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,...

We hadn’t had a single bait touched for hours when we finally decided we’d had enough. I cranked in my lines for the trip home, as did my friend in the bow, Maurice. As I turned back to complain to him once again about our wretched luck, Mo’s rod was bent hard over and he struggled merely to hold on to it.     His drag was screaming and feeding line into a powerful run as I scrambled to clear my rig from the water. The brute then turned and headed back toward...

Join the party Saturday, April 28, as people around the globe take aim at the heavens for Astronomy Day. This annual event was begun in 1973 by California astronomer Doug Berger, who organized a drive to set up telescopes along city sidewalks and other public spaces so that ordinary people could better appreciate the night sky. With four of the five naked-eye planets visible along with the near-first-quarter moon, the evening shouldn’t disappoint.     Even before sunset,...

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...