Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Bees are one of the best pollinators to have flying around your food garden. It’s been said that bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food you eat. Today, we take attracting bees to your garden one step further: how about raising your own hive of honeybees? We talk with one of the world’s foremost bee authorities, Dr. Norman Gary, on how you can become a successful backyard beekeeper. He is the author of the book, "The Honeybee Hobbyist." Maybe you just want to attract bees to your yard to help pollinate your food garden. Here's a list of plants for California that attracts bees. And for the entire country, check out this very informative bee website for even more plants. Are you familiar with parsnips? This tasty, nutritious root crop matures in cold weather but needs to get planted soon for harvest after the frost season begins. We talk parsnips with a big fan of this carrot relative, Matt Mattus, author of the book, “Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening”. Matt mentions his favorite parsnip variety, Gladiator. Find it at Renee's Garden seed company. Gardening takes patience. Lots of patience. Years of patience. That’s the crux of a popular saying among nursery employees about growing plants…sleep, creep, leap. College Horticulture professor (retired) Debbie Flower will explain. We’re buzzing with great garden information on this, episode 30 of Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. More episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer Fred https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004629. Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday. It's available wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe and leave a comment or rating at Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. Got a garden question? Call and leave a question, 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. 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