On latest Farmer Fred podcast, hear master gardeners' tips for fall

If you want to skip ahead to the podcast, you can find it here:  https://gardenbasics.net/

Otherwise here's a quick recap of the master gardeners and their topics:

-- Gail Pothour, in the Vegetable Garden, discusses changing over the vegetable beds, including restoring the soil in advance of planting cool weather vegetables. She notes that the melon vines were being trimmed back, to focus the plants' energy on ripening the last melons of the season.  She also adds a tip on growing a quick cover crop: buckwheat.

-- Quentyn Young, a project leader in the Orchard, talks about finishing up the summer pruning, the trees' changing water needs, and the maintenance of the citrus trees. He notes that the Orchard Team is going to try something new next year: growing bananas!

-- Anita Clevenger,  who is an old-rose expert and a project leader in the Water-Efficient Landscape, discusses rose care and maintenance for this time of year. She covers deadheading, rose hips, pruning schedules, and the use of alfalfa pellets, among other topics.

My segment primarily concerned ways to save what's left of the tomato harvest. Hint: It helps to have some room in your freezer.

Separately, Fred talks to retired horticulture professor Debbie Flower about "When do pesticides expire?" It includes particular discussion about the shelf life of Bt (bacillus thuringiensis), a bacterium used to kill caterpillars.

Fred Hoffman's garden advice also is found in "Beyond Basics: The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter." In another look at fall garden preparation, he posed this question to master gardener Susan Muckey: If the worms in your vermiculture system could talk, what would they tell you this time of year? Susan's a vermicomposting specialist and she has a binful of excellent advice.

Just a note: The next Open Garden Day at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is Wednesday, Oct. 11,  from 9 a.m. to noon, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks. It's a great opportunity to talk to the master gardeners in person.