Articles by Dr. Francis Gouin

Not Planting a Fall Garden?

Save your soil with a cover crop

If you are not planning a fall vegetable garden, it’s worth your while to consider a cover crop of rye or winter wheat. Your corn, beans, tomatoes, lettuce and pepper plants may not have used all of the nutrients in the soil. Even if you did not apply more fertilizer than the plants needed, even if you are an organic grower, there is organic matter in the soil that continues to decompose, releasing nutrients until the ground freezes. Unless these nutrients are absorbed...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 8/30/12

Now’s the Time to Improve Your Lawn

Get a soil test, and I’ll write you a free prescription for what to do next

If your lawn is just so-so and you want to make it look like a professional lawn next year, now is the time to take action. A soil test of the existing lawn is of utmost importance. A good lawn requires a pH of 6.2 to 6.8 with medium to optimum levels of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. If the appearance of your current lawn is uniform, then only one sample should be adequate. However, if the front lawn is better than the side or back lawn, submit samples for...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 8/23/12

How to Dry Tomatoes

They’ll taste great come winter

Are you being flooded with tomatoes? My neighbors are willing to take their share but they can take only so many. If you enjoy canning, make catsup, salsa, tomato juice, stewed tomatoes or crushed tomatoes. I have and still have tomatoes to spare. I fry green tomatoes by dredging them through a mixture of corn meal and Old Bay prior to frying in olive oil. Fried red tomatoes are also a favorite for some. If you have a food drier, try drying tomato slices...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 8/16/12

How to Fight Back Brush

If you’ve got to use weed killer, now’s the time

Spraying weed killer is generally a bad idea. Spraying must be done with great care and careful targeting when the wind is calm. But if you need to spray to kill underbrush, late August and September is the time. When foliage is mature, photosynthesis is in high gear and the roots are being resupplied. In other words, the sugars being produced by the leaves are now translocating back to the roots. Root resupply generally begins in mid-July and is at its peak in August and...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 8/9/12

Spider Mites Love This Weather

They’re infesting roses and spruce

While driving I passed a planting of roses that did not appear normal. Up close I saw that the plants were heavily infested with spider mites. The foliage and stems had a rusty red color and were covered with fine webs. The variety of roses appeared to be Knockouts, which are advertised as very resistant to insects. This summer’s hot, dry weather is ideal for the growth and development of spider mites. The small spider-like creatures are about the size of the pointed...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 8/2/12

Don’t Plant Problems

Many fast growing trees have short lives

Contractors are notorious for planting what horticulturists call trash trees and shrubs around new housing developments. The plants they select are fast-growing, cheap and can be guaranteed to live for at least one year after they have been planted. The trees most commonly used are silver maple, weeping willow, mimosa, Lombardy poplar and white willow. They grow fast, provide quick shade and make the house more appealing at the time of purchase. The most...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 7/19/12

Sow Seeds for Fall Crops

Now’s the time for Brussels’ sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage

The vegetable gardening season should not end with sweet corn and tomatoes. There is plenty of good gardening ahead, especially as temperatures cool. Last fall the Upakrik Farm garden produced a super abundance of peas and green beans until the first killing frost. We harvested broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips and kohlrabi well after Thanksgiving and Brussels’ sprouts well after Christmas. The collard greens and kale were at their best nearly all winter long. We harvested...

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

No Scarecrows for Me

I use fences, smells and my dog

Squirrels, rabbits, ground hogs and deer are a common problem in home vegetable gardens. I surround my garden with a four-foot-high four-inch-by-two-inch turkey fence supported by steel fence posts at 10-foot intervals. I also attach an 18-inch-wide pullet fence at the bottom with hog-nose rings. Groundhogs will not climb the turkey fence with the bottom pullet fence. They try but fall backwards because the pullet fence is loosely attached. The bottom edge is buried two to three inches deep to...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 7/5/12

Chase Away Garden-Hungry Birds

Each species has a different trick

Crows, morning doves, pigeons and black birds love to pluck sprouting seeds of corn, snap beans and lima beans in the garden. Robins love to eat strawberries, while mocking birds and brown thrush love to eat blueberries as they ripen. Birds can also do a great deal of damage to maturing sweet corn. They will rip away the husks and silk and peck out the kernels from the tops of the ears. How to deter them? Scarecrows are fun to look at but about useless....

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 6/28/12

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; 6/21/12