Get Growing with Farmer Fred

Plant Pest/Disease Problem Solver Site

Other Garden Websites

The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog

Farmer Fred Video Page

 

NOW 

March Garden Chores

New Pest in Northern California: The European Grapevine Moth

Drain That Rain !

After the Storm: Leaning Trees Need Your Attention, Now!

Prepare Your Own Seed-Starting Soil Mix

Best Soil Temperatures for Vegetable Seeds

Tomato Gardening: Tips and Hints

 

WINTER!

After a Freeze: What Should You Do in the Garden?

The Quick Guide: When a Frost is Forecast

Frost Protection for Citrus and Other Subtropical Plants

Protecting Plants from Frost or Freeze

Growing Winter Vegetables

Christmas Tree Care

Choosing and Planting Bare Root Fruit Trees

U.C. Davis Tips on Fruit Tree Pruning & Training

 

ROSES

Rose Pruning, California Style

Roses For Shade

The Top Ten Roses for Sacramento

100 Roses for the Valley and Foothills

Rose Planting Basics

 

GARDEN HELPERS

The Garden "Good Guys"

Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects

Attracting Bees To Your Garden

GardenInsects.Com

Free Publications From UC's Farm and Garden Experts 

 

VEGETABLES

Sacramento Area Planting Guide for Flower and Vegetable Seeds

Starting a Vegetable Garden?

Why Rotate Your Crops?

Our 2009 Tomato & Pepper Garden

Tomato Troubleshooting Tips

Blossom End Rot on Tomatoes

Greenhouse Tomatoes in the Winter

How To Grow Giant Pumpkins!

Grow your Own Popcorn !

 

FRUIT

How to Increase the Size of Your Table Grapes

How To Get Bigger Fruit From Your Fruit Trees

Citrus Tips from the Pros

UC: Growing Blueberries in the Sacramento Region

Blueberries for the Valley

Plant a Fruit Tree...Or Two!

Choosing and Planting Bare Root Fruit Trees

U.C. Davis Tips on Fruit Tree Pruning & Training

How To Prune Overgrown Deciduous Fruit Trees

 

TREES

20 Great Trees for the Sacramento Area

Small Trees for Small Yards

Hiring an Arborist: Tips from the Sacramento Tree Foundation

Oak Tree Care

Planting Under Oaks

Pruning Q&A's

3 Seasons of Color: the Chanticleer Pear Tree

 

PLANTS, ETC.

Growing Great Gladiolas

Houseplants Make Great Gifts

 Good Garden Books for Our Area

The Joys of the Imperfect Garden

 

LANDSCAPING

Landscaping Makes Dollars (and Sense)

Landscaping Tips

UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars

John Gray's Top 20 Landscape Plants

Easy Care Plants for Privacy

 Kill Weeds, Nematodes with Soil Solarization

Landscaping After a Fire: Tips from the CLCA

Hot Topics

How Much Water Does Your Lawn and Garden Really Need?

How To Spot the Asian Citrus Psyllid Pest

Poison Plants, People & Pets

Put The Bite On Mosquitoes

Jumping Oak Galls!

"Cash For Grass" in Roseville

Find A Farmer's Market Near You

Eucalyptus Red Gum Lerp Psyllid Control

Glassy Winged Sharpshooter Information

Weather Websites

 

FOOD!

Too Many Plums? Try This Recipe!

Recipes for Your Home Grown Produce

 Agriculture-Related Websites

 

 Etc.

Find a California Garden Club Near You!

Our 2008 Tomato and Pepper Garden  

Our 2007 Tomato & Pepper Garden  

Fred's Bike Tour of the Unknown Coast  

 Deer Resistant Plants (a pdf file from the Nevada County Master Gardeners )

Garden Catolog Terminology: What They REALLY Mean

Ten Tough Trees

Cooperative Extension Offices in California

Choosing & Caring For Garden Tools

Garden Questions and Answers

Plants for Busy People

The Banana Shrub: A Show for the Nose

Garden Math

Meet the Beetles !

The Light Brown Apple Moth Hits California

All About Manure

Year-Round Backyard Orange Juice

5 Steps to Quick Compost

Help Your Plants Beat the Heat of Summer

Garden Catalogs Worth Checking Out

Old Trees and Storms

Grasshopper Control

Another Eucalyptus Pest Arrives

The Asian Longhorned Beetle Comes to Town

Gardening by the Moon

THE INVASIVE WEED, JAPANESE DODDER, HITS SACRAMENTO COUNTY

 HGTV Visits Farmer Fred !
Other Garden Features

 
                  Lifetime Master Gardener Fred Hoffman is the host of the "KFBK Garden Show" 
on NewsTalk 1530 KFBK in Sacramento, California each Sunday morning from 
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by "Get Growing" on Talk 650 KSTE 
in Sacramento, 10 a.m. to Noon. 
                   And, you can listen to the shows, live, via the KFBK.com and KSTE.com websites.
                   
                  Now available as podcasts: previous editions of "The KFBK Garden Show" 
and "Get Growing".
                   
                  Each week on the "KFBK Garden Show" and "Get Growing, "Farmer Fred", 
an award-winning member of the California Association of Nurseries and 
Garden Centers, interviews garden experts from throughout Northern 
and Central California, tackles your gardening questions and problems, 
and offers prizes for answers to the weekly "Garden Grappler".
                   
                  Southern Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin County gardeners can also 
get current gardening information from Fred in his Saturday gardening column
in the Lodi News-Sentinel.; also available at the Farmer Fred Rant! Blog page.
                   

Sign Up for Daily Garden Bulletins (and Single Malt Scotch suggestions) from Farmer Fred on Twitter!

=================================================================
 
The Latest Posts at the Farmer Fred Rant! Blog page:
 
 
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UPCOMING GUESTS ON THE "KFBK GARDEN SHOW" & "GET GROWING"
Heard each Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to Noon:
Mar. 14: Saul Wiseman, Sharon Patrician, Sacramento Perennial Plant Club
 
Mar. 21: Don Shor, Redwood Barn Nursery-Davis: "Springtime Garden Tips"
 
Mar. 28: Steve Zien, Living Resources Co.: "Spring in the Organic Garden".
 
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Garden Data (thru Mar. 10, 2010)

Avg. evapotranspiration rate this past week : 0.60" valley; 0.50" foothills.

Soil Temperature: 52 (F) valley. 51 (F) foothills. 45 (F) upper foothills.

Click Here for more Information about soil temperature and evapotranspiration rates

Chilling hours (Nov. 1, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010): hours at 45 degrees or less, for deciduous fruit tree production, Chill Season: Nov. 1- Feb. 28)

VALLEY: 690-935 hours

FOOTHILLS: 935-1404 hours

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Looking for lists and pictures of plants that don't require much water?

Check out the website...

Water-Wise Gardening in the Gold Country Region

This is a project undertaken in conjunction with the municipalities and water districts in three counties: Sacramento,
El Dorado and Placer as well as local horticulturists. The website has a wealth of local residential photography and plant
information to help the homeowner improve their garden in a water efficient way.
 
Saturday, March 13
Member Appreciation Plant Sale
9:00 a.m.&endash;1:00 p.m., Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive, UC Davis
            Get the first pick of beautiful spring garden plants at the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Member Appreciation Plant Sale on Saturday, March 13, 9:00 a.m.&endash;1:00 p.m. The event is open to members only; anyone may join at the door, and all members will receive a free plant and a 10% discount on their purchases. Enjoy live music, refreshments, and children's activities. Expert garden advice is available. The event will take place at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery, on Garrod Drive across from the School of Veterinary Medicine on the UC Davis campus. Free parking is available in Visitor Lot 55. For more information, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
 
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Sunday, March 14
Guided Tour: Signs of Spring
2:00 p.m., Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center, Old Davis Road, UC Davis
Spring is here, and the natural world is bursting with new life and renewal. Visitors can enjoy the signs of spring on an informal walk in the UC Davis Arboretum on Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 p.m. The tour will focus on the California native plants of the Mary Wattis Brown Garden. The tour guide will point out new growth, swelling buds and flowers, and discuss the bird, bat and insect pollinators that keep the whole ecosystem humming. The tour will begin at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, located on Old Davis Road at Mrak Hall Drive, across from the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on the UC Davis campus. There is no charge for the tour and free parking is available in Visitor Lots 1 and 2 and the Mondavi Center parking structure. For more information, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
 
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Friday, March 19
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00&endash;1:00 pm, Wyatt Deck, Old Davis Road, UC Davis
            Folk musicians are invited to play together informally during an acoustic jam session on Friday, March 19, noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Wyatt Deck, located on Old Davis Road next to the redwood grove in the UC Davis Arboretum. Pull out your fiddles, guitars, mandolins, penny whistles, pipes, flutes, squeezeboxes (you name it) and join your fellow musicians for a little bluegrass, old-time, blues, Celtic, klezmer, and world music over the lunch hour. All skill levels welcome. Listeners welcome! Parking is available for $6 in Visitor Lot 5, at Old Davis Road and A Street. For more information, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
 
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Saturday, March 20
Guided Tour: Meet Some California Native Plants
11:00 a.m., Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center, Old Davis Road, UC Davis
            California is home to more than 5,000 species of plants native to the state. Many of these native plants respond to our cool, wet winters by bursting into spectacular bloom in the early spring. Standouts in the spring native plant garden will be the focus of a tour at the UC Davis Arboretum on Saturday, March 20 at 11:00 a.m. The tour guide will point out the beauty and variety of these plants and discuss how well they can fit into any home landscape. The tour will begin at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, located on Old Davis Road at Mrak Hall Drive, across from the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on the UC Davis campus. There is no charge for the tour and free parking is available in Visitor Lots 1 and 2 and the Mondavi Center parking structure. For more information, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
 
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Date:  Saturday, March 27
Event:  Calaveras Master Gardeners Open Garden Day
Time:  10 am to 2 pm
Place:  Demonstration Garden, 891 Mountain Ranch Rd., San Andreas
Cost:  Free
Call:  754-6477 or 728-0106
Details:  With the approach of spring it is time to prepare those raised beds for planting.  "Waking Up Your Beds" is this month's featured topic which will include information about planning your garden, composting, a demonstration of sheet composting, mulching, and installing a drip irrigation system.  For those not familiar with sheet composting, it is also called composting in place.  Materials are layered - manure, mulch, grass clippings, etc. - and allowed to decompose to eventually create a bed which can be planted.  To find out more about sheet composting come to this event on March 27.  The presentation begins at 10:30 am.  Master Gardeners will also be available from 10 am to 2 pm to answer general gardening questions and plants will be available for sale.  Event will be held rain or shine.
 
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Sunday, March 28
Guided Tour: All-Stars in the Garden
2:00 p.m., Gazebo, Garrod Drive, UC Davis
      Learn about the Arboretum All-Stars, the UC Davis Arboretum's top recommended plants for Central Valley gardens, during a free public tour at the Arboretum on Sunday, March 28. All-Stars are great plants for home gardens because they require less water, are easy to maintain and look attractive year round. The tour will also focus on Valley-Wise gardening&emdash;sustainable gardening practices for our region. The tour will start at 2:00 p.m. at the Gazebo, on Garrod Drive on the UC Davis campus. There is no charge for the tour, and free parking is available along Garrod Drive and in Visitor Lot 55. For more information, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
 
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The Complete List of Garden Writers Association Media Award Winners for 2009
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HOW TO HIRE AN ARBORIST
information from the Sacramento Tree Foundation
Improper pruning can cause irreparable damage to your tree and may end up costing you a considerable amount of time and money. Hire a Certified Arborist as if your tree's life depends on it!
 
An Arborist is a specialist in the care of individual trees. Arborists are knowledgeable about routine needs of trees, and are trained and equipped to provide proper diagnostic and remedial measures as well.
 
After certification with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), each Arborist is assigned a number, which is retained throughout the professional life of an Arborist. It is the right of those hiring an Arborist to ask for this number, and to check the status of that Arborist with the ISA.
 
Hire someone who is licensed, bonded and insured. Examine these credentials and feel free to check with the appropriate agencies to verify the validity of the credentials.
 
Remember that almost anybody can obtain a business license, and that this alone is no guarantee of quality.
 
Do ask for references and take the time to check them out.
 
Get more than one bid and examine the written specifications of the bids.
 
If you are not familiar with the terminology used, ask for clarification. Ask questions!
 
Take your time and select a company that is reputable. Determine the best combination of price, work to be done, skill and professionalism to protect your investment.
 
Membership in professional organizations demonstrates a willingness on the part of the Arborist to stay abreast of Arboricultural information. It is not however, a guarantee of satisfied work. Check references.
 
Remember that improper tree care can take many years to correct itself. If pruning is too severe, it may never be corrected.
 
Beware of anyone that recommends topping a tree. A reliable Arborist will try to talk you out of topping a tree if it is requested. Never allow a climber to use spikes or spurs to climb your tree unless the tree is scheduled for removal.
 
Note: It is the policy of the Sacramento Tree Foundation to not endorse private arborists, tree service companies or consultants. Many fine tree care companies exist in the Sacramento area. It is recommended that you obtain several quotes, check the professional status of individuals or firms with the ISA, check references, and request evidence of insurance from each company you consider.
 
Make pruning cuts outside of the branch collar. No flush cuts.
 
To prevent large branches to be pruned from tearing the tree bark below it, use the three-cut method for removing large branches. The first cut is from the bottom, going up less than halfway. The second cut is outside of the first cut, from top to bottom. The third cut cleans up the remaining stump, but is made outside the branch collar.
 
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Date Last Modified: 3/12/10
© 2010 Fred Hoffman