Gardener News August 2016

TAKE ONE August, 2016

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

TAKE ONE No. 160

By Tom Castronovo Executive Editor

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Starting with this August 2016 edition of the Gardener News, we will annually bestow our “Landscape Beautification of the Year� award to a commercial property, in the Garden State, that distinguishes itself in the development and promotion of the gardening experience.

The criteria includes: color, variety, texture, structure, companion planting, maintained walkways, curb appeal and cleanliness. Water features are optional. The landscaping must be publicly visible for all to enjoy. The property must also have an American flag that is prominently displayed, and if it flies at night, the flag must be lit.

The site can be maintained in-house personally by the business owner or by a landscape professional. If it is maintained by a landscape professional, the owner of that firm must have all of the necessary licenses and registrations required by law.

The business which receives this annual Gardener News Landscape Beautification of the Year award represents the best in commercial landscape beautification in the eyes of the Gardener News, and we

(Continued on Page 17)

2 August, 2016

G A R D E N C E N T E R D I R E C T O R Y GardenerNews.com

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August, 2016 3

4 August, 2016 As each month arrives on the calendar, every one sparks an immediate mental cue that pops up in my mind’s eye about a favorite activity, food or event related to agriculture in New Jersey.

As I think now of August and even into September and October, the first images that come to mind are of sun-ripened peaches on heavily fruit-laden trees. Then there are the many vegetables, other fruits, plants, and flowers that arrive on cue in almost overwhelming abundance throughout our Garden State.

In many ways, agricultural activities signal the arrival and enjoyment of summer in New Jersey just as much as visions of the boardwalks, rides and games of our Jersey Shore. Some may highlight blueberries, others peaches, others sweet corn and still others dairy products.

For each of us, these seasonal cues have differing effects. What they have in common is reminding us of things we regard as being worth remembering, things we strive to continue to keep in our lives and the lives of our families.

They may be a special dish or dessert made with the particular bounty of that season. And for all of those

GardenerNews.com NJ Dept. of Agriculture

By Douglas H. Fisher Secretary of Agriculture

Summer is Jersey Ag Fair Season! tasty remembrances, there’s a good chance that the main ingredients came from right here in our home state.

That is a big part of the allure of the agricultural fairs that run throughout our summer and early-autumn in New Jersey. Sure, the carnival rides, games of chance and animal exhibits are favorites of many people as well, but it’s the celebration of a particular agricultural commodity, or of just agriculture in general, that really makes our county agricultural fairs something truly unique. Especially in a highly urbanized state like New Jersey, where residents lives so close to farms, but often need reminding of how integral those farm neighbors are to their lives.

I encourage you to take in one or more of these agricultural fairs that remain to be held between now and the end of

the harvest season. Adding one or more to your bank of family experiences will be something you will want to do year after year, I assure you. There’s nothing like friends, family and neighbors experiencing these slices of Americana together that can bring communities together in a very special way.

Each one of these fairs is unique. There is no cookiecutter pattern to how they are arranged, what agricultural products they feature and what experiences they provide.

They truly reflect the amazing diversity of our state, its agriculture and its residents.

The fairs still remaining to be held this year, and some of their special features are: Warren County Farmer’s Fair (July 25-Aug.1) 1350 Strykers Road, Phillipsburg – Agricultural and fair-food specialties. Crowning of Fair Queen.

Look Who’s Reading the Gardener News!

It’s in the news

Tom Castronovo/Photo

The Amazing Kreskin, a showman with a comedian’s wit, and a person with the capacities of a bona fide mentalist, or thought reader, looks over a recent copy of the Gardener News. Kreskin has, for six decades, dramatized the unique facets of the human mind…his own. His very name has become an integral part of pop culture throughout the world. During the past 50 years, Kreskin has had a television series, his own board game by Milton Bradley, 20 published books, and a major motion picture inspired by his work. As revealed on Fox television for the 2016 Super Bowl, Kreskin made three predictions. He foresaw the deciding quarter of the game, the winning team, and their final score.

Middlesex County Fair (Aug. 1-7) 655 Cranbury Route, East Brunswick – 4-H animal displays. Pony rides.

Food and crafts. Agricultural displays. Amusement rides.

New Jersey State Fair/ Sussex County Farm & Horse Show (Aug. 5-14) 37 Plains Road, Augusta – Agricultural and livestock exhibits, Petting zoo. Flower and vegetable show and much more.

Salem County 4-H Fair (Aug. 9-12) Salem County Fairgrounds, Route 40, Woodstown – Ladies’ Skillet Throw. Children’s Pedal Pull.

Barrel Racing on Friday, Aug. 12.

Somerset County 4-H Fair (Aug. 10-12) 4-H Fairgrounds at North Branch Park, Milltown Road, Bridgewater Township – Beef, dairy, sheep, goat and alpaca shows. Rocket launches.

Food by 20 community organizations.

Atlantic County 4-H Fair (Aug. 11-13) 3210 Route 50, Mays Landing – Horse, livestock and poultry shows.

Antique tractors and engines.

Chicken Bar-B-Que on Thursday, August 11.

Hunterdon County 4-H and Agricultural Fair (Aug. 24-28) 1207 Route 179, Ringoes – Biggest vegetable specimens.

Baked goods. Honey Show.

Llama exhibition.

Bergen County 4-H Fair (Oct. 8-9) Van Saun County Park, Paramus – Master Gardener displays. Arts and crafts. Educational and handson activities for children.

Whichever of these fairs you choose to attend, I am sure you will have an agricultural experience that you will want to repeat year after year.

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

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August, 2016 5

6 August, 2016

RUTGERS NJAES/RCE

Rutgers Master Gardeners at the Somerset 4H Fair The annual Somerset County 4H Fair will be held August 10th, 11th and 12th from 10am to 10pm at North Branch Park on Milltown Road in Bridgewater.

While visiting the fair, this year’s must see is the display by the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Somerset County who will be in the Board of Agriculture tent. The Master Gardener 4H team decided on the theme “Laws of Attraction: Pollinators and Pollination”.

Visitors will see, literally, a rainbow of plants and herbs representing colors, shapes and scents with explanations of what pollination involves. In other words, what attracts specific pollinators to certain plants. Also there is a great visual, easy for kids to understand, on what is a picnic without pollinators (No tomatoes on your hamburger!)

In the center of the tent will be the popular Tree of Life surrounded by the children’s area with puzzles, arts and crafts, a “fun fact” section and other fun gardening games for the younger guests.

Karen D’Ambrosio and Cindy Hedin, from the Master Gardener Keep Bugging Me Team are preparing an insect display, plus an exhibit of developing monarchs, from egg to butterfly, in a series of cages, in close cooperation with members of the Monarch Teacher’s Network from Raritan Valley Community College.

Rutgers Master Gardeners will also be on site to answer your horticultural questions and distribute various Rutgers Fact Sheets and other pertinent information.

Aside from their appearance at the Fair, Rutgers Master Gardener Helpline volunteers are available to provide assistance on the phone or on a walk-in basis. The NJAES Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office of Somerset County is located at 310 Milltown Road in Bridgewater.

The Helpline hours are 9AM-12Noon Monday through Friday.

Inquiries can be made by phoning 908-526-6293 press option 4 or residents can bring a sample of their problem to the office.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset County is currently accepting Master Gardener applications for the Fall 2016 class of volunteers.

Information is available at the Extension office and at the fair booth.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity program provider and employer. Contact your local Extension Office for information regarding special needs or accommodations. Contact the State Extension Director’s Office if you have concerns related to discrimination at 848-932-3584.

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From the Director’s Desk

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

Ticks and Gardening: What’s the Risk?

How likely is it that you will get Lyme disease while gardening? Assuming you are a New Jersey gardener, a state in the U.S. epicenter of Lyme disease, it turns out it depends on how hospitable your yard is to ticks and the time of year.

So here are the basics and what you can do about it.

Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, are the most dangerous tick species in the U.S., and the only ones that transmit the Lyme disease bacterium. In 2013, the most recent year with a full census, the New Jersey Department of Health reported 2,785 cases of Lyme disease (http://nj.gov/health/cd/ documents/2013webstatistics.pdf) while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 27,203 for the entire country (http://www.cdc. gov/lyme/stats/tables.html).

Read on if you want to avoid becoming a statistic.

All ticks have three active stages (larva, nymph and adult) and while they only feed once per stage, all stages feed on blood and only blood. Gardeners need to know when each tick stage is active so they can protect themselves. It is important to underscore that ticks take a while to “settle-in” on the host (human or otherwise) and feed for three or more days. Importantly, once they find a host and start feeding, they usually stay on that host.

Additionally, the Lyme disease bacterium also takes a while to cross from the tick, where they reside in the gut, to the host the tick is feeding on. This fact underlies the usefulness of “tick checks” that can prevent Lyme disease if performed up to 48 hours after the tick started feeding on you.

However, be aware that there are other diseases besides Lyme circulating in New Jersey blacklegged ticks. Powassan virus can be transmitted after a tick has fed on you for less than 20 minutes. Fortunately, this virus is exceedingly rare (http://www.cdc.gov/ powassan).

When should you perform tick checks? That is, where and when do blacklegged ticks find you? Ticks do not jump, skip, hop or fly. They are ambush feeders that wait for a host to come by and only clamp on when in direct contact. The larvae and nymphs are very sensitive to drying out, so you would not encounter them on your sun-exposed lawn – it’s too dry – but they would be all over the leaf litter on a forest floor.

In New Jersey, the larvae emerge from eggs in August or September, but they are not infected with the Lyme bacterium (i.e. larvae are clean). Instead, larvae pick up the Lyme bacterium when they feed on animals such as white-footed mice or chipmunks, which are often infected. When the larvae finish feeding, they fall off the host, hide in the leaf litter and emerge as nymphs in May and June of the following year.

Pay attention here: if those nymphs contracted the Lyme bacterium as larvae, they are now infected nymphs. Because nymphs are very small and emerge in the spring just as humans begin outdoor activities such as gardening, 95 percent of Lyme disease cases are due to transmission by nymphs. Gardening season is nymph season and therefore Lyme bacterium transmission season.

After they feed, nymphs drop to the leaf litter, where they digest the blood and eventually develop into an adult (male or female) in the fall of the same year or over the winter. Many adults emerge when deer start their mating season, as deer are an important source of blood for the adult females. The females can transmit the Lyme bacterium to humans, but this is rare because they emerge when people are already bundled up against the chillier temperatures. They are also easier to see because they are significantly larger than nymphs. However, it is important to note that if you garden in the fall or winter and do not perform a thorough tick check, you may still contract Lyme disease.

In summary, the risk to gardeners of contracting Lyme disease is greatest from May to July when the nymphs are out and to a lesser extent in the fall/winter when the adults are active. If your yard is very sunny, the risk is relatively low compared to yards that are shaded and surrounded by woods. So, (1) keep your garden clear of leaf litter and tall grasses, (2) place wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas to keep ticks away from recreational areas, (3) keep play areas and playground equipment away from vegetation, and (4) discourage deer from invading your yard and bringing ticks with them by planting deer resistant plants and installing deer barriers. When possible, wear long sleeves and long pants and insect repellent when gardening and do not forget tick checks (http://www.cdc.gov/features/stopticks).

Nurture and enjoy a beautiful garden while protecting yourself and your family.

Editor’s Note: This month’s column was written by James L. Occi, a graduate student in the Department of Entomology at Rutgers and Dina M. Fonseca, a professor in the same department.

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RUTGERS NJAES/RCE

Garden Workhorses!

Sedges, botanically named Carex, are truly an underused group of grasslike plants.

For years, the more flashy evergreen species from Asia and New Zealand have stolen the limelight among gardeners.

Of late, I have become more enamored with our native sedges, many of which can resolve challenging situations in a garden.

Carex is a member of the family Cyperaceae; with over 2,000 species, it is one of the largest plant families. Sedges are known for their “edges,” or the serrated leaf margins. The name Carex was coined by Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) and comes from the Greek Keiren, meaning “to cut” – a reference to the leaf margins. Interestingly, the name Sedge was derived from the Old English Sagu, which means saw, again a reference to the leaf margins.

The flowers of sedges are typically not very showy, but do manifest a subtle beauty for the inquisitive gardener. Unlike grasses, the flowers of Sedges are monoecious, with the male and female organs found on separate “flowers” on the same plant. In fact, the separate flowers are often on the same stem, with the male flowers located just above their female counterparts.

Carex pennsylvanica was one of the first species whose assets were broadly promoted to the gardening community. Named by Jean Baptiste Lamarck (17441829), it is commonly called Oak Grass, since it often grows amongst Oak woodlands. This sedge has very attractive and delicate foliage that is Oneeighth of an inch wide and stretches up to 12 inches in length. The plants are rhizomatous, meaning they spread by underground stems, which allows them to develop into dense colonies or groundcovers. As the

foliage grows, it refuses to stand upright, but rather lies against its neighbor, producing a visual effect similar to rushing water.

Consequently, even though the foliage is 12 inches long, the overall height is only six to eight inches.

This plant thrives in dry shade, making it a great alternative to turf grass, Pachysandra and English Ivy. In addition, it can be mowed should the gardener wish and it tolerates light foot traffic. With the advent of December’s cold, the foliage fades to an attractive tan. Come spring, the new foliage literally emerges up and through that of the previous year, making the plant not only very low in maintenance, but also selfmulching!

Another garden-worthy and rhizomatous sedge is Carex cherokeensis. Named in 1824 by the GermanAmerican botanist and mycologist Lewis David von Schweintz (1789-1834), the plant was named after the

town of Cherokee, Texas.

Native from Missouri and North Carolina south to Texas and Florida, Cherokee Sedge is very heat- and drought-tolerant. Unlike the aforementioned cousin, the 12-inch-long foliage not only remains upright and arching, it is glossy and evergreen through midwinter. Plants prefer shade to part shade, but can adapt well to full sun and grow well in dry to very moist soils, making it ideal for rain gardens.

Carex leavenworthii is yet another tough groundcover for the dry woodland garden. The species honors Dr. Melines Conklin Leavenworth (1796-1862), who was an Army physician and a plant collector. Unlike the above two species, Leavenworth Sedge is clump forming, with one-eighth-inch-wide and 12-inch-long deep green and delicate foliage. Like Oak Sedge, it can be cut several times throughout the season for a more turf-

August, 2016 7 like appearance, which also removes the seed heads and its tendency to seed about.

With little need for additional water and fertilizer, and being undesired by deer, these workhorses for the garden will only increase in popularity as awareness grows. Spread the word!

Editor’s Note: Bruce Crawford is a lover of plants since birth; is the managing director of the Rutgers Gardens, a 180acre outdoor teaching classroom, horticultural research facility and arboretum; an adjunct professor in Landscape Architecture at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; regularly participates in the Rutgers – Continuing Education Program; and the immediate pastpresident of the Garden State Gardens Consortium.

He can be reached at (732) 932-8451. For more information, please visit www.rutgersgardens.rutgers.edu

Great Tomato Tasting and Snyder Farm Open House Rutgers Snyder Research and Extension Farm, 140 Locust Grove Road, Pittstown, Hunterdon County, NJ 08867. Wednesday, August 31, 2016 (Rain or Shine) 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and Rutgers Cooperative Extension proudly announce the annual Snyder Farm Open House and Great Tomato Tasting.

The event includes the very popular tasting of more than 80 heirloom and hybrid varieties of beefsteak, plum, cherry, and grape tomatoes. Other highlights include tasting of farm grown fruit, varieties of basil, local honey and recipes featuring Jersey Fresh produce.

Open House features include the Melda C. Snyder Teaching Garden which showcases demonstration gardens of deer tolerant ornamentals; Blueberries, Hazelnuts, Dogwoods, and Hollies from the Rutgers breeding programs; a turf labyrinth, fun family farm photo opportunities; and an “apple wall” featuring the NJAES Tree Fruit Breeding Program for home orchards.

Wagon tours of the farm’s research plots will be held throughout the event. Also, chef demonstrations featuring preparation of several recipes, Jersey Fresh Salsa tastings, and teaching garden and educational displays from various organizations.

Rutgers NJAES faculty and staff and Rutgers Master Gardener volunteers will be available to provide information and answer your gardening questions.

To help us plan for the event please RSVP at: http://discovery.rutgers.edu/events or call 908-730-9419 X-3501 Admission: $7.00 per person, payable at the event (cash or check only). Free for children 10 & under. Please, only service dogs allowed on the farm grounds.

Get Ready for Rutgers Landscaping Classes The fall and winter landscaping courses at the Rutgers Office of Continuing Professional Education are now open for registration. There are approximately 60 short courses available. Topics include arboriculture, lawn and turf care, small engine repair, irrigation, athletic field management, plants and pruning, irrigation, pest management, and more!

Rutgers will also hold two sessions of the NJ Fertilizer Recertification Program (Dec 12 and January 17).

For more information, please visit the OCPE website at www.cpe.rutgers.edu/ landscape or call Joe Canzano at 848-932-7317.

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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

8 August, 2016 In our back yard, we have deer, fox, groundhog, turkey, skunk, grey and red squirrels, all types of small birds and… someone else.

Up until this research, I did not have a clue they were fastidious. Huh, imagine that?

Looking at my cat, I believe you would say that she is fastidious.

Racoons love to take baths and fluff their fur up. But, opossums like being all groomed up, too?

Whattaya know!

There is something else I did not know about opossums that made me VERY happy, and soon you will know what that something is. Now, opossums are not super Golden Retriever puppy cute by any means. But while they look like a big wet rat, they have many other qualities that make them original. They’re America’s only babies-in-the pouch marsupial. They’re a southern species – their proper name is Virginia Opossum that’s adapted to New England winters. They’re one of the oldest species of mammal around, having waddled past dinosaurs. They eat grubs and insects and even mice, working over the environment

GardenerNews.com The Miscellaneous Gardener

By Richard W. Perkins Freelance Writer

‘Fastidious’ Is Not a Word I Applied! like little vacuum cleaners.

“They really eat whatever they find,” said Laura Simon, wildlife ecologist with the U.S. Humane Society.

And they’re an animal whose first line of defence includes drooling and a wicked hissing snarl - a bluff - followed by fainting dead away and, “playing possum.”

“They are just interesting critters,” said Mark Clavette, a wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

And now ecologists have learned something else about opossums. They’re a sort of magnet when it comes to ridding the world of blacklegged deer ticks, which spread Lyme disease. Wow! Now that is excellent news!

“Don’t hit opossums

if they’ve playing dead in the road,” said Richard Ostfeld, of the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. Ostfeld is a forest ecologist and an expert on the environmental elements of infectious diseases like Lyme disease. Several years ago, scientists decided to learn about the part different mammals play in the spread of ticks and the disease. They tested several species; whitefooted mice, chipmunks, squirrels, opossums and catbirds - by capturing and caging them, and then exposing each test subject to 100 ticks. What they found, is that of all the species, the opossums were remarkably good at getting rid of the ticks - much more so than any of the other test subjects.

“I had no suspicion they’d be such efficient tick-killing animals,” Ostfeld said.

Indeed, among other opossum traits, there is this: They groom themselves fastidiously, like cats. If they find a tick, they lick it off and swallow it. The research team on the project went through droppings to find this out.

All praise to those who study possum-poop! Extrapolating from their findings, Ostfeld said, the team estimated that in one season, an opossum can kill about 5,000 ticks.

What ecologists are learning is how complex the interaction of ticks and mammals can be. For example, foxes probably serve as a host for ticks seeking a blood meal.

But foxes are great at killing white-footed mice - the species in the environment credited

with being the chief reservoir of the Lyme bacteria.

Likewise, Ostfeld said, opossums, waddling around at night, pick up lots of ticks.

Some ticks end up getting their blood meal from the opossum.

But, more than 95 percent of them ended up being groomed away and swallowed.

“They’re amazingly prolific destroyers of ticks,” Ostfeld said.

For Simon, of the U.S. Humane Society, the Cary Institute research is a welcome justification to just leave opossums be.

“People are so hard on them,” she said.

That’s in part because people think opossums might be rabid when they drool and hiss and carry on when threatened. In fact, opossums are also resistant to rabies. I have shared this information with all my woodside neighbors who now have a whole new appreciation and respect for the “big rat.”

Thanks for reading and see ya next month.

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

GardenerNews.com

August, 2016 9 Around The Garden

By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

Companion Planting and Smoke

Gladly Accepting SNAP EBT Cards

I hope you’re enjoying your summer.

This month my column is being authored from the beautiful sun-drenched beach in Lavallette, Ocean County, N.J. My garden by the sea.

During the months of June and July, I had the pleasure of looking at, and admiring, many beautiful landscapes, gardens and hanging baskets throughout the Garden State.

I’ve also been asked many questions on proper maintenance, fertilization, and water frequency of them.

Survival has to do a lot with how plants are installed. When, where, wet, dry and weather conditions.

It takes more than good soil, moisture, shade, sun, and nutrients to ensure success in a garden and the landscape.

The first thing that comes to mind is companion planting.

Companion planting in the garden and the landscape is the placing and installation of plants in proximity for pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial creatures, maximizing use of space, light conditions and soil moisture. All of these are essential in their healthy survival.

In the vegetable garden, carrots make good neighbors when planted near beans, lettuce, onions and peas. Peppers, both hot and sweet, like to be grown with basil and onions. Basil pairs well with tomatoes in both the kitchen and the garden. Its aromatic foliage helps repel aphids, tomato hornworms, and other tomato pests. Basil roots are said to improve the flavor of tomatoes. Grow onions as physical companion plants with very shallow-rooted vegetables like lettuce, or narrow-rooted vegetables like carrots.

Plant mint in pots to keep it from taking over your garden. It’s a great economical and effective, nontoxic insect deterrent. Particularly useful in keeping mosquitoes, ants, and flies at bay.

In the flower garden, plant geranium with vinca flower or lantana. All three flowers like it hot and dry.

Vinca is a prolific heat and drought tolerant annual. It flowers during the entire summer. Vinca flowers come in a wide variety of colors such as red, dark red, white, pink, light pink, and purple. It’s also best to plant vinca flower after Memorial Day. And the deer won’t browse on it.

Geraniums will grow in any soil, as long as it is not waterlogged. The plants root easily from cuttings and can be propagated in fall for overwintering of outdoor plants. The entire plant can also be dug up and brought inside.

Geraniums do not like wet leaves and flowers, so it is best to water the soil. Not the plant. Water them early in the day to allow the soil to dry before nightfall. Geraniums also like to be well fed, so you should fertilize them with an all-purpose liquid plant food every two to three weeks when they are actively growing. And remove the flowers promptly as they fade, or the bloom production will decline.

Lantana will attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the garden. The plant prefers slightly acidic soil. Mulching with pine needles is an easy way to raise pH levels in areas with low acid. To encourage re-blooming, deadhead them periodically. It’s easy to grow and a great choice for containers.

In one garden bed at the shore, I planted yellow lantana with red geraniums. The color contrast is awesome. In another bed, I planted several different colors of vinca flower. Right in the middle I have a giant pot of basil. It’s quite the conversation piece. I measured the height this morning; it’s over 24 inches tall, thanks to Espoma’s organic soil and fertilizer.

In my northern inland landscape, I’ve made sure not to plant rhododendrons and azaleas in waterlogged soils. These plants will get a root rot disease called Phytophthora. These plants also prefer shade over sun.

On the other hand, the Norway spruce are planted in full sun. They can tolerate hot and dry conditions. My ornamental grass is also planted in the full sun near the spruce. Both don’t like to be fertilized very often. And they are deer resistant, as well, once they are fully established.

I just planted an “Orange Rocket” barberry. This award-winning barberry sports a unique color combination of vibrant coral-orange new foliage that ages to mid-green, then turns ruby red in autumn.

This deciduous shrub has a vigorous upright growth. It needs regular watering - weekly, or more often, in extreme heat.

It’s very important to know your plants’ growing characteristics in order to companion plant them properly for optimum survival. If you have any questions on a plant’s growing characteristic, head on over to your favorite garden center. These independent garden center owners are very knowledgeable.

As I sit here in my stress-free paradise by the sea, I’m being forced to breathe cigarette smoke.

Yes, on the beach. How disgusting. Governor Christie, you should be ashamed of yourself for vetoing the cigarette smoking bill.

By the way, plants do not like cigarettes either. They can catch a disease called Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Pathologists estimate that there could be up to 350 plant species susceptible to the virus. If you smoke, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly and change your clothes before handling any plant material. And please do not smoke before visiting a greenhouse grower, nursery or garden center.

Happy Birthday, Dad. 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.

10 August, 2016

GardenerNews.com

Native Spireas

By Hubert Ling How about growing members of the rose family which are perennial shrubs, bloom in spring or summer, and are covered in sprays of thousands of small, white or pink, five- petaled flowers?

That’s what we get when we grow spireas! Spireas, commonly called bridal wreath or baby’s breath, were introduced into English gardens in the 1850s and have been popular ever since. But wait, you might say, “I have just a small garden and there is no room for a giant shrub 10 feet high and sprawling out over 20 feet.�

Then you haven’t met our native perennial spireas: steeplebush Spiraea tomentosa and meadowsweet Spiraea latifolia.

These easy-tomaintain, low-growing shrubs are normally two to three feet in height and, although they send out runners and spread out, that process will take years

and is easily controlled.

Steeplebush is found throughout New Jersey, and its tall, unbranched, pink, church steeple-like spires grace meadows in August throughout almost all of Eastern North America. If the dying flowers are removed, the plants are encouraged to produce an additional flush of four- to eightinch spires. Steeplebushes have small, toothed one- to two-inch oval leaves, the undersides of which are densely covered with short, small, brown hairs (tomentose). The leaves are dropped in fall, but the tough, wiry stems leaf out each spring.

Meadowsweet is also found throughout New Jersey and Eastern North America, but it produces terminal clusters of small white flowers in July and August which spread out at the top. This plant also has one-inch small oval, toothed leaves but lack the brown hairs.

Meadowsweet is a host plant for the larvae of the spring azure butterfly. In fall, the mature brown seed capsules are enjoyed by songbirds and the

foliage will turn golden. Deer tend to avoid meadowsweet, which is an important asset in New Jersey.

Steeplebush and meadowsweet are very similar in growth habit and share common requirements. Both naturally flourished in moist meadows but will adapt to a range of soils and moisture conditions. Normal garden watering will result in shorter plants, which may be about two feet or less in height but are still vigorous growers.

Steeplebush and meadowsweet normally thrive in full sun, but will survive as shorter plants in partial shade. The plants spread by underground runners; if they are happy you can expect large clumps after several years.

Propagation is generally done by dividing the colonies.

For over 2,000 years, salicylic acid from willow bark and spireas have been used to relieve pain. In 1897, German chemists at Bayer isolated acetylsalicylic acid from the European meadowsweet, Spiraea ulmaria.

This

compound was just as effective as salicylic acid at relieving pain, but much more gentle on the digestive system. The new drug was soon produced synthetically and by 1899 Bayer was selling aspirin around the world. The name aspirin comes from “a� (an abbreviation of acetyl) added to “spirin� (a chemical from spirea).

Steeplebush extracts of the leaves, stems and roots also contain tannins and a number of other active ingredients and were also used by Native Americans as an astringent to contract tissue and reduce inflammation. The Mohegan Indians used leaf extracts to treat dysentery and the Osage used dried roots and stems to control bleeding.

The Ojibwe used steeplebush for hemorrhages, gonorrhea, and ulcers.

Meadowsweet was used for many of the same uses.

The Meskwaki (Fox) tribe of the Great Lakes used meadowsweet to control bleeding.

The Mohawk

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Proclaims August 7-13 “National Farmers Market Weekâ€? :$6+,1*721 ' & ĘŠ $JULFXOWXUH 6HFUHWDU\ 7RP 9LOVDFN VLJQHG D SURFODPDWLRQ GHFODULQJ $XJ DV “National Farmers Market Week.â€? This year marks the 17th annual National Farmers Market Week to honor and celebrate the important role that farmers markets play in local economies. “Farmers markets are an important part of strong local and regional food systems that connect farmers with new customers and grow rural economies. In many areas, they are also expanding access to fresh, healthy food for people of all income levels,â€? said Secretary Vilsack. “National Farmers Market Week recognizes the growth of these markets and their role in supporting both urban and rural communities.â€?

Throughout the week, USDA officials will celebrate at farmers market locations across the country. On Saturday, Aug. 6, Elanor Starmer, the Administrator of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) – which conducts research, provides technical assistance, and awards grants to support local and regional food systems – will kick off the week visiting a farmers market and wrap up the week at USDA’s own farmers market in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Aug. 12. “Farmers markets are a gathering place where you can buy locally produced food, and at the same time, get to know the farmer and story behind the food you purchase,� said Administrator Starmer. “These types of markets improve earning potential for farmers and ranchers, building stronger community ties and access to local foods.�

To help farmers market managers across the country promote and celebrate National Farmers Market Week, USDA is sharing online free farmers market related graphics that market managers and others can use to customize posters, emails, websites and other promotional materials. The graphics, along with a short demonstration video, can be found at: www. ams.usda.gov/resources/NFMW Over the course of the Obama Administration, USDA has invested close to $1 billion in 40,000 local food businesses and infrastructure projects. Farmers markets provide consumers with fresh, affordable, convenient, and healthy products from local producers. With support from USDA, more farmers markets offer customers the opportunity to make purchases with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program; and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs.

Supporting farmers markets is a part of the USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF2) Initiative, which coordinates the Department’s work to develop strong local and regional food systems. USDA is committed to helping farmers, ranchers, and businesses access the growing market for local and regional foods, which was valued at $12 billion in 2014 according to industry estimates.

used it to prevent nausea and vomiting, and several Indian Nations used it as a tea and claimed meadowsweet was better tasting than Labrador tea or wintergreen tea and better for the health.

Visit Leonard Buck Garden in Far Hills, N.J. starting in June to see a variety of spireas, which show off their versatility and beauty. Since they are relatively tall, plant them at the rear of your flower beds. The flowers of both steeplebush and meadowsweet attract butterflies, native bees and birds, so you can do your part in keeping New Jersey ecologically diverse and healthy by growing these plants.

Steeplebush and meadowsweet are available in New Jersey nurseries. Check out our website at www.npsnj. org for local sources.

Editor’s Note: Hubert Ling is the Horticulture Chairman for the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. He can be reached at milhubling@verizon.net

GardenerNews.com

August, 2016 11

Landscape Education Day Driven by Beautiful Hardscapes Landscape Materials, Inc. in Hillsborough, Somerset County, N.J., held a Liberty Stone Hardscaping Systems “Landscape Education Day� on Thursday, July 14. Doug Urbano, right, proprietor of Landscape Materials, helps Andrew Patrizzi, a sales specialist with Libertystone, set up the company’s display tent.

Patrizzi handed out soft drinks and Libertystone catalogues to contractors and homeowners visiting the landscape supply yard. He also answered hardscaping questions and educated the attendees on the company’s newest products.

Landscape Materials is a one-stop shop for all your landscape, construction and mason supply needs.

Libertystone manufactures a complete line of segmental retaining wall systems and interlocking paving stones to help you create the landscape that complements Tom Castronovo/Photo you.

New Jersey Flower & Garden Show Announces 2017 Dates

(',621 1 - ĘŠ 7KH WK $QQXDO 1HZ -HUVH\ )ORZHU *DUGHQ 6KRZ ZLOO WDNH SODFH February 23-26, 2017, at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison, N.J. The theme of the upcoming show will be “Color Your World.â€?

American Consumer Shows (ACS) is the show’s proud new owner, with Maria Palumbo as the new show director.

ACS is looking forward to bringing exciting color back to the show with never-beforeseen elaborate garden displays featuring a true kaleidoscope of color. “For the first time in the show’s 15-year history, I’m in the process of selecting a volunteer committee from the agricultural, gardening and landscaping communities who will be known as the Show’s Ambassadors,� said Palumbo. “With the help of our new Show Ambassadors, I’m looking forward to a finely orchestrated, colorful, educational preview to spring.�

Whether you are a new gardener in need of sensible advice, or a seasoned pro, you’ll find a multitude of inspiring seminars and hands-on demonstrations filled with valuable education and entertainment. Learn how to solve your landscaping problems and create livable outdoor spaces for year-round enjoyment.

Established as the Garden State’s largest flower and garden show, the New Jersey Flower & Garden Show attracts a full house of gardening exhibitors from around the country and attendees from all corners of the New Jersey metropolitan area.

New Jersey’s horticulture industry is the largest sector of our state’s agriculture sector and features some of the most dynamic and innovative gardeners in the country.

In addition to the beautiful garden displays, the Flower & Garden Show hosts staterenowned competitions in horticulture and artistic floral arranging, gardening presentations and demonstrations, special events, and a grand indoor Marketplace. One of the key highlights of the show will be a Standard Flower Show presented by the Garden Club of New Jersey.

This year’s full-service gardening-themed show is projected to attract over 20,000 flower and garden enthusiasts.

ABOUT ACS: The American Consumer Shows Group of companies (ACS) are the largest organizers of consumer shows in the United States, producing over 70 shows annually. ACS provides exhibitors across a wide range of lifestyle industries the opportunity to showcase their products and services, and to meet face-to-face with responsive consumers, reaching those who are eager to learn and ready to buy. Consumers who attend the shows discover new products and trends across all categories of home improvement, bridal, lifestyle of the modern woman, and flower and garden.

Plant and Mushroom Poisoning Plants add beauty to our homes, offices and gardens.

Many have great smells and some even are edible.

However, without proper knowledge, eating plants and wild mushrooms can be dangerous. Poisoning caused by plants often occur because people are unaware of the types of poisonous plants surrounding their homes, school or play areas. A variety of poisonous plants can be found outdoors. Be mindful that potentially harmful plants grow everywhere.

Each year people in NJ get sick and some die from eating mushrooms they pick from their yards, lawns, and while hiking or camping. There is no easy way to tell the difference between poisonous and harmless mushrooms. In addition, poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms can grow side by side. Many kinds of edible mushrooms have toxic “look-alikes� which can only be distinguished by an expert. Often the victim of a poisonous mushroom ingestion is a traveler or immigrant who sees a mushroom that looks very similar to a mushroom that was edible in the person’s country of origin but is toxic in the U.S. There is an old saying, “There are old mushroom pickers and bold mushroom pickers, but there are no old, bold mushroom pickers.�

If you or someone you know has just ingested a mushroom that was obtained from the lawn, forest floor, etc., or just have a question about plants or mushrooms, remember help is just a phone call away at 1-800-222-1222.

Call 9-1-1 if the person is unconscious or has trouble breathing.

Source: New Jersey Poison Information and Education System

12 August, 2016

GardenerNews.com

GardenerNews.com I want to address an issue the landscape industry is currently facing before I get into some of the August landscape and gardening tasks, as well as snow-related projects. Yes, I did say “snow”!

Among landscaping business owners there is a lot of discussion about the H-2B program. This government program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers to fill non-agricultural jobs on a temporary basis. An H-2B visa allows an employer to bring a foreign worker into the U.S. for up to 10 months at a time.

Many landscaping tasks can be done by relatively low-skilled, seasonal employees, and here in New Jersey, we are low on labor supply to fill those positions.

The H2B Program is a small but necessary part of the American economic landscape and especially in our industry.

It helps to create and keep U.S. jobs. These workers return to their countries of origin after the landscape season is over, so it shouldn’t be considered as part of the immigration debate.

Although I have attempted to hire through this program and been unsuccessful thus far, How do we keep the balance from drought to flood in our landscapes? We work with the resources we have to keep proper hydration in our plants.

What do we do when there is more than adequate rainfall to the point that flooding is becoming the norm and waterlogged soil is our regular planting medium?

Whether we have clay, loam or sandy soils, the water table seems to be the factor contributing most to water logged and flooded yards. There isn’t too much we can do about that, but we can change elevations that plants are growing in through the use of berms or just by re-grading low areas to afford better runoff or less area with which our root systems have to compete with standing or rising water.

Another way to collect water and disperse it at a later time is through the use of rain gardens.

Basically stated, rain gardens are depressions built in low areas of your property which will collect rainwater and runoff and filter it back into the environment.

Whereas catch basins are built to accept large volumes of water from parking areas or developed land, the rain garden uses native plants to help absorb and disperse the abundant water as the surrounding area dries out. A rain garden incorporates the water into a system of native plants which

August, 2016 13 The NJLCA Today

By Tom Canete Association President

Labor needs driven by work demands what I have learned is that the H-2B Visa Program enhances the U.S. workforce; it doesn’t compete with it. The number of H-2B visas is limited to 66,000 per year, while there are approximately 122 million Americans employed full-time.

It seems that each H-2B visa helps to sustain more than four American jobs. Not only does it keep full-time, year-round employees working with more employees, business owners can take on more work. More work means more need for equipment, vehicles, insurance and many other products and services that stimulate the American workforce.

And more work also leads to more full-time, year-round employees.

In order to request H-2B visas, employers must prove they cannot find local U.S.

workers to fill the jobs through newspaper ad placement, etc. This should not be a difficult task for landscapers, considering that much of the work performed is less desirable and not as highly paid as American workers demand.

With the fluctuation of the landscaping season’s highs and lows, the foreign workers also fill the need for temporary labor. Now with summer’s end, there are some additional tasks to be done in the garden.

Perennials have faded and may need to be cut back. Herbs also need to be cut back to get the second flush of growth before frost.

Now is also the time to enjoy the fruits of our labor in the vegetable garden. Harvest vegetables frequently to keep your plants productive. You

can preserve or freeze excess produce. Or share it with your friends and neighbors!

Hedges can be given a final trim before fall to keep their shape. Most pruning of evergreen shrubs should have been done by now, as you do not want to encourage a new flush of growth that cannot harden off before winter.

In hot and humid weather, powdery mildew can be an issue on some plants. If needed, these plants can be sprayed with a fungicide to keep this under control.

Lawn areas need to be evaluated for repair this fall.

Do not feed the lawn with highnitrogen fertilizer at this point.

During this hot and dry season, the lawn cannot sustain any forced growth. Mow settings should be kept high until the weather cools off.

The Landscaper

By Evan Dickerson Landscape Professional

Do We Need A Course In Water Management? thrive in the changing conditions created by the rain garden itself.

Another difference is that catch basins don’t need to drain and rain gardens need percolation and a planting medium to help the native plants sustain.

To get started with the rain garden, a site where either natural rainfall collects and then percolates away within the next day, or where downspouts or sump pumps can be drained into the area, are good sites. A simple call to 811 will take care of the NJOneCall responsibility to notify utilities of a proposed excavation and then after the mark out is complete, work can begin. These areas will be excavated Six to eight inches with the soil bushed out to the perimeter. Rocks can be used to enhance the border as well, but need not be made as complete walls.

After the excavation is complete, at one point to the lower side of the area an overflow

should be installed. This can be as simple as a collection of three- to four-inch stones, which will hold the soil of the berm in place while letting the overflow of water to leave the area.

Once the excavation and perimeter berm are complete, the native plants can be installed.

Depending upon the soil conditions left in the floor of the rain garden, soil amendments and fertilizer should be added and tilled into the planting area. A soil test would also be a good idea to determine the specific needs of the area. Most of our native plants do not need an overabundance of fertilizer, but a planting bed well prepared with compost and other natural ingredients, as well as a good organic food source, would be sufficient.

A nice, short list of plants that have had success being planted in our rain gardens would include: Perennials, Swamp Milkweed, White Turtlehead, Joe-Pye Weed,

Sneezweed, Cardinal Flower, and Great Blue Lobelia.\ Grasses, sedges and ferns would include: Autumn Fern, Lady Fern, Royal Fern, Cinnamon Fern, Fox Sedge, Lurid Sedge, Foulmanna grass and Wood grass.

Shrubs would include: Buttonbush, Arrowwood viburnum, Itea, Redozier Dogwood, Silky dogwood and Spicebush. Certain other favorites and eye catchers which you may like can be incorporated into your garden as well. Pay attention to plant habits related to mature height and exposure before installing them.

The end result of a rain garden is to be self-sufficient and low-maintenance. During the first year of your rain garden, it will be important to keep undesirable weeds out and to let the new plants establish and create a dense plant mass and cover. Pruning would be done to encourage proper

When not relaxing at the beach, this month is a good time to evaluate what improvements to our landscape need to be done during the next couple months.

The fall season is the best time to plant certain trees and shrubs that may provide the winter interest and excitement your landscape and garden needs.

This time of year, a lot of commercial property managers review their snow budgets and job scope pertaining to their property portfolios.

Snow contractors start to review their current snow client contracts in order to set up initial equipment routes and purchases.

For those readers who hate snow, (sorry to be such a downer), just sit back, have a pina colada and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Editor’s Note: Tom Canete is past president of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association, also known as the NJLCA. He is also owner of Canete Landscape, Inc., Canete Snow Management, Inc. and Canete Garden Center, Inc. all located in Wayne, N.J. He can be reached by emailing tom@canete.com growth and to increase flower production. However, many rain garden enthusiasts leave seed heads and spent flowers to attract wildlife into the garden for increased interest. You may need to scoop out excess sediment, which may accumulate in parts of your garden. But that means that the system is working and doing its job for you.

In early-spring, cut down your soft plants and perennials and prune certain shrubs that you want to keep under control, remembering to prune flowering plants after the new flowers have faded during the new growing season.

As the seasons progress, your garden may need some tweaking by replacing plants that don’t survive, as well as keeping order by moving or resetting rocks and soil as needed. By and large, these gardens can sustain themselves very well if the initial installation is carefully thought out. Your landscape professional or local nursery can help very step of the way and help you eliminate a floating situation in your yard.

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

14 August, 2016

GardenerNews.com

GardenerNews.com

August, 2016 15

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 (Custom Mixes Available) Tool Rentals

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

HELP WANTED

USDA, NASS NJ Field Office: Agricultural Survey Interviewer Survey interviewers in central New Jersey counties are needed for intermittent, part-time work.

Applicants must have a valid driver’s license. Paid training, mileage and hourly wage are provided. An agricultural background desirable, but not essential.

Light computer skills needed. E-mail Clare Burger at cburger@nass.usda.nass.gov

ATTENTION GARDEN CENTER & NURSERY OWNERS: Want to sell

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In North Jersey Contact:

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Rich Imlay 908-216-8933

Steve Leyland 908-217-0682

Bocci, Cricket, Horseshoe and Pond Clay.

Baseball Infield Mix

16 August, 2016 If it did not rain very much this summer, there is a good chance your lawn has many brown spots from heat and drought stress. If this is the case, then you may be questioning, “Is my lawn dead or has it gone into a resting stage we call dormant?�

Don’t worry, dormant does not mean dead!

Many lawn grasses can handle a period of heat or drought. Lawns naturally go into a state of “brown� dormancy to survive. They protect themselves during hot, dry periods when they do not have enough water to remain in an active growth stage; the plant focuses their resources on the crowns and roots. The grass plant underground crowns have to live in order for the lawn to come out of dormancy.

It is kind of like the sleepy bear hibernating during the winter. Bears do this to conserve energy and survive, and so do lawns.

This is quite amazing that when your lawn does not get enough water, it turns brown to stay alive, it “goes to sleep� to conserve

GardenerNews.com Turf ‘s Up

By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

Dormant does not mean dead! water. This also can happen during winter months but the “yellow-brown� color of lawns during winter months is caused by the cold temperature and sometimes lack of fall fertilizer or moisture. Most lawns that are in a healthy growing condition before dormancy sets in can survive in a dormant state for three to four weeks without dying.

How can we tell the difference? If you water your lawn for a few days and your grass shows signs of greening again, it was dormant. If, after a few days of watering, your lawn stays brown, it is dead. Try pulling out some brown grass. Dead grass pulls out easily with no resistance, while dormant grass will be difficult to remove from the lawn.

If you can water your lawn, water it enough to keep it alive, but no more. If you get a decent rain every two weeks, you probably do not have to irrigate or water in order to keep your lawn alive. Weeds thrive during these trying times since the lawn cannot compete with the weed growth. If you only have a few weeds, try to pull them or dig them out.

Do not apply weed controls when the lawn is under heat and drought stress, when temperatures are greater than 85 degrees and humidity is high. Avoid the use of fertilizers when the lawn is in a dormant stage.

Reduce foot traffic and mow only when needed, taking care to raise the mowing height to three or three-and-a-half inches

during stress periods. Be sure you are mowing with a sharp blade, and it is best to mow in early morning or late evening. Do not remove more than the top third of the height of the grass per mowing.

If possible, mulch the clippings, as that will return water and nutrients to the soil.

Water in early-morning or early-evening hours in order to maximize soil penetration and avoid evaporation. Do not allow thatch to build up. This will allow heat and drought to ravage your lawn even more. Brown grass can also be a result of fungus or insect damage. Be sure to properly diagnose why your lawn is brown before treating the symptoms.

Following a sound lawn care program throughout the year

is the best way to survive a drought.

One summer many years ago, I went on a 10-day vacation. It was hot and dry.

One zone of my sprinkler did not work well and a section of the lawn appeared to be dead when I came home.

I decided to wait until the fall, thinking I might need to re-seed this area. Once cooler temperatures and normal rainfall returned, the area came back completely. I did not have to re-seed at all.

In early-fall, as your lawn begins to green–up again, you can easily see what parts of the lawn were dormant and what sections died, so you know where you need to re-seed. Select proper grass species that are more heat and drought tolerant such as tall fescue.

Fall is the best time to seed your lawn. Will you need to re-seed this fall?

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

PA Agriculture Department Awarded One of Four Grants Nationally Through New Specialty Crop Multi-State Program Federal funding to research Armillaria Root Rot affecting fruit industry +$55,6%85* 3$ ʊ $ IXQJXV WKDW FDQ NLOO PRVW VSHFLHV RI GHFLGXRXV DQG FRQLIHURXV WUHHV ¹ EXW WKDW LV SDUWLFXODUO\ GHYDVWDWLQJ WR SHDFK DQG cherry trees – is the target of a multi-state research project being administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in conjunction with universities in Georgia, Michigan and South Carolina.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced more than $922,000 in funding to support a multi-state, interdisciplinary project to increase the profitability and sustainability of peach, sweet cheery and tart cherry operations by limiting crop losses caused by Armillaria root rot, or ARR. The project is being funded through the new Specialty Crop Multi-State Program.

Pennsylvania was one of only four states to be awarded funding under the program which, according to state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, is a reflection of the commonwealth’s exceptional record administering projects through the related federal Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. “The problems facing America’s specialty crop producers do not confine themselves to state borders,� said Redding. “What threatens our growers affects growers in other states, so having resources that bring states together to figure out collaboratively how we tackle these threats is very much welcome. We’re especially proud to be one of the four states to be given the responsibility of administering one of the chosen projects, which is a testament to the confidence USDA puts in Pennsylvania to manage this type of multi-state effort.�

A number of different tree species can serve as hosts of the ARR pathogen, including fruit tree species and forest tree species, most notably oak trees. ARR is a soil-borne fungus that first infects the roots, and then makes its way through a tree’s wood tissue until it reaches and destroys the lower tree trunk.

Infected trees typically collapse right when they are nearing their maximum production potential. Even after the trees collapse, though, the land is unsuitable for further productive use because the fungus persists in the soil, forcing prime orchard land out of production.

Clemson University in South Carolina, Michigan State University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension will collaborate on the project to evaluate short- and long-term solutions for Armillaria root rot.

Redding said that although the research supported by this project is being done by other states, its findings are valuable to Pennsylvania given the size of the fruit industry here. According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service, as of 2012, there were more than 400 farms in Pennsylvania that grew sweet cherries and more than 260 that grew tart cherries, accounting for nearly 900 acres of production. About 900 farms covering more than 4,800 acres grew peaches.

The Specialty Crop Multi-State Program is administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). It is designed to support food safety and research; address threats to plants such as pests and diseases; and increase new marketing opportunities for specialty crops. Projects funded through the Specialty Crop Multi-State Program must involve at least two partners located in different states. Partners can include state agencies, Tribal governments, universities, non-profits, and other specialty crop organizations.

For more information on specialty crops from AMS, visit www.ams.usda.gov and click on “Specialty Crops� under the “Market News� tab. For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, visit www.agriculture.pa.gov.

GardenerNews.com

August, 2016 17

TIMING IS EVERYTHING… r Kills and repels over 100 insect pests, including ticks

r Helps loosen heavy, hard packed soils r Increases resistance to drought and heat stress

r Safe around children, pets and for the environment

r Releases “tied-up nutrients” in the soil

r May be used for perimeter home treatments

r Controls Summer Patch and 20 other diseases r 3YSTEMIC fungicide for both preventative and curative treatments

Available at garden centers and hardware stores in your area.

2016 Landscape Beautification of the Year Award (Continued from page 1)

applaud their outstanding achievements.

And the inaugural winner is the Storr Tractor Company at 3191 Route 22 in Branchburg, Somerset County, N.J. Storr Tractor Company has been serving the turf industry since 1945. The building’s roof and an adjoining parking lot on the east side of the property have recently been fitted with solar panels, and is mostly energy independent. The company has another location in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

The company prides itself as a professional organization representing the finest in people, products, and services to today’s “Green Industry.”

Their objective is to identify their customers’ needs and provide them with a quality product and the highest level of support and service. They strive to be a state-of-theart organization through the innovative technologies and resources that are available to them.

On the New Jersey property, there are currently 1,000 six-inch pots of

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Maiden grass provides a lawn-to-meadow look.

SunPatiens plants throughout the fully landscaped property.

In the fall season, 600 10-inch mum pots are installed annually. Japanese lilac trees line the front parking lot on the west side. Some of the other plant material in the landscape include a Snow Fountain weeping cherry, Kousa dogwoods, Dura Heat river birch, blue spruce, purple plums, Japanese cedar, Red Sunset maples, Crimson King maples, cutleaf maples, Norway spruce, leatherleaf viburnum, inkberry, Hameln dwarf fountain grass, maiden grass, liriope, catmint, daylilies, black-eyed Susan, and hydrangeas.

A tropical water garden feature cools off the building’s main parking lot with small waterfalls and streams.

Lavender adds beauty and a refreshing fragrance.

The lawn is groomed weekly with special attention to alternate directional cutting, detail on bed and curb edging and grass clippings.

The entire property is also weed-free. An Integrated Pest Management program is also used on the property.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Tropical water garden in the main parking lot.

The landscape professional who is responsible for maintaining the property is Tony Catanzaro, owner of Regency Landscape, LLC. The property’s deerresistant beauty is maintained

by New Jersey Deer Control.

This paper now wholeheartedly salutes Mary Lou Des Champs, president and owner of the Storr Tractor Company, for taking personal pride in helping beautify the Garden State with her meticulously maintained “green” commercial property.

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.

18 August, 2016

GardenerNews.com

Gardening For Pollinators/Garden Clubs’ & Garden Centers’ Project

By Jeannie Geremia Garden Club of New Jersey Hold onto your hats, as we have a great new project that is a WIN/WIN for the gardening community and we’re just in the beginning stages.

A few years back while vacationing in Florida, I visited garden centers in the Melbourne area and was delighted to see “Pollinator Sections” in their nurseries with accompanying signage. Naturally, back home in New Jersey, and now as The Garden Club of New Jersey’s Butterflies & BeeGAP (Gardeners Adding Pollinators) Chair, I sought to have the same thing happen in New Jersey garden centers.

On my many visits to local garden centers, I would mention that this was a great thing that they could do as well to help grow our pollinator population and their businesses by giving the gardening public some direction and guidance as to best pollen/nectar and critical host plants for butterflies and bees.

Well, my gardening friends, they all seemed to think it a good idea, but none I spoke to ever implemented it. One Sunday morning this past June, I woke up dreaming that garden centers and nurseries are way too busy and overwhelmed to actually make this a reality and that garden clubs could and should help. Hence our new GCNJ Project was born – Gardening For Pollinators.

We’re in the infant stages, so I’ll lay the project out to you as it’s unfolding.

We’re encouraging our 110 garden clubs throughout New Jersey to approach their local garden centers and nurseries with the offer of help in establishing pollinator sections in their businesses. The garden clubs will provide signage, educational materials and programs through The Garden Club of New Jersey’s Butterflies & BeeGAP committee, identifying the host/nectar/pollen plants

that are essential to our pollinators’ very survival. I initially presented the idea to GCNJ President Susan O’Donnell, Gardener News Editor Tom Castronovo and the GCNJ Butterflies & BeeGAP Committee, and got an emphatic “Let’s do it!” response from all.

Butterflies & BeeGAP committee member Diana Kazazis, President of Rake & Hoe Garden Club of Westfield, suggested that our committee set up a few templates throughout the state so that our garden clubs and garden centers would get a clear idea of how to set it up.

Our Butterflies & BeeGAP committee is working with a few garden centers, including two in the Gardener News family: Hionis Greenhouses, 4 Coddington Road, Whitehouse Station, N.J., and Williams Nursery, 524 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, N.J. I spoke to both Tim Hionis and Dave Williams about this project and got an immediate, enthusiastic response from both. I told them that our committee is currently working extremely hard in coming up with a comprehensive list of plants, trees and shrubs that provide our pollinators with nectar, pollen, seeds and fruits from early to late season, besides host plants for our butterfly species.

We plan on focusing on three to five butterfly species including New Jersey’s State butterfly, black swallowtails; monarchs; Eastern tiger swallowtails, great spangled fritillaries and painted ladies. The bee species will include bumblebees; honeybees and mason bees, and birds will include hummingbirds; song birds and New Jersey’s State bird, goldfinches.

These will be represented in their own, simple signs indicating their special needs. We are working with G1 Graphics in Newark to have this uniform signage available to garden clubs on an ongoing basis. We will also showcase additional

requirements of water, nesting sites and cover all necessary components of growing our devastated pollinator population that provide one-third of the food we eat.

Our target date for setting up the “Pollinator sections” in our template gardens is by September 1of this year so that garden clubs can begin reaching out to their local garden centers/ nurseries. Again, this is a WIN/WIN for the gardening community, as the public can go into a garden center and be guided in making the right choices in implementing a “pollinator garden” at home or in public gardens, community gardens and public spaces.

They will be reassured that these plants will be pesticide-free, organically grown and run the gamut of perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees with bloom times from late winter/early spring to late fall, when they especially need sustenance for hibernating or migrating.

The Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc. will use New Jersey’s garden clubs and garden centers as a template for National Garden Clubs to embrace this educational and smart collaboration. We plan on showcasing it as our New Jersey Educational Exhibit at the upcoming Central Atlantic Regional Garden Clubs Conference at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., October 23-25, 2016. See my contact information below to get involved in this new project.

Editor’s Note: Jeannie Geremia is the Community Gardens Chair, the Butterflies & BeeGAP Chair, and the Backyard Wildlife Habitat Chair for the Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc., and is a National Garden Clubs, Inc., Accredited Flower Show Judge for the GCNJ. Jeannie can be reached by emailing: jeannieg42@earthlink.net The Garden Club of New Jersey website is: www. gardenclubofnewjersey.com and phone number is: 732249-0947.

New Jersey 2015 Fruit Production Final Summary Apple utilized production is estimated at 36 million pounds, with an average yield of 20,400 pounds per acre.

Bearing acreage is estimated at 1,800 acres, up slightly from the year before. The value of utilized production totaled 32.6 million dollars.

Blueberry utilized production is estimated at 48.6 million pounds, down 13 percent from 2014. The average yield is estimated at 5,340 pounds. Area harvested is estimated at 9,100 acres. The value of production totaled 66.2 million dollars.

Cranberry utilized production is estimated at 569 thousand barrels, down 7 percent from 2014 but third highest in the country. The average yield is estimated at 190 barrels, down from the 2014 all-time record, slightly above the earlier forecast, and the second highest yield ever. Area harvested is estimated at 3,000 acres, unchanged from the previous year. The value of utilized production totaled 21.2 million dollars.

Peach utilized production is estimated at 21 thousand tons. Average yield per acre is estimated at 4.5 tons.

Bearing acreage is estimated at 4,700 acres, up 100 acres each of the past two years and fourth highest in the country. The value of utilized production totaled 27.6 million dollars.

Source: USDA/NASS/ N.J. FIELD OFFICE

GardenerNews.com

August, 2016 19

Gloria Gaynor to Perform at Garden Center Trade Show Disco diva Gloria Gaynor, whose inspirational women’s anthem I Will Survive was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2016, and on June 23, 2016, received a New Jersey Senate Resolution in the State House in Trenton, is set to perform her hits live, in a special Eastern Independent Garden Center (EIGC) Trade Show Disco-Retro Concert & Party at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

EIGC serves the special interests of Independent Garden Centers in the Eastern United States with a top-notch trade show of hand-selected products, as well as regionally relevant keynotes, educational conference sessions and peer-to-peer networking opportunities.

NEW JERSEY SENATE RESOLUTION WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of New Jersey is especially pleased to honor and salute Gloria Gaynor, the internationally acclaimed singer, whose legendary song, I Will Survive, has been selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation as a key artifact of American culture; and, WHEREAS, Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 hit, I Will Survive, which earned for her a prestigious Grammy Award, was number-one in five countries, and it became a universal anthem for those struggling to overcome challenges; and, WHEREAS, Her first success came in 1975 with the release of her album, Never Can Say Goodbye, which established her as a disco artist and was instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, and the single became the first song to top Billboard magazine’s dance chart; and, WHEREAS, An array of honors and awards bears witness to the high regard in which Gloria Gaynor has been held, including being inducted into the 2005 Dance Music Hall of Fame’s Artist category, and I Will Survive was inducted into the Records category; and, WHEREAS, Gloria Gaynor, who continues to tour this country and globally and has performed her signature song on dozens of television shows, was recognized in 2008 by the American Diabetes Association and named the Honorary Spokesperson of the N.Y.C. Step Out to Fight Diabetes Walk; and, WHEREAS, Through her excellence and brilliance as a singer and recording artist, Gloria Gaynor has earned the high praise of the members of the New Jersey Senate and the accolades of the citizenry of this State, this nation, and the world; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey: That this House hereby honors and congratulates Gloria Gaynor upon the auspicious occasion of her disco anthem, I Will Survive, being preserved by the Library of Congress as a key artifact of American culture, pays tribute to her extraordinary artistic talents, and extends best wishes for her continued success in all future endeavors; and, Be It Further Resolved, That a duly authenticated copy of this resolution, signed by the President and attested by the Secretary, be transmitted to Gloria Gaynor.

Gaynor’s Senate Resolution was presented by Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman and Senator Nicholas P. Scutari.

D. Williams/Photo

New Jersey Senator Tom Kean, left, Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, second from left, Gloria Gaynor, center, Senator Loretta Weinberg, second from right, and New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

20 August, 2016

GardenerNews.com

Jersey Fresh Love is Back and Even Better Agriculture Department Invites Consumers to Participate in Season-Long Social Media Contest 75(1721 1- ĘŠ 6HFUHWDU\ RI $JULFXOWXUH 'RXJODV + )LVKHU ZDQWV Jersey Fresh fans to show their Jersey Fresh Love once again this year. Last year, the Department launched its Jersey Fresh Love social media campaign to encourage Jersey Fresh produce fans to share photographs of where they get their New Jersey-grown fruits and vegetables, how the produce is being used, and their favorite farms to visit. Each week, the NJDA team gathered some of their favorite photos into an album on Facebook. People liked, commented and shared their love of the photographs. In addition, Secretary Fisher announced that the social media campaign has a few exciting changes this season. “Jersey Fresh Love was a success last year, with hundreds of fans submitting thousands of photographs from all over New Jersey,â€? said Secretary Fisher. “This year, to show our appreciation to all who participated, as well as say thanks for the ongoing support of local New Jersey farmers, markets, restaurants, wineries, breweries, and products, we are adding a new element to the campaign. In 2016, Jersey Fresh Love will become a contest, and participants can win prizes.â€?

The Department is again looking for people to share their love of Jersey Fresh through photos – posting images of all things Jersey Fresh, whether it be their favorite fruits, vegetables or dishes; a local farmer, farmers market or roadside stand; a favorite restaurant that serves Jersey Fresh dishes; or a visit to a New Jersey winery, pick-your-own farm or agri-tourism activity. Participants can enter on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, using the hashtag #JerseyFreshLove or upload images on the new #JerseyFreshLove Contest tab on the Jersey Fresh Facebook page. Also, new this year, people are encouraged to vote for their favorite photos. “By this time, people are anxiously awaiting their favorite Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables and looking forward to visiting markets and restaurants to find Jersey Fresh items,�

Fisher said. We hope people will again share their photos from these experiences on their social media channels. Plus, they should encourage friends to get involved and vote for their photos.�

Each week, one (1) winner will be chosen at random to receive a Jersey Fresh apron, reusable shopping bag and car magnet. At the end of the contest, the one (1) photo submission with the most votes will be awarded the grand prize – a choice of a Jersey Fresh Experience worth up to $500. The contest runs now through September 14, with voting through September 21.

There is still plenty of sun and fun here in our beautiful Garden State. The ocean has been looking amazing all summer and the temperature is perfect for cooling off on a hot summer day.

It’s also time for the annual Korb family vegetable-picking trip at one of many pickyour-own farms in our bountiful state. We look forward to this every year.

My two daughters love it.

We bring home so much produce that I usually give some to my neighbors, in-laws and parents.

The other great thing is that it is so inexpensive.

We just pull into the farm, grab some baskets, plastic bags and a map and we’re on our own. It’s a great way to show your children where their food comes from and how it grows.

This is truly a great time of year to be a Jerseyite, so get out there and enjoy it before it’s too late.

So this month I will be giving you a double recipe. I have been

Gardener News is Now Accepting Nominations for its

2016

Person of the Year Award.

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

This person must be from the landscape, nursery, garden center or gardening industries who best epitomizes concern for, involvement in, and dedication to those pursuits. Or a person who performs exemplary outstanding service to the green industry.

The deadline for receiving nominations for 2016 is November 1, 2016.

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

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

Thank you!

From the Deep

By Craig Korb Executive Chef

Happy August, everyone! running Korean style pork spare ribs this summer as a special. I used to strictly smoke my ribs, but I have been trying out a few different styles as of late.

The marinating process is the key to these ribs which, must sit overnight in the marinade to absorb the awesome flavors. I use a ton of garlic and ginger for these, along with soy sauce, honey and a few other ingredients to give them their flavor.

These can be started in the oven ahead of time and then finished on the grill. I’m including a light cucumber salad with this recipe, which is a great side dish to these ribs on a hot summer day. Good luck! Get to the beach and enjoy the rest of summer.

Korean style pork spare ribs (1 rack) serves 2 1 slab of pork spare ribs or St. Louis style ribs (ask the butcher to pull off the paper-like sheath on the back of the ribs) 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped fine 1 Tbsp. sesame oil 2 Tbsp. mirin, a sweet Japanese cooking wine found in Asian supermarkets or in the Asian section of your local supermarket 1 Tbsp. honey 1 tsp. red pepper flakes 3-4 Tbsp. minced ginger 3-4 Tbsp. minced garlic Method -place ribs in a Pyrex type dish, cut ribs in half

if it makes them fit better into the dish -place remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulse until just blended together -pour marinade over ribs and let marinade overnight, turning the ribs over once during the marinating -heat oven to 275 degrees and cover Pyrex or baking dish with aluminum foil tightly -cook in oven for about three hours or until ribs are very tender -reserve cooking juice -finish on a hot grill, brushing with the cooking liquid until lightly charred; alternately, you can use a combination of your favorite BBQ sauce mixed with a splash of soy sauce

and brush that on in the last five minutes of grilling Quick cucumber salad (serves 2) 1 English cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thinly into half-moons, (*tip- if you have a mandolin, use it to cut the cucumber) 1/2 a red onion, sliced into thin julienne strips 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar, unseasoned 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce 1/2 tsp. lightly toasted sesame seeds (optional) -mix everything together in a bowl and let sit for 30 minutes in a refrigerator before serving 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.

GardenerNews.com Our daughter Olivia loves the television show Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro’s show about his business Carlo’s Bakery. Known for a variety of cookies and elaborate cakes, it’s his cannoli that has helped turn our daughter into a “foodie.”

Located on Washington Street in Hoboken, N.J., I promised Olivia a visit to savor her sweet treat and drove down Observer Highway, in Hoboken, to get there. From the corner of my eye, perched a few stories in the air; I saw a most remarkable feat. A tree growing between the roof and the gutter, on a 45-degree angle, I quickly identified it as Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima, also known as “ghetto palm.”

“Tree of Heaven defies its moniker as this invasive plant is more apt to make a property owner say a deity’s name in vain than praise its seemingly immortal roots” (www.confluence-denver. com).

Perhaps one of the fastest growing trees in North America, capable of growing more than six feet a year during its adolescent years, I am sure that most people know about many of the different crops that are grown here in the Garden State. But what is probably somewhat unfamiliar to most people are many of the slight differences and nuances that go into making these crops what they are.

The best way to try to explain this is by using an example. Take for instance, the difference between green and red bell peppers.

All of the pepper varieties start out green. Here in New Jersey, the large majority of bell peppers are harvested and marketed as green.

Once they reach the desired size, growers will start harvesting them and then funnel them through the various marketing channels to the consumers.

If these peppers were not harvested early, they would gradually turn red.

As an aside, red peppers generally bring a premium when compared to green peppers, but because of the crop losses that can occur, most are still harvested at the immature green stage. There is also actually a middle

August, 2016 21 Unique Plants

By Bob LaHoff Nursery Specialist

“Ghetto Palm” this tree is obnoxious! Yet, in some obscure way, I find its ability to grow almost anywhere fascinating. The 1943 novel by Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, speaks metaphorically to this hardy tree. “A coming of age novel about a young girl growing up in a Brooklyn tenement who finds the toughness and persistence of Ailanthus, growing up from the sidewalk cracks, to be an aspirational metaphor for overcoming the adversities of her own life” (www. missouribotanicalgarden. org).

Native to China and Taiwan, where it is a host plant for the Ailanthus webworm, a moth involved in silk production, Ailanthus made its way to the United States in 1784 and was soon

taking over landscapes.

A durable, tenacious plant, Ailanthus seems to survive anywhere, even when it is not wanted. Asphalt, concrete and apparently rooftops and gutters cannot deter this plant’s proliferation.

Dark green, 18 to 24 inch long, compound pinnate leaves that turn yellow-green flowers in early summer apparently were enough to introduce this tree as an ornamental. Quickly escaping cultivation, “ghetto palm, ““stink tree” or “tree of Hell,” all derisive nicknames Ailanthus has been given over the years, reaches heights of 40 to 60 feet easily. “The question is whether this term is offensive or racist? If so, we need to find another term that is equally as evocative of its position in our cities”

(www.venerabletrees.org).

Tolerant to a wide range of soils, including poor ones, Ailanthus loves full sun to part shade. Listed as an exotic, invasive species in many parts of our country, I certainly am not suggesting planting this tree anywhere, anytime soon! The wood of this tree is weak and tall trees can easily be taken out in severe storms. Abundant in many large cities today, the Latin name, altissima, means tallest! Ailanthus’s nickname Tree-of-Heaven is not because it is heavenly, rather because it is taller than many other urban trees, and some small buildings for that matter. The term “stink tree” is because the male flowers have a vile odor and it has bad habits of root and stump sprouting.

Finally, “Ghetto Palm” has its

The Town Farmer

By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

Same Crop, Different Result stage as well. That is when the peppers are partially red.

These are called “Suntans.”

Interestingly enough, these suntans are generally less desirable than both the green and red peppers. So there you have it. These peppers are actually the same but are just harvested at different stages.

Another crop which is harvested at different stages is rye. Generally speaking, rye is planted sometime during the fall here in New Jersey. As the temperatures start to rise during latewinter and early-spring, the rye starts to grow. By April, a good field of rye will look like a lush green lawn.

With adequate fertilizer and rainfall, this rye can be ready to be chopped and then fed to cattle by

early-May, if that is what is desired. But at least in our area, where there are few dairy herds to feed anymore, most rye is allowed to grow through this stage to the next one where it can be cut and baled as straw. To do this, a grower should wait until the grain is just starting to form at the top of the plant. Usually by now, the rye is four or five feet tall. The rye is then cut and allowed to dry in the field.

If the weather cooperates, this once lush green looking plant will bleach out and turn into beautiful bright yellow straw in a few days which should then be ready for baling.

There is another stage, however. The grain that I spoke about earlier can be allowed to fully mature in

the field. If that happens, the plant will dry down on its own and the grain part of the plant will harden and then be suitable for use as either grain, feed, or seed. At this stage, the rye would be harvested using a combine, which would separate the grain from the rest of the plant. After harvest, the remaining residue can be raked up and baled for straw as well.

Yet another crop that can be harvested in stages is garlic. Most people know about the traditional way in which garlic is handled.

Here, it is allowed to mature in the field. It is then removed from the ground, where it is dried and then either sold, or stored until it can be sold at a later time.

A portion of the plant can

slur from surviving in older, run-down parts of a city.

There is a certain amount of admiration I have for this tree’s ability to survive almost anywhere. As a garden center owner/operator I marvel, sometimes, at how quickly a customer can kill a plant.

Often it is simply from too much or too little water.

Here’s a tree I found growing on a rooftop, wedged between hot tar on the roof and a gutter. Growing at a 45-degree angle, the tree said, “Look at me, I can grow anywhere,” and with only the occasional help from Mother Nature’s watering can.

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

This is called the garlic “scape.”

As the plant grows during the spring, (usually in mid-May here in central New Jersey), a soft and curly strand will start to emerge from the center of the plant. This is the scape, and when it reaches a couple of feet in length and while it is still soft, it can be cut off of the plant and either used or marketed, This scape has an excellent mild garlicy flavor that can be a welcome addition to many dishes and is another example of getting multiple uses out of the same crop.

Editor’s Note: Peter Melick is co-owner of Melick’s Town Farm in Oldwick and a 10th-generation New Jersey farmer. Peter is currently the 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.

22 August, 2016

GardenerNews.com

1HZ -HUVH\ 1XUVHU\ /DQGVFDSH $VVRFLDWLRQ 1HZ -HUVH\ /DQGVFDSH &RQWUDFWRUV $VVRFLDWLRQ 1HZ -HUVH\ *UHHQ ,QGXVWU\ &RXQFLO 1HZ -HUVH\ 3HVW 0DQDJHPHQW $VVRFLDWLRQ *ROI &RXUVH 6XSHULQWHQGHQWV $VVRFLDWLRQ RI 1HZ -HUVH\ July 6, 2016 The Honorable Chris Christie Governor of New Jersey The State House 125 W. State Street Trenton, NJ 08625 Dear Governor Christie, On behalf of tens of thousands of small business owners working in the New Jersey green industry, including agricultural, landscaping, golf course superintendents, nurserymen, sports field managers, irrigation contractors, turfgrass professionals, arborists, pest managers, pool and spa contractors and more, we respectfully request that you veto the current Minimum Wage Bill, which was recently passed by the Assembly and Senate.

Raising the minimum wage from its current rate of $8.38 an hour to $10.10 an hour on January 1, 2017, and ultimately to $15.00 an hour in 2021, will cause undue hardship to our members and the industry as a whole. And as we all know, increased wages will also raise unemployment taxes and workers comp insurance, creating an additional burden to employers.

The ramifications of this increase will not only require companies to reduce their workforce, putting both skilled and unskilled New Jerseyans out of work and into unemployment, but will also greatly reduce the amount of taxes generated by these family owned business and paid to the state, due to an increase in pricing which will create the reduction in sales. In addition, an increase in the minimum wage will require these green industry businesses to lose contracts and put additional pressure on an industry that is already highly competitive, working on very tight margins as it is.

It will also cause the greenhouse and garden center industries to raise prices on goods such as annuals, perennials, tools, fertilizer, grass seed and mulch, just to name a few. Nursery growers will also have to raise the costs of trees and shrubs, creating an additional financial burden to landscape professionals.

This trickle-down effect will affect millions as it continues on to other companies that support the industry as well. This includes automotive sales and service providers, equipment sales, rental and repair shops. Moreover, the impact of a minimum wage increase to these supporting industries will be even more significant, since they will have to absorb these additional costs at a time when they will be experiencing a reduction in sales.

In just looking at the turfgrass portion of the industry alone, according to The Rutgers NJ Agricultural Experiment Station’s “New Jersey Turfgrass Industry Economic Survey”, “…the turfgrass industry contributes more than $3 billion to the economy of New Jersey and provides 53,588 jobs. Moreover, turfgrass is grown on 890,425 acres, accounting for 19% of the State’s total land area...The turfgrass industry plays a very important role in the State’s economy and in the everyday lives of New Jersey residents. Furthermore, New Jersey turf-related businesses provide valuable services to turfgrass users and serve as an economic stimulus to the economy of this highly urbanized state.”

In addition, many businesses in the green industry are currently struggling to find labor, even though they already pay well above the minimum wage. What this means is that it will become even more difficult for businesses in the green industry to attract available laborers, since the work is both seasonal and physically demanding.

Therefore, for the sake the green industry and the thousands and thousands of families it supports in New Jersey, we feel it is imperative that you veto the Minimum Wage Bill.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

GardenerNews.com

August, 2016 23

Mulch and Gardens…Does It Attract or Repel/Reduce Insects and Pests?

By William A. Kolbe B.C.E. Good news. Much has been written about mulch.

You probably already know about the good things that happen when you spread wood chips, grass clippings, shredded leaves, bark chips or straw on the soil surface around trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables. Mulch improves the landscape’s appearance. It helps your garden and landscape plants because it conserves soil moisture and lessens temperature extremes. This stuff is so good it can even decrease your workload by preventing weeds.

There are many experts in this area, and as many opinions and recommendations as well.

We will try to approach this from a different perspective – that being the insects or pests associated with mulch…and those will vary depending on the type of mulch, water availability, geographical area and pests pressures…

past and present.

The bad news is, don’t look under the mulch if you are squeamish about bugs and other crawly things.

Mulch creates a stable habitat that mimics the natural environment of the forest floor. That’s good for plants.

It’s great for bugs. Mulching provides shelter, moisture or food for many different insects and their relatives.

Most are beneficial. A few are potentially harmful, but their presence is generally not a cause for alarm or treatment.

Ants and Termites.

Number 1 and Number 2 insects associated with mulch around gardens would be ants and termites. Gardens that are in proximity of our homes can attract these insect pests. Ants that live in the moist, loose soil under mulch are not harmful to plants, people or structures.

They are generally beneficial to the soil and vegetation.

Insecticide sprays are only moderately successful at controlling ants that live under mulch, especially

when a weed barrier has been placed before mulching.

Many sprays will not penetrate the barrier and get to the ants or termites.

Termites are recyclers that play an important role in the natural breakdown of wood. Most times, termites are brought in with mulch, especially mulch that is just ground up tree trimmings left in a pile and used later on in gardens or landscaping. Their presence inside a home or other structure, however, can lead to aesthetic or structural damage. Termite treatments should be left up to a pest management professional.

Carpenter ants nest in galleries chewed into decayed wood, such as stumps, logs, firewood, hollow trees and dead limbs.

These familiar, large, black ants do not live in or under wood chip mulch. They may forage for food, primarily dead insects, in mulch, but they do not live there.

Keep mulch several inches away from the house foundation. Never allow mulch to cover windowsills

or to contact siding, as this may provide termites direct and undetectable access into your home. Watch wood chip mulch for signs of termite activity. If you suspect termite activity, contact several professional termite control services for inspections and estimates.

Studies have found that damage from Colorado potato beetles was 2.5 time higher in un-mulched potato gardens than gardens mulched with wheat straw.

The mulched plots also had 33-percent higher yields.

Slugs and snails are the most common pests and love to hide in mulch, particularly in wet weather. These pests can be controlled by using predator snails (decollate snails), which will naturally keep these pests under control by eating them. Toad frogs that hide in a good mulch will also love to make a meal of a juicy slug.

Organic mulches give beneficial insects a place to hide during the day. At night, beneficial insects, like hunter spiders (not web

weavers), prowl your garden looking for pests to devour.

Many species of moths that pollinate night blooming plants also use the mulch as a home during the day. The benefits of a good organic mulch far outweigh any problems that might occur.

Lime will help balance the pH of your garden plot, and insects and pests do not like and may not tolerate lime. A soil analysis will help you keep track of your soil’s overall health.

Mulch…a gardener’s friend and, if not managed correctly, a friend of insects and gardens pests as well!

Editor’s Note: William A. Kolbe, BCE is a Board Certified Entomologist for Viking® Pest Control based out of Warren, NJ. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Entomology with a minor in Ecology from the University of Delaware.

Bill is a member of The Denville NJ Community Gardens.

He can be reached at 800-618-2847 or visit www.vikingpest.com

A Database Just for Bumble Bees

By Jan Suszkiw Public Affairs Specialist Look up the word “bumble,” and the definition may read something like “To move or act in a confused, awkward or clumsy manner.” But the bumble bee, a member of the genus Bombus, is anything but clumsy. In fact, the insects are expert aviators, alighting with precision inside flowers and vigorously shaking pollen loose from their stamens.

Some bumble bee species are pollinating professionals on par with honey bees. At the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research Unit in Logan, Utah, scientists are conducting multi-faceted studies on Bombus species of all shapes, sizes and colors to ensure their wellbeing and usefulness to agriculture—especially in pollinating greenhouse-grown plants, primarily tomatoes.

One project, the USBombus database, actually arose out of concern over the national decline of four Bombus species—including the western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, which had been reared commercially up until the early 2000s, notes James Strange, an ARS entomologist in Logan.

USBombus—the largest database of a contemporary North American bumble bee survey—was created in 2010, following a three-year effort by Strange and other ARS and university scientists to assess the abundance and distribution of wild Bombus populations across a wide range of habitats. These included urban, agricultural and natural environments, such as alpine forests and prairies.

Housed at the Logan lab as part of the U.S. National Pollinating Insects Collection, the database originally stored information on 17,930 adult bumble bee specimens collected from 41 states and representing 39 total Bombus species. That number has expanded to over 80,000 specimens and counting, as more historic and current collections are added, notes Strange.

Some of the latest specimens include a few he collected and identified this past May while he was participating in Centennial Bioblitz events hosted by the U.S. National Park Service at the North Cascades and Olympic national parks in Washington State.

The data—which include the bee specimens’ species name, sex, caste, location, collector, preferred plants and other information—have proven useful on several fronts, including taxonomic studies and monitoring of Bombus populations to ascertain their health and “conservation status” by groups such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. (“Conservation status” refers to the likelihood of a species’ future survival in the face of habitat loss, disease and other threats.)

USBombus and the National Pollinating Insect Database, which includes specimens dating back to the 1800s, can be accessed on the Internet via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility website at http://www. gbif.org/.

Editor’s Note: Jan Suszkiw works for the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

She can be reached at 301-504-1630 or by emailing Jan.Suszkiw@ars.usda.gov

24 August, 2016

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August, 2016 25 USDA Scientists and Beekeepers Swap Colonies to Better Bees

By Kim Kaplan USDA Public Affairs Specialist

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Bee Research Laboratory and Geezer Ridge Farm apiary have begun an unusual partnership that may help honey bees take another step up the survival ladder. “Usually with science, researchers finish a study and turn the results over to beekeepers to apply; then researchers start on the next experiments and so on,� explains entomologist Jay Evans, research leader of the Beltsville, Maryland lab and one of the USDA’s pioneers in bee health science.

This time, the Bee Research Lab is studying the success Geezer Ridge Farm in Hedgesville, West Virginia, has had improving honey bee health after applying USDA research results.

Last winter, beekeepers Cheryl and Ed Forney lost only 4 percent of their bee colonies compared to the national average of 30 percent. “We believe strongly in sciencebased beekeeping. It’s the Bee Research Lab—some of the most talented and published researchers in the country—that helped us get our colonies as healthy as they are

The Premier Gardening Monthly Newspaper Number 160 Published Monthly Contact Information Phone: 908.604.4444 Website: www.GardenerNews.com E-Mail: Mail@GardenerNews.com Staff Executive Editor/ Publisher . . . .

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Todd Pretz Tom Canete Bob LaHoff Peter Melick Richard Perkins

Contributing Writers Bruce Crawford Dr. Dina Fonseca Jan Suszkiw Kim Kaplan

Jeannie Geremia William A. Kolbe B.C.E. Hubert Ling James L. Occi

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16 Mount Bethel Road #123 Warren, NJ 07059 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.

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now. From their (ARS’) information, we’ve adapted management strategies and bred bees that are tailored to the Mid-Atlantic’s climate,� Ed Forney said.

To see if this success is scientifically repeatable, Geezer Ridge Farm and the ARS Bee Research Lab are exchanging colonies. Forty USDA hives have already taken up residence in West Virginia and another 80 may join them to see if they will survive the 2016-2017 winter in better condition under Geezer Ridge Farm management. “This is an opportunity to give back. We are going to see if we can stabilize the USDA research colonies and make them as sustainable as the stock here at Geezer Ridge Farm,�

Forney added.

Thirty-five of Forney’s 250 colonies have come to Beltsville where ARS researchers will study their basic biology and genetics to see if they differ from the average honey bee. In the process, they’ll try to pinpoint whether their increased survival is due to better genetics, better management, or both.

Three ARS Bee Research Lab scientists are involved in the partnership with Geezer Ridge Farm. Each focuses on a different research area addressing threats to bee health. Insect physiologist

Miguel Corona, who initiated this collaboration, focuses on bee nutrition such as devising new ways to deliver more protein in honey bee diets. Entomologist Steven Cook is studying how to improve honey bees’ physiological health as well as their abilities to overcome stress. Lastly, Jay Evans’s work concentrates on researching and combating bee disease.

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. The Agency’s job is finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access and dissemination to ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural products; assess the nutritional needs of Americans; sustain a competitive agricultural economy; enhance the natural resource base and the environment and provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole.

Editor’s Note: Kim Kaplan works for the USDA Agricultural Research Service. She can be reached at (301) 504-1637 or by emailing Kim.Kaplan@ars.usda.gov

TO RESERVE AD SPACE IN GARDENER NEWS CALL: 908.604.4444 Study analyzes the US lawn and garden consumables market &/(9(/$1' 2+ ĘŠ 'HPDQG IRU SDFNDJHG ODZQ DQG JDUGHQ FRQVXPDEOHV LQFOXGLQJ IHUWLOL]HU pesticides, growing media, seeds and mulch, in the United States is forecast to rise 3.4% per year to $9.3 billion in 2020, according to the Lawn & Garden Consumables study by The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland, OH-based research firm. Fertilizers and pesticides will continue to account for the majority of the lawn and garden consumables demand. This demand in the consumer/DIY segment will be supported by rising interest in lawn and garden maintenance activities, particularly as safe, easy-to-use, environmentally-friendly products are readily available in an ever-expanding array of options. As economic conditions continue to improve and the housing market expands, professional landscaping firms will see an increase in business, supporting demand for lawn and garden consumables. Rising government spending will also contribute to higher demand for lawn and garden consumables at public buildings and parks. Lawn and turf applications will remain the largest end use for consumables, largely due to the vast amount of acreage devoted to lawns and turf in residential yards, public spaces and golf courses. Learn more at http://www.freedoniagroup.com/brochure/34xx/3422smwe.pdf

Full Moon, August 18, 2016 Eastern Daylight

TIP OF THE MONTH

Early morning is the best time of day to water hanging baskets so they can take the water into their tissues before the heat of the day. This also allows foliage to dry by nightfall to avoid fungus and mildew problems. In hot or windy areas, a second watering may be necessary. To determine if your baskets are damp enough, feel the soil in early- to mid-afternoon. It should be damp but not soggy.

Baskets like to stay evenly moist. If they do get dry, it will require several watering sessions in an eight-hour period to fully rehydrate them. Another method of rehydrating is to take the basket down and set it in a large pan of water for a while to soak up all it can hold.

26 August, 2016

GardenerNews.com

Sustainable Forestry Practices Help Golden-winged Warbler 620(56(7 1- ĘŠ 7KH 8 6 'HSDUWPHQW RI $JULFXOWXUHÂśV 86'$ 1DWXUDO 5HVRXUFHV &RQVHUYDWLRQ 6HUYLFH 15&6 QHZ 6FLHQFH to Solutions report, Sustainably Managing Forests Creates Golden-winged Warbler Breeding Habitat, highlights proven conservation strategies for the bird based on sound forestry management that mimic natural disturbances to improve the quality of existing breeding habitat and create new high-quality habitats.

Preliminary data suggest that these approaches are having a positive effect on warbler populations, and monitoring is ongoing to better evaluate population response across the range. Other population studies have been able to quantify benefits of land management practices to species populations, such as a 55-81% increase in specific songbird populations in the West as a result of conservation practices in sagebrush country.

Appalachia’s forests have changed over the past 50 years as older forests have come to dominate huge expanses of the eastern United States. Both game and non-game species that rely on younger forests are in decline, including the golden-winged warbler, which has suffered a 66 percent population decline since the 1960s. This major shift in the age classes of forests is the result of a lack of fires that occurred historically and forest management practices that do not support healthy forests and diverse habitats.

In New Jersey the Golden-winged warbler focal area consists of parts of Warren, Sussex, Morris, Bergen and Passaic counties. Like much of the north east, our forests are also aging leaving less than 2% of the state’s forest classified as young. NRCS and other groups are working with private landowners to sustainably manage these diverse forests and restore early successional habitat to maintain a healthy balance of old and young growth. Since 2012 NRCS has partnered with 17 landowners to create 244 acres of young forest habitat in New Jersey through Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW). In addition NRCS has worked closely with partners such as the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife and New Jersey Audubon to promote Golden-winged warbler habitat on both public and private lands. This new Science to Solutions report will help the agency fine-tune its conservation efforts.

The report cites research in which scientists monitored golden-winged warbler response to targeted habitat management. Scientists observed more golden-winged warblers when patches of early successional habitats were clumped close to each other, and when some large trees are left scattered across a timber harvest. “Forest birds need a diversity of forest ages within their local landscape,� said Jeff Larkin, one of the report’s authors. “Golden-winged warblers are specialists, needing young forests and shrublands for nesting and then older forests nearby for raising their young.� Larkin is a professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and forest bird habitat coordinator for American Bird Conservancy.

Studies highlighted in the Report show that, among other benefits, managed lands are home to three golden-winged warbler males for every 50 acres, and these sites provide habitat for more than 120 bird species–a third of which are suffering from significant population declines. Habitat restored for the Golden-winged warbler benefits many other species, including songbirds like cerulean warbler, indigo bunting and prairie warbler as well as game species like American woodcock, wild turkey, deer and grouse.

To learn more about assistance opportunities, landowners should contact their local USDA service center. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

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28 August, 2016

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