Beyond the Garden Basics

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.comIf you’re looking for a superfood to grow, it’s hard to beat blackberries. They can be grown in just about every state in the United States. They’re highly adaptable, and they thrive in USDA zones from 4 all the way up through 10. Here in California, in USDA zone 9, they do quite well. They grow nearly anywhere...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.com We talk about water safety and rain barrels with Sacramento County Master Gardener and vegetable expert Gail Pothour who swears up and down on her stack of Ruth Stout gardening books that she would NEVER drink water from a rain barrel…nor would she water her edible plants with it.What’s a gardener to do?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.comIn this podcast episode, I speak with Staci and Jeremy Hill, authors of "The Preserver's Garden," at their 11-acre farm Gooseberry Bridge in the Ozark Mountains. We explore their transition from urban life to sustainable farming, emphasizing self-sufficiency and healthy eating through preserving homegrown food.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.comWhat is Backyard Orchard Culture? According to Dave Wilson Nursery, the goal of Backyard Orchard Culture is the prolonged harvest of tree-ripe fruit from a small space. This means planting close together several fruit varieties that ripen at different times and keeping the trees small by summer...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.comSome passersby or visitors might think you have a yard full of shiny coffins in your front or backyard. OK, using large steel cattle watering troughs as gardening containers might not appeal to those who heed form and design before function. But that staple of rural areas for supplying water to horses, cattle,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.comToday’s podcast here on Beyond the Garden Basics is all about grapes. We have two interviews with two Sacramento County UC Master Gardeners, who specialize in grape selection, planting, trellising, feeding, watering, protecting, and harvesting both wine grapes and table grapes. You’re going to discover the best...

Please share this with any of your friends or family embarking into the exciting world of backyard gardening, especially starting a food garden!America’s Favorite Retired College Horticultural Professor, Debbie Flower, and I explored these “lessons learned the hard way” (aka “Garden Wisdom”) back in 2022. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.comBlueberries Grow Well in ContainersAt our former residence, the blueberry harvest from our six plants was outstanding; there was plenty for us, as well as the birds (note: add netting). The six southern highbush varieties that we planted there included Sharp Blue, Jubilee, South Moon, Blue Ray, Sunshine Blue...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.comIn today’s newsletter podcast, Master Rosarian Debbie Arrington waxes rhapsodic about the new rose varieties that will be at nurseries in 2026. In USDA Zone 9, those roses may already be available locally. If not, they’re usually available from rose catalogs. For paid subscribers, Debbie talks about 12 new rose...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gardenbasics.substack.comWe are entering the shivering season for the Central Valley, Bay Area and low foothills of California, along with other mild winter states, especially those that grow citrus. Late November through mid-February is the most critical time here for protecting frost-susceptible plants.This is especially true for...