Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · 3d

One point to reinforce in this story: no one disagrees that improperly pruned shrubby plants, aka “poodling” (trimming the outside into globes, spires, and squares) leads to massively dead plant interiors, making them more fire susceptible.

Pam Kan-Rice @ucanrpam.bsky.social · 3d

Trees in zone zero can remain if branches are kept 10 feet from chimneys, 5 feet from walls and 5 feet above roofs, writes @blancabegert.bsky.social.
Most people don’t have the time or resources to maintain their plants to less flammable standards, says Yana Valachovic @ucanrfirenetwork.bsky.social

Inside Climate News @insideclimatenews.org · 3d

Uncertainty in the science on plant combustibility is throwing a curveball at California’s effort to require an “ember-resistant” perimeter around homes.

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Aug 14

When you leave that bag of excess zucchini on your neighbor's porch tonight, be sure to write on the bag: "And it's good for you!"
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/w...

How Healthy Is Zucchini?

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Farmer Fred Hoffman

JohnnyMangu @johnnybarbu.bsky.social · Aug 4

It ain't going away, no it ain't going away....

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Aug 2

Allen is alive and out of prison…so…

George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · Aug 2

So I asked Elon’s Grok to write a fake press release to make fun of Donald Trump, and it appears that Grok has happily joined the Resistance …. 🤣
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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Jul 5

Amazon-based.

Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Jul 3

California ❤️ tomatoes!

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Jul 2

Learn this. It’s on the Alzheimer’s test.

Reposted by Farmer Fred Hoffman

Pam Kan-Rice @ucanrpam.bsky.social · Jun 30

“You can smell the grasshoppers eating your vegetables. No one feels good about that,” Laura Snell @ucanr.bsky.social told ⁦Emma Glassman-Hughes @eg-h.bsky.social of Offrange

Emma Glassman-Hughes @eg-h.bsky.social · Jun 28

Some northern California producers are reporting up to 70% crop loss from grasshoppers. Where is the federal management agency that’s designed to assist with this very problem? My latest for Offrange:

Grasshoppers Wreaking Havoc - Offrange

California producers are reporting up to 70% crop loss from grasshoppers. Where is the federal management agency that’s designed to assist with this very problem?

ambrook.com

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Jun 18

Anybody up for 196 mile bike ride around the second biggest lake in Sweden each June? And it begins at 7:30 p.m. But don't worry, the sun doesn't set until 1130pm. Sunrise at 3 a.m.! www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-s...

How Sweden's Vätternrundan Became One of the Biggest Recreational Bike Rides on the Planet

For 60 years, cyclists have descended on the city of Motala in June to ride 196 miles around Lake Vättern and promote healthy living

www.smithsonianmag.com

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Jun 18

@josebeentv.bsky.social thanks for speaking “Imperial” to us in the states today!

Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · May 30

Even if your “home weather station” only consists of an outdoor thermometer, you’ll gain a world of knowledge from Daniel Swain about where in your garden you should put that thermometer!

Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · May 30

I joined @farmerfred.bsky.social on the Garden Basics podcast to discuss how to best locate home/farm weather stations (including microclimate considerations!). We also discuss consequences of cuts to NOAA/National Weather Service for those who work and grow outdoors. www.buzzsprout.com/1...

Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

Tips for beginning and experienced gardeners. New episodes arrive every Friday. Fred Hoffman has been a U.C. Certified Master Gardener since 1982 and writes a weekly garden column for the Lodi News-Sentinel in Lodi, CA. A four-decade fixture in Sacramento radio, he hosted three radio shows for No...

www.buzzsprout.com

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · May 20

you could've replaced the phrase, "replacing it with a feature story on Cajun music." With, "because the Trump administration blinked first, announcing the rehiring of IRS probationary workers."

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Reposted by Farmer Fred Hoffman

Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · May 15

I just created a quick map depicting which portions of the United States are now (as of today) or will imminently be (by early June) without 24/7 local National Weather Service coverage (per Washington Post reporting). #CAwx #CAfire #CAwater #ORwx #AKwx #WYwx #KSwx

Map of local National Weather Service office "areas of responsibility" modified (using polygons with black outlines and red fill) to indicate where recent/expanding cuts to NOAA/NWS have resulting in understaffing so extreme that some offices can not longer operate on a 24/7 basis.

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Reposted by Farmer Fred Hoffman

Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · May 15

Welp. 2 California NWS offices--covering entire Sacramento/ San Joaquin Valley region & adjacent foothills/mountains--are no longer operating 24/7 due to extreme understaffing & expanding cuts to NOAA/NWS. This is a very big problem! #CAwx #CAfire #CAwater www.washingtonpost.c...

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Apr 20

@declanquigley.bsky.social “Anglo-Saxon epithets”…classic!

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Apr 14

“…but I also know the things I’ve learned from watching hummingbirds as a birder. They are small bundles of sass and fury, and I love them for that.” Pulitzer Prize winning writer, Ed Yong, in the NYT. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...

Ed Yong Wants to Show You the Hidden Reality of the World (Gift Article)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer talks about burnout from covering the pandemic and how bird-watching gave him a new sense of hope.

www.nytimes.com

Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Apr 13

@antmccrossan.bsky.social , you and Hannah are at the peak of your game today. Wowzer!

Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Mar 22

www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Playbook: The rival Biden forgot

And House Republicans introduce a slate of bills to venerate Trump while he’s still in office.

www.politico.com

Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Mar 22

From Politico this morning: 5 bills introduced in the House over the past 2 months, would: put Trump’s face on the $100 bill, create a new $250 bill with Trump’s face, make Trump’s birthday (June 14) a federal holiday, rename Dulles Airport in Trump’s honor and carve Trump’s face on Mount Rushmore.

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Reposted by Farmer Fred Hoffman

One Three One Two @rubyroubaix.bsky.social · Nov 27

I'm 100% real life cycling fan but on socials its probably about 40-50% cycling content. I'd love a normal fan/three bike label.

Either way, appreciate the hard work you put in here.

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Feb 17

The impact of governmental decrees and cutbacks is adversely effecting America’s farmers in a variety of ways: open.substack.com/pub/farmerge...

The Devastating Impact of Trump 2.0 on U.S. Farmers

The fallout begins...

open.substack.com

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Feb 10

California, requires home owners in high-fire-risk areas to create 100 feet of defensible space around structures. A requirement to create a zone free from flammables such as plants, garden sheds & propane grills within five feet of homes haven’t been written. www.washingtonpost.com/weather/inte...

What the homes that survived the L.A. fires reveal

The few structures still standing in Altadena and Pacific Palisades may offer clues on making homes more resistant to wildfire.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Feb 8

Saw this pea plant support at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, using items near and dear to my heart. You can see one little pea plant that has already germinated on the right. The tennis balls are placed on top of the support poles to protect the Master Gardeners and visitors from getting poked.

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Feb 1

“Cal Fire posted that the fires we saw in Altadena & Pacific Palisades weren’t wildfires, which spread from plant to plant, but “conflagrations” — intense fires propelled by wind that spread from structure to structure, such as from a trellis to a house to a neighbor’s fence to the neighbor’s home.”

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Farmer Fred Hoffman @farmerfred.bsky.social · Feb 1

One notable explainer in that article mentions a new truth: this wasn’t a wildfire, it was a wind-driven conflagration that spread from building to building, not tree to tree.