Regulars (All)

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/12/11

Keep Pests — and Pets — Out of the Garden

Nasty smells and fake snakes do the trick

Solutions to the perpetual problem of protecting your favorite plants from deer, rabbits, groundhogs and squirrels are on the shelves of your local garden center or farm supply. There are two materials on the market that I have tested and found effective, providing you follow directions carefully. They are Liquid Fence and Repels-All by Shot Gun. Both contain some of the same ingredients, with the exception that Repels-All adds dried blood. Both have the strong odor of garlic because both...

Article - Where We Live by Steve Carr; by Steve Carr - 5/12/11

The Severn River Association’s First Century

It takes many years to save a river

It seems odd, but the Severn River Association is the oldest group in the United States dedicated to the preservation of a river. You’d figure that honor would fall to some group affiliated with John Muir. On April 29, 1911, 32 wealthy white men from Baltimore who owned summer homes along the Severn River got together and started the Severn River Association. Their primary mission was to stock the river with fish, prevent watermen from poaching and upgrade Ritchie...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 5/5/11

The Dawn’s Early Lights

Meteors and planets dance across our skies

The annual Eta Aquarid meteors will likely be at their best before dawn Friday with encores possible early Saturday and Sunday. Unless you’re pulling an all-nighter, you’ll have to wake early, as the closer to dawn the greater their intensity. The spawn of dust and debris from Halley’s Comet igniting against earth’s atmosphere, the Eta Aquarids are not the most furious meteor shower, producing from 10 to 40 meteors an hour. What they lack in numbers,...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 5/5/11

In the Beginning

Before Maryland had its Master Gardener program, there was the Bay Gardener

Back in the mid-1970s, I was the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service’s specialist in ornamental horticulture, providing technical assistance to nursery, greenhouse, Christmas tree and landscape contracting industries. Only five counties had horticultural agents at the time, and when interest in home horticulture took off, I was overwhelmed with questions from home gardeners from the 24 counties without horticultural agents. My repeated requests to the dean and vice...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 5/5/11

Are My Ears Deceiving Me?

It should be too early for croakers, but who’s complaining?

It was our first drift. My two youngest sons, both still in their teens, were holding medium-weight spin rods poised over the side, awaiting action. Spooled with 12-pound line and baited with pieces of common grocery-store shrimp, with an ounce-and-a-half sinker, the rig dropped right to the bottom where the fish were — without overpowering the twitching tips of their six-foot sticks. Fish Are Biting ... Larger trophy rockfish landings are becoming much more common,...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 4/28/11

Hopping the Heavens

Follow the Big Dipper

The sun sets a little before 8:00 this week, with full darkness coming almost an hour later. By that time, the great bear Ursa Major is almost directly overhead. The third-largest constellation, Ursa Major has been seen as a great she-bear by ancient peoples from Greece to India, Babylon to North America. In the modern age, when the few bears most of us see are captive in zoos or performing in circuses, we are more familiar with the seven stars of the bruin’s hind-quarters, a grouping...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 4/28/11

Breaming with Joy

Seek bluegill, or bream, in sweetwater when the dogwood blooms

It was warm and sunny, a lovely day with a light, early morning breeze coming out of the southeast. I hadn’t seen a day like it in some time, and from the last weather forecast, I knew that I might not see another for perhaps longer still. Hurrying, I slid my squat, blue dingy into the back of the pickup and filled it with tackle, battery and an electric motor. Then I headed for the Eastern Shore. Fish Are Biting ... Up to now, the rockfish bite...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin - 4/28/11

Putting the Curse on Bamboo

Cut it to the ground now, and be ready to spray it come fall

I’ve written here before about how to control bamboo, and kudzu, too. The column was picked up by the Wall Street Journal, and I received mail from all over the country from readers requesting more information. I also received several letters criticizing me for recommending the use of Roundup (glyphosate). In recent weeks, there has been a resurgence of requests for information on putting the curse on bamboo. I know I can’t please everyone, but I can tell you how...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 4/28/11

Walking thru History

In two hours, I’ll show you 350 years — with stops for ice cream.

Downtown Annapolis is a time capsule. Follow me on this mile-and-a-half jaunt, and you’ll pass through 350 years. Editor’s note: What’s your favorite walk in Anne Arundel and Calvert counties? Guide us through its spaces, history and ecology in 400 to 800 words with pictures. Send to editor@bayweekly.com. Selected tours earn editing, a byline and $25. Find a parking place on Main Street and buy two hours on the meter, for we start at Kilwins, the...

Article - Sky Watch by J. Alex Knoll; by J. Alex Knoll - 4/21/11

Against the Moon’s Light

Only the strongest of this year’s Lyrid meteors will pierce the glare

The waning gibbous moon rises around midnight at week’s end and shines bright through dawn, which puts a damper on the annual Lyrid meteor shower, peaking in the dark hours of Thursday/Friday and Friday/Saturday. Even under ideal conditions with no competing moonlight, the Lyrids tend to max out at 15 to 20 meteors an hour. But any meteor bright enough to pierce the moonlight is likely to catch your attention as it streaks through the sky. Additionally, many of the...