Articles by Dr. Francis Gouin

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 6/7/18

Shrubs Don’t Need Fertilizer

Mother Nature takes care of her own

I am frequently asked what kind of fertilizers should I use for hollies? … yews? … roses? … azaleas and rhododendrons? Fertilizer manufacturers have brainwashed the public into believing each species of plant requires a special fertilizer.

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/31/18

Is Your Lawn Hurting the Bay?

Cut it tall and let it fall to limit fertiziler and weed-killer needs

Greenish brown water stained by algae flows into the Bay from a tributary surrounded by lush green lawns. Seeing that, as I did in a recent photo, tells me the algae bloom is the result of excess nitrogen running off or leaching into the water from the applications of lawn fertilizers.

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/24/18

The Demand for Landscape Architects Exceeds the...

There’s more to this field than just lawns and gardens

Landscape architects do more than design outdoor space for homes and businesses.

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/17/18

Looking for a Career Path?

There’s a future in horticulture

Horticulture is the second largest income-producing agricultural industry in the state of Maryland and the third in the nation. There’s way more to this field than digging holes or filling pots. Horticulture is an evolving science. The efficient production of fruits and vegetables, 60 percent of our daily diet, requires a thorough knowledge of plant and soil sciences as well as tons of experience.

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/10/18

Cut Out the Phosphorus

Over-fertilizing with this element will cut your crop yield and worse

Horticulture is a science. It is not based on intuition, feelings, grandpa or great grandma. When I started college and my career, horticulture professors often would say that 25 percent of what we know is based on science, 25 on hearsay and 50 percent on experience,

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/3/18

Spring Lawn Care

Aeration and compost beat fertilizer this time of year

If you cut your grass with a riding lawnmower or your lawn is a frequently used playground, most likely the soil is compacted and the turf would benefit from a good aeration. The purpose of aeration is to loosen the soil to improve both drainage and air flow. Grass roots breathe in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. This is entirely opposite of what leaves do.

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 4/26/18

Keep Soil Out of the Water

That’s another job for compost

Compost is well known as an amendment for formulating potting blends and improving the productivity of soils. Less well known is its efficiency as a filter.

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 4/19/18

An Earth Day Message from Little Lichens

Human acts affect the health of the planet

Lichen, the gray-green growths on tree trunks and rocks, are a symbiotic organism of algae and fungi. The algae produces the food through photosynthesis, and the fungi provides the nutrients, water and foundation for growth. Their presence on the shady side of tree trunks and rocks is a sure sign the air is clean.

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 4/12/18

Keeping Ivy in Check

Either poison the root stem now, or wait until summer to spray the leaves

Is poison ivy getting the best of you? Are you afraid that English ivy, crawling up the trunks of your trees, is going to kill them?

Trying to kill them by digging the roots out of the ground is futile. Allowing even a small piece of root to remain in the ground will result in the sprouting of a new plant.

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Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 4/5/18

Your Soil Has Secrets

What you don’t know can hurt what you grow

More and more Bay Weekly readers are having their soil tested, as evident by the number of soil test results that I am receiving by e-mail. In nearly all I have reviewed during the past year, soils are much too acid, and lawns have a surplus of phosphorus (P) but are deficient in sulfur (S) and boron (B). Very few results indicate near neutral or alkaline soils, except in azalea beds where hardwood bark mulch has been repeatedly applied.

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Articles by Dr. Francis Gouin

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