Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Using livestock water troughs to grow plants is a great idea. You can grow just about anything from food crops to flowers, shrubs and even small trees or bamboo. Livestock water troughs, also called …

You’ve seen it with the bagged soils goods at the nursery: worm castings. What role should they play in your garden?
The Plant of the Week is a big family of different plants: the poppy. There’s prob…

Another dubious garden idea is making the rounds on social media: if you prune out the first tomato you see on your plant,  you’ll get more tomatoes as a result. Fact or Myth? We explore that with re…

High chill apples. Known for their great flavor, these apples that supposedly require a lot of cold winter temperatures to thrive, are finding a new home. Trials in southern California, in areas that…

What’s all that buzzing going on in many parts of the country right now? It’s the emerging of what is being called Brood X, an unusually large occurrence of cicadas. Are they a threat to your garden?…

Liquid fish fertilizer (fish emulsion), is a popular way to feed your plants. But is it safe to foliar feed your edible greens with it…and then eat those greens? Soil professional Steve Zien advocate…

Looking for a fruit tree with outstanding flowers in the spring? Look no further than the Red Baron peach. It’s Fabulous Fruit Friday, and Ed Laivo is here from TomorrowsHarvest.com to talk about thi…

It’s not a baking potato, it’s not a yam, it’s a sweet potato. And it isn’t just for Thanksgiving anymore. You can grow sweet potatoes in your garden for year round eating. Master Gardener Gail Potho…

Growing a garden is very similar to doing a successful podcast. It takes patience, perseverance and a willingness to try something new. Welcome to Episode 100 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred po…

Ants love to inhabit the soil in your outdoor potted plants. Maybe your indoor plants, too.  And they aren’t doing your plants any good. College Horticulture Professor Debbie Flower has tips for gett…

Are you familiar with the donut peach? If not, we will tell you all about it, on today’s edition of Fabulous Fruit Fridays. And we will shine the spotlight on one particularly delectable variety, the…

One of the easiest fruit trees to grow are figs. And, for the adventurous gardener, you can start a fig tree from a cutting. We have the details.
Looking for a colorful summer annual flower sure to b…

The O’Henry Peach has been popular since its introduction in 1968. It’s a sweet, juicy, long lasting, easy peach tree to grow. A perfect candidate for today’s Fabulous Fruit Friday. Fruit tree expert…

For some gardeners, fresh okra from the summer garden is a taste treat. For other gardeners, who may not appreciate the texture and flavor of okra, it is still worth growing for the beautiful flowers…

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 pla…

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 to…

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 …

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 off…

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 varie…

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 wat…