If you’re venturing into flower and vegetable seed starting in 2021, good for you! It’s fun, and with seeds, there are plenty more varieties to choose from. You may have some leftover seeds hanging around. But will those old seeds germinate? Our favorite retired college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, has a surefire way to tell.Are you familiar with the pluot? It’s a fruit, it’s a cross between a plum and an apricot. And it truly is one of the sweetest treats that you can grow in your yard. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you will want to grow the pluot. We’ll tell you all about the pluot today. A lot of gardeners like to grow flowers among their vegetables. That’s a great idea! But if you grow tomatoes, there is one very alluring flower that you definitely do not want to grow anywhere near your tomatoes. What is it? Find out on this, Episode 70 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes.Links:Seed starting kitsSeed starting soil mixesFarmer Fred Rant: Tips for Speeding Up Pepper Seed GerminationFarmer Fred Rant: Make Your Own Planting MixFarmer Fred Rant: Grow a Pluot tree!Farmer Fred Rant: The Life Cycle of a Tomato WormUC Davis ArboretumMore episodes and info available at Garden Basics with Farmer FredGarden Basics comes out every Friday during November through January. We’ll be back to a twice a week schedule in February.  More info including live links, product information, transcripts, and chapters available at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. Please subscribe, and, if you are listening on Apple, please leave a comment or rating. That helps us decide which garden topics you would like to see addressed.Got a garden question? There are several ways to get in touch: leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe.Text us the question: 916-292-8964. E-mail: fred@farmerfred.com 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. And thank you for listening.All About Farmer Fred:Farmer Fred website: http://farmerfred.comDaily Garden tips and snark on TwitterThe Farmer Fred Rant! BlogFacebook:  "Get Growing with Farmer Fred"Instagram: farmerfredhoffmanFarmer Fred Garden Videos on YouTubeAs an Amazon Associate, I earn from quaThe Proffitt PodcastThe podcast that shows you tips & strategies to create content with confidence!Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify