Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Can bermudagrass be controlled, or is it forever? America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, has tips for converting a bermudagrass turf area into another lawn type or …

We’ve often said here that when designing your garden plan, make sure the edible garden is visible from the kitchen window. Today, we expand on that: tips for planning a garden so that the most beaut…

Are fertilizers overused? That’s what America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, says. She also deciphers all that information on a fertilizer label so you know exactly…

You’ve heard of No-Till gardening. How about No-Dig gardening? Or creating a Lasagna garden? Emily Murphy, author of the book, Grow Now, explains.

In our Question and Answer segment, one listener want…

Spring isn’t just for outdoor garden tasks. Your houseplants need some springtime love, as well. We chat with the author of “Houseplant Warrior”, Raffaele DiLallo about your houseplants’ needs for th…

We pay a visit in today’s episode to the lush yards of a couple of notable gardeners. We chat with America’s favorite retired college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, in her garden, about what …

Get your day off to a healthy start by adding fresh-picked berries - blackberries, raspberries, blueberries - to your breakfast.  Here in California, harvest season for those are perhaps six weeks aw…

There are two very contemplative aisles that gardeners can encounter at big box stores or a well-stocked Garden Center…and that’s the drip irrigation parts aisle, and the garden pesticide aisle. Next…

It’s "bat day" here on the Garden Basics podcast. By the way, we’re talking about the flying mammal, not the Louisville Slugger.  
Bats! They are a good friend of every gardener and farmer. Why? Becau…

The Poop Loop. No, we’re not talking about the reference in SpongeBob Squarepants (but we will have a link to that in the show notes). We’re not referring to a leash accessory that holds your dog's p…

How in tune with nature are you? Probably more than you think, if you’re a gardener. We talk with Emily Murphy, author of the new garden book, Grow Now, about your NQ, your Nature Quotient. Plus, we …

If you have a small yard, or crummy soil or even just a sunny patio, you can grow tomatoes…in containers! If you have an area around the outside of your home that gets six hours or more of sun a day …

Looking for easy to grow succulents for a wide variety of climates? We cover the basics for growing these unthirsty plants both outdoors and indoors.
Spice up your salsa garden this year with the tom…

Welcome to the tug-of-a-war season. Is it late winter, or early spring? Will daytime highs be in the 60’s and 70’s? Or will the overnight lows dip below freezing? Or both? Deciduous fruit trees, such…

In this episode, our favorite retired college horticultural professor, Debbie Flower, and myself, offer a wide variety of garden tips to get your yard ready for spring. And it’s kind of a special epi…

For many gardeners in USDA Zones 7. 8, 9 and 10, March is the month for new beginnings. The weather is warmer, trees and shrubs are blooming. But wait a minute… it’s still winter. Jack Frost can stil…

It’s that time of year. You’re thinking about what to plant in your spring and summer garden. You’re looking at all those empty plant containers in your yard and asking yourself, what flowers or vege…

Deciduous fruit trees are starting to wake from their winter slumber in warmer areas of the United States, with the rest soon to follow. Why not bring some of that flower show indoors? Today, we get …

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the greenhouse lately, starting tomato, pepper and onion seeds. You don’t have to be a gardener for very long to realize the advantages of having a backyard hobby …

Keep your seed catalogs open! Today, we pick up where we left off on the last episode of Garden Basics (168)  where we were talking with Master Gardener Gail Pothour at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Cen…