Gardener News

Gardener News 16 Mount Bethel Road #123 Warren, NJ 07059

TAKE ONE June, 2013

FIRST-CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID HILLSBOROUGH, NJ PERMIT NO. 4444

Gardener News Serving the Agricultural, Gardening and Landscaping Communities GARDENERNEWS.COM

TAKE ONE No. 122

Agricultural Education Students Gather at NJ FFA Convention

Tom Castronovo/Photos

New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher opened up the New Jersey FFA’s 84th annual convention in Hickman Hall at Rutgers University in New Brunswick at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21 with a message to the future leaders of the state’s agriculture industry; always reach higher and accomplish great things.

More than 400 students, advisors and staff attend the convention which had a theme of “Soaring to New Heights.”

On the first day of the three-day convention, Wyatt DeJong, a former National FFA Vice-President, gave a speech entitled, “Superhero Time,” to tell FFA Members they all can be superheroes if they possess these three qualities: Understand how to be happy, give to someone else and always try.

Members also heard from National FFA Eastern Region Vice President Joenelle Futrell.

On Wednesday, May 22, students participated in various hands-on Career Development Events, including: Tractor Driving and Individual and Team Demonstrations; a Job Interview Event; an Agricultural Issues Forum; and Extemporaneous Speaking.

On Thursday, Garden State FFA Degrees, Star State in Agricultural Placement and Star State Farmer Awards were presented and the 2013-2014 State Officers were elected and installed.

Over the course of the three days, a number of additional awards, grants and scholarships were announced.

FFA is a component of an agriculture, food and natural resources program of instruction that prepares students to pursue fulfilling careers in the business, science and technology of agriculture.

There are more than 2,600 FFA members in 37 chapters in New Jersey and 557,318 members in 7,498 chapters across the nation.

2 June, 2013

GARDEN CENTER DIRECTORY

Gardener News

MagniďŹ cant Hanging Baskets in All Colors A better garden starts with a better plant.

D

Proven Winners

Container Gardens D Shrubs D Vegetable Plants D Annuals D Perennials We've Got It All!

Gardener News

June, 2013 3 Around The Garden

By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

Double protection and kudos Do you have cicada holes all over your lawn? Does it look like you just core aerated your lawn? Did you spend time and money trying to eliminate crabgrass?

If the answer is yes to all of the above questions, you might want to consider another round of crabgrass control.

Crabgrass germination typically begins when soil temperatures reach 62 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of one to two inches, or about two weeks after the forsythia blooms begin to drop. And we all know that you don’t want to break that invisible barrier after applying a pre-emergent herbicide. I made my application then.

After walking my lawn in mid-May, I felt there was something wrong when my footing was unstable, just a bit. I then looked down and saw thousands of dime-sized cicada holes or little mud tubes. I then thought to myself, holy smokes, my invisible crabgrass barrier has been broken.

As time has gone on, some of the holes have been made wider by animals looking for something to eat.

And for those of you who know me, and have seen my lawn, you know that I would be devastated if the lawn became infested with crabgrass in the summer months.

I thought I’d better put a call into Todd Pretz, one of the Gardener News columnists. Todd is the vice president of Jonathan Green. Todd article can be seen on page 23 this month.

We spoke about the cicada emergence and both came to the same conclusion. A second application of Jonathan Green’s Crabgrass Preventer plus Green-up lawn fertilizer was in order.

This product contains Dimemsion. It is safe to use on most lawn grasses (check label first) and provides ORQJ ODVWLQJ FRYHUDJH ĘŠ DQ LPSRUWDQW FRQVLGHUDWLRQ VLQFH QRW DOO FUDEJUDVV VHHG JHUPLQDWHV DW RQFH 7KXV Dimension will kill later-germinating crabgrass, too. Dimension also displays some effectiveness as a postemergent herbicide. He told me to make sure that I irrigate or water the application in afterwards because water activates pre-emergent herbicides.

Todd also stressed that there is an organic way to help control crabgrass as well, and that is corn gluten.

Corn gluten will help to suppress crabgrass germination, while fertilizing your lawn.

Either one of these additional applications must be made no later than June 10.

Professional lawn services can also control mature crabgrass with applications of fenoxyprop (Acclaim Extra) or quinclorac (Drive). These products are not available in garden centers. The applicator must be licensed to apply it.

By applying this second application, which contains fertilizer, I’m going to switch out my weed control to one that does not contain any fertilizer.

And I want to get that down before the air temperatures go above 85 degrees.

I would just like to remind you not to spray pesticides on the cicadas. It really won’t reduce their numbers. But it will surely poison birds and other predators looking forward to this natural, delicious 17year feast.

Now I am going to totally switch subjects.

Back in April, the Gardener News celebrated our 10th Anniversary. As executive editor and its publisher, I was honored by the kudos we received from a lot of you.

I would like to share two of them with you.

The first was a letter from Governor Christie. It said, Dear Tom: Congratulations on the occasion of the Gardener News’ 10th Anniversary. Over the years, your publication has provided invaluable information to the thousands of New Jersey home gardeners, enthusiasts, landscape professionals and nursery operators.

The Gardener News has proven to be an important resource for anyone interested in horticulture. As you reach this important milestone, I wish to thank you for your advocacy and support for New Jersey’s agricultural industry, and all you do to help promote the Jersey Fresh and Jersey Grown programs. Best wishes for future success. Sincerely, Chris Christie, Governor.

The second was from the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association. It was an award in recognition of our 10th Anniversary, an honor of our advocacy and dedication to the Green Industry for the past 10 years.

The New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association also presented me with another plaque making me the Person of the Decade.

For those of you reading my column as a hard copy, thank you! I would also like each and every one of you to know that you can also read the paper online at www.GardenerNews.com In closing, please try and support our advertisers any way you can.

I am now off to see Chef Korb at The Crab’s Claw Inn in Lavallette for some delicious buffalo calamari and a tasty blackened chicken sandwich.

As always, I hope you find the information in the Gardener News informative and enjoyable.

Until next time‌Keep the “gardenâ€? in the Garden State.

-Tom Editor’s Note: Tom Castronovo is executive editor and publisher of Gardener News. Tom’s lifelong interest in gardening and passion for agriculture, environmental stewardship, gardening and landscaping, led to the founding of the Gardener News, which germinated in April 2003 and continues to bloom today. He is also dedicated to providing inspiration, and education to the agricultural, gardening and landscaping communities through this newspaper and GardenerNews.com.

$19.99

Gladly Accepting SNAP EBT Cards

2013 NJ Flower and Garden Show Award Winning Water Display Garden

4 June, 2013

Gardener News

Lately, accessing locally grown foods is a topic of conversation in homes across New Jersey. We can find them, fortunately, in abundance at supermarkets, in community centers, at farmers markets, at roadside stands and in restaurants.

Another new way of accessing agricultural products has popped up and is growing in extraordinary popularity – Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2007 Census of Agriculture reported 81 New Jersey farms offered Community Supported Agriculture. The 2012 Census, which is being compiled now, is expected to show numbers that have grown even higher.

Here’s how it works.

The concept of a CSA is that farms pre-sell a share of their produce to a certain number of people, guaranteeing the farmer income. Shareholders are assured an amount of fresh produce and other foodstuffs, such as farm-fresh eggs, meats, seafood, cheeses and flowers, throughout the season.

Selections are offered in varying fashion that satisfies customer preference and the farmer’s needs. Families eagerly await their pick of the crop each week in season and serve bountiful

be grown in the Garden State.

CSAs also are a great way for new and budding farmers to enter into a marketplace on a limited scale and budget, supporting someone who has a passion to get into farming.

Finally, CSAs provide families all over the state with the freshest possible fruits and vegetables week after week, which are important parts of nutritious diets and contribute to much healthier lifestyles.

By belonging to a CSA, our farmers and families in your community have a growing connection to land and sea.

Check out the CSA listings on the Jersey Fresh website: www.jerseyfresh.nj.gov/ agriculture/jerseyfresh/find/ communitysupportedag.html.

NJ Dept. of Agriculture

By Douglas H. Fisher Secretary of Agriculture

Getting Your Share of Jersey Fresh at a CSA fresh New Jersey grown produce.

Every CSA operates a little differently. Traditionally, CSA shareholders pick up their produce at the farm on a regular basis, either a prepicked assortment or they get to choose a certain amount of the specific produce they prefer.

There are also CSAs that are based in a workplace, where the farmer delivers the shares and employees would then take their produce home. A third type of CSA allows for a person to host the CSA for friends, family and neighbors, and the farmer delivers the shares to a specified location.

Last summer, in addition to traditional produce CSAs, Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium joined forces to incorporate local seafood into CSAs, through B & B Farms in Galloway Township, Atlantic

County. People were able to buy seafood shares, which gave them clams, scallops, oysters, lobster and many others on a bi-weekly basis. The “Sea Salt CSA” is available again this season.

The purpose of the seafood CSA is to give local residents an opportunity to support our state’s fishermen and sample the responsibly harvested, local catch.

In the case of a CSA, there are so many benefits. Producers get paid at the beginning of a growing season so they have cash available at a critical time when seed and fertilizer are needed.

CSAs even out some of the risks farmers face every season that might impact their crops, such as weather, wildlife damage, etc.

For consumers, CSAs help fulfill their yearning for local product. They create an

Look Who’s Reading the Gardener News!

It’s in the news

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Television star Larry Wilcox, also known as Officer Jonathan “Jon” Baker on the American police television series “CHiPs,” looks over the May Gardener News while visiting the Garden State. In 1977, Wilcox got the role as 7-Mary-3 and became a heartthrob along with co-star Erik Estrada, who played Frank “Ponch” Poncherello (7-Mary-4). “CHiPs” followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol. Wilcox left the show after its fifth season in 1982 and went on to produce the award-winning Ray Bradbury Theater for HBO. He also guest-starred in many popular TV series, such as “Murder She Wrote” and “MacGyver.”

excitement in the family for what they will receive each week and are assured fresh fruits and vegetables for a whole season. Participants can interact with the farmer and learn more about agriculture and how their food is grown.

They might try something new or receive recipes on how to prepare the produce. In addition, they are supporting something ecologically sound and reducing their carbon footprint, by consuming produce that was grown close to home.

CSAs help keep New Jersey’s family farms in production, providing jobs and boosting the state’s economy.

These farmers are responsible stewards of the land, using practices that sustain soil health, ensuring that the crops everyone loves, such as tomatoes, sweet corn, peaches, blueberries and so many more, can continue to

Editor’s Note: Douglas H. Fisher is New Jersey’s Secretary of Agriculture. He is the department’s executive officer, secretary to the State Board of Agriculture and a member of the Governor’s cabinet. Secretary Fisher fulfills executive, management and administrative duties prescribed by law, executive order or gubernatorial direction. He can be reached at 609.292.3976. For more info, please visit: http://www. state.nj.us/agriculture

Gardener Gard rde dener News Newss New

June, Ju e, 2013 201 5

Support NJ Agriculture JERSEY GROWN

Nursery Stock JERSEY GROWN

Sunflower Birdseed

JERSEY GROWN

Firewood

JERSEY GROWN

When you’re shopping for JERSEY GROWN nursery stock, you know the trees, shrubs, plants and flowers are checked for quality, disease, are pest free, and accustomed to the Garden State’s climate and soil conditions.

Annuals & Perennials Made With JERSEY GROWN

Wood Birdhouses & Bird Feeders

Governor Chris Christie Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher

jerseygrown.nj.gov

6 June, 2013 Growers Have More Recycling Options for 2013 75(1721 1- ĘŠ 1HZ -HUVH\ 6HFUHWDU\ RI $JULFXOWXUH Douglas H. Fisher is encouraging all agricultural operations to recycle the plastic used in their businesses by utilizing the additional recycling options now available in New Jersey.

This year, there are expanded opportunities for New Jersey farmers to recycle their agricultural plastics, including for the first time mulch film (any color), drip irrigation tape, row covers, low tunnel film, high tunnel film, silage bags, peat moss bags, silos covers, and hay bale wraps and almost any noncontainer agricultural plastic including pots and trays. “Recycling is a responsible way to dispose of agricultural plastics, saving money for the producers and reducing the amount of material that ends up in landfills,� said Secretary Fisher.

The nursery and greenhouse film recycling program, entering its 17th year, is one of the most successful programs of its kind in the nation. Since the program began in 1997, New Jersey growers have recycled more than 9.8 million pounds of used nursery and greenhouse film.

The regional collection site is located at the Cumberland County Solid Waste Complex in Deerfield. Both white and clear nursery film and clear multi-season (two-year, three-year, and four-year) greenhouse covers can be recycled. Film must be free of lathing, staples and saran. Loads containing other agricultural plastics, such as bags, mulch film, shrink film, stretch film, drip irrigation or ground cover film, will be rejected at the collection sites. For details about the location, hours, fees, and other vendors who accept nursery and greenhouse film, visit the Department’s website at www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/ md/prog/filmsites.html .

This is the 12th year for the free plastic pesticide container recycling program, which collects properly rinsed plastic pesticide containers from all categories of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection-licensed pesticide applicators and custom application businesses. Since the program was initiated in 2002, more than 404,000 pounds of pesticide containers have been recycled. Last year, more than 110,000 plastic pesticide containers were recycled through the program.

The program is now underway and runs through November in Hammonton, (Atlantic County), Deerfield (Cumberland County) and Woodstown, (Salem County).

State, county and municipal government agencies may participate. One core credit will be given to pesticide license holders who follow the processing steps and bring their license with them to the collection. Containers up to 55 gallons are accepted at the collection sites. Non-waxy cardboard will also be accepted and must be broken down, flattened and tied. For details about locations, hours, and the guidelines for preparing the containers for recycling, visit the Department’s web site at www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/md/prog/recycling.html .

Growers also can recycle their drip irrigation tape at several locations. For details about the locations, hours, and fees, visit the Department’s website at www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/ md/prog/dirtyplastics.html Producers of nursery pots, plastic flats, trays, and cell packs may recycle tractor trailer loads of the material through a variety of vendors. For vendor information, visit the Department’s website at www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/md/prog/ plasticpotvendors.html .

For the first time, there is an opportunity for New Jersey farmers to recycle almost all types of agricultural plastics at a new facility located in Atlantic County. The private firm will accept mulch film (any color), drip irrigation tape, row covers, low tunnel film, high tunnel film, silage bags, peat moss bags, silos covers, and hay bale wraps and almost any non -container agricultural plastic including pots and trays.

Vehicles used to transport the agricultural plastics to any of the collection sites for recycling are not required to be licensed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as long as the agricultural plastic is transported directly to recycling program.

To find out more about all of these recycling programs, contact Karen Kritz at 609-984-2506 or Karen.kritz@ag.state. nj.us or visit the New Jersey Department of Agriculture Agricultural Recycling webpage at: www.nj.gov/agriculture/ divisions/md/prog/recycling.html

Gardener News

CASE FILES

From the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County Garden Help Line

By Madeline Flahive DiNardo, Union County Agricultural Agent and Master Gardeners, MC Schwartz and James Keane Q. I live in an apartment complex and have a nice, sunny balcony. Do you think I could grow vegetables on my balcony?

Union Urban Gardener A. Glad to hear your balcony is in a sunny location. Yes, there are vegetables you can grow in containers in an apartment-complex setting. Container gardening could be a great option for you. Just check with the building management company to make sure it is permissible.

Most vegetables prefer eight hours of direct sunlight daily. Root crops, such as radishes and carrots, need five to six hours of direct sun, and leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach, only need four to five hours of sunlight. Avoid placing the container up against a sunny wall, as reflected light may be too hot. A foot and a half away from a wall will allow air to circulate around the plant.

There are many options for types of containers to use: plastic, clay or wood, to name a few.

An important characteristic to look for is a good drainage hole. Water must drain out of the pot to avoid over-watering the vegetables. It’s preferable to have four drainage holes on the sides of the bottom of the container so the water is not trapped under the pot. Have a saucer under the drainage hole that can be easily emptied out. You probably don’t want water dripping down onto your downstairs neighbor’s patio!

There are several advantages to using a plastic pot. They are lighter weight and easier to move than clay, wood or concrete containers; the potting mix in plastic containers tends to stay moist longer than in other types of containers. Sterilize containers in a 1:10 ratio of bleach to water and rinse well before planting.

Clay pots are heavy, but stable - not prone to being knocked over on an average windy day. Since clay is a porous material, you will probably need to water the vegetables every day.

Before planting in a clay or ceramic pot, be sure to soak the container with water. A dry pot could take up moisture from the vegetable transplant. Clay and ceramic pots should be stored in a sheltered, warm location during the winter to avoid cracking.

Wooden containers, such as the classic whiskey barrel planter, can be lined with plastic to help the wood last longer. Rust-proof hardware such as stainless steel, brass or aluminum alloy will also make the container last longer.

What size container should you select? It depends on what kinds of vegetables you are interested in growing. A container with ample space for roots to grow has increased vegetable production. Tomatoes need at least a 20- to 22-inch diameter pot, as do crops that grow on vines, such as squash and cucumbers. Dwarf varieties of tomatoes, such as “Pixie� and “Tiny Tim,� can do well in a 16-inch depth container. But standard varieties such as “Rutgers� prefer a 24-inch-deep container.

Vegetables that prefer containers that are 12 inches deep include: beets (six to 12 inches) cabbage, collards, kolhrabi, onions (10 to12 inches), peas and turnips. Salad greens and herbs can be grown in shallower containers that are six inches deep.

Depending on the width of your container, you may have enough space to mix vegetables: for example a Patio Tomato variety with basil planted around it. (All you’ll need is some fresh Mozzarella cheese for a wonderful appetizer!)

Using a potting mix is ideal for container gardening. Choose a mix that is pasteurized, so weed seeds, insects or soil borne diseases should not be an issue. A typical mix has peat moss, horticultural grade vermiculite and perlite. Perlite provides air space for good drainage, yet the peat moss and vermiculite help hold moisture for the roots. Some potting mixes contain slowrelease fertilizers. You can also add a slow release fertilizer to the potting mix. The product label will give a recommended rate based on the container size. It is easiest to add slow-release fertilizers prior to planting.

If the potting mix does not already contain a fertilizer, be sure to use a soluble or liquid fertilizer labeled for vegetables or container gardening as you water. Start using soluble or liquid fertilizers around mid-growth season when the plants are starting to produce vegetables.

Fertilizers should be used once a week or two at the recommended label rate or less.

Avoid using granular vegetable fertilizers that would be used in a traditional in-ground garden, unless the product label gives a specific recommended rate for use in a container garden. Granular fertilizers may be too strong for use in a confined growing space and burn the plant roots.

Good luck with your container vegetable gardening – don’t forget to share with your neighbors!

Editor’s Note: The Union County Master Gardener’s HELP LINE fields hundreds of citizen inquiries a year – offering assistance with their indoor as well as outdoor gardening and pest control questions. Responses to resident phone calls and on-site visits comply with current Rutgers NJ Agricultural Experiment Station recommendations. Union County residents can call (908) 654-9852 or email mastergardeners@ucnj.org for assistance. A complete listing of Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) offices where you can contact a Master Gardener in your area can be found on page 26 of the Gardener News. Free RCE fact sheets are available at www.njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs.

Gardener News

June, 2013 7

DO YOU NEED A DUMPSTER? Professional Delivery & Pickup

Reliable & Affordable

Call to Reserve One Today We take (but not limited to)...

General Construction Household Waste Concrete & Asphalt

Logs & Stumps Demolition Debris Bulky Waste

STE 30

RLI

YAR

DS

NG

YAR

DS

Starring Jersey Fresh

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Karen Allen, who made her major-film debut in 1978 as Katy, Boon’s frustrated girlfriend in “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” sports a Jersey Fresh cap on a recent visit to the Garden State. Her career-changing role came with the blockbuster hit “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), directed by Steven Spielberg, in which she played the feisty heroine Marion Ravenwood, love interest of Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford). Allen reprised her best-known role as Marion Ravenwood for the 2008 sequel “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” in which she renews her relationship with Indiana Jones and reveals to him that they have a son named Henry Jones III. It’s June and we should all be outdoors enjoying the trees and shrubs in our yards.

This time of year also brings out the tree crews offering to prune your trees. Here are some things to keep in mind before you have anyone touch the trees on your property.

Pruning is the most common practice we do as tree-care professionals and also one of the most important. An arborist will prune a tree for health, safety and appearance, but also to reduce disease pressure or provide clearance for a view.

The most common type of pruning on younger trees is crown thinning - the removal of live, healthy branches on trees with dense crowns. This improves light penetration and air movement and reduces pest infestations and decreases the risk of storm damage. Thinning can also be used to reduce weight of individual limbs and to slow the growth rate on overly vigorous limbs. On slower-growing mature trees, thinning is mainly used when weight reduction is needed on individual limbs to compensate for structural defects.

Virtually all urban trees benefit from periodic crown cleaning - the removal of defective limbs including those

NJ DEP# S27236

908-234-2382 Now Serving the Jersey Shore!

Tree Pruning that are dead, dying, diseased, rubbing and structurally unsound. Cleaning reduces the risk of branch failures, improves plant health and enhances tree appearance by removing limbs that are unsightly, unhealthy and unsound. Although removal of healthy branches is technically “thinning,” selective removal of watersprouts is included in a crown cleaning. But before removing watersprouts, arborists must judge whether sprout removal will benefit the tree. Stripping sprouts is rarely beneficial and may eventually create many more problems for the tree. An arborist should look for the cause of watersprout production in a tree. A tree often creates sprouts in response to an injury or disease. If watersprouts must be pruned, they should be removed over the course of a few years.

LLC

Crown reduction is needed on trees or individual limbs that are growing close to buildings, other trees or utility wires. Reduction may also be necessary to prevent or correct storm damage and to shorten errant branches to provide a more desirable shape. This type of pruning involves reducing the height or spread of the crown or individual limbs. Certain species such as beech and sugar maple respond poorly to reductions, so consideration must be given to the ability of the species to tolerate this procedure.

Crown raising is done when lower limbs interfere with mowing, traffic, people or utilities. Limbs can either be removed at the trunk or downward-growing branches can be removed at the parent limb. Thinning the ends of a heavy limb may accomplish the same goal if the limb rises

when weight is removed.

When raising is performed, limb levels generally are left at a uniform height around the tree to provide symmetry.

The majority of established trees can benefit from one or more maintenance pruning types. How can you prune a tree in more than one way?

Easy! If a tree is growing next to a house and has deadwood and limbs rubbing against the roof, it needs crown cleaning throughout and reduction or raising of the limbs over the residence.

Finally, arborists and homeowners must realize that more is not always better when it comes to pruning. The amount of foliage that should be pruned from mature trees is often less than what clients expect. The standard in the industry instructs that not more than one quarter of the leaf surface be removed during

a single pruning operation.

This will benefit the tree by maintaining a greater leaf surface area for conducting photosynthesis.

In summary, the new standard encourages arborists to prune trees based on the tree’s need and established scientific principles. If your tree needs pruning, contact your ISA Certified Arborist or N.J. Certified Tree Expert for a consultation.

As always, I hope you learned something! …..’Till next month Editor’s Note: Robert graduated from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University with degrees in science education and forest biology. He is an ISA Certified Arborist and a New Jersey Certified Tree Expert.

Robert is currently teaching AP Environmental Science, Biology and Chemistry at Liberty High School in PA., and on staff at Temple University teaching Horticulture. He delivers many short courses and seminars at various outdoor education facilities.

He is available for talks and consultations in both NJ and PA. Robert can be reached by calling (484) 560-5744.

8 June, Juune, e, 2013 2013

Gardener Gard rde dener er Ne News New wss

& Garden Center Come Visit Our Fully Stocked Garden Center.

Shop Our Six Acre Glass House Facility.

WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED! Buy Direct From One Of NJ’s Largest Growers Of Plants & Flowers!

Vast Assortment of Beautiful Annuals in Flats & Pots Huge Variety of Perennials Thousands of Gorgeous Hanging Baskets Trees & Shrubs Herbs & Vegetables Gardening Supplies Soils & Mulch Indoor & Outdoor Containers & Pots & Much More!

www.hionisgreenhouses.com $PEEJOHUPO 3E 8IJUFIPVTF 4UBUJPO /+ t

Gardener News

June, 2013 9

A Reluctant Gardener

By Jeannie Geremia Garden Club of New Jersey

Stunning is the descriptive word for this spring. Sure, we had to wait for it, but then everything seemed to bloom at once in breathtaking splendor.

The cold winter somehow enticed the Hellebores into putting on an incredible show and they just keep on coming.

Glorious plants that are happily deer resistant, Hellebores, are tough and evergreen to boot. You may say that they nod over and hide their beauty. But no, my gardening friends, you just buy the Royal Heritage strain of Helleborus orientalis and within a few years, they’ll have expanded so much that the sheer volume of stems holds the flowers upward facing.

The Helleborus Niger, the Christmas Rose, is more compact, with large, white flowers glistening in big bouquets of outward-facing flowers. Helleborus foetidus, the “stinking� Hellebore, is a dramatic addition to any garden with its green cups of abundant flowers and handsome foliage.

Daffodils, tulips, Virginia bluebells, pansies, violets, and the fabulous Alliums simply bloomed as if there were no tomorrow. The fruit trees were just loaded with blossoms like a fairyland and I could hear the Beatles song “Altogether Now� as I took it all in. One of the “stunners�

I came across at Rutgers Nursery was Proven Winners Quince Double Take “Pink Storm.� Wow! It is aptly named, as I did a double take when I saw this gorgeous shrub with flowers almost as big as camellias, deep-pink, openfaced, with yellow stamens and thornless stems. How delightful to find the array of new and heirloom plants ever expanding at our local nurseries and garden centers.

It just is extremely difficult to resist and consequently, that’s why I have a cottage garden.

This year, as last, finds me spending my time between my home gardens and my community garden plot, and herein lies the tale of a Reluctant Gardener. That “Reluctant Gardener� is none other than my dear husband, Bob. I’m sure most of you can relate, with a spouse who definitely doesn’t have a green thumb, nor do they want one. His famous line, told many times, is that, “If my hands are dirty, that means I’ve fallen down.�

Something has happened to Bob as he is the amazing “Energizer bunny� when it comes to the community garden. Bob has done more in the Raritan Township Community Garden than any of the actual gardeners. He helped erect the fence, he has been there mowing the pathways and he put together our watering system. And, wait, that’s not all he did. He accompanied me to a meeting with Bob Markey, member of the Rahway Garden Club, incoming GCNJ Youth Chair and certified Square Foot Garden instructor, and Liz Rainey, kindergarten teacher at Robert Hunter School. Ms. Rainey wanted to erect three square-foot gardens for her students in the community garden across the street from the school. My husband listened intently, asked me for my Square Foot Gardening book by Mel Bartholomew, came home with lumber, and erected two four-foot by eight-foot square foot garden frames, 10 inches deep with accompanying grids. Oh, my! I had to track down 48 cubic feet of Mel’s mix for the square foot gardens: 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost (five different types), and 1/3 peat moss. I’ll keep you posted on my results, but it’s exciting to figure out where and what to plant. My big problem is narrowing my selections, but I can assure you it will be a combination of veggies and flowers.

Now that June is upon us, I know that many of you are reaping the rewards of early planting with new peas, radishes, lettuces and all the cool weather crops.

Farmers markets are up and running with strawberries, kale, collard greens, beets, blueberries, rhubarb. I’m getting hungry just writing about it. We are so fortunate in the Garden State to have a plethora of farmers markets, farm stands and community gardens so that we can avail ourselves of fresh produce and grow and/ or purchase Jersey Fresh and Jersey Grown items to make us healthier and keep our state agricultural industry strong. The GCNJ Community Gardens/Jersey Fresh/Jersey Grown Project has awarded upwards of $40,000 in mini-grants since February 2013, when we received the 2013 USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant of $40,000 from New Department of Agriculture Secretary Douglas H. Fisher. We have given out mini-grants of up to $1,000 statewide to over 40 public/ community garden projects, many of which incorporate gardening with youth. Check out our website at www. gardenclubofnewjersey.com to see all the recipients listed under Community Gardens.

Get Out There and Garden, Join a Garden Club!

Editor’s Note: Jeannie Geremia is the Horticultural Chair and NGC Accredited Judge for the Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc., GCNJ Community Garden Chair and Central Atlantic Region Community Garden Chair of National Garden Clubs, Inc. She can be reached by emailing jeannieg42@earthlink. net Garden Club of New Jersey’s website is: www. gardenclubofnewjersey. com and phone number is: 732-249-0947

Recycle the

Gardener News show it to a friend!

Value of New York Floriculture Production Decreases $/%$1< 1< Ę&#x160; 1HZ <RUN IORULFXOWXUH SURGXFWLRQ ranked ninth in the nation for total commercial sales in 2012, according to Blair Smith, State Statistician of USDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Agricultural Statistic Service, New York Field Office. The overall value of commercial sales for operations with more than $10,000 in sales decreased slightly to $169 million. Bedding and garden plants continued to be the highest component of the total value of sales at $102 million.

Potted flowering plants were second with a value of sales of $26.6 million, up 10 percent from previous year. Propagative materials ranked third at $21.1 million, a decrease of 4 percent from 2011.

During 2012, there were 577 growers. The total covered area for the floriculture crop production was 25.2 million square feet, down slightly from the 25.3 million square feet in 2011. The total open ground area was 607 acres.

Nationally, the total wholesale value of floriculture crops sold by operations with $100,000 or more of sales in the 15-State program is $3.99 billion for 2012, up 1 percent from the 2011 total. These operations account for 97 percent of the total value of $4.13 billion in floriculture crops, but comprise only 46 percent of all producers. The wholesale value of all bedding and garden plants, which include herbaceous perennials, at $1.96 billion, is up 3 percent from the previous year. This plant category is the largest contributor to total value of sales and represents 49 percent of the wholesale value of all the reported crops. Potted flowering plants for indoor or patio uses are valued at $618 million, down 4 percent from 2011. The value of 2012 foliage plant sales, at $642 million, is up five percent from the previous year. The wholesale value of domestically produced cut flowers is $342 million for 2012, 5 percent less than 2011. Cut cultivated greens wholesale value for 2012, at $71.0 million, is down 1 percent from 2011.

Additional details are available in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Floriculture Crops 2012 Summaryâ&#x20AC;? at www.nass.usda.gov .

10 June, 2013

Gardener News

Ground Cleanse— An eco-friendly product that keeps the ground beneath bird feeders from becoming contaminated with droppings and fallen seed. Prevents unwanted plants from germinating and eliminates mold--available in concentrate or ready-touse hose and bottle spray.

Auraco Products

Editor’s Note: Leslie Barlow is co-owner of Barlow Flower Farm in Sea Girt, NJ, one of the largest retail growers in NJ since 1983.

She has appeared on News 12 NJ and has been a guest speaker at local garden clubs. She is a Certified Staging Professional™ with a specialty in Curb Appeal.

She has been gardening for many years and is always at trade shows hunting for useful accessories for the home garden.

For product information she can be reached at 732449-9189 or lbarlow@ barlowflowerfarm.com.

Frog Welcome Buddies – These two are adorable! This happy accent for your garden would make an ideal gift for a couple or for a Daddy and Me gift for Father’s Day. Either way they are bound to make a hit. 24”L x 18”H Transpac

Garden Shopping

By Leslie Barlow Garden Educator Beach Badge Signs— Decorate your porch or patio this summer with your favorite badge in a personalized plaque.

Available in all shapes and colors with any beach name and season. Custom orders for Sea Signs Available at Barlow’s -- 732 449 9189

piece and accent in the garden. Available in Large 24”H or Small 15” H Pottery Place

Green Meadow Wooden Tray— Capture the timeless beauty of this vintage, handmade piece in a garden motif-a practical and collectible gift for any occasion especially for hostess garden parties. 20”x13.75”x2.75” Michel Design Works

No one covers “Gardening” in New Jersey like the Gardener News!

Garden Mushroom Seat— Cement composite that is inlaid with stones or shells. Each piece is hand crafted and patterns vary-a durable conversation

“A Father is someone who carries pictures in his wallet where his money use to be” Anonymous Happy Father’s Day to All! Leslie

For more information visit us online at GardenerNews.com

A Blazing Garden Star As odd as this may sound, I often wonder how certain plants initially rose to their heights of popularity!

For example, I know that catalogues sales pushed winter blooming Witchhazels into the spotlight – a season when no one traditionally visits garden centers.

Others became popular due to deer browse resistance while still others rose to stardom through the cut flower industry. Liatris, commonly known as Blazing Star is one such plant the floral industry thrust into the spotlight!

Native to North America, portions of Mexico and the Bahamas, Liatris is divided into 37 species that mostly inhabit open savannas and prairies.

The plants are characterized by a basal clump of linear leaves, up to 10” in length, which gives rise to a pronounced floral stem with the flowers appressed DORQJ WKH XSSHU ѿ WR ò RI WKH

stem. Flower stems vary in length, but can be upwards of 5’ in length! The flowers are typically a pinkish purple in color and the attribute that makes this plant awesome for floral arrangements is the order with which the flowers open. Unlike most flowers, Liatris flowers open from the top of the stem down, providing instant color at both the top of the bouquet and in the garden! Liatris is in the Aster or sunflower family, whose flowers are typically composed of two types of individual florets: ray florets which are the petals that ring the flower and disc florets, which produce the ‘cone’ in the center of the flower.

Interestingly, the flowers of Liatris consist of 4-10 disc florets without any ray florets, creating a tufted flower that resembles a blazing star and hence, the common name!

The flower also has a feathery appearance, giving rise to one of its other common names of Gayfeather. Also, unlike many other perennials that overwinter as a basal

crown, Liatris overwinters as underground corms. Typically associated with Crocus and Gladiolus, corms are actually modified stem tissue that serves as a storage reservoir and allows Liatris to survive periods of late summer heat and drought.

Liatris spicata is the best known and the most commercially available.

Native to Eastern North America and hardy to zone 3, it is a sturdy garden performer and the species most typically found in floral arrangements.

Floral stems range in height from 2-4’, with the flowers beginning to open in late June.

‘Kobold’ is a compact form to 18” which is named after mythological house spirits in Germany, who were typically thought to resemble a small or ‘compact’ child! Another attractive species for the garden is Liatris pycnostachya, which is native to the Central and Southeastern portions of the US. Equally as hardy as L. spicata, this form sports longer flower stalks, growing to 5’ tall with bloom time

beginning in August. The species has slightly larger and more densely arranged flowers and leaves, which is reflected in the species epithet; pycnos is from the Greek meaning dense or thick and stachys means ear of grain, a reference to the similarity between the shape of the flower stem and an ear of wheat. Both of these species should not be used as a standalone in the garden, as the flowers often flop and the foliage begins to decline long before the gardening season is complete.

Rather, combine them with other flowers or grasses, such that the purple spikes extend above the neighboring plants, providing both support for the flower stem and concealment of the declining foliage. If it is a miniature you seek, consider Liatris microcephala.

The plant produces 2-3” tall mounds of grassy foliage, topped by 8” flower spikes in September, making it a great detail groundcover!

All Liatris prefer a sunny, well-drained yet humus rich garden location. However,

they are very adaptable and can tolerate periods of inundation and drought, looking most glamorous when combined with ornamental grasses or pink and yellow flowers. It is interesting how we owe a debt of gratitude to the florist industry – an industry that depends upon flowers that will fade within several weeks – to bring attention to this tough, long lived garden star!

Editor’s Note: Bruce, foremost a lover of plants since birth, is director of the Rutgers Gardens, an adjunct professor in Landscape Architecture at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, an instructor for Rutgers NJAES Office of Continuing and Professional Education and chairperson of the Garden State Gardens group. He is a member of the Garden Writer’s Association and the New York Hortus Club. He can be reached at (732) 932-8451. For more information, please visit www.rutgersgardens.rutgers.edu

Gardener News

June, 2013 11 Unique Plants

By Bob LaHoff Nursery Specialist

Garden Splendor® Whether you like it or not, we live in a branded society! Brands like Polo Ralph Lauren®, Gap®, Apple, Hellmann’s® Mayonnaise, Mercedes-Benz®, BMW and Rolex are all companies we can relate to. Their names alone conjure up thoughts of quality and trust. In the garden world Scotts® Lawn Care, Miracle-Gro®, Felco Pruners, Monrovia®, Proven Winners®, Endless Summer®Hydrangea and Knock Out® Family of Roses are most likely represented somewhere in your garden. Well, here’s a new name to be on the lookout for…. Garden Splendor®!

“Garden Splendor offers an extensive range of locally grown, premium quality outdoor garden plants. They are available through a network of garden centers located in the MidAtlantic and the Northeastern United States” (Facebook). Unlike any other plant program in our industry, Garden Splendor® offers the consumer tried and true varieties as well as new and exciting ones. Plants known for their superior attributes can be readily seen on Facebook and YouTube. Long-lasting color, improved foliage, thicker stems, better fruit, “hardier” plants and of course premium quality are all part of this program. Limited availability and unique appeal plants are offered here, too, and many come with “Remember-Me Markers.” Markers made of anodized aluminum, with the botanical name and common name inscribed, can be easily placed in the soil to remind you where a plant sits. Important reminders that will heed caution should you want to change the complexion of your garden in the early-spring before plants poke their heads through the mulch. Gardensplendor.com tells consumers where they can find exciting new plants! In addition, the site is a plant doctor, plant encyclopedia, has a gallery of plants, talks of special collections, shows what’s arriving each and every week at qualified garden centers and has fun and informative videos.

Nandina domestica “Tuscan Flame” has to be the first plant talked about here. An evergreen shrub that produces small, star-shaped white flowers in the middle of summer. More importantly, to me, its green foliage is marked by red new growth and it has red berries in the fall. A moderate grower, “Tuscan Flame” will ignite your winter landscape with its fiery-red foliage.

Deutzia elegantissima “Rosalind” is a deciduous shrub offering pink flowers in the earlysummer. A strong grower in semi-shade and direct sun, Deutzia has a tolerance for dry soil and have been reported to be quite deer resistant.

Gardenia “Crown Jewel” is a low-growing, prostrate gardenia with intensely fragrant, white, double flowers. Flowers that begin in the early-summer and repeat until frost, this gardenia appreciates light pruning after the first flush of flowers. This will encourage even more blossoms on a plant that flowers on new and old wood. Reaching only two to three feet tall, “Crown Jewel” has bright-green foliage and is hardy to zone 6… what more could you ask for?

Blue Titmouse Hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla “Blaumeise” has to be my new favorite hydrangea. This deciduous beauty reaches three to five feet tall and wide and its bloom time is June through August. PH-sensitive, blue (acid soils) and pink (alkaline soils), last summer I saw the most amazing purple-blue color on this variety in our garden center. Prune immediately after flowering to avoid harming the blooms for the following year. By reputation, this is one of the best of the blue lacecap hydrangeas (missouribotanicalgarden.org).

Pink Velour Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica “Pink Velour” is a smaller Crape only reaching eight to 10 feet. Fascinating velour-textured foliage, this “hardy” variety has deep wine-red leaves when they emerge and age to a dark purplish-green. Vibrant pink summer flowers, the Internet has reports of it blooming more than 120 days. An ideal accent shrub or small tree, “Pink Velour” can also make a nifty hedge. Expect fall color on the foliage to be a dark orange, too.

Finally, Sedum rupestre “Angelina”! This stonecrop takes my breath away with its intense yellow color. A low-growing, mat-forming sedum, “Angelina” grows just four inches tall and two feet wide. Yellow leaves and yellow flowers, this little gem does wonders in brightly colored pottery on your deck or patio. Expect reddish-orange markings on this evergreen type, too, in the colder months.

With Garden Splendor® it’s all about the magnificence of plants! Exciting selections that provide the perfect lure for capturing the interest of many. This wonderful collection of unique and colorful plants is quickly becoming the new standard in the horticultural world.

Promising performance, unique appeal, instant beauty and superior varieties, they all add adventure to your gardening, making these truly Plants Worth Remembering™.

Editor’s Note: Bob LaHoff is co-owner of Hall’s Garden Center and Florist in Union County, a member of the Union County Board of Agriculture, the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association, the American Boxwood Society, the European Boxwood Society, a members of the Reeves-Reed Arboretum Buildings and Grounds Committee, a lifetime member of the Conifer Society, a member of the NJ Plants Trade Show Advisory Board, and past member of the retail council for Monrovia Growers. He can be reached at (908) 665-0331.

12 June, 2013

Gardener News

When we think of pruning, we are often confused with an aerobic exercise. Proper horticultural pruning, while still physically taxing on us, can enhance the health and beauty of your plants. Improper and indiscriminant shearing of ornamentals can increase the incidence of disease problems and can make the plants more attractive to insects.

By horticultural pruning, we mean systematically reducing the height and girth of plants by removing branches through the use of hand pruning. This involves reaching into the plant and cutting back into the old wood, therefore reducing the size of the plant while keeping the natural shape and intended look of these ornamentals. Try to make cuts at a lateral stem or bud. This will eliminate long pieces of dead tissue, which are an open invitation for problems. Proper pruning to enhance the natural form of your plants will also make them more efficient water users. This is important at this time of year, as we are soon bound to go through some hot, dry weather. Too often, shears are used to shape ornamental shrubs into â&#x20AC;&#x153;snow cones and hockey pucks.â&#x20AC;? In this day and age, when people are looking to save money, the temptation may be to save money when

to do a little planning to get your pruning done at a more appropriate time.

There are certain practices which can help your plants withstand drought or the effects of heat in the summer, as well as the cold winter winds. Making sure your plants are well-irrigated prior to pruning, as well as after getting this work done, will ensure that the new growth is properly stimulated. A light fertilization on certain ornamentals and perennials especially will give them a boost just as they are putting on new growth. Avoid fertilizers heavy in Nitrogen, as this may over-stimulate new growth. Anti-dessicant sprays are also beneficial when applied after pruning as they will help the plants retain moisture as well as giving some protection to the foliage, which may be more exposed to sunlight as in the past.

Pruning, although seen as a daunting task, may actually be a therapeutic experience and, as such, beneficial to your health.

The Landscaper

By Evan Dickerson Landscape Professional

Pruning, Not an Arbitrary Term pruning and just quickly shear your shrubs. Although this may save time and money, it will cause irreparable harm to your plants, which will cost many times more than the labor savings will give you.

Timing can be important in your pruning as well. Generally speaking, if your pruning is done properly and you are maintaining the natural form of your plants, most can thrive with the job done yearly.

Ornamentals that bloom before the end of June should be pruned after flowering. This will encourage the setting of buds for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flowers as these buds form on this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth.

Some examples of these are: Amelanchier, Azalea, Barberry, Bittersweet, Crabapple, Dogwood varieties, Deutzia, Forsythia, Hawthorne, Laurel varieties, Lilac, Magnolia, Mockorange, Quince, Redbud, Rhododendron, Spirea, Viburnum, Wiegela and Wisteria.

There are other plants which flower after June. These varieties would be best served if pruned in winter or earlyspring before bud break, since these plants set up their flowers during the current spring season.

Examples of these plants are: Abelia, Aralia, Butterfly bush, Beautyberry, Golden Rain Tree, Hibiscus, Hydrnagea, Sweet Bay Magnolia, Stewartia and Snowberry.

Still other plants may actually benefit from light pruning before or after their blooming period and there may even be another bloom on some of these including: Cotoneaster varieties, Oregon grape holly, Red osier dogwood, Anthony Waterer and Froebel Spirea, Snowberry and Wiegela. Dead heading, removing old flowers and blossoms on perennials and ornamentals, can be done at this time as well. This will extend the blooming period on some plants and aid in the setup of flowers for next season on others.

Certainly, when plants are used as a screen or to border an area, and the intended look is a hedge, the gas or electric, even hand shears would be appropriate to use. However, when shearing, it is important to remember to keep the top of your hedges slightly thinner than the bottom. This will ensure fuller growth. As with all tools, pruning devices of all types must be kept razor sharp.

Not only will this make your job easier to accomplish, it will keep your cuts clean and even.

A good rule of thumb for any pruning is to get it accomplished at a time when the plant will recover the fastest. Usually this is during the summer months when new growth will be properly stimulated and this new succulent growth will be able to harden off enough to withstand the effects of winter. Even though there are times when fall pruning cannot be avoided, it is best

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: Evan Dickerson is owner of Dickerson Landscape Contractors and NaturesPro of North Plainfield. He has been pioneering the organic approach to plant health since 1972. Evan can be reached at 908-753-1490

Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences Will Represent New Jersey in National Contest 75(1721 1- Ę&#x160; 1HZ -HUVH\ 6HFUHWDU\ RI $JULFXOWXUH 'RXJODV + )LVKHU DQQRXQFHG RQ 0D\ IRU WKH IRXUWK \HDU LQ D URZ D WHDP RI KLJK VFKRRO students from the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences (MATES) in Manahawkin was the winner of the New Jersey Envirothon, held Saturday, May 4 at Girl Scout Camp Kettle Run in Medford.

The team, consisting of Emily Golembiski of Little Egg Harbor, Jillian Hubbard of Toms River, Gillian Schriever of West Creek, Michael Signorelli of Toms River and Megan Tumpey of Brick, will represent New Jersey in the 2013 North American Envirothon at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana in August.

The Ocean County students competed against 33 other teams on knowledge of natural resources-related topics, including soils, forestry, aquatics, wildlife ecology and a current environmental issue. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme was â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sustainable Rangeland Management: Achieving a Balance Between Traditional Agricultural Uses with Non-Agricultural Uses on Montana Rangelands.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;For 20 years, New Jersey high school students have had the opportunity to participate in this valuable competition and learn more about the environment, natural resources and science,â&#x20AC;? said Secretary Fisher. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope they take advantage of the skills they learned and consider careers in agriculture and natural resources-related fields.â&#x20AC;?

Each of the MATES team members received $1,000 scholarships from the New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts, $2,000 scholarships from Richard Stockton State College and $1,000 scholarships from Applied and Health Sciences at Kean University.

Two 5-member teams of MATES students competed in last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Envirothon with all but one of those students graduating. The two MATES teams placed first and second in 2012. An almost entirely new set of 10 students made up this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two teams. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am very proud of the hard work and dedication put forth by our members,â&#x20AC;? said MATES Advisor Adam Sprague. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was quite an accomplishment considering it was the first year competing for nine out of the 10 team members. We now turn our attention to Montana which offers an exciting variety of challenges in terms of preparation for our students.â&#x20AC;?

The second-place team in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Envirothon was West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North and third place was taken by High Tech High School, North Bergen.

The Envirothon is sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, State Soil Conservation Committee; New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts; the 15 Soil Conservation Districts; United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; and Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

The 15 Soil Conservation Districts in New Jersey follow county boundaries and implement the New Jersey Soil and Sediment Control Act, which governs certain aspects of new development. These semi-autonomous bodies are locally governed and play a strong role in the protection of New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural resources.

Gardener News

June, 2013 13

WE’VE GOT WOOD! 6WRYH :RRG &KLPLQHD :RRG )LUHSODFH :RRG 6PRNLQJ :RRG

Emergency Service

Residential Ground Grading Solutions Light Excavating Member of:

Design and installations new and older renovations 3HUHQQLDO URFN JDUGHQV %DFNKRH ZRUN :DWHU 'UDLQDJH SUREOHPV VROYHG 6WRQH ZRUN

732-668-2012 NJHIC# 13VH03659100

Serving Central New Jersey

ATTENTION GARDEN CENTER & NURSERY OWNERS: Want to sell

FLORIST

Lawn & Garden Products?

700 Springfield Avenue Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 Phone: (908) 665-0331 Fax: (908) 665-9804 email: hallsgarden@earthlink.net www.hallsgarden.com

In North Jersey Contact:

In South Jersey Contact:

Rich Imlay 908-216-8933

Steve Leyland 908-217-0682

Now accepting tree branches, limbs, trunks, brush and wood chips.

WE HAVE BULK COMPOST

311 Roycefield Road, Hillsborough (Just off Dukes Parkway West) Visit Our Showroom & Display Area

Shop Where The Landscape Professionals Shop

Brick Pavers Decorative Gravel Retaining Wall Block Limestone & Bluestone Fieldstone Mulches Top Soil Tool Rentals

New Start Soil Root Penetrator 1 Root Penetrator 2

Grass Seed Fertilizer Drainage Products Lawn & Garden Tools Landscape Lighting Masonry Supplies Playground Safety Surface

Bocci, Cricket, Horseshoe and Pond Clay.

Baseball Infield Mix

14 June, 2013

Gardener News

Gardener News

SOME GOOD

BUZZ

June, 2013 15

The 2013 New York State apple crop is on its way from blossom to awesome. Our growers are already seeing exceptional growth and great promise for 2013 in terms of quality and volume. After the challenges of 2012, it’s heartening to hear this “good buzz.”

With millions of local branches near you, New York apple growers are looking forward to harvesting a tasty crop of goodness this fall. We’re growing together and continuing to deliver on our fresher, faster commitment to you and your customers.

ABOUT THIS YEAR’S

NY APPLE CROP

Photos courtesy of Mark Seetin, US Apple Association

Scan here to go to our Shipper Directory

16 June, 2013

Gardener News

Saluting an exceptional produce store manager

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Kings Food Markets, a 25 retail store based chain in Parsippany, Morris County, New Jersey with stores in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, has a reason to celebrate. One of their associates has been nationally recognized.

Doug Groendyke, the produce manager for the King’s Food Markets, Gillette, New Jersey location, and who has worked at Kings for 25 ½ years, has been named as a 2013 Retail Produce Manager Award Winner from United Fresh. This is the first time ever that a Kings employee has taken home this award.

In San Diego at the United Fresh Annual Convention 2013, through the United Fresh Retail Produce Manager Awards Program, 25 top produce managers representing 21 supermarket banners, commissaries and independent retail stores in 16 states and Canada were honored during the Produce Celebration Dinner, Thursday, May 16, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego.

The awards program, in its ninth year, is sponsored by Ready Pac Foods and is presented through the Foundation’s Center for Leadership Excellence.

The awards pay special recognition to those on the front-line in supermarkets working every day to increase sales and consumption of fresh produce, according to a press release.

“The produce department is one of the most important customer touch points for the fresh produce industry and we are so fortunate to have these outstanding professionals positively representing our industry,” said United Fresh CEO Tom Stenzel. “Through their creative merchandising and innovative presentations, they are making fresh fruits and vegetables shine in their stores.”

“The professionalism and exceptional talent these retail managers have demonstrated deserves to be recognized and honored,” said Ready Pac’s President and CEO, Michael Solomon. “Ready Pac is proud to sponsor this program and offer our congratulations to these hard-working individuals and companies for their tireless promotion of the fresh produce industry”.

Criteria for the award nominations included commitment to customer satisfaction and promotion of fresh produce; innovative merchandising, special displays and sampling programs, such as participation in Fruits & Veggies: More Matters and MyPlate campaigns, commodity promotions and more; produce-related community service or outreach, such as adopt-a-school programs, school tours, community service projects and more; and recognition among company peers.

Winners were selected by a committee of produce marketing experts.

The Produce Retail Manager Award winners were also featured in a panel discussion on the United Fresh 2013 trade show floor in the Fresh Marketplace Learning Center.

United Fresh Produce Association is the industry’s leading trade association committed to driving the growth and success of produce companies and their partners. United Fresh represents the interests of member companies throughout the global, fresh produce supply chain, including family-owned, private and publicly traded businesses as well as regional, national and international companies. The association was founded in 1904 to represent the produce industry, and recently took the name United Fresh as a result of the 2006 merger of the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association and the International Fresh-Cut Produce Association.

Pictured from left to right are Donna Lewis, the Kings Gillette, New Jersey store manager; Judy Spires, president and CEO for Kings Food Markets; Doug Groendyke, award winner, and produce manager for Kings Gillette, New Jersey; and Paul Kneeland, a featured columnist for the Gardener News, who is also known as the King of Produce, and the vice president of floral, produce, meat and seafood for Kings Food Markets.

Gardener News

June, 2013 17

Recently we were invited to have dinner with our friends and their collegestudent children, who made a marvelous dinner from vegetables they grew in the garden and greenhouse at school; potatoes, rutabaga, squash, carrots, tomatoes, scallions, etc.

The vegetable that really stood out for me was the garlic!

I was told that garlic is very easy to grow in Maine and to check out the University of Maine Cooperative Extension website and it had all the information I needed. Homegrown garlic is far superior in flavor to what you can buy in the grocery store trust me. Garlic is very easy to grow, and planting it in October or early-November will ensure you a bountiful harvest in July. Given this advance notice, I am going to get everything ready and give it a try this fall.

There are basically two types of garlic used for culinary purposes: Hardnecks produce four to eight cloves per bulb, but they are huge in size. Softnecks produce smaller cloves but there are 12 to 20 per bulb.

wash before storage. Don’t wait until all the leaves have died-back or your bulbs will not store well. Cure the garlic for two weeks by hanging in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place, such as a barn or attic, or lay them on a sheet of cardboard in the garage.

Give bulbs a shake after two weeks of curing to remove more soil. Cut the stalks off hardneck varieties and store the bulbs in a cool dry place.

For softnecks, you can leave the stalks attached if you wish to braid and hang them for ease of use and aesthetics in the kitchen, or cut off the stalks and store them like the hardneck varieties. Save some of your biggest bulbs for planting the next fall.

You will enjoy this wicked tasty addition, to pretty much everything.

Thanks for reading and see ya next month.

Although I typically discuss landscape design and construction in my column, I am taking a slight detour to discuss something that has become an epidemic in the landscape industry. This is something that is literally killing your landscape and reducing the value of your property. So let’s consider this month’s column to be a landscape public service announcement.

Like so many other spring landscape rituals, such as liming your lawn without a soil test; doing a spring cleanup, blowing off every last piece of loose organic material off of your property at speeds of up to 100 mph or carelessly applying herbicides and pesticides to your property to insure a “healthy,” green and weedfree lawn because that’s what you’ve always done for the past 25 years, “over” mulching your trees is another bad investment that is highly detrimental to your landscape.

Now hang on a minute and put down your pitchfork. I didn’t say mulching was bad, I said “over mulching,” as in applying too much mulch to your trees. Or as we like to say in the industry, creating

The Miscellaneous Gardener

By Richard W. Perkins Freelance Writer

“Wow, Now That Was Sparky!”

Growing stock: My local organic grower has numerous kinds of garlic for around $9 a pound, and they said that I will get 10 pounds of garlic bulbs with that amount of stock. That is a lot of garlic.

Soil Preparation: Garlic is best grown in a well-drained soil, as it won’t tolerate wet feet and prefers soils high in organic matter. A raised bed would be an ideal location for growing garlic. Be sure to amend the soil with wellrotted manure or, preferably, quality compost. If possible, spread one-half to one inch of compost over the entire planting area and work it into the first few inches of soil.

As with most garden crops, garlic grows best when the soil pH is between 6 and 7. If you are not sure what your soil pH is, contact your

local Cooperative Extension County Office for a soil test.

There is still plenty of time to get a soil test done and work in the proper amount of lime if needed. If you amend the soil with manure or compost before planting, no further fertilizer is needed until spring.

Best Practices: Garlic should be planted between October 1 and November 15 to give the clove a chance to develop some roots before it goes dormant for the winter.

Separate cloves from the bulb and plant root side down (pointed side up) about two to four inches deep, six to eight inches apart in the row, and 12 to 18 inches between rows.

In mid- to late-November, when the ground begins to freeze, mulch the planting bed with six to 12 inches

of straw. This step insures the garlic won’t heave with the freezing and thawing of winter and will survive the cold temperatures. Pine needles are also a good source of mulch. In early-spring as the ground thaws, look for the green tips beginning to emerge underneath the straw.

When they emerge, pull the straw back, but leave it in place between the rows. It will serve to keep the weeds down and the water in. Fertilize in spring with a complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 (3 lbs. per 100 square feet), or an organic complete fertilizer at roughly twice the rate, since they usually contain half the nitrogen as chemical fertilizers. As half of the leaves begin to die back in July, harvest the garlic. Gently shake off the dirt, but do not

Creating Outdoor Spaces

By Jody Shilan, MLA Landscape Designer

Stop the Mulch Madness! a mulch volcano. If you’re a homeowner, think about it for a second and the concept will come to you. If you’re a grower, arborist or nurseryman, you can thank me later for blowing this case wide open and exposing this problem for what it truly is – tree abuse.

For those of you that still aren’t sure what I am talking about let me take a step back and explain. Mulch volcanoes are created when, year after year after year, mulch is applied to the base of a tree during our springtime ritual of mulching. Each year, you or your landscape contractor applies two to four inches of mulch in your beds and around the base of “stand alone” trees to freshen up your landscape.

To most people, applying mulch in the spring is similar to applying a fresh coat of

paint on your house. The problem is, that unlike paint, which is applied as a very thin coat once every seven to 10 years on a non-living material, mulch is laid down thick onto a living, breathing organism and covering more and more of the root flair each year, literally smothering it. The reason that we refer to these mulch aberrations as volcanoes is that when you look at the mulch bed from the side it has a trapezoidal shape that actually looks like a volcano, with the tree trunk rising from the center or “caldera.”

The more the tree is mulched, the steeper the sides of the volcano and the greater the risk to the tree. However, unlike a real volcano, where you have to concern yourself with magma and lava exploding in a dramatic eruption, mulch

volcanoes do their damage slowly and quietly as they ultimately suffocate the tree.

What can you do to save your trees and stop the mulch madness? Take a walk around your property (residential or commercial) and look for signs of volcanoes. Keep in mind that they can be quite high, engulfing a significant amount of the base of the trunk, or they can be flatter and less noticeable, but just as damaging to the tree.

A simple visual rule of thumb is if you cannot see the entire root flare, then your trees have too much mulch on them.

Most of the time you can just use a leaf rake and remove the excess mulch around and spread it elsewhere in your garden. If the tree has been over-mulched for many years, then there is a good chance a

Editors Note: Richard Perkins is an avid horticulturist, a member of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and the Seacoast Writers Association.

He can be reached at perkinsphoto7@aol.com matted layer has formed and you may need to use a metal rake to remove the excess. Use caution, however, because you can actually cause even more damage to the tree’s trunk and its root system if you are too aggressive.

Just to be safe, contact a professional arborist or certified tree expert and have your trees and property properly evaluated for signs of mulch-related stress or other potential issues. It will be money well spent.

Editors Note: Jody Shilan is the owner of Jody Shilan Designs in Wyckoff, where he provides landscape design and consulting services for homeowners and landscape contractors. He earned his bachelors degree in Landscape Architecture from Cook College, Rutgers University and his masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Currently, he is Executive Director of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA). He can be reached at 201-783-2844 or jshilan@gmail.com.

18 June, 2013

Gardener News

Everyone was eager to get their tomato garden started early in May. But good old Mother Nature hassled us this year with a few fluctuating temperatures.

This is why most garden retailers do not bring out there tomato crops until mid-May. And there’s always room for tomatoes in the garden.

Tomatoes are a warmerweather crop and cannot handle cold nights. That’s why it is recommended to wait to plant them outside around the second week of May. I’m sure most of you have planted your tomatoes by now.

And I hope you buried a large portion of the stem in the soil because the fine “hairs” lining the stem develop into roots when they come into contact with soil. If you did this, the size of the plant’s root system should double and it will encourage more-productive plants.

If you dug a deep hole or a shallow tunnel and planted your tomatoes sideways, not to worry, they will straighten up and grow toward the sun. Just give them some time.

After the ground has had a chance to warm up, carefully

a single leaf or shoot near the top of the plant. It will recover at night, when temperatures are cooler, but as it progresses, the entire plant will wilt and not recover. Watering does not make a difference. Lower leaves will turn yellow, often starting on only one side. As with the wilting, the yellowing will gradually move up the plant. If you cut open the stem length-wise, you will see dark brown streaks.

Rotating your tomato crop will help to control most of these diseases. If you lack space to do this, adding fresh soil to your tomato plot is the best method of counteracting rotation. Proper sanitation in the garden is also a must.

If any one of these diseases strike, make sure you properly identify it before applying any type of fungicide to your plants.

Tasty tomatoes are worth it!

The Professional Grower

By Tim Hionis Greenhouse Specialist

Mouth-watering goodness mulch them in. Mulching does conserve water and prevents the soil and soil-borne diseases from splashing up on the plants, but if you put it down too early, it will also shade and therefore cool the soil.

Be sure to pinch and remove suckers that develop in the crotch joint of two branches.

They won’t bear fruit and will take energy away from the rest of the plant.

Water them deeply and regularly while the plants are developing. Irregular watering can lead to blossom end rot and cracking.

The number-one question I hear all the time is on blossom end rot. This disease can be very damaging, with losses sometimes as high as 50 percent of the garden crop. Blossom end rot is what happens when the fruit starts to decay from the

bottom. It shows as a blackened spot on the bottom of the plant.

The reason is lack of calcium, as well as environmental stress on the plant. Make sure the soil pH is around 6.5. Testing your garden soil is very important.

Adding lime will help add calcium to the plant. By having the soil pH around 6.5, it allows the plant to absorb the nutrients that are in the soil. Look for fertilizers with calcium ingredients to use for them. This should be done early enough and not when the plant has fruits. Once blossom end rot is detected, it is too late to fix the issue. Fluctuation in soil moisture in the hot summer can stress plants and these diseases can develop. There is a delicate balance of providing water to plants.

Here are a few more diseases that might creep

Gardener News

is Now Accepting Nominations for its 2013 Person of the Year Award.

Do you know someone in the “Green Industry” whose contributions deserve recognition?

This person must be from the landscape, nursery, garden center or gardening industries who best epitomizes concern for, involvement in, and dedication to those pursuits.

Or a person who performs exemplary outstanding service to the green industry.

The deadline for receiving nominations for 2013 is November 1, 2013.

Gardener News annually bestows our “Person of the Year” Award in our January edition.

To download the form, visit www.GardenerNews.com and click on the “Person of the Year” link on the left side.

Thank you!

into the tomato garden when you’re not looking: Early Blight fungus: Dark spots with concentric rings develop on older leaves first. The surrounding leaf area may turn yellow. Affected leaves may die prematurely, exposing the fruits to sun scald. Gray Leaf Spot: Small, dark spots that can be seen on both the top and bottom surfaces of the leaves.

The spots enlarge and turn a grayish brown. Late blight: Greasy looking, irregularly shaped gray spots appear on leaves. A ring of white mold can develop around the spots, especially in wet weather. The spots eventually turn dry and papery. Fusarium wilt: A common vascular wilt fungal disease that usually attacks when the soil is too acidic (pH 5.0 - 5.6). Your plants will literally wilt. Often it starts with

Editor’s Note: Tim Hionis has been growing plants for over 20 years, and is co-owner of Hionis Greenhouses and Garden Center in Whitehouse Station, NJ. He can be reached by calling (908) 534-7710.

Gardener News

June, 2013 19

The Mediterranean Diet is derived from research about the longevity of the population along the Mediterranean Sea. The average life expectancy there is up to 15 years longer for women and eight years longer for men. Researchers connected their way of life and the diet they consume as a direct correlation.

The Mediterranean diet includes a heart-healthy combination of foods that are low in saturated fats, eating plant based foods, limiting red meat, eating more seafood, using less salt, replacing butter with oil, drinking red wine, and exercise. Sounds pretty easy? Just think a few changes here and there and you are around for that much longer, you are a much healthier person, and you feel pretty good.

There are medical benefits to the diet as you may have guessed. Research has shown a reduction in heart disease and a reduced instance of cardiovascular mortality. It also has shown that people who live this lifestyle had reduced instances of cancer and cancer mortality, as well as a reduced incidence

half your plate vegetables at meal time. There are many produce items that can be center-of-the-plate items. For example, to make a salad center of the plate, it should take up the entire plate. Any additions to the salad – grilled chicken or seafood would be complimentary. The balance is skewed and you are on your way to a healthier day.

The Mediterranean Diet should be seriously considered. It encourages all the right healthy items and the results are even better. Live longer and healthier. We live in a shore state – seafood is abundant, fresh fruits and vegetables abundant, no excuses!

I love to watch Home and Garden Television. It also is a great source of inspiration for plants to put in the garden, and they give great design ideas. Sometimes, though, a customer will come into our store and ask for a featured plant that they have seen on HGTV®. It may have been a plant that one of their hosts/ designers has seen at a local garden center, but it may not be commonly available.

HGTV® has now partnered with plant breeders, growers and garden centers to offer plants with superior genetics.

These plants have unique characteristics and thrive in a range of conditions. These plants will be seen on their shows in the future.

This is the first year for their shrub program and it will be available at a few garden centers this year. You can see pictures of these plants at www.hgtvhomeplants.com.

Hydrangeas have become a favorite plant in the garden.

There has been quite a bit of breeding in genus hydrangeas.

One of the most important qualities for a hydrangea to have is for it to be a repeat bloomer. Hydrangea macrophylla “Sweetheart Halo”™ is a fabulous new hydrangea that has a magical

Passionate About Produce

By Paul Kneeland The King of Produce

Passionate About Produce of Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Of course, there are a few intricacies of the diet.

Traditional Mediterranean fare includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, rice, pasta, bread, nuts and seafood. The wine-drinking part of the diet is completely discretionary, of course, and most medical professionals will advise you to limit the consumption of wine, five ounces for women and 10 ounces for men a day seem the norm. In addition, the breads are mainly whole grains, and the nuts are limited in quantity to a handful a day.

It is best to stay away from heavily salted or coated nuts.

The oil used to substitute for the butter is a primary source of fat in the diet.

Saturated and hydrogenated oils contribute to heart disease

and are not used. Olive oil is the primary oil in the diet, with the focus on extra virgin or virgin olive oil. Canola oil can also be substituted as the omega-3 in it helps improve blood vessels. The key is to use oils that are processed the least.

Since many people of the region are descendants of fishermen, it is absolutely normal for them to have seafood many times in a week.

The challenge for landlubbers would be to get yourself into a routine. Fridays were always fish night at my house growing up – just add one day to that and you are underway. There are many varieties of fish to eat so it makes it easier to enjoy multiple times a week.

You can go from a white fishbased to a red fish-based meal and have two different dining

experiences. On the off days, focus on plant-based meals and poultry rather than red meats. It is fine to enjoy a red meat meal on occasion, but reducing the frequency will help this diet succeed.

Fruits and vegetables are also a way of life in the Mediterranean. A typical person from Greece will consume more than nine servings a day of fruits and vegetables. If we increase our servings of vegetables by one or two a day, most Americans wouldn’t come close to this number. It is definitely a challenge, but with all the wonderful, beautiful, Jersey Fresh vegetables we have around in June, why not try?

Make fruit and vegetable consumption part of your daily routine. The big push in the United States is to make

The Great Plant Escape

By David Williams Plant Enthusiast

HGTV® Plants coming soon to a Garden Center Near You combination of bi-color flowers. Like other mop-head hydrangeas, the flower color will vary from pink to blue, depending upon the pH of the soil. Add aluminum sulfate to your soil to make it more acidic and promote more blue tones. Sweetheart Halo is a compact grower that will grow to three to four feet tall and will grow three to five feet wide. Plant it in a place where it gets at least four hours of sun daily. Sweetheart Halo starts blooming around Mother’s Day and will produce flowers throughout the summer.

Hydrangea paniculata “Sugar Puff”™ (also known as Hydrangea paniculata “Bombshell”) is one of the hardiest new hydrangea introductions. Sugar Puff is winter hardy to zone 3. This means that it can withstand a winter temperature of -30F. Beginning in late-spring,

Sugar Puff gets clouds of white flowers and it keeps producing flowers until frost.

The flowers open white with a pink eye and gradually turn rosy as the season progresses. Unlike other Hydrangea paniculata, Sugar Puff grows only to about three feet tall by three feet wide. Hydrangea paniculata flowers are also suitable for drying.

Hydrangea paniculata “White Embers”™ (also known as Hydrangea paniculata Wim’s Red) has great color-changing, cone-shaped flowers. Flowers open cream, mature to pink by mid-summer, and then once touched by cool fall nights, deepen to burgundy red in latesummer/fall. White Ember is a great plant to use as a backdrop. It flowers on the current year’s growth, so prune in the early spring.

Everyone loves butterflies.

There has been some incredible

breeding of butterfly bushes (Buddleia) by Peter Podaras of Cornell University. Two of these varieties are Buddleia “Lavender Petite”™ and Buddleia “Blueberry Petite” ™.

Lavender Petite, also known as Buddleia “Podaras #12,” is a ground-cover form of Buddleia that only grows 12 to 18 inches tall. It will spread two to three inches across. Buddleia “Blueberry Petite,” also known as Buddleia “Podaras #8” is a dwarf that only grows two to two-and-a0-half feet tall. It has bluish-purple flowers that will flower all summer. Buddleias perform best in full sun. They have a wonderful fragrance, so they should be planted near a window, porch or path so that you can enjoy the flowers.

They also will perform well in containers.

Weigelas are shrubs that have been in gardens since the 1800s. In the past several

Editor’s Note: Paul Kneeland is the Vice President of Floral, Meat, Produce and Seafood for Kings Food Markets, 1st Vice President of the Eastern Produce Council, and a newly elected board member of the Produce Marketing Association. He holds degrees in Business Management from Boston College as well as Northeastern University.

He can be reached at pkneeland@kingssm.com. years, there have been quite a few new varieties. Weigela “Burgundy Fire,”™ also known as Weigela “Wings of Fire,” provides seasonal interest from spring through fall. In the late-spring, fuchsiacolored, trumpet shaped flowers cover the plant. The leaves are born along the stems, looking like wings. They start the season with a faint flush of pink color, and then acquire red tones in the summer. Later in the summer, the leaves are fiery red, then finish the fall with a beautiful wine red hue.

Burgundy Fire is extremely easy to grow and does well in all types of soil. It grows approximately four feet tall.

Editor’s Note: David is a fourth generation partner at Williams Nursery in Westfield. He is a member of the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association, and the Union County Board of Agriculture. He has served as a board member for the Friends of Mindowaskin Park, the International Garden Center Association, and the Rutgers Board of Managers.

He recently finished a two year term as President of Garden Centers of America (GCA). He can be reached at (908) 232-4076.

20 June, 2013

Gardener News

It always seems as if there are a few different areas of agriculture that are generating some sort of controversy with the general public. Whether it is a food safety scare of some type, or perhaps an animal welfare issue, there always seems to be something for the media to latch onto and use to try to incite debate among (largely) unknowing consumers.

Lately, there has been quite a bit of discussion concerning genetically modified crops, or, as they are commonly referred to, GMOs. Loosely defined, GMOs are organisms which have been scientifically genetically modified for the purpose of adding or enhancing a certain trait in the organism.

These traits then â&#x20AC;&#x153;improveâ&#x20AC;? upon the original organism and give it advantages that it did not have before it was modified.

An example of a GMO that we will occasionally use on our farm is a certain type of sweet corn. This particular variety has been modified so that it repels worms, which would feed on the plant and then burrow into the ear, making it unmarketable.

Bacillus Thuringiensis or BT, is a naturally occurring type of bacteria that is found in the

option which can be used to benefit the environment. As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing, I could not have chosen a more counterproductive path.

I now regret it completely. So I guess youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be wonderingwhat happened between 1995 and now that made me not only change my mind but come here and admit it? Well the answer is fairly simple: I discovered science, and in the process I hope I became a better environmentalist.â&#x20AC;?

The Town Farmer

By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

GMO crops, the growing debate gut of certain caterpillar species that is toxic to several key worm pests of sweet corn but is extremely non-toxic to other organisms. Plant breeders were able to modify a variety of corn so that it actually produced this BT bacterium within the plant, thereby making it unattractive to these pests. This new trait has allowed growers to cut way back on the amount of insecticides that would normally be needed to successfully grow this crop and allows the crop to take care of itself naturally.

This technology has allowed us to successfully grow sweet corn later in the season with fewer chemicals, whereas in the past, pest pressure had been so high that we were not able to even grow it at all! By the way, this just happens to be the GMO product that I am the most familiar with, but there

are many other types of GMOs being utilized in agriculture.

So what is all of the fuss about?

You would think that a product like this would be embraced by the general population and by environmentalists in particular.

Instead, many environmental activists have thrown a blanket over all GMOs and labeled them as universally bad for society. It seems as if they feel that just because these products are new and utilize the latest technology that they must be inherently bad.

Recently however, it seems as if attitudes may be changing in regards to GMOs. A California ballot initiative was defeated that would have required specific labeling of all GMO food products. And why this might not seem so bad on the surface, the implied

perception would be that somehow food products that contain non-GMO ingredients are healthier or safer than their GMO counterparts, even though study after study has shown this not to be the case.

Also, earlier this year, a leading environmental activist who helped to found the anti-GMO movement did a complete 180-degree shift in his thinking and now extols the virtues of GMO products.

In an article on Slate.com

by Torie Bosch, Mark Lynas summed up the argument quite well when he was quoted as saying: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I apologize for having spent several years ripping up GM crops. I am also sorry that I helped to start the antiGM movementâ&#x20AC;Śand that I thereby assisted in demonizing an important technological

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: Peter Melick is co-owner of Melickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Town Farm in Oldwick and a 10th-generation New Jersey farmer. Peter is a current member of the Tewksbury Township Committee, and a former Mayor of Tewksbury Township. He also served as a director for the New Jersey Farm Bureau and is a past president of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture. Peter has also been featured on NJN, News 12 New Jersey and on the Fox Business Network.

Remove Standing Water on Property to Reduce Mosquito Population 75(1721 1- Ę&#x160; 7R SUHYHQW PRVTXLWRHV WKLV VXPPHU WKH 1HZ MHUVH\ 'HSDUWPHQWV RI +HDOWK DQG (QYLURQPHQWDO 3URWHFWLRQ DUH DVNLQJ KRPHRZQHUV EXVLQHVVHV DQG contractors working on rebuilding to drain sources of standing water outdoors and routinely check property for containers collecting water where mosquitoes can breed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While we typically donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t identify human illnesses from mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus (WNV) until late summer here in New Jersey, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never too early to drain sources of standing water and reduce the number of places mosquitoes can lay their eggs and breed,â&#x20AC;? said Health Commissioner Mary E. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dowd.

Last year, New Jersey had the largest amount of human cases on record in the state-48 human cases of WNV. Concerns are elevated this year because Superstorm Sandy has increased potential opportunities for mosquito breeding, which could increase the risk of mosquito-borne diseases, including WNV. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This season will be especially challenging because Superstorm Sandy has created new places for mosquitoes to breed such as wet debris piles and depressions left by fallen trees,â&#x20AC;? the Commissioner explained. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to remove or clean or repair anything that can collect rain or sprinkler water - such as debris, clogged or damaged gutters or old car tires.â&#x20AC;?

Steps that residents, business owners and contractors can take to reduce populations of the insect on their properties include: At least once or twice a week, empty water from flower pots, pet food and water dishes, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels, and cans; check for clogged rain gutters and clean them out; remove discarded tires, and other items that could collect water; and be sure to check for containers or trash in places that may be hard to see, such as under bushes or under your home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mosquito control agencies in coastal counties are doing their best to treat sources of standing water caused by Sandy,â&#x20AC;? said Claudia Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Malley, principal biologist in the DEPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Mosquito Control. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, many of these sources are in places that are hard to reach, such as marshes or coastal forests, so it is even more important that homeowners do their part to offset a potential increase in mosquito breeding. Look very carefully around your property for anything that could hold water in which mosquitos can lay eggs. If you are starting to rebuild, make sure standing water is not collecting on tarps or in any receptacles.

Additional tips on how to limit mosquitoes on your property include: Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers that have accumulated on your property; drill holes in the bottom and elevate recycling containers that are left outdoors; repair and clean storm-damaged roof gutters, particularly if the leaves from surrounding trees have a tendency to plug up the drains. Roof gutters are easily overlooked but can produce millions of mosquitoes each season; turn over plastic wading pools when not in use; turn over wheelbarrows and do not allow water to stagnate in bird baths; aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens are fashionable but become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate; clean and chlorinate swimming pools, including those that are not being used. A swimming pool that is left untended can produce enough mosquitoes to result in neighborhood-wide complaints. Be aware mosquitoes may even breed in the water that collects on pool covers; and repair and maintain barriers, such as window and door screens, to prevent mosquitoes from entering buildings. Barriers over rain barrels or cistern and septic pipes will deny female mosquitoes the opportunity to lay eggs on water.

If you have problems controlling mosquitoes, contact your county mosquito control agency by calling 1-888-NO-NJ WNV WNV is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. Symptoms of more serious illness include severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. The elderly and immune-compromised are at higher risk of more severe disease.

As part of surveillance activities, the Department of Healthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Public Health Environmental Laboratory this month began testing dead crows, blue jays and other select bird species, which serve as indicators of West Nile virus activity. Residents who encounter dead or ill birds should call their local health department for specific instructions for storage if the dead bird is suitable for testing. When handling a dead bird or animal for disposal, use gloves and carefully place the bird in double-plastic bags.

New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WNV surveillance, control, and prevention activities involve the coordinated efforts of a number of federal, state and local agencies. These include the Department of Health, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Mosquito Control Commission, the Rutgers Center for Vector Biology, and local health and mosquito control agencies.

For more information on WNV and New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to limit its impact, visit the Department of Healthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s West Nile web page at http://nj.gov/health/cd/westnile/ index.shtml, the Department of Environmental Protectionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s web page at http://www.nj.gov/dep/mosquito or call 1-888-NO-NJ WNV.

Gardener Gard rde dener er News Ne New wss

Juune, June, e, 2013 2201 013 21 21

IF YOU LOVE YOUR LAWN THEN LOVE YOUR SOIL! Improve your soil in order to improve your lawn!

Two products that help to create biologically healthy lawn soil:

Summer pests are coming!

Put Jonathan Green on your team to ďŹ ght them off!

Available at garden centers and hardware stores in your area.

CALL FOR FFREE ESTIMATE (866) 936-7007

Garden State

GARDEN STATE SAFE LAWNS PROUDLY GROWS

PARTNERED WITH

We grow b beautiful tiif l llawns using i a complete, l t responsible and integrated approach to lawn care.

Safe Lawns & Landscapes

TM

Family Owned and Operated License #99403A

www.GardenStateSafeLawns.com

22 June, 2013

Gardener News

Christie Administration Announces Recipients of Federal School Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Almost 76,000 Children Around the State to Benefit 75(1721 1- Ę&#x160; $V SDUW RI WKH &KULVWLH $GPLQLVWUDWLRQÂśV FRQWLQXLQJ HIIRUWV WR SURYLGH LPSURYHG QXWULWLRQDO RSSRUWXQLWLHV IRU VFKRRO FKLOGUHQ New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher announced on May 13 that 144 New Jersey schools will participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program for the 2013-2014 school year.

The United States Department of Agriculture has allocated $3,934,586 for New Jersey for next school yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which provides fresh produce to students during the school day, along with nutrition education. The goal of the program is to expose children to healthy foods, increase their fruit and vegetable consumption and set them on the road to improved lifelong dietary habits. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program gets kids excited about eating fresh produce,â&#x20AC;? said Secretary Fisher. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Participating schools have seen positive changes in the student population because of the program. We hope they will take these lessons and the good food habits with them into adulthood.â&#x20AC;?

Starting in September, the selected schools located in 14 New Jersey counties with almost 76,000 students, will begin to offer fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis free to students each week.

Some of the criteria used in selecting the schools to participate included: Elementary schools with 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced price meals; schools that planned to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables as much as possible; the program would be well-publicized and all students would have access to the produce offered; and plans to partner with outside organizations to enhance nutrition education.

The schools that will participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program for the 2013-2014 school year are: ATLANTIC COUNTY: Chelsea Heights School, Atlantic City; Martin Luther King School, Atlantic City; New York Avenue School, Atlantic City; Pennsylvania Avenue School, Atlantic City; Venice Park School, Atlantic City; Decatur Avenue Head Start, Pleasantville; Leeds Avenue School, Pleasantville; North Main Street School, Pleasantville; and Washington Avenue School, Pleasantville.

CAMDEN COUNTY: Davis Elementary School, Camden; Dudley Family School, Camden; Forest Hill School, Camden; HB Wilson Family School, Camden; John Greenleaf Whittier School, Camden; Sharp Elementary, Camden; Sumner Elementary, Camden; Yorkship Elementary School, Camden; Holy Name School, Camden; LEAP Academy University Charter School, Camden; Stem Elementary School, Camden; and Lindenwold School #4, Lindenwold.

CAPE MAY: Glenwood Avenue Elementary School, Wildwood; and Glenwood Avenue Annex School, Wildwood.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY: Broad Street School, Bridgeton; Buckshutem Road School, Bridgeton; Cherry Street School, Bridgeton; Foster Early Childhood Center, Bridgeton; Indian Avenue School, Bridgeton; Quarter Mile Lane School, Bridgeton; Haleyville-Mauricetown School, Commercial Township; Wood Elementary School, Millville; Silver Run Elementary School, Millville; Dane Barse School, Vineland; and Gloria M. Sabater Elementary School, Vineland.

ESSEX COUNTY: Althea Gibson Early Childhood Academy, East Orange; Benjamin Banneker Academy, East Orange; Cicely L. Tyson Elementary School, East Orange; Ecole Toussaint Louverture, East Orange; Edward T. Bowser School of Excellence, East Orange; Gordon Parks Academy, East Orange; George Washington Carver Institute, East Orange; Langston Hughes School of Publishing and Fine Arts, East Orange; Mildred Barry Garvin School, East Orange; Our Lady Help of Christians School, East Orange; Avon Avenue, Newark; Maria Varisco Rogers Charter School, Newark; Belmont-Runyon School, Newark; Bragaw Avenue School, Newark; Cleveland Elementary School, Newark; Dr. E. Alma Flagg, Newark; EEC West, Newark; First Avenue School, Newark; George W. Carver School, Newark; Harriet Tubman School, Newark; Louise A. Spencer School, Newark; Maple Avenue School, Newark; New Park Elementary School, Newark; Rafael Hernandez School, Newark; Ridge Street Early Childhood Center, Newark; Roberto Clemente School, Newark; Speedway Avenue School, Newark; Sussex Avenue Renew School, Newark; Newark Educators Community Charter School, Newark; Cleveland Street Elementary School, Orange; Forest Street Elementary School, Orange; Lincoln Avenue School, Orange; Oakwood Avenue Elementary School, Orange; Park Avenue Elementary School, Orange; Rosa Parks School, Orange; and Washington Elementary School, West Orange.

HUDSON COUNTY: East Newark Public School, East Newark; Charles DeFuccio School #39, Jersey City; Gladys Cannon Nunery School #29, Jersey City; Joseph Brensinger School #17, Jersey City; Jotham Wakeman School #6, Jersey City; Julia Barnes School #12, Jersey City; Ollie Culbreth Jr. School #14, Jersey City; Paul Rafalides School #33, Jersey City; Whitney Young School #15, Jersey City; Dr. Lena Edwards Academic Charter School, Jersey City; Colin Powell School, Union City; Jefferson School, Union City; Robert Waters School, Union City; Roosevelt School, Union City; Thomas A. Edison School, Union City; Veterans Memorial School, Union City; Washington School, Union City; Harry L. Bain Elementary School, West New York; Public School #1, West New York; Public School #3, West New York; Public School #5, and West New York; Public School #6, West New York.

MERCER COUNTY: Columbus Elementary School, Trenton; Monument Elementary School, Trenton; Mott Elementary School, Trenton; Stokes School Early Learning Center, Trenton; and Wilson Elementary School, Trenton.

MIDLESEX COUNTY: Chester Redshaw Elementary School, New Brunswick; Livingston School, New Brunswick; Lord Stirling School, New Brunswick; Paul Robeson Community School, New Brunswick; Roosevelt School, New Brunswick; and Anthony V. Ceres School, Perth Amboy.

MONMOUTH COUNTY: Thurgood Marshall School, Asbury Park; Audrey W. Clark School, Long Branch; and Morris Avenue School, Long Branch.

MORRIS COUNTY: East Dover Elementary School, Dover.

OCEAN COUNTY: Bnos Melech, Lakewood; Bnos Bina Girls School, Lakewood; Congregation Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon, Lakewood; Clifton Avenue Grade School, Lakewood; Ella G. Clarke Elementary School, Lakewood; LECC 1, 2 & 3, Lakewood; Oak Street School, Lakewood; and Spruce Street School, Lakewood.

PASSAIC COUNTY: School #12, Clifton; Daniel F. Ryan School #19, Passaic; Drago School #3, Passaic; Grant School #7, Passaic; Pulaski School #8, Passaic; School #5, Passaic; Norman S. Weir School, Paterson; School #2, Paterson; School #4, Paterson; School #8, Paterson; School #9, Paterson; School #15, Paterson; School #28, Paterson; Community Charter School of Paterson, Paterson; and Community Charter School of Paterson Kindergarten, Paterson.

SALEM COUNTY: John Fenwick School, Salem City UNION COUNTY: George Washington School #1, Elizabeth; Winfield Scott School #2, Elizabeth; Nicholas La Corte School #3, Elizabeth; Benjamin Franklin School #13, Elizabeth; Donald Stewart ECC #51, Elizabeth; Dr. Albert Einstein Academy, Elizabeth; John Marshall School #20, Elizabeth; Juan Pablo Duarte School #28, Elizabeth; Lafayette School #6, Elizabeth; Charles Stillman Elementary School, Plainfield; Emerson Elementary School, Plainfield; Jefferson Elementary School, Plainfield; Washington Community School, Plainfield; Woodland Elementary School, Plainfield; and Harrison Elementary School, Roselle.

Gardener News

June, 2013 23

Ahhhhhh, summertime is here once again. Although a lot has changed down here, a lot has also remained the same.

Looking out at the beach and the ocean, hearing the sound of the ice cream truck jingle, the smell of salt water and the hot sun beating down on us reminds us that summer is still wonderful here in the Garden State. For me, this time of year means work time. Cranking out as much great Jersey seafood and produce as I can and delivering the best possible meals to all of The Crab’s Claw customers. It always amazes me how fast summer flies by.

So get down here or out here or over here and enjoy the heck out of it before it passes you by.

Come help support and bring back the shore you know and love.

On to the recipe of the month. Blackened! A New Style method of preparing proteins, such as meat, fish, chicken, etc. This method of cooking was made famous years ago

by Chef Paul Prudhomme, using redfish. Apparently he couldn’t keep enough of it in the restaurant, it was selling so quickly. Eventually, other chefs began blackening all sorts of foods and the craze took off around the U.S. rapidly. The

nice crust on one side -turn carefully and repeat on second side until fish is firm and has a nice crust -serve with fresh salsa (recipe follows), beer, and lemon or lime wedges Fresh salsa (Pico de Gallo) 2 med to lg tomatoes 1 bunch of fresh cilantro 1/4 cup small diced onion 1 green bell pepper, seeded, ribs removed and diced small 1 ripe avocado, seeded, peeled and cut into small chunks juice of 1 lime salt and pepper to taste 1 tsp. light olive or vegetable oil *optional-add 1 seeded diced jalapeno or other hot pepper variety -mix together gently in bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Got earthworms… in your soil?

Earthworms are more than just fish bait. Have you noticed many earthworms in your property when you are raking the lawn or digging in landscape beds or your garden? If the answer is no, why not? Earthworms are a good measure of soil health.

We all know that healthy soil is important to grow a lawn or any crop. Just like the doctor takes a blood test to determine your health, next to a soil test, the amount of earthworms present in your soil is a great indicator of the health of your soil.

Remember ninth-grade Biology class when you had to dissect an earthworm?

It was a simple creature with a pretty boring life of consuming soil, having it pass through its long body like a snake with a mouse and then excreting it, but what a role the earthworm plays in your soil. Charles Darwin wrote, “It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a

From the Deep

By Craig Korb Executive Chef

Greetings from the amazing Jersey shore! original blackening process starts with coating the fish with a spice blend, consisting of spices such as cayenne pepper, paprika and garlic powder, to name but a few. Next, the fish, or other protein, is dipped in clarified butter, then completely covered in the spice mix. The fish is then placed in a cast-iron skillet, which has been heated to the point of molten lava.

The smoke that is produced by this is quite overwhelming if your house isn’t equipped with restaurant-style hood fans.

Therefore, we will be changing it up a bit by doing it outside on the grill. The fish is then turned over after it has been thoroughly seared or charred on one side and finished on the other side for just a minute or two more. The result is a spicy, crusty exterior with a nice soft, moist interior. The spices can be store-bought, or many people blend their own.

I recommend trying the preblended ones first. If you enjoy spicy foods, this is for you, my friends. It goes great with some fresh summer salsa, which somewhat cools it down. We are going to use a slightly different variation than the original.

And don’t worry if you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, any heavy-bottomed pan will work.

This is a great summer dish, especially because basically all of the ingredients for the fresh salsa, aside from avocado, can be garden grown in your backyard or picked up at any farmers market, produce stand or grocery store. Definitely try using different proteins for blackening. At the restaurant, we blacken almost everything, including fish, chicken, steak, scallops, shrimp and pork chops to name some. The fresh salsa goes with all of these as well. Good luck with this recipe and I look forward to

sharing another recipe for the grill next month.

Blackened swordfish steaks with fresh salsa (pico de gallo) serves 2 2 fresh swordfish steaks (tuna works fine also) about 8 oz. each 4-6 oz. blackening spice, enough to completely cover fish 1 oz. of light olive or vegetable oil 1 oz. butter Method -place cast iron skillet, or heavy-bottomed pan, on grill over high heat, let heat up for several minutes -meanwhile, generously coat fish with blackening spices on all sides -carefully place oil in skillet, followed by the butter -as soon as the butter is melted, add the fish -cook for approx. three to five minutes or until fish has a

Turf ‘s Up

By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

The not-so-lowly earthworm part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures.” It is the earthworm which continually renews and maintains the valuable top soil. All the waste products of life: the dead vegetation, the manure and the dead animal residues are the chief source of food for earthworms.

Plants cannot use this organic matter directly, so once the organic matter is digested, the earthworm releases the waste from their bodies as castings. Castings contain many nutrients that the plant can use. There are a number of lawn and garden fertilizers which contain worm castings.

The actual numbers of earthworms per acre will vary considerably, according

to the quantity of organic matter, humus, that is found in the soil. Darwin found concentrations of from 25,000 to 53,000 per acre.

It has been suggested that there could be eight million earthworms in a single acre, and that some of their burrows could penetrate to a depth of six feet. One can therefore imagine what a tremendous aeration function these creatures would have under these circumstances.

The extensive systems of tubes which they develop through the soil, helps the water penetrate to great depths, as well as giving passage to plant roots and air.

Sir Albert Howard described the earthworm as the gardener’s manure

factory. In the passage down the earthworm’s alimentary canal, the organic matter and the soil is neutralized by constant additions of carbonate of lime secreting from three pair of calciferous glands, near the earthworm’s gizzard. It is here that the matter is ground prior to digestion.

The worm castings contain everything that the plant needs in abundance.

Quoting Charles Darwin again, he wrote, “The whole of the superficial world over any expanse, has passed and will pass again every few years, through the bodies of worms.”

Lawn makers and gardeners should therefore encourage worms, because

Editor’s Note: Craig Korb is executive chef at The Crab’s Claw Inn, Lavallette, New Jersey. He has an Associates degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelors degree in Food Service Management from Johnson and Wales University.

For more information visit www.TheCrabsClaw.com or phone (732) 793-4447. they speed the breakdown of organic matter.

The use of organic fertilizers provides organic matter for earthworms to consume and will help to increase the earthworm population in your yard.

Earthworms have been around for a long time.

They are a critical part of the circle of life for animals and humans alike. They do not have lungs and must breathe through their skin. Their skin must be kept moist and they need to be in damp or moist soil. This explains why they come to the surface at night since the potential to “dry out” is minimal.

So please, when you see a bunch of earthworms on your driveway after a heavy rainfall, please sweep them back into the soil so they can continue their good work!

Editor’s Note: Todd Pretz is Vice President of Jonathan Green, a leading supplier of lawn and garden products in the northeast. For more information, please visit: www.jonathangreen.com

24 June, Juune, e, 2013 2013

Gardener Gard rde dener News Newss New

SERVING MERCER COUNTY AND GR REATER PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

Low Back Pain?

Neck Pain?

Extremity Pain?

MD, PHD, FAANS S, FACS Dr. Lipani is the founding Director of Prrinceton Neurological Surgery and Brain and Spine Radiosurgery Institute. A board certiďŹ ed, felloowshiptrained neurosurgeon and specialist in spinal surgery, using state of the art minimally invasive annd noninvasive techniques.

t )FSOJBUFE %JTDT t 4QJOBM 4UFOPTJT t 4QJOBM 5VNPST

8F UBLF QSJEF in treating every QBUJFOU MJLF GBNJMZ JMZ

2VBLFSCSJEHF 3PBE 4VJUF t )BNJMUPO /+ 1IPOF t 'BY

www.princetonneurologicalsurgery.com

HAMPTONS ESTATE

ÂŽ

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gourmet food for your gardenâ&#x20AC;?

& ! % ! "!%& ) & %& ' %! "$! ' &% ( +) $

Complete Planting Mix The Gardenerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice for planting annuals, perennials, vegetables, trees and shrubs

Full Premium Line , $! %% ! !&& * , & #' ' , $ ' , $ ' , $ ! , ! "!%& , $ ' ! "!%& , $ ' ! "!%& '$ , $ ' !"%!

Mark Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Angelo, Sales Representative Cell: (516) 315-6888 Email: mdangelo@licompost.com

Long Island Compost Corp.

100 Urban Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 Phone: (516) 334-6600 Fax: (516) 338-4773

www.LICompost.com

Gardener News

June, 2013 25 The Garden Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first gleaning of the season

635,1*),(/' 1- Ę&#x160; 1HZ -HUVH\ 6HFUHWDU\ RI $JULFXOWXUH 'RXJODV + )LVKHU RQ 0D\ SDUWLFLSDWHG LQ )DUPHUV $JDLQVW +XQJHUÂśV ILUVW JOHDQLQJ of the season, picking collard greens along with a group of volunteers at Specca Farms in Springfield Township, Burlington County. Secretary Fisher then continued on to Holy Cross Church of Christ in Trenton where the just-picked produce was delivered for distribution to those in need.

Farmers Against Hunger (FAH) received a $100,000 Gleaning Support Grant through the Department of Agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) to collect, distribute and administer its program. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is fun, but hard work to harvest vegetables and I commend all the volunteers who make it possible to connect our generous farmers with the people who are truly in need of this nutritious food,â&#x20AC;? said Secretary Fisher. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are so very proud of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farmers who donate their excess produce to help in the fight against hunger.â&#x20AC;?

Farmers Against Hunger serves 7,000 people weekly during the growing season through 70 organizations, including soup kitchens, food pantries and the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food banks. Farmers from all over the state participate by donating their surplus produce or allowing volunteers to come onto their IDUPV DQG JOHDQ Ę&#x160; RU SLFN Ę&#x160; H[FHVV SURGXFH ,Q )$+ UHFHLYHG DOPRVW PLOOLRQ SRXQGV RI IUXLWV DQG YHJHWDEOHV IURP IDUPHUV IRRG UHWDLOHUV and distributors.

Specca Farms has been involved with Farmers Against Hunger since the early 2000â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sell everything that we grow and it is a shame to see it go to waste when you know that someone would enjoy eating it who might not necessarily be able to buy it in a store,â&#x20AC;? said David Specca, who, along with his wife, sons and brothers, operate Specca Farms, which was started by his grandfather in 1956. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have been blessed with the farm and it is good to spread that blessing around to others who are less fortunate.â&#x20AC;?

Specca Farms consists of a 125-acre preserved tract and another 12 acres down the road. They grow a variety of ethnic vegetables, broccoli rabe, spinach, Swiss chard, beets, strawberries, peas, Fava beans, flat Italian beans, Regina beans, plum tomatoes, hot peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, collards, kale, escarole, romaine, red lettuce, parsnips and leeks. They sell their produce through pick-your-own on the weekends.

The collard greens picked today at the farm were taken to Holy Cross Church, one of Farmers Against Hungerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most active distribution sites.

FAH holds a weekly distribution of produce and other items at the church, where 10 other organizations with food pantries and soup kitchens come to pick up shares of produce. In addition, Holy Cross Church sets up a walk-up food distribution line where those in need can come to receive food.

More than 1,500 people are served weekly at the site. The distribution from the FAH truck starts at 3 p.m. and Holy Cross opens its line to the public around 3:45 p.m.

Kristina Guttadora, Farmers Against Hunger produce collection and distribution coordinator, said the Department of Agriculture gleaning grant enables FAH to not only operate but expand by adding an additional truck so that they can increase our collections and gleanings and continue accepting new recipient groups.

Gleaning Support Program grants must be used by the gleaning organizations for collection, distribution and administrative costs. The groups must distribute the gleaned New Jersey grown produce or non-farm nutrient dense rescued food gleaned from non-farm sources outside of the growing season only to New Jersey residents.

The funding for the grants comes from the State Food Purchase Program to be distributed quarterly to the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s six food banks to purchase healthy food, with a high priority on buying locally grown produce from New Jersey farmers. For more information on the SFPP, visit www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/fn/fooddistrib/foodpurchaseprogram.html.

New Jersey Floriculture Crops â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2012 Summary

Jersey Fresh in Canada

NJDA/Photo

Jersey Fresh was on display at the Canadian Produce Marketing Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (CPMA) 88th annual industry convention and trade show. Canada remains the New Jersey agricultural industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third-largest market, (NJ & Metro is first, followed by New England). Because New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growing season compliments the Canadian growing season, Jersey Fresh produce items are very popular in the Canadian marketplace. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture uses this venue to actively find marketing opportunities on behalf of New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farmers.

Al Murray, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, left, is visited by Ron Lemaire, president of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association in the Jersey Fresh trade show booth. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, the CPMA is a not-for-profit organization that represents companies that are active in the marketing of fresh fruits and fresh vegetables in Canada from the farm gate to the dinner plate.

The following floriculture statistics were compiled from interviews of all known growers of floriculture crops in New Jersey. Growers must have annual gross sales exceeding $10,000 of all floriculture crops to be included in the state tabulations.

Individual crop details, including quantity sold, price, and value, are summarized only from growers whose gross sales of floriculture crops are above $100,000.

Value of Production: New Jersey ranked seventh in the nation in expanded wholesale value of floriculture crops with a value of $183 million. The total crop wholesale value for all New Jersey growers with $100,000 or more in sales was estimated at $174 million up 3 percent from $169 million in 2011. These operations, which comprised 49 percent of all growers, accounted for 95 percent of the total value of floriculture crops. The expanded wholesale value of floriculture crops in the 15 major producing states totaled $3.99 billion for 2012, compared with $3.94 billion for 2011.

New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total bedding and garden plants sales, the largest contributor to total value of sales for growers with $100,000 or more in sales, were $111 million, an increase of 3 percent from a year earlier. Potted flowering plants were down slightly from 2011 at $25.5 million. The value of cut flowers increased by 6 percent to $13.4 million.

Number of Producers: The number of producers with sales over $10,000 in New Jersey totaled 299 in 2012, a decline of 8 percent when compared with 324 in 2011.

This followed the national trend of a 6 percent decline. The number of growers in New Jersey with sales of $100,000 or more decreased from 151 growers in 2011 to 146 growers in 2012.

Production Area: Total covered area for floriculture crop production in the Garden State in 2012 was 19.3 million square feet. Greenhouse space in New Jersey accounted for 98 percent of the total covered area with 18.9 million square feet.

Film plastic structures totaled 13.8 million square feet, glass greenhouses totaled 4.1 million square feet, fiberglass and other rigid plastic covers totaled 963 thousand square feet, and shade and temporary cover totaled 341 thousand square feet. Open ground usage totaled 1,670 acres.

Hired Workers: The 15 major producing states had 5,419 floriculture operations, and 4,184 of these operations hired workers. The average peak number of workers hired during the year was 19.0 workers. Operations with sales of $100,000 to $499,999 hired an average peak number of 9.6 workers, while operations with $500,000 or more sales hired an average of 57.3 workers.

For more information: www.nass.usda.gov/.

266 June, Ju e, 2013

Gardener Gard rde dener er News New Ne wss

NJ daylily garden named official display garden by American Hemerocallis Society 6287+$03721 1- Ę&#x160; :LWK D collection of over 1350 different varieties of daylilies, Falcon Turn Daylily Garden located in Southampton, NJ, has been named an official display garden for the American Hemerocallis Society (AHS), the national organization that promotes public interest and the development and improvement of daylilies.

The AHS has established display gardens to display the very best cultivars to the general public. Its purpose is to educate visitors about modern daylilies and how they can be used effectively in landscapes. Visitors to Falcon Turn Daylily Garden will have the opportunity to see a wide variety of daylilies in many colors, shapes and sizes from a number of different hybridizers, including seedlings.

All 1350 plants will be clearly labeled with the name of both the cultivar and the hybridizer.

There are 330 AHS Display Gardens throughout the United States and Canada.

Falcon Turn is one of only two display gardens located in New Jersey and will be open to the public on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Falcon Turn Daylily Garden is located at 34 Falcon Drive in Southampton, New Jersey.

For more information call (609) 330-2933.

+,//6%2528*+ 1- Ę&#x160; )UHVK -HUVH\ organic produce is coming into season; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so good and good for you! Okay - Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made the decision to eat healthier but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to start. Can what you eat really change how you feel? Do you need to know how to prepare or preserve fresh-picked food to maintain its taste and nutrient density? NOFA-NJ can help answer these questions and more! Join us at our Summer Food Symposium to delve into the world of organic cooking, eating, and living.

Four expert speakers will lead you on this daylong exploration of healthy food and fun as they show you how to make fresh locally grown food a part of your daily life. You will learn about the history and significance of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Organic Foodâ&#x20AC;? movement and why it is important to our environment and to you â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the consumer. Watch as fresh fruit and vegetables become nutritious, delicious and satisfying drinks, dishes, and snacks â&#x20AC;&#x201C; some to eat right away and some to save for later. Learn the basics of preserving seasonal fruits and vegetables to enjoy year around.

The program will be held on Friday, June 21st from 8:30 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4:30 pm at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ. Seats are limited and preregistration is required. Lunch is included in the ticket price. For more information and to register go online to: www.nofanj.org or call 908-371-1111.

Gardener News The Premier Gardening Monthly Newspaper Number 122 Published Monthly Contact Information Phone: 908.604.4444 Fax: 908.647.5459 Website: www.GardenerNews.com E-Mail: Mail@GardenerNews.com Staff Executive Editor/ Publisherr . . . .

Art Directorr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tom Castronovo Justin Kukuc Tom Castronovo

June Columnists Tom Castronovo T Todd Pretz T Evan Dickerson Richard Perkins Peter Melick k Jody Shilan Craig Korb

Douglas H. Fisher Tim Hionis Bob LaHoff Paul Kneeland Robert Andreucci David Williams Leslie Barlow

Contributing Writers Bruce Crawford Jeannie Geremia

RUTGERS COOPERATIVE R EXTENSION PHONE DIRECTORY R

Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (NOFA-NJ) Presenting a Day-Long Summer Food Symposium in June!

Union Co. Masterr Gardeners

Gardener News is published monthly by

Gardener Gard rde dener New News Ne News, ws, s, In s, Inc. c.

16 Mount Bethel Road #123 Warren, NJ 07059 Subscription Information Subscription: One year by mail $24.99 The Gardener News invites correspondences on gardening subjects of interest. Gardener News, Inc, and its Publisher reserve the right to accept, refuse, or discontinue any editorial or copy, and shall not be liable to anyone for printing errors, misinformation or omissions in editorial or copy. The information contained in articles herein represents the opinions of the authors and, although believed to be accurate and complete, is not represented or warranted by Gardener News, Inc. to be accurate or complete.

All advertising is subject to the Gardener News advertisement rates, and must be PAID IN FULL at time of submission. Publisher reserves the right at its absolute discretion, and at any time, to cancel any advertising order or reject any advertising copy whether or not the same has already been acknowledged and/or previously published. In the event of errors or omissions of any advertisement(s), the newspapers liability shall not exceed a refund of amounts paid for the advertisement.

NOTE: All editorial, advertising layouts and designs and portions of the same that are produced and published by Gardener News, Inc., are the sole property of Gardener News, Inc. and may not be reproduced in any form unless written authorization is obtained from the publisher. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to: Gardener News, 16 Mount Bethel Rd - #123, Warren, NJ 07059. (c) 2013 Gardener News, Inc.

Atlantic County Phone: 609-625-0056 Bergen County Phone: 201-336-6780 Burlington County Phone: 609-265-5050 Camden County Phone: 856 216 7130 Cape May County Phone: 609-465-5115 Cumberland County Phone: 856-451-2800 Essex County Phone: 973-228-2210 Gloucester County Phone: 856-307-6450 Hudson County Phone: 201-915-1399 Hunterdon County Phone: 908-788-1339 Mercer County Phone: 609-989-6830

Middlesex County Phone: 732-398-5260 Monmouth County Phone: 732-431-7261 Morris County Phone: 973-285-8300 Ocean County Phone:732-349-1246 Passaic County Phone: 973-305-5740 Salem County Phone: 856-769-0090 Somerset County Phone: 908-526-6293 Sussex County Phone: 973-948-3040 Union County Phone: 908-654-9854 Warren County Phone: 908-475-6505

STANLEY OSUR CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let Us Help You Growâ&#x20AC;?

973-423-4949

TO RESERVE AD SPACE IN GARDENER NEWS CALL: 908.604.4444 Computer Co omputer r Cons Consulting Services

Cust Solutions Custom for SSmall Business

FOR SALE

Compl Care IT Packages Complete Helpde Solutions Helpdesk Remote Remot Desktop Support Office to Internet Setup 908 908 908.756.4800 08.756.480 756 4800 Network Netwo N t Design & Installation sales@TeamCCS.net sa aales@TeamCCS les@TeamCCS.ne les@TeamCCS neet Remote RRemott Site & Home to Office Setup www.TeamCCS.net HIPAA Privacy Implementation

3 - 4â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Specimen American Boxwoods

Serving New York, New Jersey & Pennsylvania

973-865-6362

Computer Consulting Services of NJ, Inc.

Hidden Pond Hidd Po Farm F Farms armss Please ask for Chris

5($' 7+,6 3$3(5 21/,1( Â&#x2021; ::: *$5'(1(51(:6 &20 Full Moon,, June 23,, 2013

TIP OF THE MONTH

+DQJLQJ EDVNHWV E\ WKHLU YHU\ QDWXUH Ę&#x160; KDQJLQJ DQG H[SRVHG WR WKH HOHPHQWV SDUWLFXODUO\ ZLQG DQG VXQ Ę&#x160; tend to dry out a lot faster than you may think. Proper watering can keep them alive and thriving for the entire VXPPHU 7DNH LQWR DFFRXQW WKH ZHDWKHU Ę&#x160; VXQQ\ DQG ZLQG\ PHDQ GU\HU EDVNHWV 2Q D ZDUP VXPPHU GD\ \RX may have to water as much as two or three times. One way to know if your baskets are dry is to lift them up from the bottom of the container. Dry baskets will be very light weight and should be watered at once. You may also feel the soil to determine dryness. If the potting soil feels dry one inch below the soil surface, then it must be watered. When you water, be sure to water enough so that it drains out the drainage holes. If your hanging basket has dried out too much, then you will need to immerse it in a bucket of water to resoak the soil mix.

Gardener Gard Ga rde deneer News de Newss New

June, Ju e, 2013 201 013 27 27

A few extra inches of deck can save a lot of mowing time. That’s exactly what you get with Toro’s new TurfMaster™ 30 " commercial walk-behind mower. It covers more ground in less time than smaller models, yet it’s easy to handle. OUR TOUGHNESS IS YOUR STRENGTH.

© 2013 The Toro Company

toro.com

28 June, Ju e, 2013 013

Gardener Gard Ga rde deneer News de Newss New

From Local Farms To Our Markets In

24 Hours

From Local Harvests to Our Markets in 24 Hours At Kings Food Markets, we want to offer you the freshest, high quality produce available, that’s why we are proud to announce our Exclusive Local, Fresh 24/7 program. Fresh, local produce that’s harvested & delivered to Kings Food Markets within 24 hours.

Market selections will vary daily, so find out when your favorite summer produce will be delivered by joining our e-newsletter on our website or by following us on social media.

Connect with us. www.kingsfoodmarkets.com

Bedminster, Berkeley Heights, Bernardsville, Boonton, Chatham, Cresskill, Florham Park, Garwood, Hillsdale, Hoboken (2), Livingston, Maplewood, Mendham, Midland Park, Morristown, Ridgewood, Short Hills, Summit, Upper Montclair,Verona, Warren, Whitehouse Station, Garden City, NY