Pruning Blackberries

More from Beyond the Garden Basics All episodes →

1. 

   2 Oct 2026 · 10 min

   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 as a vegetable. He says the plant belongs to the genus Cucurbita, which is native to the Americas, especially Mexico and the Andes. He describes pumpkin types and notes that many large pumpkins are hybrids, often involving Cucurbita maxima . He contrasts these with the smaller typical pumpkin species, Cucurbita pepo . The conversation also covers the origin of jack-o’-lanterns, whose purpose,…

2. 

   29 Sep 2026 · 58 min

   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 wildfire smoke on you and your garden. In today’s podcast (above), University of California Wildfire specialist Kevin Marini discusses the wildland-urban interface areas and why they matter for wildfire risk. He explains that many homes in California and other states are built close to wild vegetation, and that it is embers rather than large flames that are often the main cause of home loss. We…

3. 

   25 Sep 2026 · 33 min

   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 Gardener Quentyn Young. They offer tips for both the usual and the unusual food crops to grow during the cooler weather. Among their advice: • Start now. In the mild-winter parts of the country (zones 8 and 9, much of the West Coast, the Southwest and the South), September through November is prime planting time for cool season crops. The summer garden doesn’t have to be finished before you get…

4. 

   18 Sep 2026 · 15 min

   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 about clearing out tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and melons at the end of summer: should you pull out the plant or cut it off at the soil line? It depends. Gail will explain, emphasizing the importance of checking the roots of summer garden plants if they were victims of pests or disease. Gail mentions the advantages of adding compost and lightly working it into the soil rather than…

5. 

   15 Sep 2026 · 17 min

   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 the bottom of this newsletter. Among the main points in our conversation: * Cool season vegetable gardening works especially well in USDA zones 7, 8, 9, and 10; but in colder areas you can grow food nearly year round if you plan for it. * Late summer into early fall is the time to pull tired summer crops, work in some compost and fertilizer, and get cool season seeds or transplants in the…

6. 

   8 Sep 2026 · 18 min

   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 breeze do resemble Eisenhower-era, low-earth orbiting Russian weapons of no destruction. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardenbasics.substack.com/subscribe

7. 

   4 Sep 2026 · 26 min

   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 same traits as the tomato you enjoyed last season. According to Penn State Extension, the result of these crosses usually only lasts one generation, so the seeds harvested from hybrids may produce disappointing results. Or, may not be a disappointment. Tomato flowers are primarily wind-pollinated. So, those plants grown in isolation or covered with insect netting during their flowering period may…

8. 

   28 Aug 2026 · 9 min

   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 endured 100 degree heat…until recently. Although roses were found originally in Central Asia, they spread quickly throughout the Northern Hemisphere between the 12th and 18th centuries. Those old roses wouldn’t stand a chance in the heatwaves of the 21st century, succumbing to scorched flowers, leaves, and buds…as well as dying off due to a lack of regular watering in drought-effected areas. Of…

9. 

   25 Aug 2026 · 15 min

   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 inconsistent watering (not actually a soil calcium deficiency in most cases) that disrupts calcium uptake in the plant. For those of you at home keeping score, close runners-up are early blight and septoria leaf spot, both fungal diseases that cause yellowing and spotted leaves, especially in humid climates. The big difference between blossom end rot and all those runner-up problems? Blossom end…

10. 

    21 Aug 2026 · 15 min

    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 have a few hours before an evacuation becomes mandatory. That was the topic in a Youtube video presented by Todd Lando, a battalion chief and wildfire mitigation specialist for the Central Marin Fire District. Marin County is in northern california, just north of San Francisco, a bucolic area with hills, mountains and forests abutting the Pacific Ocean. As you might imagine, especially with its…