Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

The hot trend of spring is back, this time for fall. The trend? The home-based, back-to-the- land movement, where more and more people are starting a garden. Just as what happened in the spring, nurs…

Horticulture expert Debbie Flower rejoins us for Part 2 of Understanding the Language of Seed Packets. This time around, she has good planting instructions for what to do if that seed packet says thi…

A seed packet might say, “Plant in spring, but if you live in a mild climate, sow in fall.” What is a mild climate? Do you live in a mild climate? You might think so, but the folks at that seed compa…

Ripping out your summer garden to make room for the fall vegetable and flower garden? Before you stick one broccoli plant or calendula flower in that space, you need to improve your soil. It’s tired!…

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 …

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 t…

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 b…

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 …

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, fr…

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 toma…

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 r…

Clipping off the flower heads on your basil plants to send the energy back to the plant to produce more green leaves? Good idea! Are you tossing out those cut flower heads of the basil? Bad idea. How…

We do read the comments you post at the various podcast services. And we respond. Recently, at the Apple Podcast site, Sage posted: “Will you please address the mystery seeds being mailed to American…

We’re into that time of the summer when, with a very serious look in her eye, and wearing a tomato-stained apron, my wife sternly says: 
"Next year, don’t plant so many cherry tomato plants!" 
In my de…

If you’ve ever talked with a gardener who uses the excrement of worms around their plants, you may be familiar with their wide eyed look of rapture talking about all the benefits of using, to put it …

Bees are one of the best pollinators to have flying around your food garden. It’s been said that bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food you eat. Today, we take attracting bees …

Confused about that tall wall of soil products you see in the nursery? Garden Soil, Planting Mix, Potting Mix, which do you choose for your plants? We talk with soil educator Gisele Schoniger about t…