Governor Martin O’Malley kicks off Maryland Buy Local Challenge Week with a rockin cookout on the grounds of the Government House on July 21, 2011.  The heat was on for 17 local chefs as the thermometer reached 100.  The chefs accepted the heat challenge and wow the crowd of 300 invited guests.  The recipes included entrees, beverages, side dishes, and of course awesome desserts.  Each recipe that was submitted was from a local Maryland chef using a Maryland producer for their ingredients.

We think you will enjoy the Apple Glazed Beef Brisket.  Thank you to all that stopped by our table and enjoyed the food and conversation with us.

Follow this link for the recipe book of all the recipes submitted for the cookout.  Here is a link as to HOW to participate in the buy local challenge.  Thank you to Governor O’Malley for supporting the buy local challenge each year.

How can you put $200 million in the pocket of farmers in the state of Maryland?  Why eating local, that is how.  That is very easy to do, just commit to buying local and spending $12.00 a week buying local for 8 weeks and there you have it.  That would mean all your fresh vegetables and fruits would come from a local farmer how tasty that would be.  It is so easy to buy from road side stands and farmers markets that are set up everywhere in the state.  Just think about all the pollution that cut down with buying local.

Here is how to buy local if you want to know more.  I’m so glad we buy and eat local fresh foods.  The Maryland Buy Local Challenge is the week of July 23-31, 2011.

Have you heard the stir at 6215 Scaggs Road, Lower Marlboro, MD 20736.  The stir is Mellomar Golf Course has gone green, you say “what is so funny about that?”

Doc and Peggy Grace owners/operators of Mellomar Golf Course have battled for years how to control the vegetation that swallows up golfer’s golf balls that get hit along side the greens.   They have employees that have tried to maintain/control the vegetation to no avail.  It is a full time job Doc and Peggy say.  Vegetation does not care the time of day, if it is a holiday, or if it is time for a vacation, vegetation just grows.  Herbicides are one way to control weeds, but then you have to worry what am I doing to Mother Earth, you certainly can’t burn the vegetation and golfers lose balls on a hourly basis.  We would like to recover the balls that the vegetation has swallowed up Doc Grace says, but you can’t find them in the vegetation.

The Grace’s decided early this year to employ goats as they had done research that goats are browsers and not grazers which means they will eat the vegetation before worrying about eating the grass.  Goats are made for eating the vegetation and are happy about their job, they live for eating all the underbrush the Grace’s found out in their research.    We contacted Mary Bowen of Prosperity Acres about having a few goats on the golf course and when Bowen visited the golf course she realized how serious the problem was for the Grace’s.  Bowen realized the Grace’s have a goat resort at the course.

Bowen has turned out a small herd of Prosperity Acres goats plus the Grace’s 3 goats to maintain the vegetation issue at the golf course.  The Grace’s were so happy to see the goats leap off the trailer and go right to work, no employee manual and they didn’t stop for a break when golfer’s stoped to visit with the goats and check them out.  The golfers seem happy they are at the golf course and really happy to think they can soon start to retrieve their missing balls.

If you have a vegetation issue please give us a call to discuss how we can help you.  Goats gone Green at Prosperity Acres, Mary Bowen.  For more information about Mellomar Golf Course which happens to be a Regulation 9 Hole – Par 3 9 Hole and Driving Range call Doc & Peggy Grace at 410-286-8212 at 6215 Scaggs Rd, Lower Marlboro, MD 20736 in beautiful Calvert County Maryland