156 Heavy Rain vs. Garden Irrigation. Air Pruning. The Cotoneaster

Did you ever pull a sick, root-bound plant out of a too-small plastic or ceramic container and look at the root ball? All those thick roots, going round and round, along the sides and throughout the bottom? All those thick roots are impeding the flow of water and fertilizer throughout the plant’s root zone, which may be why that plant was sick! We talk with Smart Pots president Kurt Reiger about how their fabric plant containers don’t let that happen to your plants! It’s called air pruning. We’ll explain.

Retired college horticulture professor Debbie Flower answers a listener’s question: how soon should you water your garden after a big rainstorm? It depends. She has tips for using Soil Moisture Meters , too.

The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden’s Superintendent Emeritus, Warren Roberts, tells us about the Plant of the Week, a shrub that puts on its show in the winter with colorful berries, the cotoneaster.

Podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory, it’s episode 156 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 just over 30 minutes. Let’s go!

November through January, the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast slows its production schedule. Look for new episodes each Friday. In February, we will return to twice a week podcasts, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Pictured: Soil Moisture Meters

Links: Subscribe to the free, The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter Smart Pots Dave Wilson Nursery Invasive varieties of Cotoneaster Soil Moisture Meters

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