Articles by Dr. Francis Gouin

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 6/21/12

Composting in a Drum

Here’s how to make it work

Making compost in a drum composter is very different from making compost in a bin on the surface of the ground. When you’re composting in a bin on the ground, any excess water drains from the compost into the ground. Any moisture released in the air surrounding the pile is quickly disbursed by wind and air currents. Composting drums have vents, but most of the moisture released during decomposition condensates on the surface and drops back into the composting materials...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 6/14/12

The A Bees Cs of Pollinations

It takes two species for fruit trees to blossom

A Bay Weekly reader complains that her apple trees have not produced any fruit during the five years that she has had them in her garden. All five, she told me, are of the same variety: golden delicious trees. She was told that for the trees to produce fruit, she needed to plant more than one tree. Since her preference was for Golden Delicious, that is what she purchased and planted. Help Bluebirds Help You Bluebirds are great to have around the garden because they...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 6/7/12

Brown Soil Isn’t Always Rich Soil

Your plants can’t tell you what they need; a soil test can

I recently received photographs of dead and dying plants along with soil test results sent by a Bay Weekly reader. The reader had sent numerous plant samples to a university for analysis only to be told that the injury was due to a fungus. As I studied the photographs, I could not identify a fungus that would cause such symptoms, so I requested a complete soil analysis. The soil test results told me that the plants were starving for essential nutrients. The calcium levels in...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/31/12

Never Plant Tomatoes Deep

Rather than gimicks, test your soil for a productive garden

On a Saturday morning garden show, a caller was advised to plant long-stemmed tomato plants deep. Supposedly, burying the stems deep in the garden soil forces the plant to produce new roots along the stem, resulting in a stronger plant. I strongly disagree. That tomato plant was growing in a pot in a greenhouse. Its roots were surrounded by air containing 21 percent oxygen. Roots of plants need oxygen, while the green tops need carbon dioxide. Planting the roots deep means...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/24/12

Cut It Tall and Let It Fall

For a stronger lawn, keep the height at 3 or 4 inches

For years I have recommended cutting fescue and bluegrass lawns to a height no less than three inches, even better four inches, for a stronger, weed-free lawn. Many people object to this height and cannot understand why I insist. The answer is simple. Consider each blade of grass a factory. The bigger the factory, the greater the production. A tall blade of grass is capable of producing more food to feed the roots through photosynthesis than a short blade of grass. Tall...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/17/12

Clear Your Underbrush

Or hire goats to do the job

A Bay Weekly reader recently asked me how he could clear away the underbrush in woods surrounding his home without using weed killers. It can be done with persistence and perseverance. You don’t want to cut away any brush until you see mature foliage on the brush you desire to control. Mature leaves go from light green to dark green. The change is very noticeable in such perennial weeds as honeysuckle, poison ivy and trumpet vine. Keep Your Hoe Sharp A garden hoe...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/10/12

From Pots to Your Garden

How to transplant bedding plants

Are you one of those gardeners who is much too careful about disturbing roots of bedding plants when transplanting them into the garden? If you examine the roots of bedding plants grown in cells or pots, you will note a layer of roots along the outside edge of the root ball. Vigorously growing plants will sometimes have a thick layer of roots surrounding the root ball and are likely to be root-bound. If these root balls are not broken up before being planted in garden soil,...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/3/12

Whack Your Butterfly Bush to the Ground

Woody ornamentals need periodic rejuvenation to stay healthy and productive

It’s never too late to whack that buddleia down to the ground, even though it is flushing new growth. One of my butterfly shrubs was getting so large that in early March I cut the stump close to the ground with a chainsaw. Already the new growth is 18 to 24 inches tall with an abundance of young shoots coming from the roots. While I was lecturing to a garden club, a member asked me how to prune buddleia. I told her to prune it back as close to the ground as possible....

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 4/26/12

Horse Hooey in the Garden

Never use horse manure without composting it first

The proliferation of horse farms in southern Maryland has resulted in owners convincing their friends and neighbors that horse manure is great for the garden. After one experience with using horse manure in the garden, you’ll discover that it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. Unlike cow, llama, alpaca, chicken or pig manure, which can be incorporated into the garden as soon as it drops to the ground, horse manure must first be composted. A horse is not as...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 4/19/12

Tops and Bottoms

When moving trees and shrubs, if you interfere with one, leave the other alone

When you’re transplanting a tree or shrub, leave the branches alone. Once upon a time, gardening wisdom advised pruning back the branches to compensate for the roots lost when the plant was dug. I have been convinced for some time that this practice had been laid to rest, until I recently heard a garden expert on the radio recommend it to a listener who had called for advice. The science of horticulture has discredited this practice, whether the plant is dug with a...