Gardener News September 2013 GMO...YES or NO by Gardener News

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

TAKE ONE

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

Gardener News Serving the Agricultural, Gardening and Landscaping Communities

September, 2013

GARDENERNEWS.COM

TAKE ONE No. 125

GMO YES OR NO? By Tom Castronovo Executive Editor How much do you really know about the food you’re putting in your mouth? Oh sure, the “Eat Local,” organic and vegetarian/vegan movements have focused our attention on knowing more about where our fresh foods come from and what practices the farmers who produce them are using. But for those of us who also consume the many processed foods found in supermarkets, what do we really know about how each of the ingredients in those foods was grown or otherwise produced? Some people in the grocery industry estimate that as much as 75 to 80 percent of what is on supermarket shelves has at least one ingredient that is

the product of a genetically modified organism, or “GMO.” A GMO is a plant or animal that has had its genes re-engineered by the introduction of other materials that wouldn’t naturally be found in that plant or animal. Often, it involves materials that make the plant resistant to herbicides, so that farmers can spray enough herbicides to kill weeds without harming the crop plant. How can shoppers who want GMO-free foods know which products they should be buying? Questions like those have led to an intense focus all over America on the practice of using GMOs, sometimes known as “genetically engineered products,” as the baseline agricultural products that go into the processed foods we all buy and consume.

Advocates for safe and healthy foods have been pushing all around the country for state laws that would require any foods being made with ingredients that came from genetically modified plant or animal products to include a statement on their labels about containing GMOs. They say it’s simply fair to consumers to let them (us!) know that these products are in their food. On the other side, there’s a handful of huge corporations, such as Monsanto and DuPont, who have invested millions if not billions of dollars into “perfecting” the process of tampering with a plant’s or animal’s genetic makeup to make them resistant to drought or pesticides/herbicides or in some other way better equipped to survive the natural elements that can reduce crop yields. Sometimes,

but not always, standing with those corporations are the American farmers who see GMOs as the best way around the natural risks of weather, pests and diseases that can harm their crops. They say these types of agricultural products are needed to ensure the Earth will be able to feed its growing population now and in the future. They oppose mandatory labeling of foods containing GMOs. Some see no problem with foods that don’t contain GMOs being able to be labeled that way. But hard-liners on the proGMO side say even those voluntary labels imply that there’s something wrong with using GMOs, and so they oppose them too. State-level labeling initiatives Almost two dozen states, including New Jersey have legislation pending that calls

for some type of labeling of foods containing GMOs. In New Jersey, the bills are S-1367 and A-2955. Connecticut recently became the first state to pass that kind of law. However, in a sort of back-stop against being labeled unusually tough on food businesses, it won’t become effective until at least four other states, and at least one of those bordering Connecticut, pass similar laws. Last year, California voters had a chance to require labeling on products containing GMOs. But after a big-money battle between food producers and labeling advocates – with a reported $44 million spent in advertising and lobbying by anti-labeling forces and $7 million spent by those advocating mandatory labeling of products containing GMOs – (Cont. on pg. 8)

2 September, 2013

GARDEN CENTER DIRECTORY

This Fall Restore Your Lawn The All Natural Way Learn About Organic Fertilizers Eco-friendly grass seed mixtures Questions specific to your lawn

Saturday, September 28 10AM to 1PM

Gardener News

September, 2013 3 Around The Garden

HARDY BARDY MUMS

By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

Thousands to Choose from!

Imagine a landscape without boxwood Boxwood is one of the most useful shrubs available because of its year-round green color and very high tolerance to deer, shearing, and shaping. They are suitable for formal and informal landscape use as edging, hedge, screen, accent, and specimen plants. On the heels of the downy mildew disease that has recently affected the beautiful garden impatiens (Impatiens walleriana), another disease is now lurking. This new disease is called boxwood blight. And it might be knocking on your landscaping and garden door real soon. Boxwood blight is unsightly and can lead to near-complete defoliation. Why does this have to happen to one of my favorite plants? Samples of boxwood infected with the fungus Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum, the cause of boxwood blight, have just been confirmed by the Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture Laboratory. This is the first report of the disease in New Jersey. This new report brings the total number of states with confirmed findings to 12 (CT, DE, MA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, VA). Research scientists continue to pursue new identification and treatment tools while the Agriculture Research Service of the USDA has begun evaluating varieties for boxwood blight-resistant genes. Boxwood blight seems to affect different boxwood cultivars to varying degrees, with the most severe infections occurring in the classic English boxwood. Common or American boxwood is also quite prone to the disease. Japanese, Korean and littleleaf boxwood are hosts as well. The blight severely disfigures infected plants, first causing dark circles on the leaves and cankers on stems, ultimately leading to leaf drop. Initial symptoms of boxwood blight appear as light brown spots on the leaves. Spots enlarge, often with concentric circles or a zonate appearance, until entire leaves are blighted and shed. The fungus also infects woody tissues, which results in dark brown to black “diamond-shaped” lesions and stem dieback. Defoliation and stem dieback are rapid. Be aware that boxwood blight spreads very quickly in warm and humid conditions and has the potential to do significant damage to your plantings. Boxwood blight has been a disease of serious concern in the United Kingdom since 1994. It was first reported in the United States in October 2011 in Connecticut and North Carolina. Boxwood blight spores are splash-dispersed and can be carried by wind or by wind-driven rain over short distances. Longer-distance spread is thought to occur through the activities of humans, animals and birds, since the spores are sticky. If you suspect boxwood blight in New Jersey, carefully sample and double bag the plant material. If your suspects are new transplants or small in stature, whole plants are best. (Leave no leaf behind.) Please drive the samples to the Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory for confirmation. I repeat, DOUBLE BAG YOUR SAMPLES! Please do not toss a plant in the bed of your truck and spew infected leaves down the road on your way to the lab! The Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory is very interested in tracking and limiting the spread of this insidious disease, so your cooperation is essential and greatly appreciated. Please make sure to sterilize your pruning shears and garden tools in a solution of one part bleach and nine parts water after the sampling process. Also be sure to remove fallen infected boxwood leaf litter from the landscape and garden area. Do not put them in a compost pile or in the woods. DOUBLE BAG THEM and place them out with the trash. Sanitation is key to help prevent the disease from spreading. The Plant Diagnostic Laboratory is a full-service plant health diagnostic facility of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES). Their mission is to provide accurate and timely diagnoses of plant health problems for the residents of New Jersey. The laboratory is staffed with two full-time diagnosticians who are trained in all aspects of plant health. Seasonal employees and students assist in the lab. The staff works in close cooperation with Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Cooperative Extension specialists, county faculty, and other university personnel, to provide accurate diagnosis and up-to-date recommendations. The laboratory is located on the Cook Campus in the Ralph Geiger Turfgrass Education Center, 20 Indyk-Engel Way, North Brunswick, NJ 08902. Their phone number is 732-932-9140. In New York State, if you suspect you have boxwood blight, you can contact the Cornell University Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic at http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/. In Connecticut, contact the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at http://www.ct.gov/caes/site/default.asp. And in Pennsylvania, contact the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture at http://www.agriculture.state. pa.us/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_24476_10297_0_43/AgWebsite/RegionalOffices. aspx. Help is on the way! Identifying measures for preventing and managing boxwood blight in commercial nursery and field settings is a work in progress, and researchers currently are evaluating fungicides and sanitizers, as well as identifying resistant boxwood cultivars. By the way…according to the American Boxwood Society, the first planting of boxwood in the United States occurred about 1653 at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island, the northwestern part of Long Island in New York, using boxwood brought over the Atlantic Ocean from Amsterdam. As always, I hope you find the information in the Gardener News informative and enjoyable. Until next time…Keep the “garden” 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.

Gladly Accepting SNAP EBT Cards

2013 NJ Flower and Garden Show Award Winning Water Display Garden

4 September, 2013

Gardener News

While we are still in the midst of harvesting the finest and freshest fruits and vegetables that are so plentiful, and we are clearly enjoying these crops in the great Garden State, we know we are soon heading into a change of season. The children are headed back to school, the days are getting shorter and the winds are changing a bit. We also are thinking about preserving our harvest by canning and freezing. But the growing season does not end when the kids go back to school, and now is still a wonderful time to visit our farms. You can find great values as our farmers move through their crop cycles. So many residents and visitors enjoy this wondrous time, where we can go on farms and enjoy events as we head toward fall. We are so lucky in New Jersey because we have all this available to us within a short drive. Other states’ farmers drool at the possibility of showcasing the love of their lives, their family farms, to have folks come on and share in the opportunity to educate, entertain and delight about the workings of a farm. There is so much that takes place and the best place to start

Seafood in Seaside, the Atlantic City Seafood Festival, Point Pleasant Beach’s Festival of the Sea, and the Red Bank Oyster Guinness Festival. In October is Long Beach Island’s famous Chowderfest and Island Beach State Park’s Harvest the Bay. Every farm in New Jersey is special and there are so many different opportunities to enjoy activities in varied ways throughout our state. Plan for it and do not miss out, because before you know it there will be snow on the ground. Find more information on: Jersey Seafood: www. jerseyseafood.nj.gov/events. htm. Jersey Equine: www. jerseyequine.nj.gov.

NJ Dept. of Agriculture By Douglas H. Fisher Secretary of Agriculture

Agricultural Activities Abound in NJ your search for activities is the Jersey Fresh website at www. jerseyfresh.nj.gov. Depending on what it is you want to do, you can narrow down to an activity that will fill the bill, like having the experience of working on a farm by picking peaches or apples. Experience the sheer joy of watching your children or grandchildren navigate through a field and harvest their own produce. You can search for pick-your-own farms on the Jersey Fresh website There are many on-farm activities to choose from, what we know as agritourism. We have a special page on the Jersey Fresh website that focuses on all the agritourism activities we have in the state. There, you can find links to the state’s agritourism attractions, such as Howell Living History Farm and Longstreet Farm. You also can go to the

interactive agritourism website, www.visitnjfarms.org and find a listing of events. You may want to learn about wine-making in New Jersey, or sample some of the fine wines produced by our extraordinary vintners. September starts out with the Jazz-It-Up Wine Festival at Allaire State Park in Monmouth County on Labor Day weekend. The Jersey Fresh Wine Festival takes place the following weekend, September 7-8 at the Burlington County Fairgrounds. Then, on September 21-22, there’s the Bergen County Wine Festival in Ridgefield Park. In October is the Grand Harvest Wine Festival in Morristown and the Cape May Wine Festival at the Ferry Terminal. Or, you can find a list of New Jersey wineries on the Jersey Fresh website. Regarding New Jersey’s state animal, the horse, once

Look Who’s Reading the Gardener News!

It’s in the news

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary of Agriculture James (Jay) Howes looks over the August Gardener News at the Penn Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (PANTS) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Howes is the Deputy Secretary for Consumer Protection, Regulatory Affairs, and Dairy Industry Relations. He is responsible for the Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services, Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards, Bureau of Plant Industry, and the Bureau of Food Distribution. Previous to his appointment, Deputy Howes was Director of Policy Development for the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture encourages, protects and promotes agriculture and related industries throughout the Commonwealth while providing consumer protection through inspection services that impact the health and financial security of Pennsylvania’s citizens.

again there are plenty of activities, from trail rides to races to horse shows. Why not visit one of the many gardens and arboreta throughout the state? Perhaps you will get some ideas for your own home gardens. The Jersey Grown website, www. jerseygrown.nj.gov has a list of gardens and a search for nurseries or garden centers near you. Do not forget that New Jersey is known for its incredible seafood industry, which takes in $211.7 million in seafood annually at its ports. To celebrate Jersey Seafood, there are many festivals throughout the season and pretty much every weekend in September and into October you can attend one of these great events and sample all sorts of fish and shellfish. In September, there’s the Asbury Park Oysterfest,

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

September, 2013 5

â&#x20AC;ŚTO SEED & FEED YOUR LAWN Why not rebuild your lawn with the best?

Germinates quickly and fills in damaged lawn areas better

Used by many lead sod growers across the USA

Specially formulated for successful fall seeding

Contains insect resistant grasses

Contains heat & drought resistant grasses

Repairs summer damage and provides a thicker, greener lawn

Humates promote deeper root growth Helps fight winter disease problems 4% Iron & 3% Sulfur gives deep-green color Helps lawns green-up first next spring

Contains insect resistant grasses

Rapidly adjusts pH Humates increase earthworm/microbe activity

Use when seeding or over-seeding

Boosts color, reduces stress

Helps build a vigorous root system

Far less material than lime, better results

Gets new grass off to a faster start for a thicker, greener lawn

To sign up to receive timely lawn & garden tips, and to find a Jonathan Green retailer near you, visit www.jonathangreen.com

Ask for a free copy of my Lawn Care Calendar and my Organics Product Guide.

6 September, 2013

Gardener News

An Autumn Ironclad

As a garden designer, I often look to nature for inspiration. Whether looking into a multicolored Hibiscus flower for unusual color combinations, or studying the prairies of Wisconsin for creative ways to use ornamental grasses, or even looking at roadside “weeds” for inspiring plant combinations, nature has much to teach us if we simply look around. One awesome roadside “weed” combination is Joe Pye Weed, or Eupatorium dubium, mixed with New York Ironweed, or Vernonia noveboracensis. We have been planting Vernonia more extensively at Rutgers Gardens and although we looked at Eupatorium in September of 2009, the Ironweeds have so far escaped review. Vernonia is a member of the asteraceae or aster family and is comprised of nearly 1,000 species scattered throughout North and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. The genus I’ve been designing landscapes for over 30 years now and one thing that I know for a fact is that regardless of what I design on paper, things always change in the field. And it’s not just me and my designs; it’s everybody’s (Yes, that means you too). Throughout my career, I have worked as both a designer and a landscape contractor, which means that in addition to installing my own designs, often I have installed landscape plans created by other landscape architects, landscape designers and homeowners and not one of them was built exactly to plan. The reality is that no matter how experienced or inexperienced you are; how technically astute or technically challenged you may be; or how artistic you may be or may not be, once a plan is translated from paper to the real world, there are always changes that need to be made. Always! The sooner that you accept this and learn how to adapt and make field changes, the more time you will save at the drawing board (or laptop) and the more profitable your jobs will be.

honors William Vernon (1666/71711), an English botanist who traveled to Maryland in 1698 for a year-long search of new and exciting plants, including Vernonia. Dr. Johann Christian Daniel von Schrebber (17391810), a student of Carl Linnaeus and the Director of the Erlangen Botanical Garden in Germany, was the individual who bestowed that honor. The flowers of most Ironweeds are a rich purple in color, although white and reddish purple are also widespread among the species. A bit unusual to Vernonia is the flower morphology. Most members of the asteraceae have a central boss of 30 to 50 fertile disc florets whose much reduced petals are fused into a tube. They are surrounded by a ring of sterile ray florets, which give the appearance of flower “petals.” For Vernonia, the disc flowers are enlarged and provide the shape and color of the flower while the ray flowers are absent. The result is a flower that appears like clusters of tufted buttons. The common name of Ironweed most likely developed from the

rusty color of the florets as they fade, or from the rusty color of the ripened seeds. Ironweeds vary greatly in size as well as leaf texture. Vernonia noveboracensis is a tall plant, growing to six feet or greater in height by three feet wide. The species epithet is derived from the Latin of novum, or “new,” and Eboracum, which was the ancient Roman fortress city in Britain that is presently the town of York. It is native to Eastern regions of the United States, inhabiting moist meadows or the edge of ponds that receive full sun. They will naturalize where the soils remain moist. The four- to six-inch-long lanceolate-shaped leaves are dark green and rough to the touch. They are arranged alternately along the stems and provide a medium to coarse texture. The stems are tipped with three- to six-inch-wide clusters of flowers that are arranged as a slightly domed cyme. Each flower has a diameter of one-half to three-quarters of an inch, and since they sequentially open from early-August into lateSeptember, they provide great

ornament for the late-summer garden. The flowers are also heavily visited by various pollinators, including butterflies and – as I mentioned above – the purple flowers look great mixed with the pink flowers of Eupatorium dubium! Vernonia lettermannii, the Narrowleaf Ironweed, also has great ornamental merit. The plant name honors George Letterman (1841-1913), a very reclusive botanist who studied many of the plants in the region near his modest log cabin home of Allenton, Missouri. The plant was named by Dr. Engelmann (1809-1884), a GermanAmerican botanist whose passion was for plants of the Rocky Mountains. Unlike the previous species, this plant only grows to 36 inches tall by 24 inches wide and bears slender lanceshaped leaves to four inches long that provide awesome texture for the garden. The tips of the stems branch into the traditional cymose flower heads that bear half-inch-diameter flowers from September into October. This species is also far more adaptable, tolerating

Creating Outdoor Spaces By Jody Shilan, MLA Landscape Designer

The Only Constant is Change As many of you know, I do all of my drawings by hand, and that’s never going to change. Now, you may think that this is where the issue is, since so many of us believe that handdrawn plans can’t possibly be as accurate as CAD (computer aided design) drawings. However, after designing and installing thousands of landscapes working from computer generated drawings created by other designers as well as my own hand-drawn plans, I can assure you that this is not true. So why am I talking about this today and why does this happen? Well, that’s exactly what we are going to discuss. Let’s first look at things from the drawing side of the equation. Although I may be stating the obvious, the world is not perfect. What I mean

by this is that regardless of whether you are renovating an existing landscape or creating a new design for new construction, there are always going to be elements that are not perfect. In regards to the house, this might mean that an exterior wall may not be square (90 degrees) or a set of steps may not be level, or maybe the Bilco doors or the A/C condensers were set too low, creating potential grading and drainage issues that will need to be accommodated. What about in the landscape itself? I don’t know how many times I’ve measured the location of an existing 50-year-old oak tree during my site analysis only to find that when it came time to layout the bed lines and the plantings that somehow that tree moved a couple of feet from where it

was just a few weeks ago. Or maybe it was exactly where I located it on the plan but the root system extended out in a way that I couldn’t possibly foresee, forcing me to relocate and reorganize some of my plantings so as not to damage the tree and also give the new plantings some room to grow. Then, of course, there are the other underground unknowns such as Volkswagen-sized boulders, decommissioned oil tanks and septic systems, or the stump from a 50-foot maple tree that was cut down years ago and was sitting a few inches below the soil slowly decaying and sinking a little bit every year, but not low enough to plant even a onegallon perennial. So what’s a designer, homeowner or contractor to do?

dry soil conditions with periodic inundation, and it looks great mixed with Amsonia hubrictii. The cultivar “Iron Butterfly” has thicker stems that resist flopping. The Ironweeds have only recently become appreciated by gardeners. However, if we begin to look more closely at our roadside weeds, who knows what other ironclad plants and fun combinations we can find for the garden! Editor’s Note: Bruce, foremost a lover of plants since birth, is director of the Rutgers Gardens, an adjunct professor in Landscape Architecture at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, an instructor for Rutgers NJAES Office of Continuing and Professional Education and chairperson of the Garden State Gardens group. He is a member of the Garden Writer’s Association and the New York Hortus Club. He can be reached at (732) 932-8451. For more information, please visit www.rutgersgardens.rutgers.edu The answer is simple. When creating a landscape plan for your home and property, don’t waste your time designing and perfecting everything on the drawing. Instead, what you should do is create a good solid paper concept that provides you with an overall layout of your bedlines, plantings and hardscapes, so that when it comes time to lay things out in the real world, you can tweak things and make adjustments to accommodate some of the knowns and unknowns that come up during an installation. Editors Note: Jody Shilan is the owner of Jody Shilan Designs in Wyckoff, where he provides landscape design and consulting services for homeowners and landscape contractors. He earned his bachelors degree in Landscape Architecture from Cook College, Rutgers University and his masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Currently, he is Executive Director of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA). He can be reached at 201-783-2844 or jshilan@gmail.com.

Gardener News One of the most popular trends in the fresh produce industry over the past few years has been the â&#x20AC;&#x153;locally grownâ&#x20AC;? movement. Many growers, retailers and restaurants have started using the terms â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;locally grownâ&#x20AC;? in their marketing strategies. And who could blame them? The term has a very positive connotation when it is used to describe fresh fruits and vegetables. Growers and retailers will try to emphasize how fresh their products are by touting their local origination. Restaurants will go to the trouble of citing their sources on their menus. Over the past few years, the term local has gained more and more favor within the produce industry. And this over-saturation has, in my opinion, led to a gross overuse of the term. Just what does the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? mean? If I asked 20 different people to define the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? for me, or more specifically, what the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;local produceâ&#x20AC;? meant to them, I bet that I would get 20 different answers. If you were to read a newspaper and the headline

September, 2013 7 The Town Farmer By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

Where is Local? read â&#x20AC;&#x153;Local Man Hit by Car,â&#x20AC;? what would you think? If you look at the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? in terms of government, you have Local, County, State and Federal. How far away from your home are your local schools located? But when it comes to the marketing of fruits and vegetables, how large of an area should â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? define? Should it be a relatively small area or should it be an area as large as the state or perhaps even bigger? Does â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? mean â&#x20AC;&#x153;around the corner,â&#x20AC;? or does it mean 50 or 100 miles away? As restaurants and stores try to outdo themselves in offering the freshest and most â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? produce, what does that term really mean? It is no secret in the industry that as the popularity of â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? food has increased,

many retailers and restaurants have expanded their own definition of what â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? means to better suit their own needs. After all, it is much easier to buy produce from out of the area and call it locally grown than it is to actually grow it! And because there is no mandatory standard within the industry to follow, who is going to say whether something is local or not. Recently, the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture felt the need to address this issue. After observing the misuse of this terminology throughout the state, they decided that they should be proactive with this issue and do something about it. I believe that their general consensus is that something needs to be done to rein in this definition. But, they are contemplating

the possibility of redefining the phrase â&#x20AC;&#x153;locally grownâ&#x20AC;? to mean any product grown in New Jersey or within 30 miles of the border of New Jersey. That new definition does not really sound much like â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? to me. In fact, it sounds more like what â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? is not. Although I realize that the use of the term local has gotten out of hand, I do not believe that the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture has any right to unilaterally redefine a word in the English language. And while I commend their efforts in this regard, I believe that their energies would be better spent in protecting and strengthening the Jersey Fresh program, which by the way, is one of the most successful produce marketing campaigns in the country.

But what should be done? Should the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? be allowed to be bastardized in the same way that â&#x20AC;&#x153;all-naturalâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;organicâ&#x20AC;? have been? In my opinion, the answer is yes. Soon, the term will be so overused that it will not have any real meaning anymore. If that happens, so be it. Consumers should ask where their produce comes from, and stores and restaurants should give them some answers. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that simple. Then the customers can decide where â&#x20AC;&#x153;localâ&#x20AC;? really is. Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: Peter Melick is co-owner of Melickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Town Farm in Oldwick and a 10th-generation New Jersey farmer. Peter is a current member of the Tewksbury Township Committee, and a former Mayor of Tewksbury Township. He also served as a director for the New Jersey Farm Bureau and is a past president of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture. Peter has also been featured on NJN, News 12 New Jersey and on the Fox Business Network.

Rutgers Dean Mark Robson Honored with Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award 1(: %5816:,&. 1- Ę&#x160; 5XWJHUV 3URIHVVRU DQG 'HDQ RI $JULFXOWXUDO and Urban Programs Mark Robson recently received the Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Commission on International Initiatives (CII) annual meeting in Park City, Utah. The award recognizes Robsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career of outstanding contributions to further international education at state and land-grant institutions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am very grateful to Rutgers for allowing me to do this work, it has been especially rewarding to teach my first year seminar class on Global Health and see this provide a platform for students to further their interest in international issues and seek out global learning opportunitiesâ&#x20AC;? said Robson. As dean of agricultural and urban programs, Robson has developed and implemented degree and non-degree programs in entrepreneurial programs in the agricultural sciences targeted toward careers in agricultural education and extension, government service, and agribusiness. In addition, he is responsible for the Office of Continuing and Professional Education, the Agricultural Leadership program, and the IR-4 Minor Use Pesticide program. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As someone who grew up on a farm in NJ and now has projects in the far corners of Thailand, Philippines, and China, Mark is the embodiment of the Rutgers slogan, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jersey Roots, Global Reach,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? said Lily Young, dean of international programs at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Robson, a specialist in exposure science and pesticide use, primarily in developing countries, has a longstanding commitment to Thailand. He has conducted research on the public health implications and health policies related to the use of pesticides. He is the only foreigner to have received an honorary degree from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, the top university in Thailand. The degree was presented to Robson by the princess of Thailand during a three day celebration. Robson is the director of the Thai Fogarty ITREOH Center at Rutgers University, which provides training and research opportunities in a partnership between Chulalongkorn University in Thailand and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in the United States. The Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award recognizes Robsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exceptional leadership to the development of international programs at Rutgers, making fundamental contributions to international activities at the university.

8 September, Sep Se eptember, ptember, 2013

Gardener Gard rde dener New News Ne wss

GMO…YES OR NO? (Continued from Page 1) California voters defeated that ballot question by 53 to 47 percent. The big food producers made the argument that additional labeling just for products sold in California would drive up the costs of food in that state, and political commentators said that recession-weary voters bought into that argument. So, it would seem that even in states where labeling for GMOs has significant support, there’s still reluctance to be too far on the leading edge and stand alone as a state requiring mandatory labeling. Federal inaction It would seem that the only way around the statelevel arguments would be a federal-level mandate. It could be either a mandate to label foods containing GMOs, or a blessing by the USDA or the FDA for standardized labels identifying foods that don’t have GMOs in them. Why hasn’t that happened already? Well, some would point to the enormous amount of money companies like Monsanto put into lobbying

and campaign contributions. Others say it’s because no one has proven a direct link between GMOs and any particular health problem. Neither the FDA, which controls the “Nutrition Facts” labeling on most foods and drinks, nor the American Medical Association (AMA), the recognized authority on diseases, have linked GMOs to specific health threats. Nutrition labels contain information like calories and fats because they can lead to heart disease, sugars because they can contribute to diabetes and salt because it can lead to hypertension. GMO producers say, why label my product if you can’t say what harm it would cause? But should we be waiting years, or even decades, for scientists to prove that GMOs are or are not a threat to our health? What about all the damage that could occur in the meantime? I’ll admit to being as thrown off as anyone by all the various competing messages out there about whether GMOs do, or can,

affect human health. But would it be so bad if we erred on the side of caution? What the federal government does appear to be ready for is labeling to identify those products that don’t contain GMOs. In June, according to a New York Times article, the USDA finally, after years of efforts by companies seeking such a label, approved a label for meat and liquid egg products including a claim about the absence of GMOs. That is the first time that the USDA has issued such a label. The label language specifically asserts that the animals from which the meat or egg products came never ate feed containing GMOs. To obtain such a label, the company producing the meat or egg product must get certified by a third-party organization to back up the claim as being truthful, accurate and not misleading, the New York Times article said. Uniquely American? One of the more frustrating aspects of GMO

labeling for those of us who want to see more of it in this country is that the rest of the world seems to be so far ahead of us in acknowledging that consumers should know whether the food they are eating contains GMOs, or at least is voluntarily labeled as being free of GMOs. According to the website for the “Non-GMO Project,” (http://www.nongmoproject. org/), more than 60 countries around the world already have “significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs.” According to that same website, the U.S. has not launched similar crackdowns largely because of lobbying by major GMO producers like Monsanto and DuPont. Missouri-based Monsanto is so linked to GMOs that a recent provision in federal stop-gap spending sought to circumvent USDA evaluation of each GMO strain and give it a “non-regulated status” under the Plant Protection Act, was labeled the “Monsanto Protection Act, according to

the website of Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. Senator Merkley is pushing amendments to the Farm Bill to undo the Monsanto Protection Act, according to a press release issued by his office. As long as the provision stands, the Senator’s press release said, USDA is required “to grant a temporary permit to any farmer, upon request, to plant genetically modified crops, even if the crop was found to be potentially harmful by a court.” Determining how much anti-GMO sentiment exists throughout the nation is a tricky issue. According to the Non-GMO Project website, public-opinion polls showed that as much as 91 percent of respondents wanted food containing GMOs to have labels saying that they do. But that kind of overwhelming support runs smack into the reality of the California vote last year, where the ballot measure to require labeling was defeated 53 percent to 47 percent. (Cont. on pg. 16)

Gardener News

September, 2013 9

Paris, a Love Affair By Jeannie Geremia Garden Club of New Jersey My love affair with Paris began in the spring of 2002, when my daughter, Nancy Scanlan, living in Saudi Arabia at the time, suggested we meet in Paris for a twoweek mutual milestone birthday celebration. Nancy arrived excitedly expecting her one and only child inspiring our plan to return when her daughter, Amanda, was 10 years old. That April 2002 was breathtakingly beautiful, with Paris ablaze in flowers. Warmer than normal, brilliant sunny skies and chestnut trees lining the avenues in full array of pink and white blooms, reminding me of the song “April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom,” illustrating the magic in the sheer number and majesty of the trees. We spent many delightful days and hours as the city was a kaleidoscope of color and our hotel perfectly situated in the place de la Madeleine at the Madeleine Plaza Hotel with a view of the Eiffel Tower and the Egyptian Obelisk. The Jardin des Tuileries was just a two-block walk and we luxuriated in the gardens brimming with tulips, primroses, wall flowers and forget-me-nots. Fast forward to 2013, and after a month’s delay due to a reservation mix-up, Nancy, Amanda and I arrived for a one-week stay in our same hotel and retraced our steps in the exquisite city of Paris. We learned that Paris’s weather, unlike 2002, had been colder than normal and hence no spring. We were the beneficiaries of the chill as the summer flowers were in their glory. Our first stop was the Jardin des Tuileries, located between the place de la Concorde and the Louvre Museum. The architecture, statues, monuments and gardens are nothing less than spectacular and you find

yourself looking in every direction just soaking it all in. The Tuileries were celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the birth of Andre Le Notre, one of the most famous garden designers in French history. The gardens were created in the 16th Century at the request of Queen Catherine de’ Medici as they led to the Palais des Tuileries (the Louvre Museum), in the Italian style, then transformed by Le Notre who also created Versailles’s fabulous formal French gardens under Louis XIV. I was mesmerized by the Leopard lilies dancing in the flower borders surrounded by their “ladies in waiting,” dahlias, curtseying and rudbeckias showing off as we dined at one of the garden’s cafes, rode the merry-go-round and admired the vintage, wooden sailboats for hire plying the garden’s pond, with children happily scampering after their sailboats with long, wooden poles. A trip to Monet’s House and Gardens in Giverny located in Normandy was a highlight as the water lilies in the water garden were in full bloom and a joy to behold. Visitors were dazzled with rows of dahlias, nasturtiums, rudbeckias, holly hocks, sweet peas, veronicas and arches of roses, all competing for attention. It was easy to see Claude Monet’s inspiration for his beautiful Impressionist paintings was indeed all about him and his spirit lives on in his exquisite home and magnificent gardens. The journey through charming villages with my favorite single-flowered, old-fashioned holly hocks greeting us everywhere we looked was nothing short of enchanting and flowers planted in medians and huge containers in vivid colors were a welcoming sight. My favorite garden in Paris, the Jardin du Luxembourg, was created in

1612 by another de Medici, Marie, mother of Louis XIII, and is now the private garden of the French Senate housed in Marie de Medici’s former palace. The garden is open to the public and the extensive flower borders were just a stunning color combination of pinks, reds, deep rose, blue, purple and lavender, and included dahlias, roses, daisies, with plumbago as the fabulous center specimen. My girls delighted in this garden as they rented a sailboat festooned with a seahorse sail and spent a joyful half hour with other families sailing their boats in the huge pond called the Grand Bassin. After our garden sojourn, we were off to the bird market on the Ile de la Cite by Notre Dame, which is a flower market six days of the week. Exploring Paris and seeing tributes to American heroes and statesmen is thrilling indeed. My heart was in my throat when we passed the imposing, magnificent statue of George Washington astride his horse near the Eiffel Tower. The statue, by American sculptor Daniel Chester French, was a “gift of the women of the United States of America in memory of the brotherly help given by France to their fathers in the fight for Independence.” The sights and sounds of Paris, the joie de vivre, is inspirational and a lifetime memory. Editor’s Note: Jeannie Geremia is the Community Garden Chair for the Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc., and is a National Garden Clubs, Inc., Accredited Judge for the GCNJ. She can be reached by emailing jeannieg42@earthlink. net Garden Club of New Jersey’s website is: www. gardenclubofnewjersey. com and phone number is: 732-249-0947.

Recycle the

Gardener News show it to a friend!

10 September, 2013 How can construction damage your trees? What can you do about it? This month we will talk about construction damage as it relates to trees. As you may know, the presence of trees surrounding a residence contributes greatly to both the aesthetic and monetary value of the property. Studies have shown the presence of established trees usually increases the value of a building lot by 10 percent and sometimes as much as 25 percent over a similar lot that lacks trees. Most homeowners recognize that trees provide many benefits, including beautifying a residence, providing shade and privacy, reducing home energy costs, and providing a barrier to noise. Most progressive homebuilders also recognize the value of trees and usually leave as many as possible on newly constructed home sites. Unfortunately, trees often are damaged so severely during home construction that many die within one or two years after the house is completed. The loss of trees not only reduces the value of the property, but also may add several hundred to several thousand dollars in tree removal costs. Healthy trees can be successfully left on home sites if some basic precautions are undertaken to prevent damage during construction. The best way to keep your plants disease-free is to take precautions to prevent diseases from getting a foothold in your garden. Understanding the disease triangle will be beneficial. It consists of a susceptible host plant, a disease pathogen and an environment conducive to disease formation. If any of these do not exist, then a disease will not. Planting a susceptible crab apple in an area which is known to have scab problems, and add a wet spring, and you have all of the components. Using a disease-resistant cultivar will break this triangle and prevent the disease. Also, cultural practices can prevent disease as well. Good sanitation in the garden will go a long way in this regard. Cleaning debris around your plants can eliminate some disease potential, as will watering properly for your plants. Many disease problems come from indiscriminate water over the top of plants that would benefit more from drip or ground-level sprays. Another way to prevent disease problems is to plant the right plant in different locations on your property. Many times, disease problems can be prevented by proper plant selection. The soil is the major consideration and a soil test

Gardener News

Trees and Construction Tree decline and mortality around newly constructed homes is a result primarily from damage to the root system. During construction, roots are frequently cut when installing foundations, water and sewer lines or other utilities, driveways, curbs, sidewalks, etc. Many roots are also lost when soil is removed during grading. Feeder roots occur primarily within the top six to eight inches of soil, and removing just a few inches of soil during grading can result in the elimination of much of these roots. Loss of feeder roots will reduce the water and nutrient absorption capability, which can eventually lead to decline. Compaction of the soil or placing fill over a tree root system during grading is equally as destructive as cutting and removing roots. All plant cells, including those in the roots, require oxygen to survive. Root cells obtain oxygen from pores

found naturally within healthy soil. When the soil over the root system of a tree is compacted or fill is added during grading, these pore spaces are reduced and the amount of oxygen in the soil is greatly diminished. At the same time, gases toxic to plant roots tend to accumulate in the soil and the areas around the roots. These adverse factors result in root mortality and tree decline. Mechanical injuries to the stem and limbs also contribute to tree decline. Damage to the bark caused by construction equipment disrupt the transport of water and nutrients upward to the crown and allow entrance of decay and other disease organisms. The best practice is to try to prevent problems in the first place: Prevent Root Damage Protecting against root damage is the key to preventing tree decline

during building construction. Physical barriers such as fencing should be built around trees to prevent damage by construction equipment. In addition, this will minimize soil compaction and also prevent fill and other debris from being placed over the root system. Barriers should be placed at least midway between the trunk of the tree and the drip line. If construction equipment must pass close to the tree, a bridge can be constructed over the root system. This is done by placing wood or a steel plate over railroad ties, which are placed at intervals along the ground as supports. Doing this will reduce compaction of the soil. Prevent Grade Changes - Grade changes around trees should be avoided at all cost (if you want your tree to survive!) If fill must be placed over the root system of a tree, a tree well should be installed. If the grade

The Landscaper By Evan Dickerson Landscape Professional

Around and Around the Diseases Go kit is a must. Finding out what the pH and soil texture are, as well as the amount of organic matter in the soil, can go a long way toward ensuring good plant health. Using soil amendments and incorporating them into the native soil when planting will help the roots acclimate to the native soil. Know the characteristics of the plants you intend to plant. Planting in the proper exposure with the proper soil and drainage for the particular plant will go a long way in helping ensure your plants have a healthy existence. When new gardens are installed, we have the perfect opportunity to amend the soil and create a good growing medium. After the soil is tested and proper amendments are incorporated, we can till in compost. A couple inches of a good, clean compost product will go a long way in giving your plants a healthy head start. The use of compost

will jump-start the microbial community and help keep the bacteria and microorganisms in better balance. The end result will be healthy plants with less threat of disease. Cultural gardening practices are very important in preventing disease outbreaks. After your plants have been properly planted, watering and mulching can be beneficial. Know the water requirements of your plants and don’t just assume that your automatic sprinkler will apply the proper amount of water. Some shallow rooted plants will need supplemental watering during hot, dry spells and other plants are able to survive hot, dry periods and may even benefit from occasional drying out. Again, know your plants to prevent a problem. With planting and watering considerations taken care of, mulch can be applied. It is crucially important not to

overdo this process. A light couple inches of a good mulch product will help retain water and mediate temperatures as well as help keep weed growth down. The overuse of mulch can be a detriment to your plants. Piling too much mulch can create an environment where the plants will not get proper water nutrients and oxygen. Many times, the plants will start to root out from the trunk into the mulch which has been piled up above the crown of the plant, creating a bad situation. It is beneficial to use mulch, but remember the soil is the most important component in good plant health care. When subsequent applications of mulch are made, it is beneficial to cultivate into the soil some of the old mulch before adding additional dressing. Pruning is an important and often overlooked aspect in disease prevention. Proper horticultural pruning will

must be cut, this should be done outside the tree’s root system at a distance three to five times the diameter of the trunk. Professional Pruning - Prior to the initiation of construction, lower limbs on the trees to be saved should be pruned to allow access for construction equipment. Large deadwood also should be removed at this time in order to eliminate a possible safety hazard to construction workers. As always, I hope you learned something! …..’Till next month Editor’s Note: Robert graduated from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University with degrees in science education and forest biology. He is an ISA Certified Arborist and a New Jersey Certified Tree Expert. Robert is currently teaching AP Environmental Science, Biology and Chemistry at Liberty High School in PA., and on staff at Temple University teaching Horticulture. He delivers many short courses and seminars at various outdoor education facilities. He is available for talks and consultations in both NJ and PA. Robert can be reached by calling (484) 560-5744. enhance your plants’ health, while indiscriminate shearing of many plants will increase disease susceptibility and even promote disease breakout. Proper pruning will enhance the plants’ natural growth and will go a long way toward keeping plants healthy. Again, knowing the proper growth of your plants will let you know where and how to cut them back. By and large, hand pruning back to lateral stems of buds will ensure proper growth will take place. Opening up and eliminating crossing and touching branches will increase air space in your plants as well as keep them looking good, as their health will be improved. When pruning, often just the removal of fruiting bodies will be enough to keep a disease from spreading in certain plants. Again, identify and determine the plants’ requirements as well as the diseases. Using this knowledge will go a long way in preventing disease outbreaks, no matter what the weather. 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

Gardener News

September, 2013 11

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

WE HAVE BULK COMPOST

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

Shop Where The Landscape Professionals Shop

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

New Start Soil Root Penetrator 1 Root Penetrator 2

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

Bocci, Cricket, Horseshoe and Pond Clay. Baseball Infield Mix

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

Emergency Service

Residential Ground Grading Solutions Light Excavating Member of:

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

732-668-2012 NJHIC# 13VH03659100

Serving Central New Jersey

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

12 September, Sep Se eptember, tember, r, 2013 2013

Gardener Gard rde dener News Newss New

HAMPTONS ESTATE

ÂŽ

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

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

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

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

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

Long Island Compost Corp. 100 Urban Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 Phone: (516) 334-6600 Fax: (516) 338-4773

www.LICompost.com

SERVING MERCER COUNTY AND GR REATER PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

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

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

8F UBLF QSJEF in treating every JMZ QBUJFOU MJLF GBNJMZ

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

www.princetonneurologicalsurgery.com

Gardener News

September, 2013 13

It’s New York Apple Harvest Time New York Apple harvest time is here with great choices – fresher, faster, fabulous!

Fresher

The New York State Apple harvest is on now, so all your favorites, like Ginger Gold, Gala, McIntosh, and sweet treat Honeycrisp, are ready.

Faster

New York Apple Growers feature millions of local branches near you, just across the river! From throughout New York State and the Hudson Valley, our apples reach you quicker because they don’t have to travel across the country, so you get all the healthy, delicious benefits.

Fabulous

Imagine how good fresh New York Apples will taste for snacking, pies, sauces, appetizers, and other recipes. And don’t forget to pick up some fresh, fabulous apple cider, too.

Take your pick of great New York Apples now available at New Jersey’s finest food stores.

14 September, Sep Se eptember, ptember, r, 2013 2013

Gardener Gard rde dener New News Ne wss

Support NJ Agriculture JERSEY GROWN

Nursery Stock JERSEY GROWN

Sunflower Birdseed

JERSEY GROWN

Firewood

JERSEY GROWN

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

Annuals & Perennials Made With JERSEY GROWN

Wood Birdhouses & Bird Feeders

Governor Chris Christie Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisherr

jerseygrown.nj.gov

Gardener News

September, 2013 15 Unique Plants By Bob LaHoff Nursery Specialist

This Is How You Do It! Pat Cullina, past Vice President of Horticulture and Science at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, once said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mulch is not a groundcover!â&#x20AC;? Truer words were never spoken. I heard him utter these words at a talk he gave last year at Pleasant Run Nursery. What was meant by that comment, during that moment, was that plants appearing in landscapes, surrounded by mulch, looking as though they need to be rescued by a life preserver, is not good design. According to Wikipedia: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil. Its purpose is to conserve moisture, improve the fertility and health of the soil, reduce weed growth and to enhance the visual appeal of the area. Groundcover refers to any plant that grows over an area of ground, used to provide protection from erosion and drought, and to improve its aesthetic appearance (by concealing bare earth).â&#x20AC;? Recently my family took a quick vacation to Las Vegas, and while my wife enjoys the bells and whistles inside the casino, I prefer to admire the landscapes surrounding them. Las Vegas, for me, is a great example of what virtually unlimited resources and creative minds can conjure up. Almost every big hotel on the strip has its own theme and a landscape to match. However, two hotels that are just over the top as far as creativity, plant materials and props are the Bellagio and the Wynn. These two hotels use space, both small and large, so well, and their introduction of art in the garden, whether it is living art or sculpture, is quantum. The Bellagio, as you enter through the front doors, has you pass under a giant ceiling of glass flowers done by Dale Chihuly. Heading straight on, you have the conservatory and botanical gardens in front of you. Here the attention to detail is astounding! This past July, inside the conservatory, was an enormous aviary, lighthouse, bridge, boat, 15-foot birdhouse and numerous water features. Plants that surrounded all of these features were huge hydrangea sweeps, Grecian Pattern Plant, Acanthus mollis â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oak Leaf,â&#x20AC;? for dark, unusual texture in the background and a smattering of some of the most unique trees ever. Highlights for me included a personal favorite, the Madrone Tree, Arbutus menziesii. This one-of-a-kind evergreen tree has bark that shreds, showing the cinnamon-brown bark on the outside while exposing the reds and greens on the inside. Other showstoppers were the centuryold sculpted Sevillano Olive trees and a snail that had 1,500 roses depicting its shell. These vertical elements helped frame the smaller plantings, and at no point did you ever see any mulch. The outside of the Bellagio, by the pool areas, showcased the quintessential Mediterranean plant. Perfect for the Bellagio, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m speaking of Italian Cypress, Cupressus sempervirens â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stricta.â&#x20AC;? These fastigiate evergreens are over four stories tall and impressive to say the least. Conjuring up memories of the Cypress Alley near Arezzo, Italy, depicted so well in the movie â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gladiatorâ&#x20AC;? and Van Goghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Cypresses, these monstrous conifers left me speechless. Often I am asked, since Italian Cypress is not â&#x20AC;&#x153;hardyâ&#x20AC;? for New Jersey, what plant could replicate such a footprint. While no plant will be an exact copy, consider either Degrootâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Spire Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis â&#x20AC;&#x153;Degrootâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Spire,â&#x20AC;?, or Cupressina Norway Spruce, Picea abies â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cupressina.â&#x20AC;? Both trees offer a strong vertical element for your garden and with time could create such a look. The Wynnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s front entrance has you walk past the atrium and into a beautiful, indoor forest and garden that is lit at night. Huge expanses of hydrangea and Rieger begonias were backing large sweeps of tiny ferns. Planted pot-to-pot, the carpet of fern helped punctuate the white planters filled with phormium and agave types. Hanging from the trees were three-foot spheres of roses, chrysanthemums and orchids that were as impressive in the day as they were at night. I had an opportunity to speak with one of the140 expert horticulturists at the Bellagio. She told me that every flower and every plant is touched at least once a week. The arrangements and combinations that these horticulturists and designers offer really are second to none. Rare natural finds from all over the world speak to almost anyone at any time of the year. Displays that are swapped out as often as most of us go grocery shopping provide inspiration and nourishment to your soul. And if all this hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t convinced you yet to hop a flight to Vegas, consider the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Water Wallâ&#x20AC;? at Aria and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lake of Dreamsâ&#x20AC;? at the Wynnâ&#x20AC;Ś that will surely do the trick. Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: Bob LaHoff is co-owner of Hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Garden Center and Florist in Union County, a member of the Union County Board of Agriculture, the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association, the American Boxwood Society, the European Boxwood Society, a members of the Reeves-Reed Arboretum Buildings and Grounds Committee, a lifetime member of the Conifer Society, a member of the NJ Plants Trade Show Advisory Board, and past member of the retail council for Monrovia Growers. He can be reached at (908) 665-0331.

Christie Administration Announces Assistance With Organic Certification Costs 75(1721 1- Ę&#x160; 7RGD\ WKH 1HZ -HUVH\ Department of Agriculture announced a partnership with the federal government to reduce organic certification costs as part of the Christie Administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ongoing efforts to promote New Jersey-grown and marketed organic food products. Through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Assistance Organic Certification Cost Share Program, each qualified producer of organic products is eligible for a reimbursement of up to 75 percent of its costs of certification not to exceed $750. Certification costs include fees and charges levied by the certifying agent for certification activities. To qualify for reimbursement under this program, an organic producer must have been certified or incurred expenses for the continuation of certification during the period of October 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013. Certification must be through a USDA-accredited certifying agent. In the event that demand exceeds the amount of funds allocated to New Jersey, applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Operations may receive one reimbursement per certification or category of certification per year. Applications must be received by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture no later than November 19, 2013. Applications and more information about the program are available online at www.nj.gov/agriculture/ grants/organiccostshare.html. Please contact Debra McCluskey with any questions at (609) 984-2225 or Debra.McCluskey@ag.state.nj.us.

16 September, 2013 As fall approaches, many of us will be considering what grass seed to buy to re-seed our summer-ravaged lawn. Since lawns are generally large in size and sometimes a lot to take care of, some feel the grass seed is not that important. How many of you have been tempted or bought a bargain brand of cheap seed and found out the results were so poor that you wasted a lot of energy preparing the lawn? Come on, you can admit it that perhaps you tried it once and it failed. Ben Franklin once said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.â&#x20AC;? You wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t buy the cheapest house paint, so please DO NOT buy cheap grass seed! Grass seed is available in many different sizes, brands and quality. Quality, what do you mean by quality? I thought grass seed was grass seed? Not so fast. Grass seed is a product of nature and is grown in fields just like other crops. Some grass-seed farmers perhaps did not clear their fields of existing weeds very well before planting,

Gardener News Turf â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Up By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

Do not buy cheap grass seed! and these weed seeds make their way into even a small bag of grass seed. After the farmer harvests the new crop of grass seed each summer, they clean the seed with sophisticated cleaners with many screens and blowers to remove certain size and weight weeds. However, some are better at cleaning seed than others; experience is worth a million bucks! The physical cleanliness of the grass seed you buy is very important in order to keep unwanted weeds from establishing in your newly planted lawn. Have you ever looked closely at the analysis on a bag of grass seed? Be sure to look for low levels of weed seed, other crop seed and inert matter. Weed seeds can be grassy weeds or broadleaf weeds that are

generally are not wanted in a lawn situation. Crop seed is defined as a crop grown for profit, but again, not desired in your lawn. Crop seed could be timothy, corn, wheat, radish, you get the picture. Inert matter includes chaff, soil particles, etc. and should ideally be no more than 2 percent. Look for high levels of germination, too. Acceptable levels of germination are greater than 80 percent and many times higher than 90 percent. The germination percent means the grass has been grown out in a seed laboratory and the reported germination grew. If the grass seed is labeled at 90 percent germination and you did not get a very good stand of grass in a month or so, why do we always blame the seed? Sometimes I hear that

GMOâ&#x20AC;ŚYES OR NO? (Continued from Page 8) Unanswered Questions Anti-GMO advocates say there just are far too many questions about the health and environmental effects of GMOs not to take the most cautious approach to allowing them to be planted and included in the food we eat. One of the strangest cases involving GMOs occurred just recently in Oregon. A farmer there found in one of his fields GMO wheat that was developed years ago by Monsanto but discontinued during field trials at least eight years ago. Monsanto never sought government approval to sell that strain of GMO wheat, so any commercial production of it in a field without a USDA permit would have been illegal, according to a recent National Public Radio story. The phantom emergence of that GMO wheat strain in that Oregon field was not just an oddity. If not for quick USDA action to study Oregon wheat fields and determine that there was no other field in which this wheat could be found, Oregon wheat farmers were at risk of losing lucrative markets for their crops in Asia, the NPR story said. With these kinds of mysterious, unanswered questions about how GMOs could just â&#x20AC;&#x153;get looseâ&#x20AC;? and

wind up in an Oregon field EIGHT YEARS after Monsanto had pretty much abandoned tests of that strain of wheat, how certain can the USDA, the FDA or any government agency be about the effects GMOs have on our health and our environment? American consumers deserve to know whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the food they put in their mouths. If the food companies say too many different regulations in a bunch of different states will increase labeling costs too much, well then some national-level law should be passed that would result in one package with the same labeling all across the country. Shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we know whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in our food? Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: Tom Castronovo is executive editor and publisher of Gardener News. Tomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

the seed must be bad. Almost all of the time the grass seed is not the problem, it involves poor soil preparation or using the wrong grass seed mixture in the wrong environment. Grass-seed genetics involves a lot of time and breeding expertise. Many breeders come from leading universities or are independent breeders. The ultimate grass seed breeder was Dr. C. Reed Funk from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Dr. Funk was able to revolutionize the grass seed industry by improving all characteristics in lawn grasses in order to produce better turf quality. These improvements over time included darker color, lower growing, heat and drought and disease resistance. He even discovered endophyes

in certain grass families. Endophytes are a naturally occurring fungus within the tissue of the grass plant that produces alkaloids that many lawn insects do not like and therefore creates a natural insect resistance in the plant. These improvements helped many homeowners have a more care-free lawn. I did say more care-free, not the perfect grass, which may never happen due to so many conditions Mother Nature keeps throwing at us. If you are going to properly prepare your lawn for seeding, we all know this involves a lot of time and sweat. Be sure to buy a reputable brand of grass seed that your local store recommends. These stores have been selling seed for years and know from positive feedback which grass seed works best in your area. Good luck with your seeding! Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

New York State Apple Growers Forecast â&#x20AC;&#x153;Perfect Stormâ&#x20AC;? Crop ),6+(56 1< Ę&#x160; 1HZ <RUN VWDWH DSSOH JURZHUV DUH EDFN DQG WKH\ mean business â&#x20AC;&#x201C; lots more business this year, that is, thanks to a bigger, better crop with more of the varieties consumers love. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the trade report from a conference call of leading apple growers from across the state that was held July 25. The call was hosted by New York Apple Association (NYAA). Growers attributed news that this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crop would be 100 percent or more than their typical crop to near-perfect growing conditions, and recent new plantings now coming into production. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s harvest is expected to begin on time and proceed on schedule, with the first shipments of apples arriving at market mid-August. Fruit size and sugars should be excellent as growers have enjoyed close to perfect growing conditions this year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; strong bloom, good pollination and plenty of sunlight, heat and moisture. New York state apple shippers will have more supplies of popular varieties including HoneyCrisp, Gala, McIntosh and Empire because of new plantings over the past 5-6 years that are now figuratively â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and literally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; bearing fruit. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want retailers to know that we have more than rebounded from last year, thanks to much more benevolent weather and smart growers whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been planting more of what consumers want,â&#x20AC;? said NYAA President Jim Allen, who hosted the grower conference call. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Call your shippers today to start planning your New York state apple promotions.â&#x20AC;? Allen noted that harvest bins, packing capacity and storage space are sufficient to allow an orderly progression to market. NYAAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grower leaders forecasted the 2013 New York apple crop will easily meet the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5-year average production of 29 million bushels, and recent plantings now coming into production may push that to exceed 30 million bushels. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good-news crop comes after early-season freezes last year decimated much of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crop in the bud; the 2012 crop was estimated at 17.1 million bushels. Growers are happy this year, and they are certain retailer and consumers will be too. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our retailers saw what was possible last year even with a small crop, prices were strong,â&#x20AC;? said Allen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The New York apple industry canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to see what we can do together with them this year.â&#x20AC;?

Gardener Gard rde dener News Newss New

September, Sep Se eptember, tember, r, 201 22013 013 17 CALL FOR FREE F ESTIMATE (866) 936-7007

Garden State

GARDEN STATE SAFE LAWNS PROUDLY GROWS

PARTNERED WITH

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

Safe Lawns & Landscapes

Family Owned and Operated License #99403A

www.GardenStateSafeLawns.com

18 September, 2013

Gardener News

New members take seats on NJ State Board of Agriculture 75(1721 1- Ę&#x160; 7KH 1HZ -HUVH\ 6WDWH %RDUG RI $JULFXOWXUH LQVWDOOHG WZR QHZ PHPEHUV RQ -XO\ GXULQJ LWV UHRUJDQL]DWLRQ PHHWLQJ KHOG LQ (DVWDPSWRQ Ę&#x160; 'DYLG .OHPP RI 1HZWRQ representing the equine industry, and Santo John Maccherone of Mullica Hill, representing the fruit industry. Klemm and Maccherone were elected by the delegates at the February 2013 State Agricultural Convention for recommendation to the Governor for nomination and later confirmed by the State Senate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dave Klemm from North Jersey and Santo John Maccherone from South Jersey are agricultural leaders,â&#x20AC;? said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They bring their vast knowledge and experience to the State Board of Agriculture, which sets policy for the industry throughout the entire state. We look forward to working with them on many important issues.â&#x20AC;? Also during the reorganization meeting, Robert Swanekamp, a Monmouth County flower and plant grower, was selected to serve as Board President and Francisco Allende, a South Jersey peach farmer, as Vice President. Klemm and his son, Bradley, second and third-generation farmers, own Waterwheel Farm, which has been in the family for 50 years. A horse boarding business has been in operation for 35 years and most of the farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 500 acres are used as pastureland for the horses. Klemm grows grass and hay for the horses and also raises beef and free-range turkeys. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia College in Bronxville, NY in Business Management and in 2009 received his Realtor License. He is a member and past-president of the Sussex County Board of Agriculture and a member and Director Alternate for New Jersey Farm Bureau. He is active in Redeemer Lutheran Church and currently serves as church VicePresident. Maccheroneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Circle M Farms was established in 1942 and is a fourth-generation family owned and operated business. He grows 150 acres of peaches and nectarines, 10 acres of apples, four acres of plums, 25 acres of asparagus and 150 acres of small grains in Mullica Hill, Gloucester County and Salem, Salem County. Maccherone also produces peach cider, peach preserves, peach salsa and plum cider under the Circle M label. Maccherone earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Glassboro State College. He is a member of the Gloucester Council Board of Agriculture, New Jersey Peach Promotion Council and New Jersey Peach Council. He was director of the Swedesboro Market and previously served on the Harrison Township Planning Board, Environmental Council and Economic Development Board. The State Board of Agriculture comprises eight members who serve for four years, with two members being replaced each year. By law, at least four of its members must represent the top commodity groups in the state. Members serve without salary. For more information, visit www. nj.gov/agriculture/about/sba.

My younger brother, who has a property in Bowdoinham, Maine, that is all trees and streams, spent a lot of time a couple years back eradicating a very invasive plant that covered a number of acres. My brother and his wife, prior to understanding what the plant actually was, received burns on their arms and legs - yes, burns! The departments of agriculture from THREE different states actually came to see it and helped him eradicate it without using pesticides that most definitely would have contaminated the ground water. They cut them down, dug up the roots and bagged and tagged the entire crop. Who has guessed what this invasive plant is? If there was a Hulk version of Queen Anneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lace, Giant Hogweed would be it. This invasive plant species can tower up to 14 feet tall (Wow-zah!) with flower heads up to one foot wide, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s far more malevolent than its kin. The stemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sap can cause serious burns on your skin and in some cases blindness.

The Miscellaneous Gardener By Richard W. Perkins Freelance Writer

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wow! Here they Come... Again!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of all the invasive plant species Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen, this one scares me the most,â&#x20AC;? said Ronald Lemin Jr., a vegetation management sales consultant with CPS Timberland who has volunteered time to work with the state to eradicate hogweed from areas in Maine, from Bar Harbor to Bangor and... Bowdoinham. At the time of this interview, Lemin was helping to eradicate a massive hogweed infestation site in Bangor between Ohio Street and Finson Road. The thousands of plants situated around a tributary could spread the infestation to Kenduskeag Stream and into the Penobscot River because of hogweedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s floatable seeds, which each plant produces by the hundreds during germination.

For this reason, Lemin said he wants to warn everyone in Maine touched by tributaries to be wary of the giant plants. The expert said the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface is harmless to touch, but its fragile, hollow stem is full of dangerous sap that can burn the skin. People can identify hogweed by its unusually large size, robust red stem, wide flower head and leaves that reach up to five feet long. The Maine Department of Agriculture has a comparative chart of giant hogweed and its relatives on its website. Giant hogweed is a member of the parsley family and it is considered a Federal Noxious Weed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, making it illegal to propagate, transport or

sell. The Department, which provides a comprehensive advisory on its website, did not have anyone available for comment, but its web pageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advice echoes Leminâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s: Be cautious and use protective gear when around hogweed. In addition to Bangor, there are 18 other hogweed sites in Androscoggin, Kennebec, Sagadahoc, Hancock, Waldo, Piscataquis and Cumberland counties. The plant originated in the region between the Black and Caspian Seas on the border of Europe and Asia and was introduced to North America in the early 1900s for display in arboretums because of its unusual appearance. The plant eventually escaped cultivation and spread into rich, moist soils near streams, ditches and wooded

areas. Lemin said that in the beginning he used glyphosate, a broad-spectrum herbicide, to destroy many of the plants found in the area, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hazardous to other vegetation and aquatic life. As an alternative, he recommends either cutting off the flower head, which eventually will grow back but never germinate, or placing a black plastic bag over the top of the plant and securing it with a knot. With this method, Lemin said, the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flower head will die because of suffocation and extreme heat. My brother plans to till that same soil for a garden. But, with 14 foot-high weeds that burn your skin growing in it, the corn will be hard to get to. We just might be renting a backhoe soon. Thanks for reading and see ya next month. Editors Note: Richard Perkins is an avid horticulturist, a member of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and the Seacoast Writers Association. He can be reached at perkinsphoto7@aol.com

Gardener News September really, officially kicks off the fall apple season. True, we have apples all year long, but we finish old crop and imports at the beginning of September and get into the domestic new crop. We also see the start of local apples. Some of the favorites that still have a season, such as Honeycrisp and Macoun, begin to the delight of consumers. New varietals will also be introduced; typically the success rate is low, from my experience. School begins and we reward our youngsters with yummy favorites in their lunch and for after-school snacks. Adults too, enjoy the healthy deliciousness of a crisp, sweet apple. The produce industry has made it even easier to consume more apples by cutting them for you. Apple slices are available in most grocery outlets. But how do we know what the best apples are for you? It is necessary to create and develop new growing methods that will make our food more wholesome, taste better and have the best in nutrients. Seed companies, science, and growers are constantly trying to improve practices in order to achieve a few things. It’s September already. Unbelievable how fast the summer has flown by. Even young children were saying it was too soon to go back to school. This summer, I spent a lot of time with others in the industry, going to as many conventions and industry gatherings as possible to get a perspective on how things were, are, and the attitude of the future. It was very pleasant to hear that the tones of these conversations were positive. It sounded a lot like people’s attitudes where changing. It wasn’t a regional thing either; it was nationwide. Talking to peers from other parts of the country, everyone had a common theme. Things were OK to good, and the forecast for tomorrow’s season looks promising. This is what everyone’s been looking for, a positive outlook. It wasn’t very long ago that the mood was, “When is it going to get better?” Or, “This season was worse than last season.”

September, 2013 19 Passionate About Produce By Paul Kneeland The King of Produce

How do you like them Apples? For one, be able to feed the population domestically and abroad. Two, farm the same amount of products or more on less acreage. Three, reduce synthetic pesticide use. Four, continue to deliver the lifeline of our existence, fresh produce. Most consumers know conventional apples, that is, apples grown with conventional methods. Many also know organic apples, very generally meaning apples grown using organic practices. But how many know of a newer program called Eco Apples? The Eco Apple program was started by a non-profit organization in Massachusetts called Red Tomato. Eco growers are certified as partners in this process and all are located in the Northeast United States. There are really only a handful of Eco growers, but all are

committed to the program and believe in its strategy. The Eco process is very similar to organic in that Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is used to reduce predatory pests. Simply put, pests that do not harm the fruit are brought in to “control” the pests that would be harmful to the fruit. It’s a circle-oflife kind of thing. There is an advanced protocol for apples in the Northeast that is used in the process since it is very difficult to grow organic apples in this area. Large quantities of pest control substances are typically needed for a conventional grower. Eco growers use the least toxic of the methods and choose those that are best for the tree ecosystem. Eco growers are similar to organic growers in that they prohibit the use of

Organophosphates. Advanced IPM methods are also used for weed control and disease in the orchards. Conventional pesticides are limited to specific use as a last resort on these farms. Although less efficient than conventional growing methods and typically more expensive, Eco growers feel their apples taste closer to “natural” than other apples. Annually, researchers from Cornell University and the University of Massachusetts review the protocols in conjunction with any climate shifts and changing weather patterns. They make recommendations to adjust protocols as patterns become consistent. The ultimate goal would be to stay ahead of changes that might affect the process. In the end, consumers have

The Professional Grower By Tim Hionis Greenhouse Specialist

Getting Back to Business It had seemed as though the industry was in a rut this time last year. But fortunately, this summer’s conversations showed the newfound spark the industry needed. There was a sense of faith replenished after a long string of unfortunate events that had taken place in the recent years. The conversations were enthusiastic. Fresh ideas were being brought to the table. People from the top of the industry to those who are just getting their feet wet were excited to keep things rolling. One thing I have begun to realize in this industry is, usually no one is singled out. It seems either everyone involved does well or vice versa. There usually aren’t mixed

reactions to these questions. My question now is: What is the reasoning for this? What are the factors that have changed? I believe that the last couple years were restructuring years for everyone involve. Before the recession and the housing and banking collapse, everyone was having record-breaking years. Then as things came to a screeching halt, the first thing people realized was that they didn’t beat their expectations. And then it kept falling. I think it took a while for the industry to get a grasp on how to adjust to what was happening. Also during these times, the climate became erratic nationwide. There were natural disasters

around every corner. There was flooding, droughts, heavy snowfalls, and the unfortunate events of Hurricane Irene and Sandy to hit our coast. I have always mentioned, the number-one variable in our industry is weather. If the weather is with us, people will want to come out and visit, and if it is lousy, people stay indoors. This industry is constantly changing and adjusting and the people within it are constantly adjusting their strategies, planning, performance and goals to keep up with the standards within the industry. This is an industry that is constantly reinventing itself. We are constantly looking for the next best item to

their own choices to make, where they shop and what they buy. It is the job of the produce industry to educate all of us on the processes used to grow food and to ensure the safety of our food. There really should be full disclosure. We have a right to know. Folks at Red Tomato are absolutely dedicated to finding the best products available with the practices that reduce synthetic pesticides. You can learn more at www.redtomato. org . Understanding your food is really a next level of consumerism. It is important to know that there are many people in the industry behind the scenes that are committed to the safest food possible. Editor’s Note: Paul Kneeland is the Vice President of Floral, Meat, Produce and Seafood for Kings Food Markets, 1st Vice President of the Eastern Produce Council, and a newly elected board member of the Produce Marketing Association. He holds degrees in Business Management from Boston College as well as Northeastern University. He can be reached at pkneeland@kingssm.com. introduce, trying to find the most durable plants that will thrive in any and all environments. The industry has taken on the role of educators in the field, introducing everyone to the fact that gardening is easy, fun and fulfilling. The industry as whole wants to know that whoever picks up a shovel or a pot and plants something in it that they will succeed and reap the rewards that come along with it. The industry is doing a fantastic job in educating everyone about howto start their own garden. The numberone sector that has grown substantially is vegetable plants. Everyone wants to boast how they grew their own vegetables. There is something awesome to be said about that. 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.

20 September, 2013

Gardener News

Try Our Tuna Nachos The Blue Room Christmas Tree

Open Seven Days a Week, All Year!

John and Leslie Wyckoff of Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm in Belvidere, N.J., attended the National Christmas Tree Association’s (NCTA) annual convention, held this year August 9-11 in Arlington, VA. The NCTA holds an annual competition in which current State champion growers are eligible to compete in one of five categories, True fir, Douglas fir, Pine, Spruce or other. The Wyckoffs competed by entering an eight-foot Blue Spruce in the spruce category. The Wyckoff’s tree was awarded first prize in the category and went on to be awarded Grand Champion of the show. The Wyckoffs will now have the honor of presenting First Lady Michelle Obama with an 18½-foot Christmas tree, which will be displayed in the Blue Room of the White House. This is the first time that a New Jersey Christmas tree grower has presented a tree to a First Lady at the While House. To qualify for the national contest, growers must first win their state or regional competitions, so being named National Grand Champion is quite an achievement. On August 1, the Wyckoff family won the New Jersey Christmas Growers Association Grand Champion Award.

Gardener News The cool evenings of fall are fast approaching. My garden handled the summer heat particularly well, but there isn’t too much color in the shrub area of my garden. However, there soon will be a burst of blooms. Although spring is the season that is traditionally associated with azalea blossoms, plant breeders have been working to change that association by creating stunning new varieties that bloom in multiple seasons. The Encore Azalea series was invented by plant breeder Robert e “Buddy” Lee of Independence, LA. Lee first envisioned Encore Azaleas in the early 1980s when he found a tray of azalea cuttings blooming in the summer sun at his small Louisiana azalea nursery. Inspired, he began crossing traditional spring-blooming azaleas with the rare Taiwanese summer-blooming azalea, Rhododendron oldharnii. His crosses bloomed heavy in the spring, flowed by occasional surprise blooms in the summer. Fall comes with the finale, with a set of blooms just as heavy as it flowered in the spring. A true encore in the garden. These original crosses were well accepted down South. They became so popular that we were September is upon us once more. Personally, it is one of my favorite months of the year down here. Fewer crowds, beautiful weather, and the water is still warm. There are also a lot of festivals this month. The Point Pleasant Beach Seafood Festival is always a big draw. September is also still prime grilling weather. With all the Jersey Fresh produce in full force, it’s a no-brainer. My wife and I recently took our daughters out to the New Egypt/ Chesterfield area for our annual vegetable picking trip. It never disappoints. The variety is amazing, the quality always excellent and the prices can’t be beat. If you’ve never done it, I highly recommend it as a great day trip, as well as a great educational experience. Just a short

September, 2013 21 The Great Plant Escape By David Williams Plant Enthusiast

Fall colors with Azalea Blossoms constantly getting phone calls asking if we carried them. Unfortunately at the time, there weren’t any varieties that would survive the New Jersey winters. The good news is that there are now almost 10 varieties that will survive our winters. Encore Azaleas like more sun than some of the other azaleas. I would recommend a minimum of one half a day. Azaleas prefer their soil slightly acidic. For optimum flower bud production, feed twice yearly with my favorite evergreen food by Espoma, Holly-Tone. The following varieties are all rated for zone six, and will survive our New Jersey winters. “Autumn Debutante ®” has large, bright-pink flowers. It will grow to approximately four feet tall and four feet wide. “Autumn Princess” has unique salmon-pink flowers that blend with any other flower color. It will grow approximately three feet tall by three feet wide.

“Autumn Rouge®” has gorgeous red-pink flowers. It grows approximately four feet tall and five feet wide. “Autumn Amethyst®” is covered with clusters of dark-lavender flowers. It grows approximately four feet tall and four feet wide. “Autumn Embers®” has orangey-red flowers. It grows approximately three and a half feet tall and three and a half feet wide. “Autumn Royalty®” was voted Azalea of the year in 2004 by the American Rhododendron Society. It is an extremely forgiving variety and can tolerate temperature extremes. It has purple flowers, and grows five feet tall and four feet wide. “Autumn Sangria®” has deep, darkpink flowers. It grows five feet tall and four feet wide. “Autumn Sundance®” has pretty, bright, deep-pink flowers. Its foliage will turn reddish in the winter. It grows four feet tall by four feet wide. “Autumn Twist®” has one of the

more interesting colored flowers. Its blooms are striped in vivid red-purple and white, with some flowers solid red-purple. It grows six feet tall and five feet wide. It is just a tad less tolerant to cold winters, and I would recommend planting this one in a more sheltered location. Bloom-a-thon ® Azalea’s were bred by Bob Head, and do best in part sun to dappled shade. They are all evergreen and are all winter hardy to zone 6b. They flower for months instead of weeks. Their first cycle of blooms is in late-April, followed by continuous lighter cycles of blooms through the summer and then flower heavily again in the fall and continue blooming until a hard frost. I feel that the growth habit on these azaleas is tighter than the Encore Azaleas, but the flowers are slightly smaller. The foliage is disease-resistant, and maintains excellent color

From the Deep By Craig Korb Executive Chef

Greeting’s from the always beautiful Jersey Shore! ride from the beach and it suddenly feels like you’re in a totally different place. Back to the shore for just a minute more, Labor Day doesn’t mean the end of the summer, so come on down and visit the beaches, boardwalks, restaurants, hotels, fishing boats, etc. On to the grilling and the recipe of the month. Grilled fruit has become very popular as of late, and for good reason. I’ve read several articles, as well as seen many Food Network shows focusing

on it. I have always grilled my pineapple for the pineapple-mango salsa we serve at the restaurant. It imparts a slightly different flavor to the salsa, as well as helping to bring out the natural sugars of the fruit. I recently ran a grilled Jersey peach salsa over Hawaiian opah fish as a special and it went over quite well. These salsas are very versatile as well as being quite simple to prepare. All it takes is a clean, hot grill, some basic chopping and a little mixing to create a

great accompaniment to fish, chicken, crab cakes or shrimp to name a few. Good luck with the recipe and see ya next month! Grilled Jersey peach salsa (serves 4 as a topping) - 3 ripe peaches (preferably Jersey Fresh), halved, pit removed - 1 bunch fresh cilantro - 1 Tbsp. light olive or vegetable oil - 1/2 a medium red onion, small dice -1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped - juice of 1 lime

year-round. The Blooma-thon® Azaleas like to be in part-shade, and can tolerate more shade than the Encore azaleas. There are fewer varieties than the encores, and these are what are currently available: “Pink Double,” with its incredibly doubled, bright-pink flowers. It grows six feet tall and five feet wide. “Red” has slightly doubled, bright-crimsonred flowers. It grows five feet tall and 4four feet wide. “Lavender” has large ruffled deep lavender flowers that are sprinkled with deeper rose freckles through the throat. It grows six feet tall and six feet wide. Editor’s Note: David is a fourth generation partner at Williams Nursery in Westfield. He is a member of the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association, and the Union County Board of Agriculture. He has served as a board member for the Friends of Mindowaskin Park, the International Garden Center Association, and the Rutgers Board of Managers. He recently finished a two year term as President of Garden Centers of America (GCA). He can be reached at (908) 232-4076. - salt and pepper to taste Method - heat grill to medium high temperature - brush grill clean - in a bowl, toss peaches with oil - grill until well-marked, but not charred, turning once - let peaches cool and chop into small dice - toss with the rest of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste - enjoy over grilled seafood or chicken 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.

22 September, 2013

Gardener News RUTGERS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION PHONE DIRECTORY

NJ Gypsy Moth Populations Rise 75(1721 1- Ę&#x160; 7KLV VXPPHUÂśV DQQXDO 1HZ -HUVH\ 'HSDUWPHQW RI $JULFXOWXUH VWDWHZLGH J\SV\ moth aerial defoliation survey showed 2,887 acres of trees in 51 municipalities in 17 counties received moderate to severe damage this year from the leaf-eating invasive pests. In 2012, 1,068 acres of trees in 21 municipalities in 10 counties were defoliated by gypsy moth caterpillars -- the lowest recorded defoliation since the Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gypsy Moth Suppression Program began in 1970. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While we have seen very low gypsy moth populations over the last few years, we must continue intense surveillance, as well as treatment to suppress this damaging insect,â&#x20AC;? said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will continue to partner with the state Department of Environmental Protection, counties and municipalities to protect our precious forested areas from being devastated by gypsy moth caterpillars.â&#x20AC;? The defoliation survey was conducted in late June and early July. Tree damage was found in Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties. The most damage seen was in Bloomingdale Borough and West Milford Township, both in Passaic County, which had a total of 1,087 acres of trees heavily damaged. For more details from the survey, go to www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/ pi/pdf/2013gmsurvey.pdf. The Department of Agriculture will conduct an egg mass survey this fall to determine where spraying is warranted. Gypsy moth caterpillars lay their eggs on trees and emerge in May and early June. This year, no spray program was needed due to low populations of the bugs. To qualify for the spray program, a residential or recreational forest must have an average of more than 500 egg masses per acre and be at least 50 acres in size. A single egg mass contains up to 1,000 eggs. Gypsy moth populations can be cyclical. Tree damage from the insects reached a high of 339,240 in 2008, but through the combination of the Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aggressive spray program, a number of beneficial insects and weather that supported a fungus that impacts gypsy moths, populations have collapsed over the last several years. Vigilance is necessary for continued success of the program. Two to three consecutive years of significant defoliation (defined as 75 percent or more) can kill an otherwise healthy tree. However, any gypsy moth defoliation can make trees more susceptible to other damage that can lead to the death of the tree. Oak trees are the preferred host for gypsy moths, but the caterpillars can be found feeding on almost any tree in the vicinity. For more information on New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gypsy moth suppression program, visit: www.nj.gov/agriculture/ divisions/pi/prog/gypsymoth.html. Also, for national gypsy moth material, visit www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/gm/.

Gardener News The Premier Gardening Monthly Newspaper Number 125 Published Monthly Contact Information Phone: 908.604.4444 Fax: 908.647.5459 Website: www.GardenerNews.com E-Mail: Mail@GardenerNews.com Staff Executive Editor/ Publisher . . . . Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tom Castronovo Justin Kukuc Tom Castronovo

September Columnists Tom Castronovo Todd Pretz Evan Dickerson Richard Perkins Peter Melick Jody Shilan Craig Korb

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

Contributing Writers Bruce Crawford

Jeannie Geremia

Gardener News is published monthly by

Gardener News, Inc. 16 Mount Bethel Road #123 Warren, NJ 07059 Subscription Information Subscription: One year by mail $24.99 The Gardener News invites correspondences on gardening subjects of interest. Gardener News, Inc, and its Publisher reserve the right to accept, refuse, or discontinue any editorial or copy, and shall not be liable to anyone for printing errors, misinformation or omissions in editorial or copy. The information contained in articles herein represents the opinions of the authors and, although believed to be accurate and complete, is not represented or warranted by Gardener News, Inc. to be accurate or complete. All advertising is subject to the Gardener News advertisement rates, and must be PAID IN FULL at time of submission. Publisher reserves the right at its absolute discretion, and at any time, to cancel any advertising order or reject any advertising copy whether or not the same has already been acknowledged and/or previously published. In the event of errors or omissions of any advertisement(s), the newspapers liability shall not exceed a refund of amounts paid for the advertisement. NOTE: All editorial, advertising layouts and designs and portions of the same that are produced and published by Gardener News, Inc., are the sole property of Gardener News, Inc. and may not be reproduced in any form unless written authorization is obtained from the publisher. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to: Gardener News, 16 Mount Bethel Rd - #123, Warren, NJ 07059. (c) 2013 Gardener News, Inc.

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

Middlesex County Phone: 732-398-5260 Monmouth County Phone: 732-431-7260 Morris County Phone: 973-285-8300 Ocean County Phone:732-349-1246 Passaic County Phone: 973-305-5740 Salem County Phone: 856-769-0090 Somerset County Phone: 908-526-6293 Sussex County Phone: 973-948-3040 Union County Phone: 908-654-9854 Warren County Phone: 908-475-6505

STANLEY OSUR CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let Us Help You Growâ&#x20AC;? 973-423-4949

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

Cust Solutions Custom for SSmall Business

FOR SALE

Compl Care IT Packages Complete Helpde Helpdesk Solutions Remot Remote Desktop Support Office to Internet Setup 908.756.480 908 908.756.4800 756 4800 NNetwo t Network Design & Installation sales@TeamCCS.net sa ales@TeamCCS les@TeamCCS.ne neet R Remot Remote t Site & Home to Office Setup www.TeamCCS.net HIPAA Privacy Implementation

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

Serving New York, New Jersey & Pennsylvania

973-865-6362

Computer Consulting Services of NJ, Inc.

Hidden Pond Farms Please ask for Chris

5($' 7+,6 3$3(5 21/,1( Â&#x2021; ::: *$5'(1(51(:6 &20 Full Moon, September 19, 2013

TIP OF THE MONTH

Plant mums in an area where they will receive plenty of air circulation, and in an area that gets at least six hours of sunlight every day. Placing them against walls or other structures, or placing them too close to other mum plants, could hamper their growth or cause root competition. Water them sufficiently, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow them to stand in water because the root systems cannot handle too much moisture. Mums planted in containers will require more water than those planted in the ground. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow mums to wilt between waterings, and if the lower leaves wilt or turn brown, you need to water them more. Avoid splashing water onto the foliage as this could cause disease to develop.

Gardener Gard rde dener News Newss New

September, Sep Se eptember, tember, r, 2013 2013 23

BUY DIRECT! One of NJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Largest Growers Of Plants & Flowers!

& Garden Center

Six Acres Under Glass 40 Acres of Outdoor Mum Production Full Service Garden Center

HUGE SELECTION OF HARDY MUMS 3DQVLHV Â&#x2021; &DEEDJH .DOH Â&#x2021; )DOO 'HFRUDWLYH ,WHPV

Oldwick

202

Lamington

206

78 kR

Pluckemin

Hunterdon

Somerset

d. nR

to ing m

Old

wic

Rd .

287 Bridgew North Branch

202

din g

ton

206

Rea

din

Solberg Airport

gto

Whitehouse Station

So Raritan

202

d. rk R

Old

4 Coddington Rd. Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889 XXX )JPOJT(SFFOIPVTFT DPN t Gift Cards Available!

24 September, Seeptember, Sep eptember, r, 2013 2013

Gardener Gard rde dener News Newss New