Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

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...

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Dealing with Tomato Blossom End Rot

Blossom end rot is generally considered the most common tomato problem for backyard gardeners in the US. It causes a dark, sunken, leathery spot on the bottom of the fruit, and it’s usually caused by ...

Friday, August 21, 2026

What To Do When a Wildfire Approaches Your Home

Today’s podcast and newsletter of Beyond the Garden Basics is something a bit different, but very important: what to do around your home, both inside and outside, if a wildfire is in the area, and you...

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Zinnias vs Powdery Mildew

Before we attempt to rid our zinnias of powdery mildew disease, let’s first hear from Debbie Flower, who has plenty of zinnia growing tips for us in today’s podcast. Here’s the quick summary of our ch...

Friday, August 14, 2026

Growing a Cool Season Garden

In today’s podcast, Master Gardener Gail Pothour and myself discuss some of the most popular cool season vegetables to grow in the cooler months here in USDA Zone 9 and elsewhere: carrots, lettuce, pe...

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