fill you in on baby chick basics.
Recommended backyard chicken raising books:
Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens
City Chicks Guide to Keeping Microflocks by Patricia Foreman

Also, tips to ease your weeding chores. Tools and techniques that make weeding less time consuming, such as the hula hoe, triangle hoe and winged weeder-style hoe. And, the benefits of mulch, especially for weed control.

We talk about one of the best plants to grow for cut flowers, the alstroemeria, also known as the Peruvian lily. And, they attract a lot of interest from the garden good guys - bees, hummingbirds and pollinators.

Plus, we help make your garden a more relaxing place with plants that are a show for the nose, fragrant plants…and the ears, after all, who doesn't enjoy the sound of hummingbirds whizzing by; or bees, landing on flowers? It’s all on this week’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Podcast, and we will do it all in less than 30 minutes!

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

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

Another way to save money in the garden: make your own plants from existing ones! College horticulture professor Debbie Flower describes the propagation methods for the popular herb, rosemary.
One of the best books on Plant Propagation is by Alan Toogood and it was recently updated. It's called "Propagating Plants: How to Create New Plants for Free". Even better: this thick book just got more portable, as a Kindle edition.

Who has time to wait for pepper seeds to germinate? We have tips for speeding up that process, from three weeks down to a week and a half...or less. One of the keys: be sure to use a potting soil that matches the pH needs of the pepper seeds.
More info on The Farmer Fred Rant blog: "Pepper Seeds Slow to Germinate? Some More Tips"
Soil pH and Plants List

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