Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Previous episodes, show notes, links, product information, and transcripts at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, GardenBasics.net. Audio, transcripts, and episode chapters also availab…

It’s a holiday weekend and you might be traveling. What about a Garden Basics playlist for that long car ride or for listening to while lounging around someplace cool? We have suggestions for that pl…

How do use and adjust a soil thermometer? Why is my soil pH so variable at different soil depths? How do you use cardboard to replace a lawn and start a garden?

Those are some of the questions, along …

Did you know rose petals are edible, and contain lots of healthy fiber?  That's part of today’s podcast, recorded live,  in February 2024, at the Sacramento Rose Society's monthly meeting.
The main to…

In this episode of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, Fred Hoffman and Master Gardener Gail Pothour discuss saving tomato seeds.  They address the question of whether saved tomato seeds will…

We pay a visit to the garden of America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower. It’s a living classroom on thriving  low water use plants.

Debbie talks in detail about the pl…

Master Gardener Fred Hoffman and his guests answers garden questions from listeners on the Tuesday edition of the Garden Basics podcast. The first question is about weed cloth and its impact on soil …

Something a little different today.  America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower and myself take a stroll through the Farmer Fred backyard garden, talking about the plant…

Farmer Fred and Debbie Flower discuss:
•The impact of climate and weather on gardening success.

•Understanding cross-pollination and its implications for seed saving and plant breeding.

•The importance …

In this episode of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, the focus is on how to water clay soil and other tips for gardening in clay.  Debbie Flower,  America's Favorite retired college horticultural profe…

In this episode of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, Fred and his expert guests answer questions about: 
• Squash pollination woes with Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour.
•  T…

If you’re the type of gardener that buys flowering plants at a nursery that are covered in blooms, America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, will explain why you shoul…

In this episode, Farmer Fred answers a listener's question about burying kitchen scraps in the garden. He discusses the potential problems with this method, including attracting scavengers and affect…

The first chat today involves roof rats (and is an encore presentation while construction is ongoing here at Barking Dog). It will be particularly useful for those of you with large yards, or acreage…

The first question on the Tuesday Q&A edition of the Garden Basics podcast is about growing rhubarb in hot weather. Fred and his guests, Master Gardeners Kathy Morrison and Ruth Ostroff, discuss thei…

We are in the midst of spring construction here, so we are taking the opportunity to not shout over the whine of power saws and the banging hammers. Instead, we will be revisiting some of the most po…

Farmer Fred and Don Shor from Redwood Barn Nursery answer a garden question from a  listener about whiteflies on grapes. But are they really whiteflies? They discuss how to control whiteflies and lea…

Mid to late spring is cucumber planting time in most of North America, and we have more cucumber growing tips for you today. We covered a lot of cucumber growing basics back in episode 266 last May, …

In Episode 330, Q&A - Gail from Orangevale, CA wants to start a vegetable and flower garden in her backyard, which is currently covered in Bermuda grass. Debbie Flower,  America’s Favorite Retired Co…

This episode is entitled,  How to Water Your Garden. “What!?!” you’re probably thinking. “Of course I know how to water my garden, lawn, and indoor plants, I’m a gardener!” As Farmer Fred Garden Rule…