Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Why is gardening so healthy for you? We explore that today with Dr. Laura Varich of FreshPhysician.com, who explains the health benefits of gardening, and the healthier benefits of eating what you gr…

Some very irritated gardeners, trying to figure out drip irrigation. So, today’s entire show is on drip irrigation basics: how to install it, how to run it, how to maintain it. We revisit a chat with…

It seems that on every edition of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, a nugget of very helpful garden information gets tossed into it, that may or may not have anything to do with the subject being discu…

September is here, and many of you are still enjoying your summer vegetable garden. But get ready…the days will be getting shorter and cooler this month and those plants may start to go into decline.…

What are those mushrooms doing in my garden? How do I get rid of them? What are the best roses that thrive in hotter climates? We answer those questions on today’s podcast. Also, we have tips for imp…

A question from a listener is one you may be thinking about while you’re in the garden: why are my tomato leaves turning brown?

Possibilities include shaded older leaves; tomato russet mites; whitefli…

Summer time is insect time, especially in the garden, both the good guys as well as the ones that you didn’t invite. Today, America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, t…

Whiteflies. They can overwhelm a garden full of vegetables and flowers, as well as certain trees and shrubs, especially during warm weather. Whiteflies excrete sticky honeydew and cause yellowing or …

Wherever you live, wherever you garden, at some point in the year, your plants will get aphids. This sucking insect enjoys the sap from many of your favorite plants, including vegetables, fruits, flo…

Yes, it’s August, and it’s hot out, but the garden is a busy place:  harvesting, watering, deadheading, weeding. Wise gardeners  have added another chore that will help guarantee future garden succes…

If you have a sprinkler system, a drip irrigation system or a series of soaker hoses, how are you turning those systems on and off?  For many gardeners who live in dry summer climates, automatic irri…

GB 217 More Jumping Worms! What to Do with Your Extra Fruits, Vegetables

Jumping worms! Unlike red wigglers or earthworms, jumping worms are not garden good guys. They’ll  consume a lot of your mulch,…

As we are fond of saying on this program every summer, “You grew it. Now, eat it!” Not all at once, of course. What are the best ways to preserve all the fruits and vegetables you grow? One of the ea…

A mature, healthy landscape tree can add thousands of dollars of value to your home. And that road to a healthy tree begins as soon as you get the tree home from the nursery. And that’s where many ho…

Garden Basics # 214 Soldier Flies, Improving Slow Compost

If you have a compost pile, or especially a worm bin, you may have seen a scary looking critter: an inch-long wasp-like creature. That’s the s…

GB 213 Garden Earwig Control. Summer Fruit Pruning.

Earwigs. They’re a garden problem, coast to coast. How do you control these pests that can take down young plants overnight? America’s favorite reti…

Today, we pay a return visit to the blackberry, raspberry and boysenberry growing grounds of Sacramento County Master Gardener Pam Bone, to find out what are the problems hitting gardeners’ caneberry…

Spider Mites. Fireblight. Spider Mites. Fireblight. Try saying that rapidly three times. These are two widespread pests of a wide variety of edible and ornamental plants this time of year. How do you…

Yes, it is the second week of July, but it’s not too late to plant tomatoes, especially early maturing varieties in large containers. America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie…

Welcome to summer, where we all look a little ragged in the hot afternoon. And your new plants may look a little droopy, too. But before you add water, listen to what our favorite retired college hor…