The Farmer Fred Rant

I plant all the same variety to prevent cross poll...

2012-05-09T12:59:09.063-07:00

I plant all the same variety to prevent cross pollination and I always have too much. What's your review on the Golden Bantam? Have you ever tried it for popcorn purposes?

Wow - I love this post! Really inspiring. I'm ...

2012-05-06T05:44:18.887-07:00

Wow - I love this post! Really inspiring. I'm struggling growing sweetcorn but this has given me the ooomph I need to persevere!

No popcorn for me. My lot is only 120 feet deep so...

2012-05-05T09:23:53.256-07:00

No popcorn for me. My lot is only 120 feet deep so getting 100 feet apart is difficult.

I've grown the little red cobs and was delight...

2012-05-05T07:03:32.130-07:00

I've grown the little red cobs and was delighted how well they popped up -- despite being small. They were so much more colorful and decorative than the commercial varieties! They even survived the rodents that attacked my bigger corn crop.

Lemon Boy was great for me last year. I'm pla...

2012-04-30T10:59:49.555-07:00

Lemon Boy was great for me last year. I'm planting Lemon Boy, Early Girl, and Sun Gold this year.

Do you ever grow tomatoes in (big) pots? My backy...

2012-04-30T08:15:41.174-07:00

Do you ever grow tomatoes in (big) pots? My backyard is almost all cement and I am not thrilled with the patio varieties of tomato. I have Celebrity, Brandywine & Early Girl in pots this year. Any helpful hints?

I planted Black Krim last year and it was great. ...

2012-04-29T15:35:08.584-07:00

I planted Black Krim last year and it was great. Good taste and nice size. Will do again this year. Also did Lemon Boy and made yellow ketchup out of it. Also good

Thanks for the information. Thinking of trying Lem...

2012-04-29T10:43:32.644-07:00

Thanks for the information. Thinking of trying Lemon Boy , I believe I have room for one more tomato :)
Lisa

I'm trying TyeDye for the first time this year...

2012-04-28T19:33:41.817-07:00

I'm trying TyeDye for the first time this year too...looks interesting. I ALWAYS plant Sun Gold. Black Krim is also a new one for me. Early wonder i've planted before too.

And I thought I was hot stuff with the four I plan...

2012-04-28T18:59:25.527-07:00

And I thought I was hot stuff with the four I planted yesterday!

I don't know whether to curse you for showing ...

2012-04-28T18:33:44.960-07:00

I don't know whether to curse you for showing off or thank you for this information.

Thank you---tons.

Bird Gard makes an excellent bird repeller- the U...

2012-04-24T17:12:36.284-07:00

Bird Gard makes an excellent bird repeller- the University of Arizona just finished a field trial

Fred great article, I live in the state of WA and ...

2012-04-24T07:50:59.697-07:00

Fred great article, I live in the state of WA and my 4 peach trees had leaf curl so bad last year I thought I would lose them. Very rainy and cool. I think our first 70 degree day was in late June. An orchardist friend of mine gave me some "Bravo" and I sprayed last summer and it knocked the leaf curl down. I sprayed again in late October when just about all the leaves were gone and

I put my pepper seeds in a plastic container, in a...

2012-04-18T17:55:22.349-07:00

I put my pepper seeds in a plastic container, in a papertowel, with enough water to soak the entire papertowel but not have run off. Then I place it on top of my cable receiver. Keep the lid slightly open, so the seeds don't mold. It took about 3-4 days for them to pop.

Copper soap worked better than Liquicop! That'...

2012-04-14T11:48:11.460-07:00

Copper soap worked better than Liquicop! That's good news for organic gardeners. Glad to see Chuck's results finally.

Hey Fred: Send some rain out east here..............

2012-04-14T10:13:48.278-07:00

Hey Fred:

Send some rain out east here...............6.5 inches below normal rainfall, really warm March and no snowfall this winter.

Greg Draiss
The Real Dirt on Gardening

Wish you did that for northern NH.

2012-04-14T06:00:29.522-07:00

Wish you did that for northern NH.

You stated that sea kelp was not effective and cou...

2012-04-11T14:04:01.148-07:00

You stated that sea kelp was not effective and could make matters worse, but I have used Norwegian Sea Weed Extract very effectively for years and recommend it to customers and gotten good feed back. We even use it in the nursery, not as a preventative, but to treat after we get peach leaf curl. It seems to make the leaves fall off faster and new foliage grows out without the curl. I always

Thanks for all the useful information.

2012-04-11T09:13:44.529-07:00

Thanks for all the useful information.

Peach and nectarine leaf curl has been mostly abat...

2012-04-10T17:38:50.632-07:00

Peach and nectarine leaf curl has been mostly abated this season. Not much of a problem. But I noticed several cherry blossoms on the Royal Rainier cherry turn a light shade of brown the other day, and now I'm worried. If I lose another cherry tree to brown rot, Venus will go ballistic...

I like the idea of letting vegetables bolt and flo...

2012-04-08T09:26:45.338-07:00

I like the idea of letting vegetables bolt and flower for the bees. I did the same thing this year.

Are those little wasps that burrow into the dirt h...

2012-04-07T17:48:22.360-07:00

Are those little wasps that burrow into the dirt harmfull to my blueberry bushes? They are about 1/2 inch long.

This was a great post of a variety of subjects.

2012-04-05T15:26:17.069-07:00

This was a great post of a variety of subjects.

Thanks for the tips! This year I planted the same...

2012-04-03T10:53:33.211-07:00

Thanks for the tips! This year I planted the same pepper in two colors. The red came up like gang-busters. I am hoping the chocolate will be fashionabley late. Sowed in peat pot which clearly did not bother the red. Perhaps the chocolate strain is more pH sensitive.

Great article. Went out and bought 4 plants for m...

2012-03-30T22:53:37.359-07:00

Great article. Went out and bought 4 plants for my yard. Added peat moss and an acid blend bagged soil. My soil is around 6.5 so should have good luck with the compost addition.