Regulars (All)

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 10/11/12

You Can’t Compost in Plastic Bags

Compost needs air and water

I heard a garden advisor on radio tell his listeners to compost their leaves in plastic bags rather than placing them on the curb for pick-up by the municipality. Put the leaves in the plastic bag and dump in a pitcher of warm water with two to three packages of bakers yeast dissolved in the liquid, he advised. I hope no one listened. Composting is an aerobic process. The organisms involved are bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes. There are no yeasts in the...

Article - The Dish; by Lisa Knoll - 10/11/12

The Great Pumpkin

From festivals to pancakes, this squash delivers

The Dish this week features the orange orb belonging to the squash family, not Linus Van Pelt’s mythical creature. Useful both for food and fun, the pumpkin is an icon of fall and a symbol of the end of the harvest. Pick your own at a patch such as Knightongale Farm in Harwood, where owner Joel Greenwell commits 10 percent of his 90 acres to pumpkins. “People don’t realize the amount of work involved in growing pumpkins,” Greenwell...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 10/4/12

Will the Dragon Awaken?

October’s Draconids are typically sleepers, but every now and then …

Sunset reveals Mars low in the southwest. Its ruddy glow is usually quite distinct, but it is only a dozen degrees from its rival, orange Antares, blinking to its upper left. You’ll have a harder time spotting Saturn, so low in the west that it’s almost lost in the glare of the setting sun. Venus rises in the northeast around 4am, and it blazes ever-so bright high in the east before sunrise. Wednesday before dawn, Venus is only a fraction of a degree from Regulus...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 10/4/12

Pansies Add Color thru Spring

Here’s how to plant them

Pansies give the garden fall, winter and early spring color. Breeders have provided us with a great array of colorful varieties to choose from. These hearty flowers are one of the few plant species with light- and dark-blue flowers. In addition to solid colors — yellow, brown, purple and reddish-brown — my favorite cultivar, the Pacific Giant, includes blooms with brown monkey faces in their center. Pansies grow best in deep, well-drained, organic-rich soil....

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 10/4/12

Ten Minutes on the Chesapeake

A lot can happen in a short time, but you may have to be patient

Our day had started out with high expectations. The plan was to get on the water by 7am, catch a supply of spot for live-lining, cruise a couple of places that had been producing in the recent past, mark some good rockfish, get a quick limit and be home by noon. Conditions were right: little wind, mostly overcast with mild, short-sleeve temperatures. The supply of spot, surprisingly, came rather quickly. One of the problems I’ve encountered in catching live bait by...

Article - The Dish; by Lisa Knoll - 10/4/12

How Much Will You Pay for a Burger?

The hamburger is as American as apple pie. Burgers come in many forms and incarnations, but the gist remains the same: Throw a patty between two buns, add condiments to your liking and enjoy. Where you find your favorite burger is personal choice, and options are plentiful, from fast food to fast casual to upscale. In NYC, the 21 Club’s famous burger, a novelty and an institution, sells for $32. Is Chesapeake Country ready for such a high falutin burger? West, the new...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 9/27/12

At the Farthest Edge of Sight

The Harvest Moon marks Uranus

Saturday’s full moon, the closest to autumnal equinox, marks the famous Harvest Moon. Legend holds that farmers have long used the added light of this moon to continue bringing in the crops well into the night. Science backs up the legend. This time of year, the moon travels a shallow, lazy arc along the ecliptic, midway between its highest transits in winter and its lowest path during summer. As a result, for us in mid-northern latitudes, moonrise changes by about 30...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 9/27/12

Plant Tulip Bulbs Deep

Follow my advice, and you’ll get years of big flowers

In New Hampshire where I grew up, tulips were a perennial crop. A single planting would last many years, producing large, beautiful flowers year after year. Here in Southern Maryland, tulips are generally grown as an annual crop. Tulips originated in the Mediterranean region, but the bulbs are grown in the Netherlands and in northern states such as Michigan where there are long cool springs. The cool springs allow the foliage to replenish the metabolites and grow the...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 9/27/12

I Fish Fall My Way

Sometimes, the fish cooperate

Light was failing fast, and so was I. My umpteenth cast of the evening landed just short of a ragged shoreline edged with marsh grass. The instant my four-inch top-water plug touched the water, I locked the spool down with my thumb and gave the lure a short twitch, creating a seductive gurgle to add to the splash landing. If a big rockfish had been nearby, I was certain it would have attacked the lure. It remained untouched. The water, apparently, was empty, just as it had...

Article - The Dish; by Lisa Knoll - 9/27/12

A Winning Recipe

Skipper’s Pier Corn & Crab Chowder with Smoked Blue Fish

Skipper’s Pier Restaurant and Dock Bar’s new owners Dave Rosage and Jessica LeCronier are clearly risk takers. In May, the young, engaged duo combined their expertise to take over the landmark Deale restaurant. He’s the entrepreneurial owner of several small businesses, including a food truck and snowball stand in Pasadena. She’s the culinary expert, a graduate of Johnson & Wales University with experience as sous and pastry chefs. As if operating...