Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Friday, October 16, 2026

The 2026 Tomato Review Show

Redwood Barn Nursery (https://redwoodbarn.com/) owner Don Shor of Davis, California and myself finally got around to putting the 2026 Tomato season to bed…except for the ones that are hanging on for ...

Friday, October 9, 2026

The Best Roses for Fall Color? We Have Suggestions.

In today’s podcast, I tell a long, drawn out story about what happened the night before my wedding in 1980. Yes, it is a garden story, about the Cecile Bruner rose. But, we quickly turn to a chat with...

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Tips for Growing Tomatoes in a Greenhouse in Fall, Winter, and Spring

In today’s podcast, we talk with Mark Seibert of Sturdi-Built greenhouses (https://www.sturdi-built.com/) in Oregon. The interview covers key considerations for first-time greenhouse buyers, includin...

Friday, October 2, 2026

Pumpkins with Less Sprawl? Choose Mini-Pumpkins.

The discussion in today’s podcast focuses on pumpkins. Warren Roberts, Superintendent Emeritus of the UC Davis Arboretum, explains that the pumpkin is botanically a fruit, though it is usually eaten a...

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Wildfire Smoke vs. You and Your Garden

You know trouble awaits if there is a really orange sunrise on an otherwise clear morning. That usually indicates there’s lots of smoke in the air. In today's newsletter, we talk about the effects of ...

Friday, September 25, 2026

Growing Cool Season Vegetables

In today’s podcast, we talk with two nurserypeople who know their cool season veggies: Don Shor, owner of Redwood Barn Nursery in Davis, CA; and professional horticultural consultant and Master Garden...

Friday, September 18, 2026

Getting the Soil Ready for Cool Season Plants

In today’s podcast, Sacramento County Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour explains how to transition garden beds and raised beds from warm-season crops to cool-season plantings. We talk ...

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Cool Season Garden PLANNING Time is Here

In today’s podcast, Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour talks about cool season greens to grow in your backyard garden during the fall and winter. There’s a human-corrected transcript at...

Friday, September 11, 2026

Pruning Blackberries

In today’s podcast, we talk with Sacramento County Master Gardener Michael Stinson about the when, how and why of pruning blackberry vines. Don’t want to listen? Here’s a summary. A complete transcrip...

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Controlling Puncturevine Weed and Liquidambar Tree Seeds

We tackle two prickly topics: the spiky, caltrop-like seed balls of puncturevine weed and the “sputniks” of liquidambar (sweet gum) trees. Yes, those sharply pointed spheres that fly in the autumn bre...

Friday, September 4, 2026

Saving Homegrown Tomato Seeds...and more about Tomatoes!

Collecting, Storing and Using Home-Saved Tomato Seeds If you want to save seeds of a particular tomato variety, remember that many varieties are hybrids; they may not necessarily come back with the ...

Friday, August 28, 2026

Heat-Tolerant Roses

“Of all flowers, methinks rose is best”. Shakespeare said that. He lived in Stratford-upon-Avon, about halfway between London and Birmingham, England. However, the roses he saw 600 years ago never end...

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