podcast
details
.com
Print
Share
Look for any podcast host, guest or anyone
Search
Showing episodes and shows of
Farmer Fred Hoffman
Shows
Beyond the Garden Basics Podcast
Backyard Chickens - How to Choose Them, How to Protect Them
In Ep. 381 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, Urban Chicken Consultant Cherie Sintes-Glover offered tips on how to protect your backyard chicken flock against the spread of the current version of avian influenza, the deadly H5N1, also known as the Bird Flu.The discussion on the Garden Basics podcast about protecting your flock from the bird flu took up about a half hour. At the top of this newsletter is our full conversation, which is over an hour in length, and touches on many aspects of being a backyard chicken flock owner....
2025-02-28
1h 03
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
344 Q&A - Tomato Seed Saving? Seeding Mulched Area?
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 produce the same tomato variety and provide tips for ensuring seed purity. The conversation covers topics such as flower structure, pollination, isolation techniques, and seed fermentation.Answering another question, Debbie Flower and Fred discuss the best method for sowing annual flower seeds on mulched soil.Previous episodes, show notes, links, product information, and transcripts at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer F...
2024-06-18
15 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
343 A Tour of Debbie Flower's Garden
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 plants, many of which are California natives, and discusses the strategies of hydrozoning (grouping plants together based on their watering needs), designing focal points and the ongoing tasks of restraining plants (lots of pruning). Of course, we throw in all sorts of garden tips. It’s another fun, scenic bypass chat.By the way, what’s a garden tour without pictures? Get a loo...
2024-06-14
53 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
342 Q&A Grow Carrots in Summer? Weed Cloth - Good or Bad?
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 improvement and fertilization. Fred and Debbie Flower advise removing the weed cloth and using just mulch instead. The second question is about planting carrots in California's climate. Fred explains that carrots can be grown year-round in milder coastal climates, but in the Central Valley, they have a hard time germinating and growing in hot temperatures. Master Gardener Gail Pothour also shares tips for planting carrot...
2024-06-11
18 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
341 Fred's Garden Tour with Debbie
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 plants, and discussing the strategies to make them successful plants, with, of course, all sorts of garden tips thrown in. It’s the ultimate scenic bypass episode yet!It’s all in Episode 341 of today’s Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast: Fred’s Garden Tour, with Debbie Flower. Next Friday, we’ll be touring Debbie’s fabulous garden.By the way, what’s a garden tour without pictures...
2024-06-07
47 min
Beyond the Garden Basics Podcast
A Tour of Fred's Garden, with Debbie Flower
If this newsletter podcast sounds familiar, it should. It is also the current (Ep. 341) Garden Basics podcast where myself and America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, take a late May stroll through my garden, discussing the plants, as well as gardening techniques. But wouldn’t it be nice to see those plants and garden accoutrements? Well, here you go.But first, a recap of what you may have missed on this week’s two Garden Basics podcasts:Tuesday, June 4:Ep. 340 -Q&A Cross Pollination Concerns. What is the Best City or Sta...
2024-06-07
39 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
339 How To Water Clay Soil (and more clay gardening tips!)
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 professor, shares valuable insights on the topic. The episode covers the characteristics of clay soil, the importance of organic matter, watering techniques, mulching, and the use of cover crops. The conversation also delves into the impact of soil structure on crop production and the benefits of no-till and cover cropping practices.Previous episodes, show notes, links, product information, and transcripts at the home site for Gar...
2024-05-31
34 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
338 Q&A Squash Flowers? Fertilizer Application? Tart Cherries?
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.• The timing and application of plant fertilizer, with America's Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower. • Choosing tart/sour cherry trees for cooking purposes, with Phil Pursel of Dave Wilson Nursery. Pictured: Male, Female Summer Squash FlowersLinks:Subscribe to the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter https://gardenbasics.substack.com Smart Pots https://smartpots.com/fred/
2024-05-28
25 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
337 How To Choose Nursery Plants. Tips for Starting a School Garden.
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 shouldn’t do that, and a lot more nursery plant shopping tips!Also, we have tips for starting an elementary school garden. And you don’t have to be a school teacher to do it. We talk with a couple of very enthusiastic California Master Gardeners who are spreading the word with tips on how to start a school garden.We’re podcasting...
2024-05-24
52 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
336 Q&A Kitchen Scraps in the Garden? When to Plant a Magnolia Tree?
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 affecting the quality of the soil microbiology. He suggests composting the kitchen scraps first or using alternative methods like African keyhole gardens. Debbie Flower recommends the Green Cone composter. In the second part of the episode, Farmer Fred and Debbie Flower discuss the best time to plant a flowering tree, specifically the Magnolia 'Genie'. They talk about the benefits of planting in the fall and the challenges of planting in the s...
2024-05-21
18 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
335 Roof Rat Controls, Asparagus-Lemon Recipes
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, or even a small farm, in which you have a large orchard. And for those of you suburban dwellers who might have a few citrus trees, or, for that matter, any tree with fruit, well, you know the damage that rats can do to that fruit. But it’s not just the fruit. Roof rats, especially, can girdle your backyard fruit trees, dramatically shortening their li...
2024-05-17
35 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
GB 334 Q&A Rhubarb for Hot Climates? Lights for Seedlings?
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 their experiences with growing rhubarb in Sacramento. They also share a rhubarb recipe. The second question is about grow lights for starting tomato and pepper seeds indoors. Fred and Debbie Flower explain the importance of using wide-spectrum light systems and mixing different types of bulbs. Debbie also emphasizes the need for air circulation and movement for young plants. Fred and Debbie discuss different options available i...
2024-05-14
21 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
332 Q&A Whiteflies? 1st Tomato? Planting Citrus?
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 leaf hoppers on grapevines, the use of organic sprays, and the importance of correct pest identification. Also, Debbie Flower answers a question about removing the first tomato that appears on your plants. Does it help, Yes or No? Then, Master Gardener and fruit tree expert Quentyn Young joins the conversation to discuss planting citrus trees on mounds for better drainage.Previous episodes, show no...
2024-05-07
19 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
331 Cucumber Starting and Training Tips
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, but today, cucumber cheerleader and America's favorite retired college horticultural professor, Debbie Flower, has more cucumber planting advice for you, whether you start cucumbers from seed or from nursery-purchased transplants.And by the way, choose carefully if you're shopping for cucumber plants. Debbie will tell us what to look for. Plus, properly training the growth of your cucumbers can help thwart...
2024-05-03
37 min
Beyond the Garden Basics Podcast
Meet the Garden Beneficials (and Bats, Too!)
The podcast included with this newsletter features an interview with Rachael Long, University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Emeritus, and one of the nation’s best sources of information on the benefits of having bats, which are flying mammals (not rodents), in your neighborhood. Originally aired in Episode 180 of the Garden Basics podcast in March of 2022.Before we begin bug hunting, here’s what has happened this week on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast:Ep. 328 Q&A - Should you add fertilizer to a compost pile? Can planting late-ripening peaches thwart peach leaf...
2024-04-26
12 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
329 How to Water
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 #8 says: “If it works for you, fine. But keep an open mind.” Join us as America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, has advice on how to properly and thoroughly irrigate all your plants from newly planted seeds to vegetables to flowers to lawns, shrubs and trees. I bet by the end of our chat, there will be at least one irrigation...
2024-04-26
39 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
325 Peach Leaf Curl Control Tips. All the Presidents' Gardens.
Appearing now (or soon) on a peach or nectarine tree near you: Peach Leaf Curl? What is this fungus that causes the leaves on these trees to redden, pucker, and curl? And how can you control it? (Please note, I did not say, “eradicate”). America’s favorite retired college horticultural professor, Debbie Flower has some tips. Also, we go back about eight years for an interview with Marta McDowell, author of the book “All the Presidents’ Gardens”. It’s a look at the White House gardens, through the centuries. And which president was the most active gardener while living in the White H...
2024-04-12
31 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
321 Spring Rose Care Basics - Diseases and Insects
From now through Mother’s Day, roses will start putting on their first and best show across the country. What do your rose bushes need to get off to a good start in early Spring? Master Rosarian Charlotte Owendyk of the Sierra Foothills Rose Society talks about getting ahead of early spring rose pest and disease problems, before they can do too much damage to those brilliant first blooms. She also discusses the best fertilizers and irrigation systems to use to help thwart pest and disease issues, as well, for your rose bushes in the coming months.It...
2024-03-29
45 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
307 First Garden? New Garden? We Have Tips.
Do you want a successful garden? Before planting, you need to do some planning. And if it’s a first garden, you need to do a lot of planning. It’s not overwhelming, but it is necessary for a productive garden of food and flowers. Today, America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, and I offer tips for your first garden or a new garden. Tips that will save you a lot of time and money in your pursuit of getting your family the healthiest food possible, as well as the most colorful flowers to attract some garden...
2024-02-09
50 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
305 All About Blueberries
Garden experts agree: if you are an inexperienced gardener or a first time gardener, you’re best, confidence-building step is to plant easy to grow vegetables, flowers, and fruit. For those taking their first steps into growing fruit, especially for those with a limited space, perhaps just a patio area, it’s hard to beat container grown blueberries. Give them some basic needs, and you’ll have fresh, nutritious blueberries for years and years. How do you start? What are the best varieties to grow? What are their needs for water, fertilizers, and soil?That’s what we are g...
2024-02-02
33 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
299 Pt.2 2023's Greatest Garden Hits: The Top 5
What were the most downloaded Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast episodes of 2023? What were the most listened-to segments? Here are the Top 5 winners of 2023, chosen by you, the listeners.Topics include tomatoes (naturally), container gardening, plant arranging, and - the most listened-to topic of not just 2023, but the highest listenership of any episode in all four years of the Garden Basics podcast: cucumbers!It's nearly two hours worth of great gardening information to kick off Year 5 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. Thanks for listening!Previous episodes, show notes, links, product i...
2024-01-05
1h 54
Beyond the Garden Basics Podcast
How to Stake a New Tree
Simple instructions from the Placer County (CA) Master Gardeners on proper tree staking:Q: I just planted a new tree and want to know the best way to stake it.A: It’s important to know that not all newly planted trees need to be staked. In fact, improper staking can harm rather than help. The more freely a tree can move, the stronger its trunk will become and the more likely it will be to withstand storms.There are three situations in which staking is necessary: to protect against damage from equipment, ve...
2023-10-27
18 min
Beyond the Garden Basics Podcast
Fall Worm Bin Care and Feeding
One of the best soil amendments to add for happy plants are worm castings, also known as worm poop. However, the price of a bag of worm castings approaches twenty dollars, so you may want to tack on a new “to-do” item for the soil in your garden: vermicomposting, which is raising worms, usually in a worm bin. Those worms will feast on many of your kitchen scraps, giving you back a soil amendment teeming with microbial activity, perfect for plant roots to enjoy. And you don’t have to worry about the worms if you go...
2023-09-15
11 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
250 Garden Basics 2022 Greatest Hits, Pt. 3. A First Garden Checklist
Welcome to Part 3 of our four part series, the 2022 greatest hits of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. The four parts include the top 10 most listened-to segments last year. Today it’s a Debbie Flower extravaganza. Our favorite retired college horticulture professor discusses how to reuse old potting soil, tips for reducing water use in the yard, and a checklist for starting your first garden. And if you’ve moved and are thinking of starting a new garden, a lot of these first garden tips may include ideas you haven’t considered before starting that new garden.We’re podca...
2023-01-27
1h 05
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
248 Garden Basics Greatest Hits 2022 Pt. 1 Tomato Mania
It’s the first month of 2023, and we have a look back, well, actually, it’s a listen back, to the most popular Garden Basics segments of 2022. It’s those chats that got the biggest audiences last year. It’s our Top 10 of 2022, and it’s going to take four weeks to get through all of them. We have thoughtfully divvied them up by subject matter. And guess what garden subject got the most downloads? Tomatoes took four of the Top 10 positions in 2022. So, today’s Greatest Hits, Part 1, includes four segments all about tomatoes: the easiest tomatoes to...
2023-01-13
1h 13
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
243 All America Selections 2023 Plant Winners
It may not be planting time, but it certainly is planning time for your 2023 garden. Looking to plant something different? A good place to start is with the All America Selections winners. This is a yearly compilation of new plant entries, annuals and perennials, ornamentals and edibles, that have won the praises of plant expert judges in trial gardens from coast to coast. The 2023 entries include new winning tomato and pepper vegetable varieties, as well as colorful annual and perennial flowers, including ground covers and houseplants, 11 plants in all, that have been chosen by judges as the 2023 All America...
2022-12-09
36 min
Beyond the Garden Basics Podcast
Roasted Tomatoes
Even though it is mid-November, many gardeners in milder areas of the country may still be harvesting tomatoes. What to do with those remaining, healthy tomatoes? Can or freeze them! Roasted tomatoes add so much more tomato flavor to any recipe you prepare that calls for tomatoes (such as pasta sauce, whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes). And it's an easy way to preserve the harvest for use throughout the year, either canned or frozen.To preserve the most flavor, roast them at a low temperature for a long period of time. Convection ovens, which distribute...
2022-11-18
07 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
233 Soil Questions. Winter Tomatoes? Yes!
What does your soil need for a thriving garden? Today, America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, tackles your questions about what you should add - or not add - to your soil. And it’s winter tomato time! What? You can grow tomatoes in the winter? What do you need to grow tomatoes in the winter? The right environment - a greenhouse with a heater is ideal - and the right tomato varieties, for tomato growing winter success. Today, it’s winter tomato tips!We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the be...
2022-09-30
29 min
Beyond the Garden Basics Podcast
Fresh Corn Soup Recipe
Fresh Corn Soup (plus the cob)Recipe by Andi MacDonald, Sacramento Co. Master Gardener and Professional ChefServes 4During the dog days of summer, this soup is so refreshing served chilled. The secret ingredient is the corn stock, made from the corn cobs that generally get tossed. If corn is out of season, frozen can substitute and vegetable stock can be used instead of the corn stock. Perhaps not as good, but still pretty good!2 tablespoons olive oil4 ears of fresh corn, 2 cups altogether1 cup...
2022-09-23
03 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
228 Healthy Gardening, Healthy Foods
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 grow. And that includes some health benefits you may not be aware of, including breathing in and touching the soil itself. We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots. Previous episodes, show notes, links, product information, and transcripts at the home...
2022-09-13
43 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
226 Quick Tips - The Greatest Hits
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 discussed. Today, we present the top listened-to quick tips, along with a couple of new ones. You’re going to get short pieces of advice on growing tomatoes, cilantro, battling hornworms, the best time to harvest apples, seed planting tricks, and a lot more quick advice that will save you time and money. It’s Garden Quick Tips, the Greatest Hits!We’r...
2022-09-06
36 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
225 Cool Season Vegetable Tips
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. Now is time to be planning and planting your second garden of 2022, the fall and winter vegetable garden, wherever you might live here in the Northern Hemisphere. Nursery Owner Don Shor has the cool season garden basics.We learn something new, every time, on Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jung...
2022-09-02
28 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
215 How to Stake a Tree
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 homeowners start making what could be fatal mistakes. Today, Master Gardener and tree expert Pam Bone has the vital tips on how to stake a newly planted tree.We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart...
2022-07-29
25 min
Beyond the Garden Basics Podcast
What to Do With All Those Berries?
Back in Episode 212 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, we chatted with Sacramento County (CA) Master Gardener Pam Bone - an expert caneberry grower - about summertime problems with backyard blackberries, raspberries, boysenberries and other caneberries. The question arose: “So Pam, what do you do with all those berries?” She marched us into her kitchen to show us a freezer filled with jam, especially the jars and jars of her specialty, raspberry jam. She shared her favorite recipes and tips here, in the newsletter podcast. Below are the details of three of her favo...
2022-07-22
02 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
211 Spider Mites! Fireblight!
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 identify them? How do you control them? We go in search of answers with America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower.We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery. And we will do it all in und...
2022-07-15
24 min
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred
199 How to Water, Fertilize Houseplants
Just because your houseplants might look OK, are they really thriving? Do you know how to water and fertilize houseplants correctly? We talk with the author of the book, Houseplant Warrior, Rafaele DiLallo, about the best ways to feed and hydrate your indoor plants. Also, he has several tips for determining if your houseplants need a drink of water. And the best part of that, is, you don’t need to buy anything to make those watering decisions.We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden...
2022-06-03
28 min