114 Benefits of Crop Rotation. Working with Clay Soil.

06/25/21 • 28 min

1 Listener

Crop rotation isn’t just for farmers. Backyard gardeners can improve their food and flower production while improving their soil at the same time, simply by moving plant families from bed to bed each season. College horticulture professor Debbie Flower has the lowdown on the advantages of crop rotation. If your clay soil has you worried that it’s not very good for a garden, worry no more. Soils specialist Steve Zien says there are a lot of benefits to gardening with clay soil, and he has tips for improving it, as well.

It’s on episode 114 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots.

And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!
Pictured:
Crop rotation, explained as a pizza.

Links:
Smart Pots
Farmer Fred Rant: Crop Rotation Plan for the Home Garden
Farmer Fred Rant: Crop Rotation and the Circular Garden
Working with Clay Soil (UCANR)
Spading Forks
This is what a broad fork looks like

More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.

Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:

Leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics
Call or text us the question: 916-292-8964.
E-mail: [email protected]
or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.

And thank you for listening.

All About Farmer Fred:
Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com
Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter
The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"
Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.

It’s on episode 114 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots.

And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!
Pictured:
Crop rotation, explained as a pizza.

More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:

And thank you for listening.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.

Previous Episode

113 Avocado Growing Tips. The Coral Yucca.

If you live in USDA Zone 9, chances are you have attempted to grow an avocado tree. Sure, it’s easy...if you live in Santa Barbara, Ventura or San Diego, where the temperature range is between 50 and 85 degrees, usually. But for the rest of us, growing avocados is a challenge. Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery says he can make it a heck of a lot easier for you to grow backyard avocados throughout USDA Zone 9. He has tips. And the Plant of the Week is a low water use succulent that attracts squadrons of hummingbirds: the coral yucca. Warren Roberts of the UC Davis Arboretum tells us all about it.

It’s all on episode 113 of 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 under 30 minutes. Let’s go!
Pictured:
The Bacon Avocado

Links:
Smart Pots
Dave Wilson Nursery Fruit Tube Videos
Avocado Growing Advice (from UCANR)
UC Davis Arboretum
Fruit basket picker with pole
More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics

Text us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: [email protected] or, leave a question at the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram locations below. Be sure to tell us where you are when you leave a question, because all gardening is local.

And thank you for listening.

All About Farmer Fred:

Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.com

Daily Garden tips and snark on Twitter

The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog

Facebook: "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"

Instagram: farmerfredhoffman

Farmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTube

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.

Next Episode

115 Firescaping. Plant of the Week: Hydrangeas.

Summertime, and the living is uneasy...if you live in an area prone to wildfires. And it’s not just California. People throughout the United States who are living in rural areas or where the suburbs meet the wildland face danger from rapidly moving wildfires. Today, we’re talking how to prepare your landscape for such an event. It’s called firescaping, and we will talk with one of the nation’s preeminent authorities on how to make your home and yard more resistant to flying, burning embers.

The Plant of the Week is a very popular summertime bloomer throughout the country, the hydrangea. We have tips for growing this colorful, commonly found shrub.

It’s all on episode 115 of 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 under 30 minutes. Let’s go!
Pictured:
A fire-resistant landscape

Links:
Smart Pots
Dave Wilson Nursery
Book: "Firescaping: Protecting Your Home with a Fire-Resistant Landscape"
Video: Home Burning Demonstration
UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden
More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch:

And thank you for listening.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.

Garden Basics with Farmer Fred - 114 Benefits of Crop Rotation. Working with Clay Soil.

Transcript

GB114 TRANSCRIPT Crop Rotation. Clay Soils.

28:48

SPEAKERS

Debbie Flower, Steve Zien, Farmer Fred

Farmer Fred 00:00

Garden Basics with Farmer Fred is brought to you by Smart Pots, the original lightweight, long lasting fabric plant container. it's made in the USA. Visit SmartPots.com slash Fred for more information and a special discount, that's SmartPots.com/Fred.

Farmer Fred 00:20