Gardener News June 2015

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Gardener News Serving the Agricultural, Gardening and Landscaping Communities

June, 2015

GARDENERNEWS.COM

TAKE ONE No. 146

Better Tasting Strawberry Developed at Rutgers

Peter Nitzsche/NJAES/Photo

The Rutgers Scarlet strawberry was developed to produce a more flavorful fruit with a better balance between sweetness and acidity.

By Andrea Alexander Contributing Writer The Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station has cracked the code to growing a better-tasting strawberry in New Jersey.

For years, many New Jersey farmers have been

growing strawberry plants bred for conditions in California. The plants produced fruit that could withstand being shipped across the country but were not well suited for cold Northeast winters. Another drawback was their taste.

“In developing something that will ship

well, sometimes you have a little loss of flavor,’’ said Bill Hlubik, professor and agricultural agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

“Our goal was to develop a sweet and juicy Jersey strawberry with exceptional flavor that would encourage more people to search it out and buy local,’’ Hlubik said.

He was part of a team of researchers that included a Rutgers food scientist, plant biologist and agricultural agents who worked together to develop and release the new “Rutgers Scarlet” strawberry.

At the request of the state’s farmers, the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment

Station (NJAES) embarked on a nearly 10-year project to develop a strawberry plant that would thrive in New Jersey’s seasonal swings between hot and cold and would also achieve a better balance between sweetness and acidity.

The Rutgers Scarlet strawberry (Cont. on Page 20)

2 June, 2015

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Gardener News

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Gardener News

June, 2015 3 Around The Garden

By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

Feeding annuals and spring bulb tips First and foremost, please wait to remove the foliage on your daffodils until their leaves have gone fully yellow. If you cut back daffodils before the leaves have turned yellow, the daffodil bulb will not produce a flower next year.

Also, don’t rubber band or braid the leaves. This can reduce the amount of sunlight they get and many hinder their growth.

I just had to vent about daffodils because I witnessed a landscape laborer cutting down lush green daffodil foliage with a gas-powered spin trimmer.

Moving on to annuals now.

Yes! You can still plant annuals in June.

It’s always best to plant annuals when the weather is calm, cool, and overcast. Plant them in the early morning or in the evening (not during the heat of the day) to reduce stress from the direct midday sun.

Water the beds and containers thoroughly before planting. Planting in dry soil will stress them out completely.

After planting, it is important to water them well. For the first couple of weeks or so, it is important to keep the soil moist, but not soaking wet. Keep in mind that many new plantings do not perform well or even die because they are either over- or under-watered.

The primary activities after planting should include feeding, deadheading, mulching and watering. $QQXDOV QHHG WKH ELJ WKUHH QXWULHQWV ĘŠ QLWURJHQ SKRVSKRURXV DQG SRWDVVLXP ĘŠ DORQJ ZLWK smaller amounts of secondary nutrients such as magnesium and calcium, and minute quantities of trace elements, including boron and iron.

Some annuals want more nutrients, especially if they are grown in pots. Every time water drains through the hole at the bottom of the container, nutrients in the soil are carried along with it, and they should be replaced. They will also leach more quickly through sandy soils (at the beach) than through the heavy, clay soils in North Jersey.

Water plants the day before you plan to fertilize. Carefully follow all the directions on the package and try to spread the fertilizer evenly. It’s always a good idea to water dry fertilizers after they are applied.

Don’t fertilize dry plants. Plants need water to move fertilizer nutrients to the roots and help them take these fertilizers up into the plant. Without adequate water, the plant roots that do contact the fertilizers may be burned, causing the roots to die.

I like to use Flower-toneÂŽ 3-4-5 Bloom Booster.

This is a premium flower food that is low in nitrogen and higher in phosphorous and potassium to maintain good plant growth and promote blooms rather than heavy foliage. Flower-tone’s natural organics breakdown gradually, providing a safe, long-lasting food reservoir activated throughout the growing season. Flower-tone’s all natural formula contains Bio-toneŽ, a proprietary blend of beneficial microbes.

Annual plants that are grown for their flowers need lots of phosphorus. That is the middle number in the fertilizer analysis. Phosphorus encourages blooming as well as strong roots and disease resistance.

Annuals grown for their foliage need less phosphorus and more nitrogen. Nitrogen is the first number in the fertilizer analysis and it encourages lots of leaf growth.

When growing annuals in containers, hanging baskets or window boxes, plant them in a light professional potting mix that will hold water more evenly while also allowing for proper drainage. Avoid using cheap “dollar-a-bag� soils.

Many annuals benefit from deadheading or removing faded flowers and dead flower heads.

Removing the faded flowers allows the plant to put its energy into making new flowers rather than making seeds. Not only does this practice promote more flowers, it creates a longer blooming period.

For optimum growth, annuals should receive approximately one inch of water per week, either by rainfall or through irrigation systems. When watering, it is important to thoroughly soak the soil and not just wet the surface. To prevent foliar diseases, avoid applying water to the foliage and flowers. Try and use a soaker hose or a drip irrigation system. If water is applied using sprinklers, run them in the early morning to allow the foliage to dry quickly.

I like to use a good organic mulch around my annuals, not a dyed mulch.

Thin, fine particles like compost or finely shredded bark are best applied at two inches deep around most plants. If you put down a thicker layer than that, you risk reducing oxygen to the roots.

If the particle size of your mulch is larger, like straw, pine needles, bark, or rock, they can be applied up to three inches. The larger spaces between the chunks allow more air and light in, so you will need a thicker layer for effective weed control, water conservation, and protection from temperature fluctuations.

When applying any kind of mulch, be careful to leave some space around the plant crown. If you pile any kind of mulch up against the crown, you will rot the plant out and it will die.

Please leave one to two inches of breathing room near the stem or base of the plant and you’ll be just fine.

I hope my annuals tips were enjoyable and helpful.

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.

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4 June, 2015

Gardener News

Spring is an extra-busy time for New Jersey farmers, with many crops coming to harvest, community farmers markets opening up all over the state, and the public starting to visit pick-your-own operations.

People are always drawn to our New Jersey farms. For some of them, there is a longing for this life of hard work, independence and personal satisfaction.

The 2012 U.S. Census of Agriculture shows the number of new farmers over the age of 35 is increasing nationwide. We at the Department of Agriculture have noticed people interested in entering the farming profession.

Many are leaving lucrative careers and starting from scratch with a few acres of land and a dream. Although it can be a back-breaking, demanding and 24/7 way of life, there are many benefits – being outside working the land, owning your own business and taking charge of your own day while serving the public.

While not an easy way of life, farming has great advantages. We have seen over and over again as we have travelled throughout the state that the opportunities are there to cultivate.

Kathleen Gagan was a linguist and international

Association of New Jersey offers programs and assistance to new farmers. The USDA offers the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program, which provides education, mentoring and technical assistance initiatives for new farmers. You could also contact your county Rutgers Cooperative Extension office for guidance.

Ensuring there will be a new generation of farmers is important to the continuation of agricultural production in the Garden State. There will always be great demand for farm products in New Jersey and new farmers with drive and determination can reap the benefits of the farming lifestyle as we grow into the future.

NJ Dept. of Agriculture

By Douglas H. Fisher Secretary of Agriculture

Encouraging New Farmers in the Garden State corporate communications consultant who started Peony’s Envy in Bernardsville, a peony nursery and display garden.

She now ships her peonies nationwide and is known throughout the country.

Scott Donnini left a job as a lawyer for the Philadelphia Stock Exchange to start Auburn Road Vineyard and Winery with his wife and a group of friends. They grow their own grapes, operate an Enotecha wine bar, and ship their wine to appreciative consumers.

There are many instances where farming is the chosen profession with young people who did not grow up on farms from day one.

Meredith Compton of Peaceful Valley Orchards in Pittstown is a first-generation farmer, who has a degree in agronomy and environmental science. She chose agriculture as her career.

Meredith was named 2013

New Jersey Outstanding Young Farmer.

Mitchell Jones is a firstgeneration farmer whose father worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. After graduating from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy, he rented small parcels of farmland. He expanded his rental properties and now owns a small farm.

Jones went on to be named 2014 New Jersey Outstanding Young Farmer and now serves on the State Board of Agriculture.

Aside from those new to farming, we are seeing a continuation of farming through the generations. Thirteenthgeneration farmer Jessica Niederer leases land from her family’s farm to operate a certified organic Chickadee Creek Farm in Pennington.

She sells her produce through

Look Who’s Reading the Gardener News!

It’s in the news

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Television stars Anson Williams, left, best known for playing Potsie Weber, and Don Most, best known for playing Ralph Malph, on the ABC sitcom “Happy Days,” look over the May Gardener News on a recent trip to the Garden State. “Happy Days” was one the one of the highest-rated shows of the 1970s.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and at farmers markets.

Sixth-generation farmer Nicole Ort Moke is Farm Market Manager of Ort Farms, LLC in Long Valley. She came back to the family farm after earning a degree in business management. The Ort Farm spans 400 acres and includes an on-site farm market, a CSA, fall agri-tourism with a corn maze, and they attend several community farmers markets.

Nicole just graduated from the New Jersey Agricultural Leadership Development Program.

There are many resources out there to assist in the quest to become a farmer. The State Agriculture Development Committee offers the Farm Link Program, which helps link new farmers to the resources they can use to find farmland.

The Northeast Organic Farming

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 News

June, 2015 5

40th anniversary

Rose Day Festival June 13, 2015 10am–3pm (Rain or Shine)

Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden

Colonial Park, Parking Lot A 156 Mettlers Road, Somerset (Franklin Township) This formal display garden features over 3,000 roses of 325 varieties.

10am-10:30am Guided tour of the Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden 11am-11:45am Marta McDowell, award winning historical garden writer, will lecture on “The Gardening Life of Beatrix Potter” 12pm-12:45pm Manfred Pollack, international fragrance expert, will lecture on “The Chemistry of Garden Fragrance” 1pm-3pm Musical performance by Some Like It Hot Jazz Club OTHER ACTIVITIES t Ongoing floral design demonstrations t Live children’s music by Music to My Ears (10:30am-12pm) t JJ the Balloon Guy (12:30pm-2:30pm) t Rose Plant Sale t Vendors, Artisans, Food Trucks and more….

Free Admission Sponsored by www.facebook.com/colonialparkSCPC

Recipe for Flavorful Tomatoes: Heat Before Chilling

By Dennis O'Brien Public Affairs Specialist A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) chemist in Florida has found a way to help tomato producers improve the taste of their tomatoes. The process is simple—just immerse them briefly in warm water to heat them.

Tomatoes are often picked green and then stored at low temperatures during and after transport to slow ripening. They are then ripened at about 68 °F before being placed on store shelves. That process makes them easier to ship and extends their shelf life. Jinhe Bai, who is with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Fort Pierce, wondered if the chilling was why “supermarket tomatoes” often taste bland. ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency.

Bai and his colleagues harvested 120 standard “Florida 47” variety tomatoes and subjected 30 tomatoes each to one of four treatments: applying heat only, chilling (to the industry standard of 41 °F), heating prior to chilling, and keeping them at room temperature (controls). For the heat treatment, the tomatoes were placed in 125 °F water for 5 minutes.

Like commercially produced tomatoes, tomatoes in the study were ripened at 68 °F after being exposed to the temperature treatments.

Samples of each group were cut and placed into sealed containers. The containers were opened less than an hour later, and the tomatoes were rated for flavor by 21 volunteers, based on the aromas released. The study was designed to evaluate fruit aroma so only the odors were assessed to eliminate bias from taste and “mouth feel.” The researchers also used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify levels of 12 key volatile aroma compounds known to give tomatoes their flavor.

The results show that applying the heat treatment to mature green tomatoes, before they are chilled and shipped, stemmed the loss of several flavor volatiles known to give fruity and floral scents to foods as diverse as citrus and saffron. The heated-then-chilled tomatoes also had more flavor volatiles than the tomatoes that were only chilled: 14 out of 21 panelists could detect more tomato aroma.

It doesn’t help to heat and chill a ripe tomato purchased off a store shelf, Bai says. The heating and chilling process should be applied when the tomatoes are still green. But the treatment does benefit tomatoes that are first beginning to turn red, which is known as their “breaker stage.”

Editor’s Note: Dennis O’Brien works for the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

He can be reached at (301) 504-1624 or by emailing dennis.obrien@ars.usda.gov

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6 June, 2015

RUTGERS NJAES/RCE

Sneak Peak at OCPE’s Intro to Food Science Short Course: “Why Use Food Color?”

Every August, over 60 food industry professionals from all over the U.S. and abroad converge on the Cook campus with a common goal: to attend the Introduction to Food Science short course offered by the Office of Continuing Professional Education (OCPE) where they learn both the fundamentals and emerging technologies of food science. In a jam-packed five days – starting with a networking dinner and culminating with a tour of the Rutgers Sensory Evaluation lab – participants experience topics like food chemistry, nutrition, microbiology, color, sensory evaluation, and food engineering, all presented by top researchers, faculty and industry experts. It is one of six food industry training courses offered each year by OCPE. Learn more at http://www.cpe.rutgers.edu/courses/ current/lf0201ca.html

Barbara O’Neill Wins Two Personal Finance Awards and is Honored During Teacher Appreciation Week May 4–8 In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4–8) and National Teacher Day (May 5), Barbara O’Neill, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management, was featured by Next Gen Personal Finance, an educational non-profit striving to improve financial literacy.

O’Neill recently won two awards in Next Gen Personal Finance’s First Annual Financial Literacy Month Contest. She was one of five winners in the “Best Personal Finance Resource” College category where she had her students analyze the popular TV series Shark Tank as a tool to teach them about entrepreneurship.

She also won in the “Best Personal Finance Activity” category, which featured original activities that were creative, taught key personal finance skills and provided supporting resources for educators to easily implement the activities in the classroom.

Hutcheson Memorial Forest Tour “From Field to Forest Succession at HMF” Trips leave from the entrance of the woods at 2150 Amwell Road (Route 514) about 3/4 mile east of East Millstone, New Jersey. The trail through the woods may be muddy in places except in dry weather, so persons should come prepared. The trip through the woods takes between an hour and two hours.

Sunday, June 14, 2015 2:00 PM 2150 Amwell Road Somerset, NJ Speaker: Max Piana Sponsor: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources Web Site: http://hmf.rutgers.edu/ Contact Marsha Morin Email: mmorin@aesop.rutgers.edu Contact Phone: (848) 932-3213

Gardener News

From the Director’s Desk

Rutgers Outreach Provided by Larry S. Katz, Ph.D. Sr. Associate Director

Rutgers NJAES Releases New Strawberry Variety Bred for New Jersey The season for strawberries in New Jersey is short but sweet – lasting from late-May to mid-June.

With a year-round supply of supermarket strawberries from California and Florida, New Jersey’s strawberry season goes by hardly noticed, except by locavores and fans of pick-your-own.

While not quite scarce, the commercial production of Jersey strawberries has decreased to the point where New Jersey agricultural statistics are no longer kept for this crop, since production fell below 300 acres in 2007. It may surprise some people, but New Jersey was once a major producer of strawberries. In fact, wild strawberries were so abundant that commercial cultivation didn’t begin until around 1820, with farmers around Hackensack shipping berries by wagon and sailing vessel to New York City. New Jersey strawberry production flourished even when the introduction of refrigerated railroad enabled commercial production to spread to the southern states in the mid-1800s. New Jersey strawberry cultivation acreage continued to increase and gradually shifted to South Jersey. In the 1860s, Burlington County had the most strawberry acreage of any county in the U.S. Before 1858, nearly all strawberries on the American market were selections made in Europe from the North American wild strawberry, which was favored over European varieties. For the past 200 years, many Americans, including strawberry growers themselves, have tried through repeated crossings to get more productive, more disease-resistant, better-tasting and larger-fruited strawberries.

While research at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) dates back to 1870 for strawberry fertilization, irrigation, insects and variety trials, strawberry breeding didn’t begin at Rutgers until around the late-1920s. The first Rutgers strawberries were released in the spring of 1930. Some of the noteworthy strawberries bred at Rutgers NJAES include “Sparkle,” which was introduced in 1942. It continued as a leading late-season cultivar in the U.S. for many decades and is still available today as an heirloom strawberry. Like many old-time cultivars, Sparkle has great flavor and high yields but the size of the berry was considered small compared to newer varieties, hence it was favored by small commercial growers who catered to local tastes.

Another important Rutgers variety, “Jerseybelle,” was introduced in 1955 and quickly became the leading variety in New Jersey because of its attractive color, high gloss and large size. In 1963, Jerseybelle constituted 60 percent of the acreage under strawberry cultivation. In 1968, the “Raritan” strawberry was released. It was considered productive with the fine taste of an heirloom strawberry and with small berries. However, the Raritan plants were susceptible to a range of diseases and this strawberry is no longer available.

In the 21st Century, strawberry production in New Jersey is a fraction of what it used to be. Competition from growers in other states that provide a year-round supply of inexpensive strawberries is a detriment to New Jersey commercial growers. These strawberries are shipping varieties often picked before they are fully ripe and often lead consumers to believe that “strawberries don’t taste like they used to.”

Small-fruit growers throughout New Jersey have expressed interest in the development of a better tasting strawberry for their direct market operations, and Rutgers professor emeritus Dr. Gojko Jelenkovic had been working to meet this desire. For over 35 years using traditional breeding techniques, Dr. Jelenkovic worked on improving strawberry yield, resistance to diseases, and, most importantly, fruit quality and flavor. This work was followed by extensive testing of Dr. Jelenkovic’s strawberry selections by Rutgers Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agents Bill Hlubik and Peter Nitzsche in field trials at NJAES, observational trials at conventional and organic farms, and in flavor evaluations by consumer taste panels. In 2014, three new Rutgers strawberry cultivars were submitted for patent protection.

This year, the first new strawberry release is available to growers and gardeners on a limited basis.

The cultivar “Rutgers Scarlet”™ has been propagated by Nourse Farms, Inc. and dormant plants are being sold in trial quantities to farmers this spring. Kube Pak Corp. will be selling plug plants of “Rutgers Scarlet”TM to farmers in late summer and fall of 2015. Rutgers Scarlet™ can be grown in both plasticulture and matted row production or on a smaller scale by home gardeners. Rutgers Scarlet™ has exhibited good production, but its most distinguishing characteristic is exceptional fruit flavor. This new cultivar has the potential to increase strawberry production by eastern U.S. growers, especially of local farms with direct markets, while their customers will benefit from the availability of high-quality fruit.

While New Jersey gardeners had a limited opportunity to purchase this brand new strawberry variety for their gardens this season through Rutgers plant sales in May, the plan is to make Rutgers Scarlet™ strawberry plants more widely available to gardeners and farmers in 2016.

Editor’s Note: Larry S. Katz, Ph.D. is Director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE), Senior Associate Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and a Professor of Animal Science. RCE delivers wide-ranging educational programs in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, urban and community outreach, youth development, food, nutrition and health, and related areas of economic and workforce development across New Jersey. Dr. Katz can be reached at 848-932-3591. Visit: http://njaes.rutgers.edu/extension/

Gardener News

June, 2015 7

What do local, locally grown, and locally produced mean?

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AVAILABLE AT Edgewood Pharmacy 62 B Mountain Blvd. Warren, NJ (Next to Kings Food Markets) 908-754-4400 www.EdgewoodPharmacy.com Wow! I am not sure what weather we will be facing when you read this article, because this spring has been a real rollercoaster.

The seasons seem to run together after 30-plus years in the lawn business, but this year stands out as a doozy!

A neighbor of mine mowed his lawn in lateApril over the weekend and I drove to work on that chilly Monday morning. I had to stop back to my house around 2 p.m. that day and dandelions where flourishing on his lawn!

I went back to work, returning home around 6 p.m. and the dandelions had disappeared, where did they go? This past spring, we have experienced cold, rainy and hot weather all jumbled up in a few weeks or days at a time. This has created real havoc with our lawn program plans.

First of all, this spring there was no definite time to apply crabgrass preventers.

Some feel that it is proper to apply crabgrass preventer when the forsythia blooms, others waited for a non-

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture is proposing new rules to set forth definitions, the standard for classification, and the penalties for mislabeling or otherwise misidentifying farm products sold in New Jersey as “local” (N.J.A.C. 2:71-10). Based on review of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food program information, there is no national definition of “local,” “locally grown,” or “locally produced” for farm products, such as fruits, vegetables, milk, and cheese. As a result, farm products that are grown and/or produced some significant distance away can still be labeled and marketed in New Jersey as “local” with no other information about the origin of the farm products. To better inform New Jersey consumers and furnish assistance to the public with reference to buying farm products, the Department is proposing a classification standard of “local” or variations of the word “local.” The identification of “local” farm products will help to avoid consumer confusion about the source of “local” farm products they find available in the Garden State.

In addition, the proposed new rules will allow farmers to compete effectively in the Garden State’s “local” market. In accordance with this proposal, to be labeled, marketed, or identified for sale in New Jersey as local, farm products must be grown or produced in New Jersey or must be clearly identified as grown or produced in another locality and another state when that other state is not New Jersey (local to Anytown, Anystate.) The proposed new rules do not exclude any producers, growers, or marketers of farm products from offering their products for sale in New Jersey. The proposed new rules only affect the use of the classification standard “local,” “locally grown,” and “locally produced” to describe farm products sold in New Jersey.

Written comments must be submitted by July 3, 2015 to Alfred W. Murray, Assistant Secretary/Division Director, Dept. of Agriculture, P.O. Box 330, Trenton, NJ 08625-0330; or by e-mailing them to: proposedrulesMarkets@ag.state.nj.us.

Turf ‘s Up

By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

Mother Nature, you messed up my lawn plan! rainy weekend and got delayed even cleaning up their yard from winter debris. Then we had a warm spell and dandelions and other broadleaf weeds started to pop out of the ground. Mother Nature, you threw a real curveball at us!

Enough complaining; what can we do with our lawns now? I’ll assume you have fed your lawn at least once this spring. Now it is time to apply a traditional lawn fertilizer as a follow up to your spring feeding.

You might want to consider an organic lawn fertilizer to take your lawn through the summer months. As summer weather warms up, monitor your lawn for insect pests. Ants, fleas, chinch bugs and ticks start to become very active

in warmer weather.

If insects are a problem, use products labeled for the target insect and refer to the product label for timing of applications. You can apply a preventative grub treatment around the first official day of summer in order to help reduce new baby grubs from emerging in August.

If hot, dry weather comes along, look for signs of stress in your lawn.

Water when necessary to apply about one inch of water weekly from rainfall or irrigation; do not water every day for 15 minutes!

Raise your mowing height to keep more leaf tissue and moisture in your grass blades to help your lawn survive summer stress. If fungus has been a problem

in prior years, consider a preventative fungicide treatment if hot, dry weather is in the forecast.

I can understand that this was not the spring that allowed you to follow a stepapplication process easily.

Therefore, remember at this point that it is more important to go with the flow of each growing season and the weather patterns to establish what applications are best for your lawn. Just like a doctor who diagnoses each person differently, each lawn has its own personality. A great lawn is not as simple as 1-2-3-4!

Have you addressed your soil this year? I’m not talking about your vegetable garden. I mean your lawn soil! Have you tested your soil? What….no? How

many times have I asked you to do this? Shame on you! One of the first basic tests a doctor performs is a blood test to see what’s wrong with your health.

The same goes for your lawn’s soil health. Soil pH and overall soil quality is critical for vigorous lawn growth. Lawns like a pH between 6.0 and 6.8. Even a soil pH of 6.0 wastes up to 20 percent of all lawn fertilizer applications.

Remember, we are not growing blueberries that like acidic soil. Remember to add calcium carbonatebased products to raise soil pH to desirable levels to grow grass.

I’m sorry that Mother Nature took a bad rap in this article, but she is not always kind to us; remember last winter’s snowstorms? The good news is summer is upon us… so enjoy!

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

8 June, 2015

Gardener News

Gardener News The state of California is far and away the top producer of fruits, nuts and vegetables in the United States.

From avocados to almonds, California leads the way when compared to all of the other states in the union.

A great deal has been made over the past couple years over the ongoing drought in California. And as the drought has intensified, the coverage of it in the media has rightly increased. The drought is a very serious situation that is having widespread effects on not just California, but the country as a whole. But along with all of this coverage, there have been some misconceptions that have been spread, as well as some gross oversimplifications that have been made, particularly about agriculture, that deserve to be addressed.

One comment that I have heard a few times is that many of the crops that are grown in California should just be grown elsewhere, where there is enough water to support them. That may be very easy to say and on its surface it may seem like a plausible alternative, but let’s look at some of the underlying

June, 2015 9 The Town Farmer

By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

The California Situation reasons why these crops are being grown in California in the first place. First of all, it is California’s arid climate that makes it so easy to grow crops. For a large portion of the agricultural regions of the state, there is some rainfall during the winter months, and then months of beautiful sunny days stretched out one right after another. Just like in a Steinbeck novel, day after day after beautiful day, the growing season advances forward in a very grower-friendly and predictable manner. Seemingly endless sunlight combines with fertile soil to provide twothirds of the three-legged stool that all of agriculture rests on.

Of course, that other leg of the stool is water. And when a grower can accurately control when to turn the water on, and more importantly, when to turn

it off, it makes the growing of fruits and vegetables that much easier. Instead of having to wait until the condition of the soil is just right like we do here in the Eastern United States, growers in California can plan months in advance when they will be able to plant.

They also do not have to worry about the disease pressure that occurs here in the East that is primarily due to excessive or even just normal amounts of rainfall. Here in New Jersey, we might have as much as three weeks’ difference from year to year on when we are able to plant in the spring.

And as all of you are well aware, we can get slammed at just about any time during the growing season with torrential downpours that might deliver three or more inches of rain in just a couple of hours. These

are severely limiting factors that help to dictate what we can and cannot grow here in the Garden State and the absence of these events in California has helped to foster a hugely successful agricultural industry.

With this successful industry being located in California, many support industries have grown up around it as well. There are numerous prosperous businesses in the areas of packaging, transportation, processing and produce handling that would not be able to just pick up and move to another region of the country.

The long growing season that is prevalent in many areas of California allows for a wide variety of crops to be grown there that literally cannot be grown anywhere else in the country.

But, of course, this plethora of production absolutely and positively hinges upon the availability of water. And right now, there is just not that much of it available. In the short term, growers are shifting water away from lower-value commodity crops and continuing to drill deeper and deeper wells to make up for the shortfall in rain and snow.

I have always envied California growers for their near-perfect growing conditions. But now, I am thankful to be farming here in New Jersey!

Editor’s Note: Peter Melick is co-owner of Melick’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.

Underused Native Plant: Barren Strawberry

By Kathleen Salisbury For those of us in New Jersey, June = Strawberries. The delicious fruits we eat fresh or slice into shortcakes are hybrids of horticultural origin, but one of their parents just happens to be North American native Virginia Strawberry Fragaria virginiana. Native to the entire country except Hawaii, this herbaceous perennial looks a lot like the familiar fruit plants gracing our gardens today.

This four- to seven-inch herbaceous perennial is listed in Weeds of the Northeast by RH Uva. Though it is a native, it can become a nuisance in turf, preferring open fields to shaded woodlands.

Despite disease resistance and hardiness, we do not cultivate this groundcover for fruit because the fruits are tiny compared to those we raise in our gardens or buy at the farmer’s market. This plant will tolerate a variety of soils and exposures including barren and nutrient-poor soils.

Wild Strawberry has a high ecological value for wildlife. According to Illinois Wildflowers, the berries are a food source for many upland gamebirds and songbirds, including Brown Thrashers, Eastern Towhees and American Robins. Skunks, opossums, chipmunks, squirrels and turtles also eat the fruits, spreading seeds to new locations as they enjoy and digest the bright red delicacy. The early-spring flowers attract a wide variety of pollinators and the leaves support a vast array of insects.

Wild, or Virginia, Strawberry may have a place in your landscape where a ground cover is needed and has room to roam. Another plant you may consider for your landscape, which certainly is not used enough, is the Barren Strawberry Waldsteinia fragarioides.

Barren Strawberry is a slow-growing evergreen groundcover. It tolerates a wide variety of soil types and full sun to part shade but seems to do best in humusy, slightly acidic soils. Instead of

the traditional white flowers we are used to seeing on strawberry plants, Waldsteinia sports waxy, buttercup-like yellow five-petaled flowers in April and May. The fruit is also different on this plant.

No turtle-attracting bright red fruits here, only a non-fleshy, non-edible achene of two to six dry seeds. Sometimes confused with Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex), Barren Strawberry can be distinguished by the fact that Barren Strawberry, spreading with underground rhizomes, does not have above-ground runners, while the Common Cinquefoil does.

Not to be confused with Wild Strawberry, Barren Strawberry is most likely to occur in woodlands, while Wild Strawberry occurs in open fields. Barren Strawberry is evergreen; Wild Strawberry is deciduous and dormant in the heat of the summer.

Barren Strawberry spreads by underground rhizomes while the Wild Strawberry spreads, as our edible strawberries do, through above ground runners.

In addition to its use as a groundcover in perennial gardens, you may want to consider Barren Strawberry for plantings in places where grass won’t grow. Many of us have that area between trees and lawn where nothing will seem to grow – this is the plant for that transitional area. Less robust in the heat of summer, Barren Strawberry seems to be particularly happy in the cool summer shade of stands of evergreens or canopy trees.

Forming mats to six inches tall as it spreads, this diseaseresistant native also has no problem with deer or salt.

Barren Strawberry may thrive in your garden given the right conditions and time to spread. However, it is threatened in its native environment in many states due to habitat destruction.

Of the 25 states and three provinces in its native region of the eastern U.S. and Canada, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire all list this plant as threatened, endangered or of special

concern in their state. Threats to the success of this species include logging, clearcutting, habitat fragmentation, road and trail construction, flooding, construction, invasive plant competition and quarrying.

As we head into summer and start thinking of harvesting our garden crops, starting with those sweet ripe berries, don’t forget about the possibility of including some native Strawberries, both barren and fruiting, in your landscape.

Adding this diversity of strawberries into your landscape will fill culinary, landscape and ecological needs.

Editor’s Note: Kathy Salisbury is a Horticulture Educator and the President of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey (NPSNJ). The NPSNJ is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting the appreciation, protection and study of NJ’s native flora. To learn more about the Native Plant Society please visit www.npsnj.org or contact Kathy directly at president@npsnj.org.

10 June, 2015

Gardener News

16 New Lettuce Breeding Lines Developed

By Sharon Durham Public Affairs Specialist U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in California have developed 16 new lettuce breeding lines.

Lettuce production in the United States is concentrated mostly in California and Arizona, where it is grown year-round.

Salinas, California, in fact, is often referred to as “the salad bowl of the nation.”

In field, greenhouse and laboratory experiments, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticists Ivan Simko, Ryan Hayes, and Beiquan Mou, and plant pathologist Carolee T. Bull, all in the Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit in Salinas, California, developed and tested the performance and resistance of the new lettuce breeding lines. These lines, now available to plant breeders, include 6 icebergs, 4 romaines, and 6 leaf lettuces. The Salinas researchers collaborated with Yaguang (Sunny) Luo, a research food technologist at the Food Quality Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, for testing of the lines, including postharvest evaluations of lettuce quality; size and shape of the heads; size, shape, and texture of the leaves; and core length.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief intramural scientific research agency.

The research group’s goal is to develop and release lettuce lines with combined resistance to pests and diseases and with as many different traits as possible

that are advantageous to producers and consumers. Of the six iceberg lettuce lines, five are suitable for salad-blend and whole-head markets, according to Simko. The one iceberg line not suitable for these markets can instead be used in breeding programs as a donor of genes for resistance to downy mildew, bacterial leaf spot and Verticillium wilt.

According to Simko, two of the romaine lettuce lines are appropriate for salad-blend, spring-mix and whole-head production. One of the other lines can’t be used for fresh-cut products because it decays rapidly after processing, but it is suitable for the wholehead market. Each of these three breeding lines has resistance to dieback, a plant disease to which most of the currently grown romaine cultivars are susceptible.

Each of the six leaf-lettuce breeding lines is acceptable for commercial production as a salad blend or spring mix. Three could also be used for whole-plant production, and two lines demonstrated very high field resistance to downy mildew, according to Simko.

This research was also supported by the California Leafy Greens Research Program and the California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

Limited samples of the lettuce seeds are available for distribution to those interested in conducting research or commercial production.

Editor’s Note: Sharon Durham works for the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

She can be reached at (301) 504-1611 or by emailing Sharon.Durham@ars.usda.gov

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Announces Grant Funds to Promote Soil Health and Encourage Crop Yields State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced an opportunity for Soil and Water Conservation Districts across New York State to address soil quality in their counties, and develop initiatives that will encourage greater crop yields and protect water resources from pollution. Counties can apply for grant funds of up to $25,000 per District for these plans through the Ecosystem Based Management Soil Health Mini Grants program.

“The United Nations has named this year the International Year of Soils, providing the opportunity to increase awareness of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions in New York State,” said Commissioner Ball. “As a farmer, I understand the need to maintain healthy soils, and I encourage our Soil and Water Conservation Districts to take advantage of the available funding for the sustainable management and protection of this natural resource.”

Soil quality has become a leading concern for the agriculture industry on a national level. Healthy soils hold the potential to produce greater crop yields while protecting water resources from polluted runoff. In addition, crops growing in healthy soils require less fertilizer and are better able to withstand both floods and droughts.

Through the Soil Health Mini Grants program, local Soil and Water Conservation Districts can develop their own programs to increase the adoption of healthy soil practices. These programs can range from soil health testing to farmer equipment loan programs. The Soil Health Mini Grants are designed to allow the flexibility needed to establish programs that will have long-term residual impacts on the adoption of soil health practices.

Improving soil health can be accomplished by reducing tillage and keeping a living crop on the field all year. Farmers interested in soil health should contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District to learn about the many opportunities available to improve soil quality in New York at http://www.nys-soilandwater.org/ contacts/county_offices. html.

Applicants can apply for the Ecosystem Based Management Soil Health Mini Grants program through the NYS Grants Gateway at https://grantsgateway.ny.gov/ IntelliGrants_NYSGG/login2. aspx. The deadline to apply is June 15, 2015. Funds are being made available from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.

Source: National Association of State Departments of Agriculture

The Lure of Nectar!

For gardeners, providing plants to feed our native pollinators has become a major mission. Interestingly, not all of our pollinator plants play nicely with their visiting guests. The genus Aesclepias, commonly called Milkweed or Butterfly Weed, is renowned for helping insects, but it also possesses a hidden dark side.

Aesclepias is a member of the subfamily Asclepiadoideae or Milkweed Family, whose members characteristically have a milky latex sap that contains alkaloids. Alkaloids are very bitter to the taste and can be “beneficial,”, as in the case of caffeine, or deadly, as with strychnine. Of the many milkweed species available to New Jersey gardeners, Aesclepias tuberosa and Aesclepias incarnata are two native species that have risen to gardening stardom. Native to sun-baked, drier locations, Aesclepias tuberosa grows to 18 inches tall and produces very

bold and brassy orange flowers from late-May into June. It is certainly quite the eye catcher!

The species epithet of tuberosa refers to the enlarged tuberous root that allows the plant to survive prolonged periods of drought. The root also contains poisonous cardiac glycosides.

Interestingly, if taken in appropriate dosages, the Native American Indians found that chewing the roots served as a cure for pulmonary ailments and pleurisy (an inflammation of the tissues surrounding the lungs). It was from its reputation to heal that Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) named this genus after the Greek god of healing, Asclepios.

Aesclepias incarnata, or Swamp Milkweed, reaches a more robust height of 30 inches and is another very garden-worthy plant. As the common name infers, it prefers moister soil conditions and the flower color is a soft pink.

In fact, the species epithet is from the Latin Carn, meaning flesh and Atus, meaning like, referring to the resemblance of the flower color to flesh.

Both of these species are known for attracting numerous types of pollinators, including Swallowtail and Monarch Butterflies, native bees as well as honeybees and hawk moths. However, their ability to attract great quantities of native pollinators is where our hero reveals its dark side!

Aesclepias flowers appear in dome shaped clusters called an umbel. Each fragrant flower is about a quarter inch in diameter, with upwards of 70 flowers in an umbel. Each flower has five reflexed petals that subtend an associated cup or hood, which holds copious amounts of alluring nectar. The center of the flower contains a central stigmatic disc that is tightly surrounded by anthers.

Unique is the method of pollen transfer, since the pollen is not present as free grains, but is stored in large quantities within a golden colored satchel called a pollinium. Although only one pollinium resides within a given anther, they are actually arranged in pairs, with two adjacent anthers and pollinium connected by

a strong filament. Centrally located along this filament is a relatively large, sticky ball called a corpusculum, giving the whole assembly the resemblance of a saddle bag.

In between the nectarcontaining hoods of the flower is a slit in the central corona, with the globe shaped corpusculum visible at the very top of the slit. The concept is for the visiting pollinator to insert its leg into the slit and to pull forth the pollinium laden saddlebag as it moves about the flower. This process is enhanced by the horn-shaped appendages that curve inward above the hoods. As the insect perches on this horn to sip the nectar, its leg slips from the horn and through the slit, becoming glued to the corpusculum in the process.

With great effort, the insect pulls the two pollinium from their anthers and transfers it to another flower, reversing the process, and the plant is pollinated.

Unfortunately, some pollinators fail to have the strength needed to pull forth

their saddlebag laden leg, perishing on the flower after a final sip of nectar.

Come autumn, the process of pollination culminates in three-inch-long, horn-shaped seed pods. Each pod releases ample quantities of seed with parachute-like appendages, allowing them to freely float to new homes. Seemingly a touch Femme Fatale, Aesclepias is a plant that neither gardener nor pollinator can live without!

Editor’s Note: Bruce Crawford is a lover of plants since birth; is the managing director of the Rutgers Gardens, a 180-acre outdoor teaching classroom, horticultural research facility and arboretum; an adjunct professor in Landscape Architecture at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; regularly participates in the Rutgers – Continuing Education Program; and the immediate pastpresident of the Garden State Gardens Consortium. He can be reached at (732) 932-8451. For more information, please visit www.rutgersgardens.rutgers.edu

Gardener News

June, 2015 11

The snow in the shaded gullies of the back trees has finally melted. Along the edge of the swamp is a huge, thick stand of forsythia that has finally come into bright yellow bloom after the very harsh winter we had.

Eleven and a half feet of snow, to be exact, from November to April.

Underneath the forsythia is a thick underbrush of grasses that is also starting to make its comeback. The swamp follows a small stream behind all the neighbors and then goes under the street though a big culvert into the woods that are quite expansive – thousands of acres.

The five-foot diameter culvert aids a lot of critters coming from the woods into our backyards to eat pretty much everything, especially if it is a herd of deer and the flowers are budding. I

never let go of the piece of chicken in his mouth as he was dragged the few yards and disappeared beneath the forsythia.

I am not sure if they could smell me or not, but one thing is sure, they smelled that freshly cooked chicken and hamburger from a long way off. My Steiner Commander binoculars were great. Unfortunately, I did not get off one shot with the Nikon D5200 but I would have needed a bigger lens anyway. Two other friends of mine also have fox families in their backyards.

I have lived here a very long time and this is my first fox family and my other friends as well.

Interesting, to say the least.

The Miscellaneous Gardener

By Richard W. Perkins Freelance Writer

Guess Who Has Come Home To Dinner asked my neighbor, who also fed the turkeys last winter with 50-pound sacks of corn meal, if she had the same amount of red squirrels, grey squirrels and chipmunks that seemed to have disappeared from my acreage this late spring. She said oh yes, just as crazy as ever, if not more so.

I started to wonder if my backyard buddies had moved up the hill to their house. I still had a plentiful supply of birds hitting all my feeders but no squirrels or chipmunks. So, this

weekend, I opened up and cleaned out the little kid house I built years ago and set up shop with binoculars and camera. The little house is halfway between the main house and the swamp.

At dusk, I put a wooden tray out with an ample supply of cooked chicken and hamburger on it and waited.

Well, it didn’t take long, maybe an hour and, voila, out from the underbrush popped a mom red fox and five kits! They were all grey but I am guessing that is for camouflage to protect

them while they are young.

Mom had to snap and growl at the kits for rushing too fast to the tray thinking that it might be a trap, I surmised.

Surprisingly, they held back until Mom sniffed the chicken and hamburger, tasted it and then the whole family chowed down, grabbing chunks and running back to the protection of the trees, with one big fluffy guy brazenly eating out in the open until Mom grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and took him into hiding. He

Editors Note: Check out Richard’s photography at; rwperkinsphotography.com

2015 Agricultural Plastics Recycling Program Now Underway 75(1721 1 - ĘŠ 1HZ -HUVH\ 6HFUHWDU\ RI $JULFXOWXUH NLFNHG RII WKH SODVWLF SHVWLFLGH FRQWDLQHU UHF\FOLQJ SURJUDP RQ )ULGD\ 0D\ DW the Cumberland Solid Waste Complex in Deerfield Township, Cumberland County. The facility is one of six sites around the state that will accept the cleaned containers from now through November. There is no cost for the program.

Secretary Fisher viewed a drop off of a load of containers and the process that occurred during and after a drop off. The Department of Agriculture operates the program, in partnership with the Cumberland County Improvement Authority.

The state has had a plastic pesticide container recycling program for the last 20 years, with the Department of Agriculture leading the initiative since 2002. The program is open to all New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection-(DEP)-licensed pesticide applicators. The DEP issues participants one-core credit toward their NJDEP pesticide license. Participation also keeps these plastics out of landfills and reduces disposal costs.

One of the Best Fields for New College Graduates? Agriculture :$6+,1*721 ' & ĘŠ $JULFXOWXUH 6HFUHWDU\ 7RP 9LOVDFN DQQRXQFHG D QHZ UHSRUW RQ 0D\ VKRZLQJ WUHPHQGRXV GHPDQG IRU UHFHQW college graduates with a degree in agricultural programs with an estimated 57,900 high-skilled job openings annually in the food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environment fields in the United States. According to an employment outlook report released today by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Purdue University, there is an average of 35,400 new U.S. graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher in agriculture related fields, 22,500 short of the jobs available annually. “There is incredible opportunity for highly-skilled jobs in agriculture,â€? said Secretary Vilsack. “Those receiving degrees in agricultural fields can expect to have ample career opportunities. Not only will those who study agriculture be likely to get well-paying jobs upon graduation, they will also have the satisfaction of working in a field that addresses some of the world’s most pressing challenges. These jobs will only become more important as we continue to develop solutions to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050.â€?

The report projects almost half of the job opportunities will be in management and business. Another 27 percent will be in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. Jobs in food and biomaterials production will make up 15 percent, and 12 percent of the openings will be in education, communication, and governmental services. The report also shows that women make up more than half of the food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environment higher education graduates in the United States.

Other highlights of the report include: ‡ :KLOH PRVW HPSOR\HUV SUHIHU WR KLUH JUDGXDWHV RI IRRG DJULFXOWXUH UHQHZDEOH QDWXUDO UHVRXUFHV DQG HQYLURQPHQW SURJUDPV JUDGXDWHV IURP WKHVH programs only fill about 60 percent of the expected annual openings. Even as enrollments in these programs increase and the job market becomes somewhat more competitive, good employment opportunities for the next five years are expected. ‡ *URZWK LQ MRE RSSRUWXQLWLHV ZLOO EH XQHYHQ (PSOR\HUV LQ VRPH DUHDV ZLOO VWUXJJOH WR ILQG HQRXJK JUDGXDWHV WR ILOO MREV ,Q D IHZ DUHDV HPSOR\HUV will find an oversupply of job seekers. ‡ ([SHFW WR VHH D VWURQJ HPSOR\PHQW PDUNHW IRU H FRPPHUFH PDQDJHUV DQG PDUNHWLQJ DJHQWV HFRV\VWHP PDQDJHUV DJULFXOWXUDO VFLHQFH DQG EXVLQHVV educators, crop advisors, and pest control specialists. ‡ -RE RSSRUWXQLWLHV LQ 67(0 DUHDV DUH H[SHFWHG WR JURZ ([SHFW WKH VWURQJHVW MRE PDUNHW IRU SODQW VFLHQWLVWV IRRG VFLHQWLVWV VXVWDLQDEOH ELRPDWHULDOV specialists, water resources scientists and engineers, precision agriculture specialists, and veterinarians.

The report, Employment Opportunities for College Graduates in Food, Agriculture, Renewable Natural Resources, and the Environment, United States, 2015–2020 , is the eighth in a series of five-year projections initiated by USDA in 1980. The report was produced by Purdue University with grant support from NIFA.

12 June, 2015

Gardener News

So to follow through on that thought, what does our landscape, yard, garden or outdoor living space do for us? Could it be that our weekends are taken up by outdoor chores? Do we get our cardio work by running after the lawnmower, our strength training lugging materials or our weekly dose of vitamin D soaking up the sun on a beautiful day? I would endorse the services of your local landscape professional to give you an opportunity to free up some spare time. They are available to help with the heavy lifting and technical aspects of your landscape care.

In the past, we have talked about lowmaintenance landscapes that use alternative gardens, rain gardens, wildflower areas and native plants that can naturalize certain parts of our properties. These methods cut down on the labor-intensive aspects of landscape maintenance.

Putting in sitting areas in obscure areas of our landscape invites us to spend some time in the garden

plants to create privacy or screening and even create a statuesque look for one of your larger ornamentals in the center or even the front of the bed. Actual sculpture can be added as well. This can all be created with the help of your local landscape professional or designer.

To summarize, our landscapes can be a source of enjoyment, a calming influence as well as energizing. Creating a therapeutic garden can be as simple as a bench with some fragrant flower pots or as complicated as a reflecting pool with a patio and a set of table and chairs for entertaining.

All of these possibilities will reward us with nourishment for our souls, and all coming from nature and our own consciousness.

If it seems like your landscape contractors are getting started late this year, I have some news for you. They are. So if your spring cleanup hasn’t been done yet or your new patio that was supposed to be completed by now wasn’t even started, there are three very good reasons for this.

Here in New Jersey, landscape contractors base their businesses on a 40-week season starting around March 15 and ending about December 15. The remaining 12 weeks are dedicated to snow and ice management (aka snow plowing). The first three and a half months are commonly referred to in the industry as the “100 hundred days of hell.” The reason for this is that there is so much work that needs to be done in a very short time frame so that properties look great in the spring and everything is finished just in time for summer. However, like taxes, most people wait until the last minute to call a landscape contractor. Usually after they hear a bird chirp, see a daffodil or after two days in a row of 60-degree weather.

The business of landscape is both seasonal and weather

The Landscaper

By Evan Dickerson Landscape Professional

Sometimes We Don’t Think Enough, Or Is It Too Much? that doesn’t leave us tired and sweaty. Just the simple act of planning a garden in our landscape can be a therapeutic event.

When planning a space in the garden, use plants that evoke emotions or recall memories. The color, scent and texture of plants can remind us of past events, as well as help us reflect on past relationships. I have a particular connection to geraniums as the look and smell remind me of happy summers spent in Normandy Beach. Amazing how something as simple as that can trigger those happy reminiscences.

So how do we make this happen in our yards? If we put aside the excuses of space, time or proficiency, it can be done. I would encourage

you to take a chair out into the yard and sit in several areas to just reflect or read a chapter in your favorite book. What emotions do you have as you move through the landscape? Take into account the exposure. Is the area sunny, shady or a mix of these which would be perfect?

Now that we have an idea about what area our therapeutic garden will inhabit, we should take a ride to the greenhouse and nursery. I would suggest trying to pay attention to your sense of smell first as you walk through the masses of plants. Do any strike a chord with you? The real way to do this would be to keep your eyes closed as you go through the plants but I’m sure this may not

be feasible as well as make you look strange. So to not let that occur, just let your other senses dominate while you identify plants that you would like to use. Once you have a group of plants, make sure that they will survive in the exposure you have chosen.

It’s now time to create the garden. I would suggest laying out the area for any hardscape first. This could be a small patio, stepping stone or natural path or just a bench or table and chairs set on some natural stone to keep them stable. The plants can then be laid out to create a pleasing area, keeping in mind the mature size of each. When these sizes are determined, tallest to shortest is the rule but not a necessity. Use some tall

The NJLCA Today

By Jody Shilan, MLA Executive Director

Don’t Shoot the Messenger dependent. Unfortunately, most of us have very short memories and forget that winter ran very late this year, making it very difficult to do most types of outdoor work. Leaves were still frozen to the ground in earlyApril, forcing maintenance contractors to start their season much later than they would have liked to.

On the design/build side of things, contractors could not work with frozen ground that was full of water just below the surface. If you had a planting project scheduled for the spring, it was most likely delayed for similar reasons. Due to the weather, plant material was dug later than usual, and with concerns over winter burn, orders were moved back a few weeks. So what all of this means is that the industry now has to try to do is get three and

a half months’ worth of work completed in about two and a half months. The alternative, which is much more realistic, is the 100 days of hell will run later in the year or rather into the summer.

The second part of the equation as to why work is beginning much later in the year is due to the fact that there is a labor shortage. That’s right. The landscape industry is having a difficult time finding people to work. If you read last month’s column, I discussed the political issues that were going on with the H2-B guest worker program. This program allows up 66,000 people, typically from South America, to work in the U.S. legally. Although this is not even close to the amount of workers that our industry needs to complete all of the

available work throughout the country, it is a great program that certainly provides a solid workforce.

The third part of this equation is the simple fact that the economy is growing once again. The stock market is hitting new highs, unemployment in New Jersey is around 6.4 percent, and housing prices are rising, making it a sellers’ market. Just drive around your own neighborhood and you’ll see more and more home renovations, including whole house remodeling projects.

While this may be great for the economy, it certainly isn’t helping you get your beds mulched anytime soon.

So here are my thoughts and suggestions to help you cope with the current delays in your work and some ideas that you should consider in the

Editor’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 future. My first suggestion is to take my words to heart because what I am telling you is true.

Most landscape contractors would love to be able to create a schedule that will last for nine months instead of nine days. Secondly, there are very few “landscape emergencies.”

What I mean is that there are many more important things in life than worrying if your lawn is seeded this Monday or next Monday. Finally, do what you can to plan ahead. Believe it or not, we actually do work in the winter.

Editors Note: Jody Shilan, MLA provides landscape design services for landscape contractors and homeowners. Jody is also a professional speaker, green industry consultant and host of radio talk show, Landscape Live! He has a BSLA from Cook College, Rutgers University and an MLA from The University of Massachusetts and is currently the Executive Director of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA). He can be reached at 201-7832844 or jshilan@NJLCA.org

Gardener News

June, 2015 13

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14 June, 2015

Gardener News

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Gardener News

June, 2015 15

16 June, 2015

Gardener News

Dazzling Spring Delights

By Jeannie Geremia Garden Club of New Jersey Delicious, delectable, dazzling are the descriptive words that come to mind when we’re out in our yards and gardens this spring. It just doesn’t get better than this, as the magic of spring continually unfolds all around us.

It never ceases to amaze me how the ground can look so bleak and barren with trees and shrubs showing nary a sign of life when, as if on cue, everything starts to burst into bloom. It truly is one of the treasures of life to be a witness to nature exploding all at once.

My neighbors say that my yard and garden looks like a fairyland, and it does, as sweeps of glory in the snow and snow drops set the stage for hyacinths and Virginia bluebells. Fabulous bouquets of hellebores and daffodils, followed by tulips, not to be outdone, are taking their bow in the ongoing parade of plants. The cool thing is that I didn’t plant all of these gorgeous flowers.

Yes, I planted the initial ones, but our friends, the bees, butterflies and birds, have dispersed these seeds far and wide so that I can just marvel at the handiwork all about me.

Some plants are absolutely remarkable in that they will bloom at the same time every year no matter the delay caused by a cold spring. I’m talking about my bloodroot that will bloom the middle of April, no matter what. So many other things that bloom earlier just wanted to stay tucked underground or encased in protective buds, such as forsythia, daffodils, even the snow drops and glory in the snow were delayed by weeks. Not so the bloodroot, Dutchman’s breeches, Virginia bluebells.

Now I’m thinking that’s because they’re native and used to our climate’s vagaries. I love my native spring ephemerals, but have to admit that I adore seeing my bouquets of hellebores beckoning me from across the yard to come take a closer look. I notice that the bees haven’t gotten the word that hellebores aren’t native, as they just dive in and have at the delicious nectar and pollen.

Every year, the hellebore plants just get bigger, with an astonishing couple of hundred blooms on each plant that just lasts and lasts. And then there are the hellebore babies. Wow! Who can resist such a tough, hardy, beautiful plant that is native to the Caucasus Mountains in Europe?

Now is the perfect time to plan for next spring’s bloom.

See how you can extend the growing season by planting early-blooming trees, shrubs and flowers as our pollinators have hibernated and wake up hungry. We have a symbiotic relationship with our bees, and by providing them with pollen and nectar from a yard and garden filled to overflowing with flowering trees, shrubs and plants for their survival, they will provide us with one-third of the food we eat.

Please spread the word to your family, friends and neighbors that planting fruits, vegetables and flowers is not a frivolous hobby, but one that needs to be embraced by everyone, including our municipalities.

It is depressing to see neighborhoods with yards of boring lawns and flowerless shrubs that present nothing less than a desert to our foraging bees and butterflies.

Remember, too, that just one or two plants don’t make it for providing the necessary food for our pollinators. Rather than having a multitude of just a few plant species, plan

on selecting several plant species with bloom time from early-spring to late-fall and planting at least a dozen of each so that you’ll have a sweep of plants that the bees and butterflies will love and that make a statement and give structure to your own yards and gardens. Keep that “wild” section in your yard where you can put dead limbs, stalks and leaves that may hold chrysalises and cocoons as our overwintering insects can hatch out as late as June.

At present, I have 14 black swallowtail butterfly chrysalises that have overwintered and know that my “slow poke” from last year, didn’t hatch out until June 1, 2014. We are close to our goal of the black swallowtail butterfly being designated as New Jersey’s Official State Butterfly. Senate Bill S939 passed the New Jersey State Senate December 18, 2014. We’re down to two last steps and the very next step is for Senate Bill S939 and duplicate Assembly Bill A2913 to be posted by Assembly Speaker Prieto for a vote in the Assembly.

Scheduled voting sessions are: June 11, June 22 and June 29, so please ask your Assemblymen for their support.

Editor’s Note: Jeannie Geremia is the Community Garden Chair and the Butterflies & BeeGAP Chair for the Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc., and is a National Garden Clubs, Inc., Accredited Flower Show Judge for the GCNJ. Jeannie is the GCNJ 2016 State Flower Show Chair and can be reached by emailing : jeannieg42@earthlink.net Garden Club of New Jersey website is: www.gardenclubofnewjersey.com and phone number is 732-249-0947.

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Gardener News

June, 2015 17 Unique Plants

By Bob LaHoff Nursery Specialist

One Off My Bucket List At the encouragement of Tom Castronovo, the executive editor and publisher of Gardener News, this month’s article has virtually nothing to do with plant material.

Rather, June’s column is dedicated to another hobby, a non-profit organization, the Special Olympics.

“The Special Olympics New Jersey provides year-round sports training and athletic competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities throughout the state. More than 24,000 athletes enjoy camaraderie and gain a sense of pride and accomplishment through participating in these events” (ltc5k.kintera.org).

A lifelong hobby, and at one time a paid endeavor, is track and field. My wife and I have supported the Special Olympics for over a decade and are extremely proud to be associated with the organization.

April 19 of this year offered me and roughly 3,000 other runners the opportunity to compete in the 29th annual Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K. This single-day Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics New Jersey helped raise significant funds through pledges collected by participants and donations from sponsors. The Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K has helped to fund the creation of new programs, as well as existing ones. An event that starts and stops at the Weehawken side of the Lincoln Tunnel, it is a one-of-a-kind challenge that has you running under water. This 3.1-mile road race uses the south tube to New York, the far right tube entering Manhattan, and returns back to the finish line on the Jersey side.

A Grand Prix 500 point USATF sanctioned event, runners even have time chips embedded into their numbers on their shirts. A far more techno-style approach to the clumsy chips tied to our shoes years ago when I ran the New York City Marathon in 2001. Touch screen kiosks allowed athletes and spectators to access and view individual finish times. Not to mention a 40-inch LCD time display for runners, a smartphone app and e-mail notification of individual results. This was an extremely well-run event that was as safe and clean as any I can remember.

As mentioned, this article speaks little to horticultural discipline. During my morning stretch, in preparation for my run, some green friends, Ginkgo and Zelkova trees, notorious for surviving urban situations, helped feed my other passion. An avid runner most of my life, I had my wife and daughter there to cheerlead my efforts.

Situating myself in the first of two heats, those able to complete the event in less than 30 minutes, I had prepared myself both mentally and physically. Fortunate to finish the course in the top 10-percent, I exceeded my expectations. Let me debunk any misconceptions you may have about the Lincoln Tunnel on this day. The night before this event, the Port Authority does an outstanding job of degreasing and cleansing the tunnel, continuously pumping fresh air to all the runners.

A surreal experience to run through the Lincoln Tunnel, this industrious marvel has always held my attention.

Experiencing the halfway point, the New Jersey/New York painted line halfway through the tunnel, on foot rather than by car was sensational in itself. Despite the nearly 900-yard uphill climb to re-enter Jersey’s side, my daughter and wife’s encouragement, at the finish line, made it all worthwhile.

Hats off to the Port Authority and Special Olympics for fulfilling a “Bucket List” experience and for raising over $200,000.00 dollars for a cause near and dear to my heart!

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, Reeves-Reed Arboretum Buildings and Grounds Committee, a lifetime member of the Conifer Society and past member of the retail council for Monrovia Growers. He can be reached at (908) 665-0331.

18 June, 2015

Gardener News

WOW! We did it again.

School’s almost over, and although Memorial Day is the kickoff for summer, June. or more so the end of June, is the real start of summer.

Toward the last two weeks of June is when you see it really start to fill up around here all week long. Traffic, ice cream trucks, and our pristine beaches teeming with sun worshippers.

This is high season for all of the shore businesses and the shore area hasn’t looked or felt better since before that darn storm whose name I just won’t mention. For now it is time to enjoy New Jersey at its best. Lively, lovely and waiting to be taken advantage of. So get up, get out and get going. To the beach, to a state park, to an amusement park, to a lake, to our farm country, a winery perhaps, or just the beauty of your backyard.

Berries! Eat them up, yum! Most of us know that NJ produces quite a few different types of berries, including blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, blackberries and raspberries.

Blueberries being one of our states largest, along with

and crusty bread. JAM! With the addition of a splash of balsamic vinegar for a little kick up. Enjoy and happy summer!

Strawberry-balsamic jam 2 pints of fresh strawberries, stems removed, bout into quarters 3/4 cup of sugar 1 cup of water 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice 2 Tbsp. of good balsamic vinegar Method- combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on a low simmer, stirring often, until mixture turns into a thick, almost syrupy consistency. It will take about half an hour - remove from heat and let cool; it will thicken more as it cools

From the Deep

By Craig Korb Executive Chef

Berry, berry nice cranberries. Strawberries, however, are a much smaller crop for our state, but are still widely available if sought out at farmers markets and such.

New Jersey ranks as the fifthlargest producer of blueberries in the United States, not bad.

These beautiful little berries are a perennial and are native to North America. The three most common varieties are highbush, lowbush and rabbit eye, the most popular being the highbush variety. Their New Jersey availability usually starts at the end of June and runs until August.

Blueberries run a close second to strawberries as far as popularity. The amazing health benefits of this little berry, which is considered one of the healthiest foods, is that it is also a great antioxidant and is loaded with other

nutrients, such as vitamin K and C, manganese, as well as fiber. Many studies have shown that the blueberry, as well as the strawberry, help with memory function.

On to the strawberry, another berry high in antioxidant properties to fend off cancers. This berry also contains vitamin C, large amounts of manganese, fiber and other cardiovascular benefits. There are more than 600 varieties of strawberries that differ in flavor, size and texture. Some of these varieties include Honeyoye, Earliglow, Allstar, Ozark Beauty, and Chandler, to name but a few of the most common. Largely limited to coastal and southern inland regions of the U.S., California and Florida are by far the two top producers, with California

America’s Grow-a-Row Farm to Fork Dinner Another Sold-Out Success 3,77672:1 1- ĘŠ $PHULFDÂśV *URZ D 5RZ UG DQQXDO )DUP WR )RUN 'LQQHU RQ Saturday, May 2, 2015 at Life Camp in Pottersville, New Jersey was a huge success and raised over $60,000! Proceeds benefit America’s Grow-a-Row (AGAR), a non-profit organization that grows and gleans fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables that are donated to those suffering from hunger and those living in “food deserts,â€? or areas that lack access to fresh, affordable produce, throughout the state of New Jersey. AGAR thanks the following corporate sponsors who committed their support to the event: Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., ExxonMobil, PSE&G, IH Engineers, ShopRite of Hunterdon County, Brickman Landscaping, and Stop & Shop.

AGAR honored Bonnie Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of Hunterdon County, for her extensive work in serving the local community. Governor Christine Todd Whitman served as Special Keynote Speaker at Farm to Fork.

Proceeds will help AGAR reach their 2015 goals of donating over 1 million pounds of farm-fresh food to various hunger relief agencies in New Jersey while at the same time educating people of all ages about hunger, the importance of agriculture, and healthy eating. AGAR, supported by nearly 4,000 volunteers who harvest produce throughout the growing season, hosts 750 young people from low-income urban areas at their farm through the Growing Healthy Kids Farm Day, provides Free Farm Markets in Newark, Camden, Morristown, and Jersey City and hosts Recipient Volunteering events for the recipients of the produce so that they can harvest fresh food for their own communities and others in need.

This opportunity to participate in a volunteer capacity enables those served to give back to the program in a fulfilling and meaningful way. In 2014, AGAR’s President and Founder, Chip Paillex, was honored with the recognition of CNN Hero and Ford Motor Company Go Further Everyday Hero.

At the event, AGAR announced their capital campaign to purchase the 150-acre farm where the organization is headquartered in Pittstown, New Jersey. The farm is owned by a third party who has signed a 2-year lease for purchase agreement with AGAR. AGAR recently received matching grant funds in the amount of $1.25 million to assist in the securing of the farm and supporting the ongoing operations and is diligently seeking a combination of funding and financing to fulfill the requirements of the matching grant opportunity.

For more information and to support the capital campaign, visit www.americasgrowarow. org or email Heather Mulvey, Director of Development at heather@americasgrowarow.org.

leading the way.

These berries are highly perishable and very delicate.

They should be eaten within a day of purchase and washed just before eating. Both the blueberry and strawberry freeze well also. I have often used frozen berries for smoothies and other applications throughout the year. The best choice for berries is the organic variety, if available. While grown in New Jersey, strawberries are not among one of our state’s larger crops.

The recipe for this month is quite simple. First off, blueberries are great in smoothies, on cereal, and as a quick snack. I’m going to give you a basic strawberry recipe that can be used on ice cream, toast, the classic PB and J, or with some cheese

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.

APHIS adds all of New York to the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) RegulatedArea Effective May 1, 2015, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is adding all of New York to the list of regulated areas for the emerald ash borer (EAB).

APHIS is taking this action at New York’s request and in response to the detections of EAB in multiple counties throughout the state.

To prevent the spread of EAB to other states, the attached Federal Order outlines specific conditions for the interstate movement of EAB-regulated articles from the quarantined areas in New York. Specifically, the interstate movement of EAB-host wood and wood products from the quarantined areas in New York is regulated, including firewood of all hardwood species, nursery stock, green lumber, waste, compost, and chips of ash species.

EAB is an invasive wood-boring beetle that is native to China and other areas of East Asia. The beetle is present in some portions of the United States, and because of its continuing spread, APHIS has established regulated areas that are designated in the Code of Federal Regulations at 7 CFR 301.53-3 and the Federal Orders located at: www.aphis.usda.gov/planthealth/eab_quarantine The interstate movement of firewood from quarantine areas is an especially high-risk pathway for the spread of EAB. Therefore, APHIS works with state cooperators and foresters to prevent the human assisted movement of EAB, develop biological and other controls for EAB, and raise public awareness about this pest and the potential threats associated with the long-distance movement of firewood.

Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Gardener News

June, 2015 19

Produce Industry Leader Honored and New Leaders Presented South Carolina Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture Martin Eubanks presented a plaque to Paul Kneeland at the April 2015 Eastern Produce Council (EPC) dinner meeting at The Brownstone in Paterson, Passaic County, N.J., for his Dedicated Leadership and Service as President of the EPC for the 2013-2015 term. Kneeland is also Vice President of Floral, Meat, Produce and Seafood for Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market.

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture has been sponsoring and attending the EPC’s dinner meetings for over 44 years. It has been the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner’s tradition to nominate the organization’s new slate of officers every year to the general membership.

At this year’s meeting, the department added a tradition by also honoring and recognizing the EPC’s outgoing president.

The slate of new officers presented and unanimously voted in by the membership are: Vic Savanello, President, from Allegiance Retail Services; Marianne Santo, 1st Vice President, from Wakefern Food Corp; Greg Veneziano, 2nd Vice President, from Bozzuto’s Incorporated; Rob Goldstein, Secretary, from Genpro Inc.; and Sal Zacchia, Treasurer, from RDD Associates.

With a current membership of over 450, today’s EPC is a thriving produce organization that opens doors and opportunities to grow leadership skills and gain valuable contacts in the produce industry. Members include retailers, Tom Castronovo/Photo wholesale distributors, growers, vendors/brokers, logistics and transportation professionals, as well as commodity South Carolina Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture Martin Eubanks, left, groups, food service and other associations. The EPC is presents a plaque to Paul Kneeland at the April 2015 Eastern Produce Council also dedicated to making the world a better place and is dinner meeting at The Brownstone in Paterson, Passaic County, N.J., for his committed to improving the social welfare of their local and Dedicated Leadership and Service as President of the EPC for the 2013-2015 term. extended communities.

Agriculture has been the base of South Carolina’s economy since the settlement of the American colonies. The Native Americans grew beans, pumpkins, onions, melons and maize, and British colonists brought indigo, cotton, tobacco, ginger root, cattle and hogs. The South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s mission is to promote and nurture the growth and development of South Carolina’s agriculture industry and its related businesses while assuring the safety and security of the buying public. South Carolina’s produce is grown on sandy loam, slightly acidic soils in hot and humid growing conditions and their produce is second to none in flavor and quality. They are also number-one in East Coast peach volume.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

South Carolina Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture Martin Eubanks, left; Vic Savanello, President of the Eastern Produce Council; Paul Hlubik, State Executive Director for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency; Paul Kneeland, Immediate Past President of the Eastern Produce Council; and New Jersey Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Al Murray at the April 2015 Eastern Produce Council dinner meeting at The Brownstone in Paterson, Passaic County, N.J.

20 June, 2015

Gardener News

The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) is fast becoming a reality for our growers and producers of food in the United States. According to the FDA, it is designed to protect public health by strengthening the food-safety system. Over 48 million people get sick each year from foodborne disease in the U.S. alone. Over 128,000 are hospitalized and over 3,000 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Until now, the industry has been reactive to outbreaks.

Generally, food recalls are sent out by the FDA after a group of people fall sick or a company discovers an issue after the product has been sent out for consumption.

Problems associated with this process include communication to the final users of the product, the inability to trace product to sellers, and most often, recalls are sent for product that is past its shelf life or which has already been sold and consumed.

In 2011, an outbreak of Listeria in cantaloupes heightened another aspect of food safety inspection for the facilities in which food is packed, held and shipped from. All U.S. facilities must be registered under the FDA’s Public Health Security and

where the product was shipped.

It eliminates generalizations of the past, and there are many examples – spinach, cantaloupes, jalapeno peppers, etc – where all product in the category is removed from display – referred to as scorched-earth reaction.

In the end, consumers should not be worried about food safety.

They should be fixed on the flavor and the quality and the eating experience of the product.

The focus in the industry is food safety and the goal is to make that a given. Any food that is purchased should absolutely have a baseline of safety. Consumers already trust that this vetting process has been done. Eating fresh produce is still the best way to eat healthy.

Passionate About Produce

By Paul Kneeland The King of Produce

Buying into Food Safety Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. The FDA is using that Act as a launching pad for the FSMA regulations that allow for inspection of all registered handlers and holders of food.

The new FSMA regulations are designed to be more proactive than reactive. Requirements for growers, handlers and importers of food for consumption will definitely help. But do they go far enough? The law, as customary with most regulations, exempts smaller growers from the law because of volume.

Smaller growers may believe that the larger growers are more of the culprit when it comes to food safety violations and therefore the laws should only apply to them. It is understandable that being compliant costs money and eats into profits. But is it worth the risk of getting someone sick?

Most large growers go beyond the minimum safety standards that are set forth by the FDA. Many smaller growers also go beyond the minimum safety standards of the FDA. They should be applauded for their efforts and stand as examples to similar-size growers in the industry.

Smaller growers that need assistance in understanding the FSMA regulations have been in touch with local departments of agriculture and agriculture schools like Rutgers University. Guidance has also been given through the industry organizations, such as the Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh.

They have experts working on the implementation full-time.

The biggest influence to growers who may be on the fence about whether to follow FSMA or not or to meet the

minimum requirements are the buyers. The biggest consideration there is mitigating risk. Just think of trying to explain to a sick consumer that the grower wasn’t required to meet the minimum standards of FSMA because they were exempt under the regulations. I don’t think that would go over well… Buyers are risk-averse. Products that leave our stores are directly connected to the customer experience.

When asked where the tainted products were from, you can be sure they will tell exactly where they bought them.

When talking to groups, I will say that recalls are good. They usually get people’s attention.

Recalls are good because it means the system is working. Recalls today are much more specific, too, because of traceability efforts in the industry. Most shippers will be able to pinpoint to the box

Editor’s Note: Paul Kneeland is the Vice President of Floral, Meat, Produce and Seafood for Kings Food Markets, President of the Eastern Produce Council, and a 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

Better Tasting Strawberry Developed at Rutgers (Continued from page 1) plant recently hit the market for both home gardeners and commercial growers. The new plant is being grown on test plots at more than a dozen farms around the state and will be available for sale again to the public during an August 15 open house at the EARTH Center in South Brunswick, home to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County.

The new strawberry is the latest in a long list of plant varieties including tomatoes, asparagus and squash that the NJAES has developed to draw more customers to local markets and pick-your-own farms. The experiment station works closely with New Jersey farmers to develop plants as part of its mission to share Rutgers’ research with the public.

“You are always looking for something bigger, with more flavor and more eye appeal for the customer,’’ said Bob Von Thun, whose family runs Von Thun Farms in South Brunswick and has been working with the experiment station to test the new strawberry plant.

The Rutgers Scarlet strawberry is being grown in limited quantities and may

be found at some of the state’s pick-your-own farms, although it will be scarce.

It is expected to be more widely available next year and customers will discover what sets it apart. The new strawberry is well suited for the state’s growers because it was developed to be eaten soon after it’s picked and does not have to withstand crosscountry shipping.

“We are looking for something that is going to be really flavorful and make people say ‘Wow, why did I ever bother with strawberries from the supermarket?’” Von Thun said. “When you eat a Jersey strawberry picked that day, compared to a California strawberry that was probably picked three weeks ago, there is a huge difference.’’

The Rutgers Scarlet – the first in a series of more flavorful strawberry varieties NJAES plans to release – was developed through a traditional cross-breeding program led

by Gojko Jelenkovic, a retired plant biology professor. He has been working for 20 years to develop a better tasting strawberry and has tested hundreds of varieties.

The variety that became the Rutgers Scarlet (a trademarked name) was selected for further development because it was considered one of the best in Jelenkovic’s program.

Perfecting a new breed of plant takes several years in order to identify and select some of the outstanding desired characteristics.

“Since developing better flavor was the top priority, the Rutgers Scarlet strawberry has undergone hundreds of formal and informal taste tests,’’ said Peter Nitzsche, associate professor and agricultural agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension. What sets the scarlet strawberry apart is its solid balance of sweetness and acidity, he said.

“If you have something that is only sweet, it can be bland, but the combined sweetness and acidity is what really creates that excitement on your tongue,’’ Nitzsche said.

Editor’s Note: Andrea Alexander is the Assistant Managing Editor - Features, Rutgers Today. She can be reached at 848-932-0556 or aalexander@ucm.rutgers.edu

Gardener News

New Jerseyy Department p of Agriculture g Chris Christie, Governor Douglas H. Fisher, Secretary of Agriculture

June, 2015 21

jerseyfresh.nj.gov

22 June, 2015

Gardener News

Gardening is an ongoing process and while timing is important, don’t be overwhelmed by a sense of being too late to plant by a certain date.

For many novice gardeners, knowing when to go ahead and plant can be confusing. To make things more complicated, not everything can be planted at the same time.

The perfect time to plant isn’t just one or two days; prime planting time goes on for weeks.

Are you worried that you missed the spring planting season? Fear not.

With that said, June is a great time to plant summer annuals and perennials.

Summer annuals that are tender or sensitive to cold, like flowering Vinca, Zinnias, Pentas, Angelonia, Salvia, etc., can be safely planted now. These flowers cannot tolerate cold, wet days or nights. They prefer the hotter temps that come into play in June.

June is also great time to pick out blooming perennials, especially for the novice gardeners that aren’t sure what kind of perennials bloom this time of the year.

Some June blooming perennials to look out for are:

Please do not prune springor summer-flowering shrubs in late-summer or early-fall.

Pruning is an invigorating process that stimulates new growth, which may not “harden off” by winter. This may lead to cold damage or winter injury.

The first step in pruning evergreens is to identify them, because they’re not all created equal when it comes to pruning.

Evergreen refers to a group of plants that retain their foliage during winter.

You can prune all evergreens, except pine, before new growth starts in the spring or during the semi-dormant period in mid-summer. When pruning, follow the general branching pattern to maintain the natural shape.

Before I sign off this month, don’t forget to shear off all the spent flowers on your Meadow sage. This will prepare the plant for a great second show.

The Professional Grower

By Tim Hionis Greenhouse Specialist

Is it too late to plant?

Echinacea, also known as coneflower, and Monarda also known as Beebalm. Both of these are known to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Buddleias, also known as Butterfly Bushes; Achillia, also known as Yarrow; Hemerocallis, also known as the Daylilies; Phlox paniculata, also known as the upright phlox; Perovskia, also known as Russian Sage; and Nepeta, also known as Catmint, are also good selections.

Here are a few sun-loving flowers that can also be planted outside now: Dahlias, Verbena, Gomphrena and Calibrachoa.

Here are a few shade or part-shade flowers that can also be safely planted outside now: Tuberous begonias, Coleus, Caladium, New Guinea impatiens and Torenia.

To prevent young plants from becoming leggy and to

produce a sturdier plant that is fuller or bushier, pinch them back. Use your thumbnail and forefinger to pinch off the terminal growth. The key here is to keep only about three to five nodes, which are points on a stem where a leaf or branch grows. To find nodes, look for buds on the stem. Once the plant is pinched back, new lateral branches will grow from these nodes. Since the end of each lateral branch usually sets flower buds, pinching back will induce plants to produce more flowers, as well as more lateral branches. Continue to pinch plants regularly to encourage branching. Pinch the plant back until the size meets your goal.

Then stop.

As flowers become more mature, most will benefit from removing the dead blooms.

Some continue to produce new

blooms whether you deadhead or not, but many will not continue to flower unless you deadhead.

A flowering plant’s sole purpose is to reproduce. When blooms start to fade, brown, curl, or otherwise look unattractive, that’s the time to trim them off.

It’s also a very good idea to remove dead, diseased, or damaged stems as soon as you see them. Dead stems attract insects and invite diseases to develop.

Jumping over to deciduous shrubs now. Spring-flowering shrubs bloom on one-year-old wood that grew the previous summer. They generally bloom before the end of June and should be pruned immediately after flowering. If these shrubs are pruned before flowering, the flower buds that developed last year will be removed, reducing or eliminating flowering.

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, 2015 23

What about the Pollinators?

In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the state of our country’s pollinators. In this discussion, the plight of the honeybee is often discussed.

Recently, concern has begun to develop regarding our native pollinators as well. It must be understood that honeybees in America are not considered native pollinators, as they were domesticated and imported into this country from Europe.

In 2006, several groups studying the decline of honeybee populations in the United States came up with the term Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

This disorder’s name replaced the names of several syndromes that were discussed prior to 2006, such as “autumn collapse,� “fall dwindle disease� and “spring dwindle,� to name a few.

There is a lot of speculation as to what exactly causes CCD and what the current state of CCD is. CCD has been

attributed to varroa mites (a parasite of the honeybee found in the United States), pesticide usage, bee malnutrition, diseases, and overdevelopment and/or alteration of foraging land. Each of these CCD “symptoms� is unique in its own and there is little to no cause-and-effect relationship between the individual symptoms.

Nonetheless, Colony Collapse Disorder has become the accepted term for the overall decrease in honeybee populations due to various factors.

In 2014, the United States government formed a pollinator health task force to address the growing concern for the health of our pollinators. In a Presidential Memorandum issued on June 20, 2014 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/ the-press-office/2014/06/20/ presidential-memorandumcreating-federal-strategypromote-health-honey-b) colony collapse disorder is mentioned as a topic that requires further research by the task force. Education and awareness of our declining

pollinator situation is now being focused on at a federal level. We should expect new legislation both locally and federally in the near future in an attempt to help alleviate pollinator losses.

As previously mentioned, the concern for pollinator health is not only limited to honeybees and CCD. The United States is currently seeing a decline in populations of our native pollinators as well. Native bees, flies, butterflies and bats, all of which are pollinators, have seen recent declines in activity. Each pollinator seems to have its own cause for decreased activity. For example, locally our decline in bat population is partly due to a fungus that causes White-Nose Syndrome. Nationwide, there is rapid decline in monarch butterfly populations that have some calling for their inclusion on the endangered species list.

We are also seeing a decrease in activity from our native bees. Almost all of our native bees are solitary bees, meaning that they do not have a queen and do not create a colony.

It is important to realize that Colony Collapse Disorder is not the only factor leading to recent concerns with pollinators. Of all the local pollinators, the honeybee is one that is least likely to see long-term population declines. You must realize that honeybees are kept and bred by beekeepers. Since beekeepers are maintaining hives and breeding bees for commercial production (as well as personal use), the honeybee already has a population control measure in place. Although there is currently federal, state, and local action to protect other pollinators, no protective intervention for our other pollinators is as effective as a captive breeding program that we already have in place for our honeybees.

Recent legislation has already led to changes in many pesticide labels.

Most pesticides now have restrictions for their use on flowering plants in an attempt to reduce pollinator exposure to pesticides. Professional

applicators are aware of these changes. It is important that the do-it-yourselfers become aware of these changes as well. When using pesticides, always read the label first to assure that you are making a proper application.

As gardeners, growers, and concerned ecologists, it is our responsibility to help reverse the current declines in pollinator populations.

Educational programs will make others aware of the current situation.

Use pesticides responsibly and always follow the pesticide’s labeled instructions. Plant clusters of flowers that will attract pollinators. Rebuild pollinator habitats. Be aware and spread the word.

Editor’s Note: Gregory Covello, ACE is an Associate Certified Entomologist and District Manager for Viking Pest Control based out of Warren, Somerset County. He is a back yard gardener and hobbyist beekeeper.

He can be reached at 973-296-6523 or gcovello@vikingpest.com.

PA Agriculture Department Suspends Avian Competitions, Activities at 2015 State-Approved Agricultural Fairs, 2016 PA Farm Show +$55,%85* 3$ ĘŠ $V WKH WKUHDW RI KLJKO\ SDWKRJHQLF DYLDQ LQIOXHQ]D RU + 1 LQWHQVLILHV QDWLRQZLGH WKH 3HQQV\OYDQLD 'HSDUWPHQW of Agriculture is continuing efforts to minimize the risk of the disease spreading here, should it be found. As such, acting Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced today that the department is suspending all avian competitions at state-approved agricultural fairs in 2015, as well as the 2016 Pennsylvania Farm Show.

In 2014, the poultry and egg industry was responsible for $13 billion in total economic activity throughout Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association. With this in mind, Redding said proactive precautionary measures are necessary to protect the industry and animal health. “This is not a decision we made lightly, but it is one that we feel is necessary given the threat,� Redding said. “Across the country, 145 flocks have tested positive for this disease. This strain has killed or forced producers to euthanize 15 million birds. The effect has been devastating, and we do not want to see the same kind of impact here in Pennsylvania.�

Avian influenza, commonly known as “bird flu,� is caused by an influenza type-A virus. Avian influenza viruses occur naturally in birds.

Wild bird species (such as ducks, swans and geese) can carry the virus, but usually do not exhibit symptoms. The disease is very contagious, however, and can make domesticated birds (including chickens, ducks, quail, pheasants, guinea fowl and turkeys) very sick or even cause death.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is working proactively with the United States Department of Agriculture (UDSA), other government agencies, and the state’s poultry industry to prepare for an outbreak of H5N2. The most important prevention technique is for anyone who owns or works with poultry to apply sound biosecurity measures – whether on a commercial farm, in the wild, or at a hobby/ backyard farm.

The department is requesting that fairs put in place alternative poultry-based competitions to highlight the accomplishments of youth poultry competitors. Penn State Extension has recommended establishing educational poster competitions or birdless showmanship to keep youth engaged in the poultry industry and provide a solution for completing their poultry projects. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, as the 2015 agricultural fair season is underway,� Redding said. “The purpose of this action is not to disturb regular agricultural fair practices, but to take proactive steps to reduce the risks of avian influenza spreading. The department will continue to monitor the situation as it develops, and we will remain in contact with the agricultural fairs’ management and Penn State Extension educators to make the best recommendations possible. While avian influenza has not yet impacted Pennsylvania, we are doing everything possible to be prepared.�

Since December 2014, the USDA has confirmed cases of H5N2 in the Pacific, Central and Mississippi migratory bird paths. No highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses have been detected in Pennsylvania since an outbreak in 1983 and 1984, when Pennsylvania lost 17 million birds worth $65 million.

For additional information about avian influenza, call the department’s Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services at 717-787-4734.

For more information about bio-security measures, visit http://bit.ly/1PuNBLq.

24 June, 2015

Gardener News

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USDA Announces Funding to Assist with Organic Certification Costs :$6+,1*721 ' & ĘŠ7KH 8 6 'HSDUWPHQW RI $JULFXOWXUHÂśV 86'$ $JULFXOWXUDO 0DUNHWLQJ 6HUYLFH $06 DQQRXQFHG RQ 0D\ 14, 2015 that approximately $11.9 million in organic certification assistance is available through state departments of agriculture to make organic certification more affordable for organic producers and handlers across the country. “The organic industry saw record growth in 2014, accounting for over $39 billion in retail sales in the United States,â€? said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The organic certification cost share programs help more organic businesses succeed and take advantage of economic opportunities in this growing market.â€?

The funding is provided on a cost share basis and certification assistance is distributed by two programs. Through the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program, $11 million is available to organic farms and businesses nationwide. Through the Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost Share Program (AMA), an additional $900,000 is available to organic producers (crop and livestock operators only) in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Funded by the 2014 Farm Bill, these programs provide cost share assistance to USDA certified organic producers and handlers, covering as much as 75 percent of an individual applicant’s certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 annually per certification scope. In 2014, USDA issued nearly 10,000 reimbursements totaling over $6 million, providing critical support to the organic community.

To receive cost share assistance, certified organic producers and handlers should contact their appropriate state agencies via the contact information on the National Organic Program’s (NOP) cost share website: www.ams.usda.gov/NOPCostSharing. Each state has its own guidelines and requirements for reimbursement, and NOP assists states to successfully implement the programs. Applicants for cost share assistance through the AMA program are encouraged to apply early, as these funds are only available through Sept. 30, 2015.

USDA connects organic farmers and businesses with resources that will ensure the continued growth of the organic industry domestically and abroad. During this Administration, USDA has signed four major organic trade arrangements and has helped organic stakeholders access programs that support conservation, provide access to loans and grants, fund organic research and education, and mitigate pest emergencies. The NOP upholds the integrity of the organic label and has helped the sector grow to include over 27,000 businesses around the world.

This announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill, which builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past six years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for the taxpayer. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill. Additional information is available on the NOP’s website at www.ams.usda.gov/NOPCostSharing.

The NOP is responsible for ensuring the integrity of USDA organic agricultural products in the United States and throughout the world.

Find out more about organic certification by visiting www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

PANTS15 Show Slated for November 4-5 3+,/$'(/3+,$ 3$ ĘŠ 7KH DQQXDO 3HQQ $WODQWLF 1XUVHU\ 7UDGH Show (PANTS) has, in the past, been a summertime event, but show producer MAC Events is pleased to announce that PANTS15 will now be held November 4-5, 2015. The event is slated for Hall B at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. “MAC Events maintains a firm commitment to the green industry, and our aim is to produce a best-in-class show every year,â€? said show producer Micaela Vie Brock. “To that end, we are always looking for ways to improve PANTS, and after careful consideration, we feel that moving the event to early November will cement its role as the east coast’s premier landscaping and nursery trade show.â€? “The new date is advantageous for both exhibitors and attendees alike,â€? said Vie Brock. “November better aligns with the shift in buying cycles of garden centers and wholesalers, and it coincides with the traditional lull in business prior to the beginning of the holiday season. “Also, the landscape construction and maintenance sector has been growing significantly in the region, and the new timing will afford more of these important businesses the opportunity to participate,â€? she said. “We will also be able to add an array of new educational opportunities, making PANTS an event not to miss. “The new dates correspond with all sectors of the green industry and, as such, we expect increased attendance,â€? said Vie Brock. “We are committed to improving PANTS each and every year, delivering the best possible experience for our exhibitors, partners, sponsors and attendees.â€?

The premier event will host more than 300 exhibitors, ranging from retail garden center owners, to landscape contractors, nursery growers, greenhouses, landscaping designers and installers, interior landscaping specialists, property managers, government officials and much more.

The event will also highlight a full slate of educational sessions and featured speakers.

26 June, 2015

Gardener News RUTGERS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION PHONE DIRECTORY

National Association Of State Departments Of Agriculture Joins Field To Market :$6+,1*721 ' & ĘŠ 7KH 1DWLRQDO $VVRFLDWLRQ RI 6WDWH 'HSDUWPHQWV RI $JULFXOWXUH (NASDA) announced on May 11 that it has joined Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, a multi-stakeholder initiative working to unite the agricultural supply chain in defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production. “Farmers are among the most dedicated and effective stewards of our natural resources because agriculture depends on continued access to clean air, water, and fertile land for its viability,â€? said NASDA CEO Dr. Barbara P. Glenn. “By joining Field to Market, we look forward to working with this robust coalition to advance voluntary conservation practices that help address diverse state and regional differences both in what farmers produce and in the most pressing agricultural environmental challenges they face.â€?

Field to Market’s diverse membership of grower organizations, leading companies, academia, conservation groups and public sector partners works together to foster continuous improvements in productivity, environmental quality and human well-being across the agricultural supply chain. “There is a lot of great work happening at the state level to advance the protection and conservation of natural resources,� said Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market. “We are pleased to welcome NASDA to Field to Market and look forward to helping connect efforts from the public and private sector to advance conservation at the landscape level.�

About NASDA NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories. To learn more about NASDA, please visit www.nasda.org.

About Field to Market Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture brings together a diverse group of grower organizations; agribusinesses; food, beverage, restaurant and retail companies; conservation groups; universities and public sector partners to focus on defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production. Field to Market is comprised of more than 70 members representing all facets of the U.S. agricultural supply chain, with member companies employing more than 3.9 million people and representing combined revenues totaling over $1.3 trillion. For more information, visit www.fieldtomarket.org and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/FieldtoMarket.

Source: National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA)

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TIP OF THE MONTH

A three- to four-inch layer of organic mulch in the garden and in landscape beds can cut water needs in half by blocking thirsty weeds and reducing evaporation. Organic mulches retain some water themselves and increase the humidity level around plants. Organic mulches include chopped or shredded leaves (use only leaves that have been aged at least nine months), straw, compost and salt hay. And keep mulch at least an inch away from plant stems to avoid rot and fungus problems.

Gardener News

June, 2015 27

NEW TORO® SPREADER SPRAYER

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Steer” technology lets you easily steer with one hand, leaving the other Groundbreaking “Lean Lean to Steer hand free to adjust spreading and spraying settings on the fly. The large larg ge hopper and spray tank also give you high capacity in a compact design so you can finish the job without stopping to refill. Toro’s innovations give you a spreader sprayer that increases your productivity y for more jobs and more profit.

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28 June, 2015

Gardener News

inspiration strikes THIS WEEKEND

Linguine with Grilled Little Neck Clams & Pancetta Find your inspiration at kingsfoodmarkets.com

At Kings, our shelves are filled with amazing choices that turn everyday experiences into inspiration—and now we’re making it even better. Introducing Kings own brand, a line of inspirational foods and everyday favorites at an outstanding value that we can’t wait to share with you. This weekend, try using our new selection of high-quality ingredients to create this dish featuring grilled locally-harvested Little Neck Clams from the shores of Long Island.

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