Gardener News February 2017

TAKE ONE

Gardener News Serving the Agricultural, Gardening and Landscaping Communities

February, 2017

GARDENERNEWS.COM

TAKE ONE No. 166

PHS Philadelphia Flower Show Blooms on New Dates

The 2017 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show, “Holland: Flowering the World,� will celebrate the beauty and ingenuity of Dutch culture, from vivid flower fields to the innovative eco-design, on March 11-19, 2017, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

No other country is as well known for its floral industry as the Netherlands, which fills the world with color. The Philadelphia Flower Show will transport guests to the rainbow landscapes of tulips, hyacinths

and daffodils and the cutflower and bulb markets that have shaped Dutch history.

America’s premier floral and garden designers will celebrate facets of Holland’s culture throughout the 10 acres of exhibition halls at the Flower Show, which supports the transformative greening and beautification work of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

The Flower Show will also explore the innovation that has defined Holland’s approach to its unique landscape, from windmills – one of the earliest uses

of natural energy – to 21st-century ecodomes and the Dutch Wave movement, which takes a natural and sustainable approach to landscape design. Leading designers from Holland, including Nico Wissing, Bart Hoes, Bart Bresser, and New Jersey-born Carrie Preston, will share their extraordinary floral and garden styles in major exhibits at the Flower Show. “We are thrilled to have these stars of Dutch garden design working with our award-winning Flower Show designers on the exhibits,�

said Sam Lemheney, PHS Chief of Shows & Events. “This Flower Show will inspire guests with new ways of thinking about gardening in a changing world, and dazzle them with the colors and creativity of Holland’s floriculture.�

Bridges, windmills, canals and water gardens in a sea of 30,000 flowers ĘŠ ZLWK PRUH EORRPV suspended in a giant floral FDQRS\ ĘŠ ZLOO ZHOFRPH visitors to the Flower Show.

Guests will pass under a brick bridge inspired by the Amsterdam cityscape

and adorned with Delft tile patterns, overflowing flower boxes and hanging baskets.

The surrounding garden will be planted with cherry trees, sycamores and drifts of floral color ranging from hot orange to soft pinks, reds, blues and purple accents.

Mixed in with thousands of tulips will be hundreds of fritillaria, narcissus, anemones and other blooms.

New Flower Show attractions will include the World Market in the Convention Center’s Grand Hall. The World Market will feature a Dutch (Cont. on Page 17)

2 February, 2017 G A R D E N C E N T E R D I R E C T O R Y GardenerNews.com

GardenerNews.com

February, 2017 3

AUGUST 15-17 2017 THE FUTURE BEGINS

Aug.15-Aug.17|Navy Pier,Chicago

www.IGCShow.com

4 February, 2017 Remember when you were a tad younger and the world seemed so much bigger?

From childhood, we’re exposed to people’s thoughts about how the future might be different, and how those differences might affect our lives. Movies, TV shows and entire museum exhibits are dedicated to predicting the future.

Growing up, we weren’t yet exposed to what already existed across our vast planet, let alone what might be on the horizon 25 or 50 years into the future.

I can remember, as a kid, there were amazing predictions about the future that for some reason or other I did not take seriously. I just wrote them off as pipe dreams or the product of pure science fiction.

Sure! I thought. There would never be a small, square piece of plastic that looked like a Bullova wristwatch, could act like a Bell telephone, and also have a miniature RCA television screen to both receive and transmit audio and visual signals. Like that was going to happen! Well, how many people today walk around with Apple watches and iPhones?

GardenerNews.com NJ Dept. of Agriculture

By Douglas H. Fisher Secretary of Agriculture

Yet still no flying cars Another “fiction� that came true. Just by taking plastic (remember “The Graduate�?) and combining it with some silicon, some kind of magical transaction would occur.

I would just enter a store with no cash and walk out with a legal purchase, all without speaking to anyone or waiting in any kind of checkout line.

My bank account would just magically be debited by a mere waving of this wafer-like thing.

Yeah, right!

Well, all of those “futuristic� things are commonplace now.

One Department of Agriculture staffer informed me that she recently was vacationing in Dubai and conducted a bank transaction through a teller who looked human, but was actually an android.

So, for me, that raises the question: What else can we

expect in the decades ahead?

I’ve been reading some amazing predictions about the future of agriculture, and I take them much more seriously now than I took predictions when I was younger. While we don’t know exactly what may occur, there are hints in a recent edition of The Economist. For example: They include moisture sensors detected from space that can be planted throughout a farm to tell whether the soil is precisely too dry or too wet. That information gets sent to “the cloud� network of computer servers, and the data gets forwarded to the irrigation system to react accordingly.

With demands for water increasing daily, conservation methods like these will be more necessary.

The U.N. projects that food production worldwide

Look Who’s Reading the Gardener News!

It’s in the news

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Actor/director/playwright Ted Lange, best known for his role as the bartender Isaac Washington in the TV series The Love Boat, looks over a recent copy of the Gardener News during a visit to the Garden State. Mr. Lange is much more than that smiling drink-server you remember from 1970s TV. He has spent the decades since The Love Boat as a world-renowned playwright and director, creating dozens of theatrical works highlighting the lives of forgotten black figures in American history. He also appeared in the original cast of +DLU RQ %URDGZD\ LQ $V DQ DFFRPSOLVKHG GLUHFWRU KHÂśV GRQH VKRZV OLNH Dharma & Greg, Fantasy Island, The First Family, and The Wayans Brothers.

must increase by 70 percent by 2050 to feed the growing global population. To keep from over-stressing land and water resources, expanding traditional crop production systems on farm fields can only stretch so far.

So, vertical farming and other indoor food-production methods must be added to the mix.

Taking a cue from the success of horticultural greenhouses, farmers may be able to produce five or six times the amount of crops on the same acreage through vertical practices.

Researchers are studying the symbiotic relationship between microbes and fungi and plants, and how the former (microbes and fungi) can help make nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium more soluble for the latter (plants) to take up.

We’ve talked in earlier

articles about the use of drones to fly over fields and pastures and provide a view of crops or livestock. Will that trend last? Or, perhaps, today’s land vehicles will soon fly, or, as mentioned in the Economist article, farmers might launch mini-satellites (think Google Earth for farms).

The application of technology is, as usual, a tricky thing. About one half of 1 percent of the population dreams up these devices and techniques.

But they impact the other 99.5 percent of us daily. We may not know how they function. We just know they get the job done.

What do you think?

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

GardenerNews.com

February, 2017 5

Support NJ Agriculture JERSEY GROWN

Nursery Stock JERSEY GROWN

Sunflower Birdseed JERSEY GROWN

Firewood

JERSEY GROWN

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

Annuals & Perennials Made With JERSEY GROWN

Wood Birdhouses & Bird Feeders

Governor Chris Christie Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher

jerseygrown.nj.gov

6 February, 2017

RUTGERS NJAES/RCE

Master Gardeners Accepting Applications The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Somerset County, New Jersey are currently accepting applications for fall 2017. Classes will be held once a week on Tuesdays from 9:30am to 12:30pm from September 19, 2017 WR ODWH 0DUFK DW WKH 1HZ -HUVH\ $JULFXOWXUDO Experiment Station Rutgers Cooperative Extension offices 310 Milltown Road in Bridgewater. Residents with an interest in gardening and a commitment to volunteer service can become a Rutgers Master Gardener. No previous education or training in KRUWLFXOWXUH LV UHTXLUHG &DOO SUHVV option four or pick up an application packet at the Milltown Road office. The deadline to return the application is June 2, 2017 Rutgers Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who assist Rutgers Cooperative Extension in its mission to deliver horticulture programs and information to Somerset County residents. These programs include a phone in/walk in helpline to answer garden questions, primers for establishing and maintaining community and individual gardens, a Seeds to Salad course for elementary schools, instruction for differently abled gardeners and more.

The Rutgers Master Gardeners receive in-depth, hands-on training in horticulture from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, faculty and professional staff. Some topics include plant biology, propagation, soil science, disease and pest identification and control, and gardening and environmental principles.

Successful graduates of the extensive curriculum become Certified Master Gardeners after they complete their required volunteer service hours.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension, a unit of the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, is an equal opportunity program provider and employer. Contact the State Extension Director’s Office if you have concerns related to discrimination

Jack Rabin (CC’78) NJAES Associate Director for Farm Programs Retires Jack Rabin’s retirement celebration took place )ULGD\ 'HFHPEHU DW WKH &RRN 6WXGHQW &HQWHU DQG FDSSHG D QHDUO\ \HDU FDUHHU Rutgers faculty & staff, New Jersey farmers & politicians, and friends of Jack Rabin’s came from near and far to wish him well. The celebration began with talks and presentations and ended with food and camaraderie.

Speakers included: Brad Hillman – director of research, NJAES; Peter Oudemans – pathologist, NJAES; Kate Brown – student, SEBS ‘17; Pete Furey – executive director, New Jersey Farm Bureau; Pete Nitzsche – agricultural agent, NJAES; Andy Wyenandt – extension specialist, NJAES; Jim Quarella – founder and president, Bellview Winery; Rick Van Vranken – agricultural agent, NJAES; Larry Katz – director of extension, NJAES; Barbara Zilinskas – professor, Department of Plant Biology.

The event closed with Rabin thanking everyone for the sendoff. “I wanted to depart quietly without fanfare, but was humbled,� he remarked. “It was a winner.�

GardenerNews.com

From the Director’s Desk

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

Winter is the season for learning The excellence of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Cooperative Extension programs continues to be recognized by extension professionals across the country, and our innovative programs again have received numerous prestigious awards.

I proudly recognize the lifetime achievements of our faculty who have recently transitioned to retirement as Rutgers University emeritus faculty, and, in doing so, have opened the doors of opportunity for new entrants into our academy of extension educators. Like the changing of seasons that offers renewal each year, so too does the academic life of a faculty member offer renewal for our great land-grant university mission. – Larry Katz, Director of the NJAES. Winter is the time of year when Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s (RCE) Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) offers educational workshops, seminars and conferences to help you enhance your knowledge and gain skills you can use throughout the year.

ANR assists commercial businesses, governmental agencies, and residents through personal or group requests for assistance, information and consultation. We offer guidance on topics related to horticulture, agriculture, the environment and natural resource management. Our goal is to teach people new skills and share research-based information so they can make better informed decisions and positive changes for their businesses and personal lives.

In our county offices across New Jersey, our knowledgeable RCE faculty and professional staff are the bridge between you and Rutgers. By linking with campus-based subject matter Extension Specialists, county-based personnel serve the residents of New Jersey through: Consultations: We provide information on a diverse range of topics, including gardening and landscaping, household and structural pest identification and control, composting, and environmentally sound and cost-effective horticultural practices. Residential clientele can receive over-the-phone or face-to-face in-office consultations from our professionals. Trained Rutgers Master Gardener volunteers are also available to assist you in 17 of our county offices. Commercial clientele consultations may occur in-office or on-site. Please contact your county Cooperative Extension office for an initial phone consultation to determine how we can best assist you.

Educational Sessions and Workshops: Rutgers Cooperative Extension offers educational sessions and workshops in the classroom and in the field. A variety of educational events are offered throughout the year. We also partner will many professional organizations to provide content to their educational meetings and conferences. Check our list of upcoming events on our website.

Fact Sheets, Bulletins and Educational Resources: Use our searchable database to find information on thousands of topics, including home gardening and landscaping, soil nutrient management, and pest control. These quick-read, two- to four-page documents offer detailed information, management recommendations and related information to help you learn and make decisions.

Newsletters: Our Plant & Pest Advisory newsletters provide information for commercial horticultural businesses, but may also be of general interest to non-commercial clientele. You can sign up to receive any newsletter by email or RSS feed through our website.

Plant Diagnostics and Soil Testing Services: Our county-based agents, staff and trained volunteers can offer advice, information and diagnostic services in pest and tick identification, and horticultural practice. In addition, the Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory and Nematode Detection Service and the Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory can conduct various analyses. Contact your local county office for information on free and for-fee services, fee structures and sample submission procedures. These can be valuable first steps to help you figure out what pest you may have found, or what is the optimal amount of fertilizer or limestone to apply to your turfgrass.

Pesticide Applicator Licensing and Certification Credits: Our Department assists the RCE Pest Management Office by providing information on current pesticide applicator certification and licensing requirements, and the sale of applicator training manuals. We also offer NJDEP-approved courses with continuing education and recertification credits to maintain your licensing.

Volunteer Training Programs: Interested in volunteering? We offer two opportunities for adults who want to learn and then volunteer in their community under our direction. We offer the Rutgers Master Gardener Program and the Rutgers Environmental Stewards Program. Both require an extensive training on horticulture and environmental issues, respectively, and require a defined number of volunteer hours to fully complete the experience.

Winter is a great time to plan ahead for spring and summer. Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension’s Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources is here to help. Look for the listing of Rutgers Cooperative Extension Phone Directory listed in Gardener News and give us a call or go to njaes.rutgers.edu/county. Visit njaes.rutgers.edu to find links to the programs and services listed above.

We encourage you to learn more about our programs, and how we can help you become more knowledgeable and successful in your home garden or commercial business.

Editor’s Note: This month’s article is written by Daniel Kluchinski, County Agent I / Professor and Chair, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

GardenerNews.com

RUTGERS NJAES/RCE

February, 2017 7

A Cool Leopard of a Plant One challenge all gardeners battle is the ever-changing botanical name of plants. Through recent genetic studies or improved understanding of who initially named the plant, a well-known and longstanding species or genus name is subject to change.

One plant that intrigued me early in my career was Leopard Plant, Ligularia tussilaginea, which over the past 20 years gradually transitioned to Farfugium japonicum.

As the species epithet indicates, Farfugium japonicum is native to Japan and Asia, where it inhabits moist meadows and stream banks. The convoluted story of this plants’ name started ZLWK &DUO /LQQDHXV

who named it Tussilago japonica LQ Tussilago comes from the Greek Tussis, to cough and Ago, meaning to act upon.

Linnaeus believed this was an Asian relative of the European native, Tussilago farfara or Coltsfoot, which herbalists used to cure coughs.

In fact, it was Gaius Plinius Secundus (23-79AD), a Roman naturalist better known as Pliny the Elder, who not only wrote of its use as a cough remedy, but penned the name Farfarus and Farfugium as the name for Coltsfoot. Due to poor communications that besieged the 19th Century, the plant was “rediscovered� by the Scottish botanist and plant hunter Robert )RUWXQH DQG LQ was named Ligularia tussilaginea by the Russian physician and botanist, Emil Bretschneider

Ligularia comes from the Latin Ligula, meaning strap, and refers to the narrow, strap-like flower petals displayed by the 120-plus species of this genus.

Once again proving that “old� is now “new,� Farfugium was once again documented in DV WKH SURSHU JHQXV QDPH by the English botanist John /LQGOH\ +RZHYHU it was not until 1939 that Siro .LWDPXUD WKH Director of the Botanical Institute at Kyoto University, finally and properly described the plant as Farfugium japonicum. The split

from Ligularia has been further substantiated by more recent studies on the differences in the number and shape of the chromosomes.

Regardless of the everchanging stream of botanical names, the structure of the flower did not change and it consistently remained a member of the asteraceae or sunflower family. Farfugium japonicum is a clump-forming perennial, growing to two feet in diameter.

Plants flourish in evenly moist, lightly shaded locations and sport yellow, one- to two-inch diameter flowers atop two-foot leafless stems during the fall.

However, it is the attractive and bold foliage that elevates the plant to garden-worthy stature.

The glossy, heart-shaped and dark green foliage is upwards of 12 inches in diameter, with a thick, leathery texture. Bold foliage is always a much needed element for gardeners and, even though its zone 7-10 hardiness precludes it from permanent planting in northern gardens, it makes a great container plant that can be brought indoors for the winter months.

Not Your Garden-Variety Day of Learning: 22 New and Revised Workshops to be Featured at Rutgers Home Gardeners School Jeopardy games, hands-on activities, and demonstrations from horticulture experts offer unique learning experience for gardeners For those with a deep-rooted passion for plants, those who are just beginning to plant the seeds for a gardening hobby, and green thumbs of all levels in between, Rutgers Home Gardeners School is the perfect place to prepare for a successful summer garden. Registration is now open for this onceD \HDU HYHQW ZKLFK ZLOO EH KHOG RQ 6DWXUGD\ 0DUFK IURP D P S P DW WKH 5XWJHUV University Cook/Douglass campus in New Brunswick, N.J. The Home Gardeners School is made up of 37 individual workshop sessions that cover a wide array of horticulture topics. This format allows attendees to select the workshops that are most relevant to their gardening interests in order to create their own unique, customized schedule for this fun day of learning. Expert speakers from commercial horticulture and landscape design firms, as well as faculty and staff from Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE), provide attendees with the opportunity to learn from highly-respected professionals with a wealth of experience.

An exciting new addition to the 2017 Home Gardeners School schedule is the opportunity for attendees to participate in interactive Jeopardy games hosted by Steve Kristoph of Steven Kristoph Nursery. Working in small groups, they will test their gardening knowledge against others and compete for plant prizes. Other new workshop topics for 2017 include going organic, plant identification, getting a garden started, and rejuvenating the tired landscape, to name just a few.

Overall, there will be 22 new and revised offerings to provide both first-time and long-time attendees with many options to grow their gardening knowledge.

A special lunchtime keynote discussion presented by New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson will focus on “Exploring NJ Climate Variability and Change.� Robinson will explain how human influences are amplifying natural climate variations and outline the challenges these changes present for gardeners in NJ and the surrounding areas.

7KH UHJLVWUDWLRQ IHH IRU WKLV HYHQW LV EXW D VSHFLDO HDUO\ UHJLVWUDWLRQ GLVFRXQWHG SULFH RI LV being offered through March 10. An additional discount is available for Master Gardeners. Participants can purchase a $10 box lunch when registering or bring their own bag lunch. Pre-registration is recommended.

Starting a new tradition of altruism this year, the Home Gardeners School organizers are asking attendees to bring non-perishable food donations to the event. Rutgers Against Hunger, a universitywide initiative working to address the issues of hunger across the state, will distribute the donated food items to local families in need.

For more information or to register, visit www.cpe.rutgers.edu/hgs or call the Rutgers Office of &RQWLQXLQJ 3URIHVVLRQDO (GXFDWLRQ DW

If even bolder foliage is of need, consider the varietal form Giganteum, whose foliage grows WR DQ H\H FDWFKLQJ LQFKHV LQ diameter.

Farfugium has many cultivar options, too.

The cultivar “Cristata� sports crested, wavy margins on silvery-green foliage, presenting textural qualities much like giant parsley. For those gardeners who are looking for foliar color to brighten that shady corner, consider the cultivar “Argenteum,� which has bold silvery-white margins from halfinch to two inches wide. It looks great when combined with water features or in a bright, sunlit corner of the home during winter.

However, the form that I have always found attractive is the selection “Aureomaculatum.�

The foliage is splashed with numerous quarter- to half-inch yellow dots and it has received the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit. Granted, this is not a selection for everyone, since some folks believe it had the misfortune of being located too close to a sloppy painter and the colorful leaves lack any garden merit. However, it does provide

a great eye-catching touch for the garden and blends very well with plants sporting yellow flowers or chartreuse foliage.

The battle of keeping up with the proper name of your favorite plant will certainly not subside in the years to come.

However, by whatever name – and furthermore, for whichever selection you choose – Leopard Plant is a wonderful and “cool� addition for your home and garden!

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

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Middlesex County 3KRQH Monmouth County 3KRQH Morris County 3KRQH Ocean County 3KRQH Passaic County 3KRQH Salem County 3KRQH Somerset County 3KRQH Sussex County 3KRQH Union County 3KRQH Warren County 3KRQH

8 February, 2017

GardenerNews.com

NJ Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 181 on January 9, 2017 This bill prohibits snowplow or de-icing service contract from indemnifying promisee against liability for loss or damage in certain instances This bill, as amended, makes void and unenforceable any provision, clause, covenant, or agreement contained in, collateral to, or affecting a snowplow or de-icing service contract that purports to indemnify, defend, or hold harmless, or has the effect of indemnifying, defending, or holding harmless, the promisee from or against any liability for loss or damage resulting from the negligent, intentional acts, or omissions of the promise. Under the amended bill, a snowplow or de-icing service contract does not include a contract to which the State, or any political subdivision or instrumentality thereof, is a party. The bill would also not apply to any contract in which the promisor has been given full authority to take all actions the promisor deems necessary to maintain the property of the promisee.

These contractual clauses are often referred to as indemnity clauses, which generally shift the responsibility to pay damages from one party to another party, often without regard to who actually caused the loss. Many states have statutes, referred to as anti-indemnity statutes, to limit these contractual FODXVHV LQ FRQVWUXFWLRQ FRQWUDFWV &XUUHQWO\ LQ 1HZ -HUVH\ 1 - 6 $ $ $ 1 - 6 $ $ $ DQG 1 - 6 $ OLPLW LQGHPQLW\ FODXVHV LQ FHUWDLQ construction contracts, contracts relating to architects, engineers, and surveyors, and motor carrier transportation contracts, respectively. This bill would similarly limit these types of contractual clauses in snowplow or de-icing service contracts.

7KLV ELOO ZDV SUH ILOHG IRU LQWURGXFWLRQ LQ WKH VHVVLRQ SHQGLQJ WHFKQLFDO UHYLHZ $V UHSRUWHG WKH ELOO LQFOXGHV WKH FKDQJHV UHTXLUHG E\ technical review, which has been performed.

The committee amended the bill to exclude from the definition of “snowplow or de-icing service contract� contracts to which the State, or any political subdivision or instrumentality thereof, is a party. The amendments also exclude from the bill’s provisions contracts in which the promisor has been given full authority to take all actions the promisor deems necessary to maintain the property of the promisee.

The Accredited Snow Contractors Association, New Jersey Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, New Jersey Farm Bureau, New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association, New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association, were all present and publicly supported the bill.

Basically, the legislation, sponsored by Sens. Christopher “Kip� Bateman and Fred Madden Jr., and co-sponsored by Sen. Gerald Cardinale, will make New Jersey parking lots and surfaces more safe, and help reign in quickly escalating insurance costs for snow contractors.

Throughout the winter months, professional snow and ice management companies service high-traffic commercial and retail properties, such as shopping centers, big-box stores, and business campuses. The industry is fighting costly insurance premiums that have escalated due to a number of factors, but primarily due to contractual language that is forced upon them, holding them accountable for any and all incidents, damages and injuries related to snow and ice, regardless if it was their responsibility.

New Jersey contractors pay, on average, 10 percent of their entire sales revenues for their commercial general liability policies. This premium is on average six times greater than they pay for the same insurance for their summer businesses, such as landscaping, paving, and excavating. And this doesn’t take into account auto, health, workers comp and umbrella insurance policies that we are required to possess. Currently, only three insurance carriers will currently write these policies in New Jersey.

This trend stems from property owners and property management companies utilizing contract language that passes their negligence on to contractors through the use of hold-harmless and indemnification clauses. This language transfers all liability to the snow and ice management company, yet the property owner or management company dictates plowing and de-icing services. With us holding the liability, there is little incentive for them to have the job done right. This creates a safety issue for the citizens of New Jersey. Additionally, professional companies often walk away from signing these contracts, leaving a lesser snow plow guy to service a property, often with inadequate equipment and unprepared crews.

7KHUH LV DQ LGHQWLFDO ELOO LQ WKH 1HZ -HUVH\ $VVHPEO\ ,W LV $VVHPEO\ %LOO 1R ZKLFK LV FXUUHQWO\ LQ WKH $VVHPEO\ &RQVXPHU $IIDLUV &RPPLWWHH ,Q ,OOLQRLV WKH 6QRZ 5HPRYDO 6HUYLFH /LDELOLW\ /LPLWDWLRQ $FW ZDV VLJQHG LQWR ODZ RQ $XJXVW E\ *RYHUQRU %UXFH 5DXQHU 6HYHUDO RWKHU states are poised to act on the same type of legislation that is being championed by the Accredited Snow Contractors Association.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Sen. Christopher “Kip� Bateman, front left, and Kevin Gilbride, Executive Director of the Accredited Snow Contractors Association, testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee on Senate Bill No. 181.

GardenerNews.com

February, 2017 9

Around The Garden

By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

Pet Friendly!

I am proud to announce that a good friend of mine and a former columnist for the Gardener News has been chosen to be the Keynote Speaker at the NJ Plants Trade Show at the end of this month.

Brian T. Voynick, DVM, CVA wrote a column titled “Pets in the Garden� for the Gardener News several years ago. This column explored all the ways that pets can live harmoniously in the landscape. $W WKH JDUGHQ FHQWHU ODQGVFDSH DQG QXUVHU\ LQGXVWU\ VKRZ RQ )HEUXDU\ 0DUFK 'U 9R\QLFN will present a seminar to the green industry titled “Help Dogs and Landscapes Play Nicely Together.�

This seminar will be about how dogs and outdoor spaces go together naturally. With their penchant for digging holes, carving runway paths and eating plants, some dogs can wreak havoc on landscape design.

Knowing what some of the most common problems are, and how to overcome them, will help keep the peace between pet guardians and their dogs, and leave both with a beautiful yard to enjoy. According WR WKH $PHULFDQ 3HW 3URGXFWV $VVRFLDWLRQ RYHU ELOOLRQ LV VSHQW RQ SHWV DQQXDOO\ $WWHQGHHV RI WKLV seminar will also gain the knowledge of creating pet-friendly landscapes and learn how to tap into this specialized pet-friendly landscape market.

Below I’m going to brag a little this month about my good friend. From here on out, I’m going to refer to Dr. Voynick as Brian.

Brian, a practicing veterinarian, has owned and directed the American Animal Hospital in Randolph, 1 - VLQFH +H DQG KLV DVVRFLDWH YHWHULQDULDQV WDNH DQ LQWHJUDWLYH DSSURDFK WR YHWHULQDU\ PHGLFLQH using modalities such as diagnostic digital x-rays, ultrasound, laser surgery, stem cell therapy, and endoscopy, as well as acupuncture and herbal medicine. The American Animal Hospital Association $$+$ DFFUHGLWHG KRVSLWDO ZRQ D 3UDFWLFH RI ([FHOOHQFH $ZDUG IURP Veterinary Economics magazine and Pfizer Animal Health for its excellence in management, client service, and medicine.

Since 1997, Brian has hosted The Pet Stop, a half-hour weekly television show on News 12 New Jersey, which is enjoyed by 2 million viewers in New Jersey and airs every weekend. The program educates pet owners about advances in veterinary medicine, responsible pet ownership, specialty care, and adoptable animals from area shelters. His TV guest appearances include The Today Show on NBC, The Early Show on CBS, Fox 5 News, and NJN. He served as staff member of Veterinary News Network (VNN) in Las Vegas and was awarded the VNN “Rising Star Award for Television.�

Following one year of post-veterinary graduate training at the Animal Medical Center in New York City, Brian earned his certification in veterinary acupuncture from the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (I.V.A.S.) and has served as a teaching assistant. He has lectured and attended continuing-education programs in acupuncture and herbal medicine in the United States, China, Taiwan, Brazil, Germany, Canada, Italy and Austria. Brian lectures internationally on veterinary acupuncture, veterinary herbal medicine and neutraceuticals, integrative and complementary veterinary medicine, stem cell and P.R.P. therapy, laser surgery, and Lyme disease.

Brian was the first veterinary practitioner in the U.S. to perform autologous adipose-derived Stem Cell therapy on dogs in 2005, and since then performs Stem Cell and P.R.P. therapy as a same-day, “in-house� procedure in his hospital. He has published articles in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, as well as Veterinary Economics.

Brian has served on the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association executive board and as chair of the Ethics and Grievance Committee for four years. He also served on the Editorial Advisory Board for Veterinary Economics magazine for two years, as well as president of the Randolph Area Chamber of Commerce. He is an active member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, where he has hosted ³*RRG 0RUQLQJ 0RUULV ´ JUDGXDWHG IURP /HDGHUVKLS 0RUULV ¹ &ODVV RI DQG LV FXUUHQWO\ RQ WKHLU Advisory Board.

Brian has also been a very involved board member of the St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter of Madison, NJ. He is an advisory board member of the Morris County School of Technology Veterinary Curriculum, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the Onyx and Breezy Foundation and Purr`n Pooch Foundation for Animals. He also has served in the Morris County Disaster Preparedness efforts as head veterinarian of the County Animal Response Team (C.A.R.T.).

Brian is also a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture, Veterinary News Network and New Jersey and Morris County Beekeepers Associations. Brian was presented the Patriot’s Path Council, Boy Scouts of America �Lifetime Achievement Award� in 2007. The award is presented to those who exemplify the LGHDOV RI WKH %R\ 6FRXWV RI $PHULFD LQ WKHLU GDLO\ OLIH )RU HLJKW GD\V LQ WKH VXPPHU RI DQG 2010 Brian served as a Camp Counselor at the Ronald McDonald Camp, Greely, Pa., where he counseled and participated in camp activities with children afflicted with cancer alongside their siblings.

He has participated as a speaker for the Cook College Leadership Council of Rutgers University as well as their Pre-Veterinary Club, where he continues to be active at his alma-mater. In 2011, Brian was awarded the prestigious George H. Cook Distinguished Alumni Award from Rutgers University, N.J. If you own a garden center, landscaping business or a nursery, this is one seminar that I highly recommend at the NJ Plants Show.

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

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

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

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10 February, 2017 Are you going to love your lawn this year?

What plan of action are you going to follow for your lawn-care program?

It’s Valentine’s Day, but just like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, you need to show your lawn a little love.

Did you fertilize your grass enough last year?

Lawns need to be fed during the peak growing months from spring through fall to look their best. If you only apply lawn food once or twice per year, that is not enough to have a healthy growing lawn. Lawns like to be fed three to four times a year based on the type of fertilizer you are using.

The first feeding of the season in spring is important because it brings your lawn out of winter dormancy. If you have a history of crabgrass in your lawn, use a crabgrass preventer plus lawn food combination product to help prevent this problem.

Sometimes it is best to delay this application until latespring to gain better control over summer-germinating

GardenerNews.com Turf ‘s Up

By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

Show your lawn a little love crabgrass. Be sure to feed your lawn again before summer arrives. Early-fall and late-fall feedings are also great times to improve your lawn’s health and growth.

When the grass starts to green up in spring and needs to be mowed, you are already reducing the possibility of weeds filling in bare spots. If bare spots are present, they will be invaded by weed seeds already in the ground. Rake up leaves, twigs and debris and re-seed bare spot areas that suffered winter damage. Don’t buy cheap grass seed, if you have in the past. Remember, show your lawn a little love and buy quality grass seed. If you need to apply grass seed and want to prevent

crabgrass too, be sure to use a Crabgrass Preventer with Tupersan (siduron) with a new seeding-type lawn food.

Are you are having trouble growing a great lawn because you have too much shade? All grass seed needs some level of sunlight to grow. Try removing some trees or at least trimming some branches back to allow more sunlight to reach hard-to-grow shady areas. Maybe you have salt damage from applying too much ice melter? You can neutralize the soil is these areas with calcium dihydrate (gypsum).

Gypsum-based products are also good to help loosen hard pan or clay soils.

It may take two to three applications over the year

to correct severe problem soils. Gypsum can also help correct soil problems from dog urination.

If your soil pH is incorrect, you will have trouble growing a healthy lawn. Your pH level should EH EHWZHHQ DQG IRU best lawn growth. Get a soil tester from your local lawn and garden or hardware store, or you can also get a good quality soil test kit from your local county extension office.

Apply calcium carbonate-based products to raise soil pH and sulfurbased products to lower soil pH. In the eastern section of the country, most soils tend to be low in pH value.

If you have not addressed these issues outlined above, you need

in a proper site analysis.

Not only do we need to look at biological attributes such as existing wildlife and vegetation, a thorough review of municipal or state regulations must be completed before creating the first design sketch.

Regulatory guidelines determine what uses are permitted and can influence the design through building setbacks, lot coverage limits and various other development standards.

We always start with the property survey, with topographic information showing changes in elevation and the site’s existing features. This helps us create a base map of the property for our design. The survey is then used to better visualize the site’s physical features and record our observations.

Additionally, we can use the survey to interpret the sun exposure at different times of the day and throughout the different seasons of the year. The

property survey also helps us understand the scale of a site; how to develop a design to complement the scale of the property, and ultimately the best the use of the site.

It is critical to always experience the site firsthand to develop a proper site analysis. Feeling the wind, looking at the existing vegetation, looking at the views and seeing the adjoining land uses can greatly influence the design.

Learning about a site’s history is also an essential part of a site analysis.

A site’s history can be celebrated or remedied, whether a site once held a historical building or is a brownfield restoration, and calls for very different design approaches.

A site’s characteristics shape how a design and use can function cohesively with the land. Different sites can appeal to different uses. For example, a southern exposed site might be a great place to design a patio in New

Jersey, but in Arizona, the patio would be better located on the northeast side of the house to take advantage of the shade created by the house. A steep hillside might not be the best place to put a soccer field but it might be the perfect spot for hiking trails or a beautiful terraced garden. A swimming pool on a flat site would be simple to design with a surrounding patio. However, a hillside would allow for pool with an infinity edge pool to be built into the hill taking advantage of the views and topography.

Other design tools can be used to enhance a site’s positive characteristics or to develop solutions that diminish the negative characteristics. This may include a row of evergreen trees to block a cold northwest wind, or give shade to a very sunny, southern exposed area. A water feature such as a fountain or a pond can be used to mask offsite ambient noise with the sound of moving water. Positive views

to this year. Growing any plant successfully requires reasonable quantities of quality soil, nutrients, light and water. The basics to have a good, healthy lawn are still the same. Use quality seed, improve soil structure, correct pH levels, feed regularly and water and mow properly.

Flower and vegetable gardens reward us with nice colors, flavors and a comforting feeling; sometimes lawn maintenance can become a chore that we hate to do since lawns cover large areas.

Remember, your lawn needs a little love just like the rest of your yard. Come to the New Jersey Flower Show at the NJ Convention Center from February DW ERRWK , hope you grow a great lawn this year.

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

The Design Process – The Site Analysis Part 1

By Brian Bosenberg Sandy soils, a cool ocean breeze and a view of the sunrise. Or perhaps the experience is a heavily wooded property with substantial grade changes and exposed bedrock.

Both instances could describe a property with a wide range of uses and design solutions. The natural characteristics of a property can have a significant impact on how a site can function, its design potential and what uses can be developed. As landscape architects, the first step we take in designing a project is to perform a site analysis and thoroughly analyze the existing site features.

Sun exposure, winds, soils, topography, hydrology and microclimate are all physical elements that can impact the design, but it is important to note that physical attributes are not the only component

can be framed with large shade trees or objectionable views can be screened with strategic plantings.

The characteristics and attributes of a site are important to understand before a design can be developed. Every site is unique and lends itself to different functions, designs and features. There are many positive attributes that should be celebrated and negative attributes that can be mitigated through good design. Understanding your site and its features is the first step towards a successful design.

Editor’s Note: Brian W. Bosenberg is a practicing landscape architect licensed in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine and Vermont, and a principal in the firm of Bosenberg & Company Landscape Architects, Far Hills, N.J. He can be reached at 908-234-0557, info@bwbosenberg.com or www.bwbosenberg.com

GardenerNews.com

February, 2017 11

Monique Purcell Appointed New Assistant Secretary of Agriculture in N.J. New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher recently announced the appointment of Monique Purcell, of Lambertville, N.J., as the Department of Agriculture’s new Assistant Secretary of Agriculture. Purcell has been the Director of the Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources and will continue in that role as well.

“Having worked for the Department of Agriculture for over 20 years, Monique has a wealth of experience in department operations and has served admirably in her capacity as Division Director,” Secretary Fisher said. “We look forward to working more with her in this leadership role.”

Purcell directs a division which handles land use issues; administers policies and programs to conserve and develop the state’s soil, water and related natural resources on agricultural and urban lands; provides financial cost-share assistance to farmers for soil and water conservation projects that prevent or control pollution; directs the office of aquaculture; hosts agricultural and conservation education programs; and distributes data from the National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS), which is a joint federal-state program.

“I’m honored to be named Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and look forward to continuing to work with the Secretary, the State Board, the dedicated people at the Department and our state and federal partners to promote and support our farmers and advance the agricultural industry in the Garden State,” Purcell said.

Purcell is a Penn State University graduate, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association President Nelson Lee, front left, and New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association Vice President Richard Goldstein, back left, stopped by the Health and Agriculture Building in Trenton to congratulate New Jersey Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Monique Purcell on her appointment.

2017 New Jersey State

Agricultural Convention February 8-9, 2017 +DUUDK¶V 5HVRUW :DWHUIURQW &RQIHUHQFH &HQWHU $WODQWLF &LW\ http://nj.gov/agriculture/conventions/2017

12 February, 2017

GardenerNews.com

New System Affords Greater Flexibility on Using Phosphorus from Manure

By Jan Suszkiw Public Affairs Specialist U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists and their collaborators have developed a mobile system for removing phosphorus from cow manure that may offer dairy farmers greater flexibility in where, when, and how they use the nutrient to fertilize crops.

Manure can be spread onto crop fields as a source of phosphorus, nitrogen, and other nutrients important to plant growth. But applying too much manure can lead to excess phosphorus that ends up in lakes, rivers, ponds, and other water sources, degrading their quality.

The idea behind the Manure Phosphorus Extraction System (MAPHEX) is to remove the phosphorus and concentrate it in a form that’s easier to manage, according to Clinton Church, an environmental chemist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) at University Park, Pennsylvania.

Hauling manure off the farm to new locations where it can be spread isn’t always practical or economical.

However, transporting concentrated phosphorus from the new treatment method could offer a less costly alternative, adds Church. He is with ARS’s Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit.

Church, together with his ARS and Pennsylvania State University colleagues, developed and tested MAPHEX as a way for farmers to not only “mine” phosphorus from their manure stores, but also market the nutrient as a value-added product.

To do this, the team mounted an auger press, centrifuge, vacuum-filter unit, and other components atop two trailer beds so that the entire system could be driven to a farm and operated onsite, either on a daily or rotational basis depending on the size of the dairy operation.

According to Church, the system can service 10 small farms on a 10-day rotational basis. On a larger farm, such as one with 2,000 cows, the system FRXOG RSHUDWH RYHU KRXUV 0$3+(; works quickly. In about 10 minutes, for example, it can extract 99 percent of the phosphorus from 250 gallons of manure. It also removes the odor from the manure.

The MAPHEX team began demonstrating its patent-pending system on a working dairy farm this September and welcomes inquiries on its commercial potential.

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

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GardenerNews.com “Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower.”

-- Albert Camus Trees are often overlooked in the natural landscape. Except for exceptional specimens like giant redwoods or the flowering cherries of Washington, D.C., we really don’t give them much thought. Until fall, when temperate deciduous trees blaze in autumn color, and we (or your landscaper) begin the annual task of collecting fallen leaves for disposal. But have you ever given leaves a deeper thought?

Green plants give us food and oxygen, and sequester carbon dioxide. We all know the basic formula for photosynthesis: water plus carbon dioxide, in the presence of sunlight, yields oxygen and carbohydrate. Seems pretty simple, but photosynthesis is of course much more complicated, and despite much research we humans cannot really duplicate it well. Nature, it seems, is much better at such tasks.

In green plants, the green is due to chlorophyll, the principal pigment and a complex molecule which is capable of “capturing” the energy in a photon of light.

Chlorophyll captures light in the blue and red spectrum, One of the hottest plants to jump off our shelves this past spring and summer was a blue grama grass, Bouteloua gracilis “Blonde Ambition.”. The last plant I can recall that leaped off our shelves with such fervor was Hydrangea “Endless Summer” a number of years ago. The demand was high and growers simply weren’t prepared for how well this grass would be received.

A rugged, cold hardy, native grass, “Blonde Ambition’s” flowers have been likened to that of eyelashes and grasshoppers.

While I see and appreciate these descriptive comparisons, I prefer flaglike flowers suspended above its blue-green foliage.

Stiff, weather resistant stems don’t seem to wobble or fall apart during our heavy thunderstorms here in the Northeast.

Commonly called blue grama or mosquito grass, Bouteloua gracilis is a tufted, warm-season native noted for its mosquito larvae-like seed spikes which hang from only one side of its flowering

February, 2017 13 Tree Notes

By Steve Schuckman NJ Certified Tree Expert

LEAVES and reflects away the green wavelengths – which is why plants appear green.

The energy captured is chemically converted to a molecule called ATP, a chemical “currency” that the plant can use to fuel enzymatic reactions to convert simple molecules into more complex molecules, i.e. carbon dioxide, a single-carbon molecule, to simple multi-carbon sugars. These sugars are used by the plant to fuel growth and development. You and I have to ingest and digest plant and animal tissue to get our sugars; plants use the power in light to make theirs.

Light comes in other colors, a function of its wavelength, and plants collect those photons with additional pigments: carotenoids and anthocyanins. While not visible normally, since chlorophyll is the dominant pigment, these

other pigments supplement solar absorption, maximizing energy collection. Leaves are, then, very sophisticated solar collectors and carbohydrate manufacturers.

We see these additional pigments in autumn, when deciduous trees begin to enter dormancy. As day-length shortens, the longer nights trigger a response in the tree: time to go dormant! A thin layer of tissue – the abscission layer – forms at the connection between leaf and stem. Water and nutrient transport to and from the leaf is reduced and eventually cut off.

The buildup of sugars in the leaf leads to increased anthocyanin production, and since chlorophyll production is halted, we begin to see the yellows of the ever-present carotenoids and reds and purples of increased anthocyanins.

Eventually the abscission layer is complete, and the leaf dies and is

shed, to decay and return nutrients to the soil.

This is a VERY simplified description of photosynthesis and the role of leaves. But here is what is most interesting. The photosynthetic process is not a direct reaction, there are two parts: collecting solar energy and then using it to fix carbon. Leaves can store – like a rechargeable battery – the energy captured from the sun during the day, to use it later to fix carbon. Leaves “breathe” – exchange gases with the atmosphere – through small pores called stomata. During days of excessive heat, stomata will close, to reduce water loss.

But pigments continue to collect solar energy and store it. Then, when the temperatures cool (at night) the stomata open and carbon dioxide diffuses in, and is converted to sugars, using the stored solar energy.

Unique Plants

By Bob LaHoff Nursery Specialist

A Patriotic Grass stems, another descriptive.

Native to prairies and plains throughout the western United States, Bouteloua is known to be a dominant shortgrass.

“Blonde Ambition,” a unique cultivar, only reaches two to three feet tall and equally as wide. Tolerant to drought, erosion and air pollution, it’s the resistance to juglone that impresses me most.

Juglone is a chemical that is exuded from all parts of Black Walnut, Juglans nigra, thus making it one of the most recognized gardening nightmares to contend with. “Allelopathy refers to the relationship between plants in which one plant produces a substance that inhibits the growth of sensitive plants nearby” www.mortonarb.org.

Bouteloua is said to have this resistance and may help explain, in part, its sudden popularity. Easily grown in most soils, other than poorly drained wet ones, blue grama grass loves full sun.

This grass freely self seeds and appreciates a haircut in late-winter months rather than the end of autumn.

“The genus name honors two Spanish brothers, Claudius and Esteban Boutelou, professors of botany and agriculture respectively” www. missouribotanicalgarden. org. “Blonde Ambition” produces chartreuse flowers, bent to one side, as if it’s a flag on a flagpole during a windy day. These flowers give way to blonde seed heads that remain well into the winter months.

Interestingly, there are reports, on the Internet, that this plant can also be grown as a turf grass and regularly mowed to two to four inches high. There are no serious insect or disease issues with this plant, and the flowers make an excellent addition to dried flower arrangements.

We have David Salman, of High Country Gardens, to thank for this unique grass. Truly unlike any other grass in cultivation, this airy, highly adaptable, dramatic blue grama turned heads at our garden center all season long. Found in 2007 in Santa Fe, N.M., this grass originated as a sport off Bouteloua gracilis “Hatchita.”

Useful in foundation landscapes as well as in

Understanding the role of leaves is important for the homeowner and the landscaper alike. Removing leaves via pruning, if poorly timed, can induce stress and a loss of vigor to the plant.

Think about it, you are taking away the tree’s food-producing organs.

Late-summer and autumn pruning should be avoided at all costs.

Same goes for lawns, and I am NOT a fan of turf except for golf courses and sports fields.

Cutting grass too short reduces the available photosynthetic tissue for sugar production. If you really need a green square in front of you home, better to have a prairie than a putting green. Be a lawn hippie….leave it long!

I wish you all a Happy New Year, and my wish for 2017, to paraphrase the Beatles, “Leave It Be!” Editor’s Note: Steve Schuckman is owner of First Mountain Aboriculture, which provides horticultural consulting and community forestry services.

He is currently the consulting forester for Bloomfield, Hawthorne, Maplewood, and Montclair, in New Jersey. He is also a New Jersey Certified Tree Expert. He can be reached at smschuckman@verizon.net pottery around a pool or by your front door, it’s dramatic in any application. Found from Manitoba Canada, south and west across the Rocky Mountains and even to Mexico, this is one tough plant!

A 2011 Plant Select® winner, this grass can easily be divided, like others, in early-spring. The next time you think you see a “swarm of flying insects” it may not be just that. Another accurate description of just how fun and whimsical these unusual, chartreuse flowers can be.

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.

14 February, 2017

GardenerNews.com

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GardenerNews.com

Happy Bees, Happy Gardeners!

By Jeannie Geremia Garden Club of New Jersey

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Bees deserve to be front and center as we begin a new year of gardening, as they are the first pollinators to venture out on a mild winter’s day.

They, of course, have been hibernating and had fattened up as much as possible in late-fall so they could survive the winter.

What they need, and we can help provide, is early blooming nectar plant sources so they can safely make it through to spring.

Once again, I make a plea for gardeners to plant Hellebores in their gardens, as some of my Hellebore species have been blooming since the first week of December.

Along with them, I would suggest cultivating witch hazels and early bulbs including snowdrops, and Winter aconites, along with early blooming fruit trees.

I can’t truthfully say that the term “happy� does in fact apply to bees, but I truly believe it’s apt as we know how contented and “happy� we are when we have ample food to eat. Having a dependable food supply has been an ongoing challenge to mankind down through the ages, and we’re fortunate to the degree that we have surprisingly steady, dependable access to a wide variety of food.

Still, we have millions of people who are constantly in a state of starvation due to drought, war, climate change and a population that has exploded over the last century. Just looking at a drought or war ravaged landscape that is inhospitable to any living thing, we can take that a step further and put ourselves in a bee’s place when she emerges from hibernation (the Queen bee is our early forager), looking for sustenance and finds only a bare, barren landscape devoid of any nourishment.

This, my gardening friends, is where we can make a difference at the very beginning of a

growing season by making sure our bees are nourished and we can continue throughout the entire year as, think about it, December through November, we can have some type of nectar available.

Helping bees is in our own best interest as they are our most reliable and efficient pollinators providing one-third of the food we eat. There are many ways we can do this.

We already know they need food sources, but they need habitat, too. That habitat should be devoid of toxic pesticides, as many bees are ground dwellers and lawns and landscapes that are saturated with fertilizer/weed control products produce a toxic cocktail hazardous for bee survival, plus they eliminate ongoing food sources such as dandelions and clover.

We can be advocates for our diminishing bee population by educating ourselves and others and taking positive action.

Legislation is at the top of the list for protecting our bees. I implore you, my gardening friends, to take action here in New Jersey by reaching out to your local legislators on an ongoing basis. The first bill that we can surely see enacted into law is Senate %LOO 6 DQG LWV LGHQWLFDO ELOO $VVHPEO\ %LOO $ This bill “Requires pesticide applicator to notify beekeeper when applying pesticides within 3 miles of registered honey or native beehive or beeyard.� &XUUHQWO\ 6 sponsored by Senator Bateman, and Senator Smith, and co-sponsored

by Senator Allen and Senator Gordon, has SDVVHG WKH 6HQDWH RQ 'HFHPEHU

Kudos to the Senate! Our job is to reach out to our local Assemblymen and Assemblywomen to do their SDUW $ LV SUHVHQWO\ LQ the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and needs to be posted for a vote in that committee by the committee Chair

Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak.

Please call Chairman $QGU]HMF]DN DW DQG DVN KLP to post Assembly Bill $ VSRQVRUHG E\ Assemblywoman Caride, Assemblyman Space, Assemblyman Taliaferro, Assemblyman Dancer, and co-sponsored by Assemblyman McKeon and Assemblyman Conaway. You can also help get more sponsors and once this bill is voted on in committee, it will need to be posted by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto for a vote in the Assembly.

It will then travel to Governor Christie for his signature and become law. Beekeepers, NJ Audubon, The Garden Club of New Jersey and the gardening community look forward to this bill becoming state law. I will keep you posted on other important environmental legislation that will protect our wildlife, us and our future generations.

Meanwhile, please go to Beyond Pesticides website at www.beyondpesticides. org and view the Map of US Reform Policies and see how you can be a local advocate for bees and our other pollinators as Beyond Pesticides goal as stated on their homepage is: Healthy Hives, Healthy Lives, Healthy Land. That, my friends, will make Happy Bees and Happy Gardeners!

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 Life Flower Show Judge for the GCNJ. Jeannie is a member of Neshanic Garden Club and her email address is: jgeremia42@gmail.com The Garden Club of New Jersey website is: www. gardenclubofnewjersey. com and phone number is: 732-249-0947.

GardenerNews.com

February, 2017 17

PHS Philadelphia Flower Show Blooms on New Dates (Continued from page 1)

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society/Photo

Shopping Village of imported and domestic specialties; opportunities to create a take-home bulb garden or crafted planter; the lively Designer’s Studio demos and real-time competitions; the PHS Pop Up Beer Garden; and free tastings at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits store.

The 2017 show will also introduce the Garden Spa, located on the Grand Concourse, where guests can opt for a variety of ways to relax, recharge and be pampered. Offerings will include massage, make-yourown essential oils or potpourri, and sips of wine and spirits.

A favorite family experience, Butterflies Live, returns to the Flower Show. The educational exhibit replicates a habitat of native plants where more than 1,000 butterflies of 20 exotic and American species interact with guests.

Shopping opportunities will grow this year, with the flagship PHS Shop in the main exhibition hall and three satellite stores where visitors can purchase Flower Show scarves and capes, T-shirts, the new Teddy van der Bear, and other keepsakes.

The Meadowbrook Farm Store will offer exceptional spring plants and garden accessories in the central PHS Shop. The bustling Flower Show Marketplace will include PRUH WKDQ YHQGRUV RIIHULQJ FXW flowers, plants, tools, horticultural supplies, fine crafts, and home dĂŠcor and garden products from around the world.

This year’s show will inspire and empower gardeners of all interests with new horticultural ideas and information. Exhibits throughout the show will spotlight the highest quality trees, shrubs and perennials for the home garden, including the 2017 PHS Gold Medal Plant winners chosen for their year-round beauty and

hardiness. Interactive presentations in the Gardener’s Studio, presented

by Subaru, will include the latest thinking in container gardening, foodscaping, attracting pollinators, growing orchids and African violets, and planting bulbs. The Competitive Class displays will combine creative design with expert gardening, while providing practical lessons in beautifying the home landscape.

Expert advice is found throughout the show: at the special displays of the plant societies, in the educational exhibits created by area universities and high schools, and at each exhibit where leading designers look forward to sharing their knowledge. Guests are also invited to bring gardening questions to the information booth at the Hamilton Horticourt, where novices compete with veterans for the coveted Philadelphia Flower Show blue ribbons.

Visitors will experience the rich heritage of the Netherlands, from the canals of Amsterdam to the castle gardens and Keukenhof fields, from the historic and modern architecture to the world-renowned Dutch art and cuisine. “Holland: Flowering the World� will be a celebration of a culture that has touched every corner of the globe, and everyone is welcome.

The PHS Philadelphia Flower Show is the nation’s largest and longest-running horticultural event, and features stunning displays by the world’s premier floral and ODQGVFDSH GHVLJQHUV 6WDUWHG LQ by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the show introduces the newest plant varieties, garden and design concepts, and organic and sustainable practices. In addition to the major garden displays, the Flower Show hosts world-renowned competitions in horticulture and

artistic floral arranging, gardening presentations and demonstrations, special events, and the citywide Bloom Philly celebration. The Philadelphia Flower Show has been honored as the best event in the world by the International Festivals & Events Association, competing with events such as the Kentucky Derby Festival, Tournament of Roses Parade, Indianapolis 500

Festival, and other international celebrations.

The Premier Sponsor of the 2017 Flower Show is Subaru, and the Exclusive Sponsor is Bank of America. Official Sponsors are AARP, Accenture, Acme, Bartlett Tree Experts, Belgard, Flonase, and Green Mountain Energy. Supporting Sponsors are Amtrak, FTD, and SugarHouse Casino. Contributing Sponsors are Breck’s, Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, Cruise Planners, Espoma Organic, and Stash Tea. Proceeds from the Flower Show support the work of PHS to transform lives and communities across the region. Through the innovative greening programs of PHS, people of all backgrounds work together to tend community gardens, plant trees, green vacant lots, and create and maintain iconic public landscapes. These efforts provide healthy food for families in need, teach job skills to returning citizens, build stronger and safer communities, and make our world a greener, more beautiful place.

For more information about the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show and to purchase tickets, visit theflowershow.com.

18 February, 2017

GardenerNews.com

If it’s January, it must be MANTS!

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Mark D’Angelo, left, a sales representative for Griffin Greenhouse Supplies, catches up with Vincent Lipani, owner of Central Jersey Nurseries in Hillsborough, Somerset County, N.J., at the MidAtlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) in Baltimore on January 12, 2017.

MANTS is sponsored by the State Nursery and Landscape Associations of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The show covers over 300,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space at the Baltimore Convention Center and draws exhibiting companies and attendees from throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. The show has a waiting list and they strive to accommodate as many space requests from current and prospective exhibitors alike.

Well over 11,000 horticulture HQWKXVLDVWV PDGH WKH WK annual trade show a huge success.

Artillery fungus – Can you recognize it?

By William A. Kolbe B.C.E. When we get wet weather around our homes, businesses and even gardens, coupled with decaying ground organic matter (wood mulch etc.), we may get something called Artillery fungus. Look for small, dark spots on siding, cars, brick, cement etc.

Sometimes they are inadvertently called “insect eggs” or some other misdiagnosis. While not an insect or pest, they can damage building surfaces. Artillery fungus spots (spores) can also be found on your car and are very hard to remove.

Many people are concerned by the tiny dark spots they find on their houses, cars, and plants. Often the spots are mistaken for scales.

The spots may actually be spores from members of a

group of fungi commonly called the “shotgun” or “artillery” fungi in the genus Sphaerobolus.

These fungi colonize dung or other organic matter such as wood mulch, wood benches, wood sheds.

Artillery fungi use an interesting mechanism to disperse their spores.

Dark-brown spore packets, called peridioles, sit on top of specialized cup-shaped cells which accumulate water and cell contents. When enough liquid is accumulated, the cupped cells invert, causing the cells to burst and propel the peridioles as high as six meters where they can adhere to new surfaces.

The fungi appear as yellow-brown to black, disk-shaped spots of about one to two millimetes.

They can be found on nearly any surface due to a sticky substance (i.e.

Mother Nature’s version

of “super glue”) covering the peridiole that allows for good adherence. The fungi are very sensitive to light and the spores are projected towards it, so they are frequently located on white and light-colored substances (house siding, white cars, etc.) or other bright, lightreflecting bases.

Artillery fungi spores do not normally do structural damage to the houses, cars, plants, etc. they cover. Removing the fungi is virtually impossible. Scrubbing and scraping with tools or washing with soap and water aids somewhat in removal; however, the use of tools or harsh chemicals may damage painted or otherwise colored surfaces. No fungicide treatment is recommended at this time.

Lately, the appearance of Artillery fungi has been associated with wood mulch (versus bark mulch)

and the increased use of wood products in potting media. Composting of these products prior to incorporation into media is encouraged to prompt the growth of beneficial antagonistic organisms.

Also, the use of gravel mulch, stone, pea gravel, and black plastic next to buildings instead of using wood products will help reduce the problem.

If wood products are used, the addition of about three centimeters of fresh mulch to cover old mulch each year may lessen the problem. Use of bark products, rather than wood products, may also lessen the fungal spread. Consider the new “rubber” mulch being sold at hardware and home improvement centers.

One word of warning to homeowners wishing to replace house siding splattered by Artillery fungi or turn in a claim for a new paint job on

their car….insurance companies may not cover claims of damage due to “molds.”

Power washing may remove the spores.

Removing artillery fungus is easy with a power washer “as long as you do it quickly.” The longer the spores stay on the surface and grow, the harder it is to remove them.

References: Cornell University Fact Sheet on Artillery fungus 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 (Class of 1974) Bill is a member of The Denville NJ Community Gardens.

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

GardenerNews.com A visit to a friend’s house for dinner recently uncovered salad greens and some vegetables straight from the garden. At first, I thought he was pulling my leg, but after some more digging, I uncovered the source of the delectable fresh produce. They came from his cold frame garden.

Now, I have always known of the use of cold frames, but more for starting seeds before the first of spring, not so much for extending the growing season through the winter.

With my curiosity now in full flight, I picked his brain. How did you set up your cold frame? Well, it seems it’s as simple as setting up a bottomless wooden box filled with well composted soil mixed into the existing grade.

He explained the easiest way to set it up is to cut four boards for the rear and three for the front. The sides will have four shorter boards with a diagonally cut board for the top edge.

He said he liked to make it seven feet by four feet, but you can make it whatever It’s the middle of winter and you find yourself sitting around with nothing to do, unless you are fortunate enough to have a snow plowing company and it’s snowing near you. Now is the perfect time to reflect on how well your company did, or did not do, last year and create a game plan that can shape your company for the upcoming landscape season.

Sending your maintenance contracts out early helps with scheduling the work load and also allows you to see how many more clients you may be able to add. Existing clients are one of your best resources to cultivate work. There could be a project that your client may have put off last year that could be designed and built early in the spring.

Adding on new services may also be a good way to offer your clients a one-stop shopping experience. This way, your client does not have to go anywhere else.

Advertising in newspapers, magazines and online is great exposure and may land you some new work, but it is usually

February, 2017 19 The Landscaper

By Evan Dickerson Landscape Professional

Veggies in the winter dimensions you would like.

The next step was to set up the top. This needs to be made with glass or Plexiglas or even plastic as the majority of the surface to facilitate the warming rays of the sun, which will keep the plants warmed enough to survive. The top will be set with hinges to enable you to open it to vent enough to keep the plants from getting too hot.

You can even purchase a thermostatically controlled opener to take the worry out of checking the temperature constantly.

He also let me know that, for a price, cold frames can be purchased as well.

However, in the next breath he reminded me that it is much more enjoyable to create your own.

So whichever way you go, now that it has been built, what do we need to do to the soil? Of course a loose, well-drained loam with plenty of added compost and organic matter will result in better plants.

Speaking of plants, I asked what varieties are best to be planted in these cold frames. He replied that the vegetables he has had good success with are arugula, broccoli, beets, cabbage, green onion, kale, lettuce, radishes, spinach and Swiss chard. He even started some carrots and sweet potatoes at the end of August, which were just about ready as well.

As we finally were able to get a look at his masterpiece I couldn’t help notice how the plants

were very clean and the environment was weed free.

To which he replied that a 2 inch layer of potting soil was all it took to keep the weeds out. He also said a little mulch was a good idea for moisture control as well.

So what are the other uses for the cold frame besides keeping some produce available in winter?

There are many uses, one of which is to start seeds in the cold frame which develop into mature plants sooner than those sown without the aid of the cold frame. Also, hardening off tender plants by exposing them to the elements slowly will ensure successful transplants. The cold frame can even be helpful in getting tender ornamental plants through

The NJLCA Today

By Nelson Lee Association President

Personal touches help find new clients very costly and requires multiple ads before it may be effective. Direct mail with handwritten envelopes are very personal and can have great results, as long as they are done with care.

Post cards are also another way of getting the word out through the mail, but generally do not have the same rate of return as handwritten letters do.

Professionally created door hangers are a good way to canvas an area that you are already working in. Just make sure you’re allowed to do this in the town where you are seeking to advertise.

Some towns may require a permit.

So once the phone starts ringing after all of your creative campaigning pays off, what’s next? One of the

biggest things I hear when meeting with new clients is, “You are the only one that showed up to meet with me” or, “You’re the only one that returned my call.” One thing I will never understand is how companies can advertise for new clients and stay in business when they do not answer calls or show up for appointments.

Another great way to get new clients: when you sign up a new client, ask if you can put a site sign on their property with a “call to action.” This will announce to all those who pass by that you were hired to create a great project for this homeowner and passersby could see the daily progress and admire the improvements your company has made until they are completed.

Make sure your company logo is plainly visible, with your phone number, so there is no mistake as to who is producing the beautiful work.

Following up with potential clients is just as important as returning a call or showing up to do an estimate. Clients like to know you care about them.

A few days after you do a proposal, follow up with a phone call to see if you can answer any questions they may have. This could earn their respect and confidence and separate you from the others who may have only showed up and supplied them with an estimate and the potential client never hears from them again.

If a client decides to use your services, provide the

the harsh conditions of winter.

Well, I think this was a productive and enjoyable dinner. The discussion and tour of the cold frame garden sparked a renewed interest in winter gardening.

It’s a shame it is so cold out today or I’d be tempted to install some cold frames of my own. Come to think of it, on a warm winter day, this could be a fine project to work on. And as my friend had said, he replaces some of the plants that for one reason or another don’t survive all winter long, so it would be possible to plant at any time.

There you go. Another winter project that doesn’t involve a glass of wine to get through; however a nice Irish coffee might just hit the spot.

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 services your client expects.

Follow up with phone calls.

Make it the best experience they’ve ever had. Once they become your raving fan, they will be glad to tell others about your company.

Offer that new client a referral or friend discount.

This is beneficial because it encourages positive talk about your company and your only cost is providing a discount to a satisfied customer who has brought you another sale.

I know there are many ways to gain new clients, the ones you really want to be working with, but all of these actions can understandably push you out of your comfort zone. No one said it was going to be easy!

Editor’s Note: Nelson Lee is president of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA). He is also Founder and President of Landscapeworks, Inc., Advanced Mulch Services, Inc. and Advanced Hauling.

Lee can be reached at nlee@landscapeworks.net or by calling the NJLCA at 201-703-3600.

20 February, 2017 I got a unique present from my older sister Kathleen that was in a number of canning jars that all contained healthy amounts of this tasty component.

Artichoke hearts, Pesto, Pate, Squash, Broccoli, etc. that all shared the same zesty companion - homegrown, organic designer garlic and scapes.

I asked her how she made these tasty dips and spreads and she said that her Vitamax Blender played a big role in the process along with spices, cream cheese and/or sour cream and a dash of red or white wine, depending on her “let’s try this� recipe.

Well, they were amazing and everyone that I shared these dips and spreads with agreed. Kathleen said anyone can grow garlic and she gave me some cloves to plant next spring. They were German Hardnecks - a very hearty variety that does well in Maine.

She gave me these because she knew my percentage of success would be high. She had already planted all hers in late-November. Kind of late, I thought, but she said it

GardenerNews.com The Miscellaneous Gardener

By Richard W. Perkins Freelance Writer

Many Varieties of This Sparky Component was actually the perfect time to plant them.

Garlic is one of the easiest vegetables to grow, it stores well and one purchase lasts a lifetime if you re-plant the cloves! She told me to use my compost to plant in and adding some Miracle Grow fertilizer will help.

Chopped pine needles and leaves make the best cover.

Plant the cloves about six inches apart and four inches deep, keeping the flat side of the clove down. Cut and eat the scapes and dig up the cloves after the leaves just start turning brown. Dry the garlic in a shed or garage for about a week and remember to re-plant the cloves in lateNovember.

When the Maine Cooperative Extension decided to launch The Maine

Garlic Project, it was hoping to capitalize on the existing interest in garlic. Forty-three percent of participants had never grown garlic before.

Still, it proved an easy sell in a state that loves thrift (it’s ridiculously easy to save garlic for seed) and all things heritage (garlic is always heritage; these ancient varieties are planted each year throughout the centuries).

But spreading the love wasn’t the sole purpose.

Because so few people had grown garlic in Maine in the past, scant information existed about cultivation and KDUYHVWLQJ ,Q WKH HQG participants over a 320-mile geographical range joined in, each planting two garlic bulbs and entering data about them on an online

wafts all the way to their mailbox. That’s the power of approximately 1,000 pounds worth of allium sativum growing in rich Kennebec River soil.

Some of my sister’s hardneck favorites that she picks up at the local Common Ground Fair and Farmers’ Market, are: Asiatic Russian Red, Rocambole Carpathian and Dan’s Italian, Purple Stripe Chesnok, Metechi and Purple Glazer, Porcelain White and Dan’s Russian.

She mentioned other varieties to me that she says are not produced in abundance and you have to be at the market at the right time or they are gone. “Like what,â€? I asked? Purple Max, Fish Lake #3, Leningrad‌.. and on and on she went.

Once again, I had no idea how specific the stinky rose had become, but hey, good for all the organic farmers that are having fun doing this.

Thanks for reading and see ya next month.

spreadsheet. It helped the extension figure out how to advise future garlic growers.

That kind of information is key for the high-value aspect of garlic farming, the bulb. Not every bulb makes it to market, because anyone who plans to grow garlic the next year holds back seed garlic from their harvest, roughly half of what they grew. That’s partly why farms plant so much.

Frith Farm, now in its fourth year in operation in Scarborough, will soon be KDUYHVWLQJ PRUH WKDQ garlic plants, 70 varieties, distributed over 15 beds that are 120 feet long. Roberta Bailey and Rob Lemire’s garlic fields at Seven Tree Farm in Vassalboro are not Editors Note: Check out visible from the road, but Richard’s photography at; on a hot July day, the smell rwperkinsphotography.com

Horticultural Educator and Gardening Leader Honored The Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum held their annual Member’s Only New Year’s Party on Sunday, January 15, 2017, at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morris Township, Morris County, N.J. During the meeting, Lesley Parness, superintendent of Horticultural Education at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, was honored for her 15 years of devoted service to the arboretum. Parness is also a founding member of the Garden State Gardens Consortium.

Over 100 members of the friends organization paid tribute to Parness on her February 1, 2017 retirement.

Parness was showered with accolades, and received a special Congressional Citation and an American flag that flew over the United States Capitol from the Honorable Rodney P. Frelinghuysen. Garden State Gardens Consortium member Edith Wallace was on hand to salute Parness for all of her educational gardening efforts.

During the party, Marta McDowell, a member of The Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum and a former intern at the arboretum, gave a talk on her latest book, All the Presidents’ Gardens. McDowell teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden and consults for private clients and public gardens.

The Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum was founded in 1972. They are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to support and promote the development of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum and other horticultural facilities of the Morris County Park Commission. Through their continuing commitment and volunteer efforts, they foster and develop public awareness, knowledge and enjoyment of horticulture and the natural world.

Pictured is Judy Snow, left, president of The Friends of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum Board, and Lesley Tom Castronovo/Photo Parness, right after the tribute.

GardenerNews.com New York Apple Association Welcomes Produce Veteran Cynthia Haskins as President and CEO New York Apple Association (NYAA) is starting the new year off with Cynthia Haskins at the helm as its new president and chief executive officer. “I am thrilled to partner with New York Apple Association’s dedicated board, committed staff and critical partners to expand brand recognition and consumption of New York apples and products,� said Haskins. “This is an ideal leadership opportunity to marry my passion for working with growers and industry to expand markets locally, nationally and globally.�

Haskins joins the association with extensive background in the produce industry, having worked with organizations such as The Oppenheimer Group, Washington Apple Commission, Northern Plains Potato Growers Association, Dole, Sunkist, Missouri Department of Agriculture, and most recently Illinois Farm Bureau. “We welcome Cynthia’s vast experience and leadership to the New York apple community,� said Jason Woodworth, chairman of NYAA’s Board of Directors. “Cynthia has a results-oriented approach and a broad background that will serve our diverse industry well.�

NYAA promotes demand for New York state-produced and -packed apples and apple products, through promotional and educational work with retailers and other handlers, consumers, processors and others. The association also works with state and federal legislators and regulators. New York is the second largest apple-producing state in the country. “Cynthia’s experience in the domestic and international apple industries – coupled with her skills in marketing, association management and government relations – will be strong assets as we look to the future,� said Woodworth.

Haskins succeeds Jim Allen, who retired Jan. 2 after a 20-year career ZLWK 1<$$ LQFOXGLQJ \HDUV DV SUHVLGHQW $ VHDUFK FRPPLWWHH RI NYAA board members was assisted by Boxwood Career Solutions, which specializes in executive search and other association career solutions.

New York Farmers Markets Are Open Through The Winter New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball reminds New Yorkers that dozens of farmers markets are open across the state through the winter season.

Winter markets provide shoppers the opportunity to buy farm-fresh foods and other products while supporting local farmers. For a second year, fourteen winter markets are also issuing FreshConnect Checks, which allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to increase their buying power when they shop at farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; markets. Additional markets are encouraged to join the program to provide a greater number of FreshConnect checks to people and families in need.

Commissioner Ball said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a terrific time to shop at your local farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; market and enjoy all they have to offer. Despite the cold weather, New York farmers have plenty of fresh produce and high-quality products available during the winter.

Our FreshConnect Checks also provide an added benefit for those in need and I encourage additional markets to join the program this season.â&#x20AC;?

There are more than 150 farmers markets, farm stands and mobile markets across the state that are open now, with additional markets set to open later this month and one scheduled to re-open on February 1. The markets operate on varying days and times throughout the week and weekend to fit a variety of schedules. They provide consumers with a wide selection of fresh vegetables and value-added goods such as craft beverages, all-natural skin care products, wool products, maple syrup and honey.

Fourteen winter farmers markets are also participating in the FreshConnect program and additional markets have the option to join the program at any time.

These markets issue FreshConnect Checks, which provide a $2 incentive for every $5 in SNAP benefits spent, increasing the purchasing power of SNAP recipients by SHUFHQW For the first time last year, low-income families had the opportunity to use these checks 12 months a year. Previously, the checks were only available at participating markets during the spring and summer. Although the checks are issued at select markets, they may be redeemed at any of the more than 150 markets currently open, or the more than 750 farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; markets and farm stands open throughout the year.

February, 2017 21

22 February, 2017

GardenerNews.com

Garden State Gardens Consortium Announces New Officers Garden State Gardens is a Consortium of New Jersey’s Public Gardens whose mission is to increase the public’s awareness of and appreciation for the beauty and horticultural, educational, artistic and historic value of New Jersey’s public gardens. This is to be accomplished through the collaboration of allied public garden professionals as they work to promote public garden visitation, development, stewardship and support.

At the Garden State Gardens Consortium meeting on January 10, 2017 in Montclair at Van Vleck House & Gardens: Sonia Uyterhoeven, left, Director of Horticulture for Greenwood Gardens in Short Hills is named Vice President; Samantha Richardson, second from left, Horticulturist for the Greater Newark Conservancy in Newark is named President; Chuck Fisher, second from right, Executive Director of The Montclair Foundation and Van Vleck House & Gardens in Montclair is named Secretary; and Pam Ruch, right, Horticulturist at Morven Museum and Garden in Tom Castronovo/Photo Princeton, is named Treasurer.

Here in the United States, our food supply has never been safer and is something that we all take for granted.

The safety of our food is something that all of us in agriculture take very seriously. From the way in which food crops are grown, right on up to how they are prepared, served and eaten, along with all of the steps in between, combine to play a critical role in ensuring a safe, nutritious, great tasting end product.

As it is with most industries, food safety generally does not make the news unless something bad happens. We all go about our normal routines eating meal after meal after meal (with an occasional snack thrown in for good measure), without giving much thought to what actually goes in to keeping our food safe.

Since most of us do not grow, process, prepare and package our own food, we might not realize what goes into creating a product that is safe to eat.

In the field, there are many areas of potential concern. The first and

The Town Farmer

By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

Food Safety probably most significant has to do with the nutrients that are used to grow the crop.

Although animal manure has been successfully used as a plant nutrient for centuries, care must be taken in order to ensure a safe end product.

For crops that are fed to animals or later processed, such as hay, corn and soybeans, there is generally not too much of a concern.

But with crops grown very close to or actually in the soil, extreme care must be taken. Salmonella, E. coli and listeria are just a few examples of pathogens that can potentially contaminate food products, and these can all be introduced via the improper use of manurebased fertilizers. If they are used, care must be taken to ensure that any potential

pathogen has broken down so that it is not able to be a source of contamination.

Another area of concern has to do with irrigation. On our farm, we rely on well water for our irrigation needs and this is the same water that we use for drinking and cleaning purposes. Still, this is subject to regular testing to ensure that it remains free of potential contaminants.

When surface water is used, i.e. ponds, rivers, streams, etc., care must be taken to ensure that this water is used in a safe manner. Could a flock of geese introduce salmonella to a pond? Could a stream that originates miles away pick up E. coli while traveling through a cow pasture? The answer to these questions is not a definite yes or no, but it is possible.

That is why this is an area of concern when it comes to food safety.

The packing or packaging of food is another focal point of food safety. Because this is usually done in some type of a centralized facility, extra attention needs to be paid to this area. Let’s use lettuce as an example. Say a bird happened to fly over a field of lettuce and drop a “care package” onto one of the heads. If this lettuce was packed right there in the field and if it was overlooked and actually picked, it would be a concern only for the end user of that particular head. If however, that lettuce was harvested and taken to a massive facility where it was chopped up and mixed with hundreds of thousands of other heads into a

bagged salad mix which is then distributed across the country, the potential is there for a much greater problem.

Food preparation is another key area of concern.

We can substantially reduce the risk of food contamination by adhering to accepted food-preparation guidelines and by just using plain old common sense. Make sure that the knife you are using to chop peppers did not just cut up a raw chicken breast.

Keep prepared food items refrigerated. We all know what to do. If we all stay focused and remain diligent, we can continue to keep food safety out of the news.

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.

GardenerNews.com Anything prepared francaise style - that is, made with lemon, wine, butter and capers - is a delicious treat.

I know I should probably be writing about something healthy, being that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s this time of year, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just not feeling it.

Instead, I will be writing about something I find much more satisfying.

Francaise!

More specifically, artichoke hearts franchise, which is often on our menu at the restaurant. Often, I pair it with a protein such as fish, chicken or shrimp. Or sometimes just as an appetizer by itself. It has become increasingly popular over the years for us. It is fairly easy to make and is one of my favorite classic French preparations.

The globe artichoke is the most popular type of this flowering vegetable. It is high in antioxidants and helps with liver function.

Aside from being able

February, 2017 23 From the Deep

By Craig Korb Executive Chef

A plant thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also made into liquor to eat this plant, it is also made into a liquor known as Cynar. Italy is the top producer in Europe, followed

by Spain and France.

California provides almost all of the U.S. Crop, with Northern California being responsible for about SHUFHQW RI WKH VWDWHÂśV production. Used by the Greeks and Romans as food, eventually it spread to Italy and )UDQFH GXULQJ WKH WK and 15th centuries.

They were eventually brought to the U.S. in the 19th century. They were first brought to Louisiana by the French and later to California by the Spanish.

This is a great

recipe and is best for use with chicken and fish. There are only a few ingredients and I hope you enjoy! This is particularly popular for us around Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day, due to its qualities as a supposed aphrodisiac.

Artichokes Hearts )UDQFDLVH VHUYHV DV an appetizer) FDQ DERXW R]

artichoke hearts, not the ones in oil, drained 2 eggs, beaten and placed in a bowl FXS IORXU SODFHG in a small bowl salt and pepper to taste juice of 1 lemon FXS FKLFNHQ VWRFN FXS ZKLWH ZLQH 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

method-place medium sized pan on medium heat and melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter until foam is gone -cover artichoke hearts completely in flour and dredge into the egg mixture until completely covered with egg -carefully place artichokes into pan and sautĂŠ until lightly browned on all sides, adjusting heat if necessary -remove artichoke hearts from pan and place onto a paper towel-lined plate -return to pan and add the additional 1 Tbsp. of butter -once butter is melted, add 2 tsp. of

flour and mix together to form a roux -cook for about 30 seconds to a minute -add the white wine, lemon juice, chicken stock and salt and pepper -bring to a simmer and, using a whisk , mix until the sauce is smooth and starts to thicken, tasting and adding more lemon if necessary -place artichoke hearts in a serving dish or plate and pour the sauce over top -garnish with parsley if desired and serve immediately!

Good luck!

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: Craig Korb is executive chef at The Crabâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

Native Food Plants 2: Sugar Maple

By Hubert Ling Maple sugar is a multibillion dollar industry and is located only in North America.

The origin of this industry is unknown, but may have occurred when native North Americans first sampled sweet, naturally concentrated, frozen sap from broken branches of sugar maple trees.

The Lenni-Lenape Indians trace their use of maple sugar to inspiration from woodpeckers (sapsuckers).

Maple sugar has been produced from many types of maples, but the sugar maple Acer saccharum produces the most sugar and currently is the only species used on a large scale commercially in Canada, and North Eastern United States.

Native Americans showed the early European colonists how to tap this valuable resource, which until about ZDV WKH FKHDSHVW W\SH of sugar in the United States

and Canada. Since maple syrup was bulky and difficult to store, natives produced granular sugar, sugar molded into blocks, and wax-sugar which was produced by pouring concentrated syrup over snow; this latter product was generally consumed immediately mostly by gleeful children.

In 1791, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington attempted to establish maple sugar groves on their plantations in Virginia but most of the trees died, since sugar maple trees in the Southern United States generally only grow well in cool mountainous areas.

To make maple syrup, small, shallow holes are drilled into the sapwood of a 12-inch or larger diameter tree and plastic tubing is run from trees to central collecting containers during March and April. The dilute sap with about 2-percent sugar is processed in a reverse osmosis machine to remove excess water. The concentrated sap is then boiled until the

sugar concentration is about 70 percent, then filtered and bottled.

Maple syrup comes in grades A (light) and B (dark).

I like grade B better; it is cheaper and has a more robust color and flavor.

If the maple syrup is boiled longer, the result is maple cream, which can be used like jam. If the cream is processed longer, a crystalline sugar product is produced which is often molded into pieces of maple candy.

Sugar maple trees find a variety of uses besides making our pancakes scrumptious. In fall, sugar maple trees turn a vivid yellow, orange, and red. Together with ash, oak, sumac and sassafras, maple trees turn New England into the most visually stunning landscape in the world. Sugar maple seedlings can grow in deep shade and thus, over time, sugar maples establish themselves as dominant forest canopy members. Sugar maples also help themselves and their neighbors by a

process called hydraulic lift. In this process, the deep tap roots transport water from moist deep lying layers to shallower, dryer layers.

Sugar maple wood is often referred to as rock maple and it is the hardest, moderately priced hardwood available in the United States. As such, it is commonly used for flooring, bowling alleys, butcher blocks, baseball bats, workbenches, and musical instruments.

Makers of fine furniture have long used maple with special grain patterns for unique creations; these grains include birds-eye, blister, and fiddle back.

Sugar maple trees have been widely used as landscaping trees. They thrive in almost any type of soil except sandy soil and are easily raised from seeds which need an extended very cool period before growing.

The young trees grow moderately fast and then slow or stop growing when they UHDFK WR IHHW LQ KHLJKW :KHQ WUHHV DUH \HDUV ROG

they frequently reach 12 inches in diameter and can support a single maple sugaring tap.

Under ideal conditions, trees can reach over 100 feet tall and over 5 feet in diameter and live IRU \HDUV Although the trees show good resistance to disease, they are sensitive to road salt and air pollution. In many of our large cities, sugar maples have been replaced in street plantings by Northern red oak, pin oak, American elm (select only Dutch Elm-resistant cultivars), and serviceberry.

In New Jersey, sugar maples are restricted to the northern counties outside of large cities.

Check out sugar maples in all their autumn glory in midto late-October in Chester, N.J., or in New York on the way to Harriman.

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: Hubert Ling is the Horticulture Chairman for the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. He can be reached at milhubling@verizon.net

24 February, 2017

GardenerNews.com

2017 Gypsy Moth Spray Program Announced NJ Dept. of Agriculture Proposes Spraying of 4,500 acres 7KH 1HZ -HUVH\ 'HSDUWPHQW RI $JULFXOWXUH 1-'$ KDV SURSRVHG VSUD\LQJ DSSUR[LPDWHO\ DFUHV RI UHVLGHQWLDO DQG FRXQW\ owned properties in Cape May, Morris, Ocean, Sussex and Warren counties this year to combat the tree-killing gypsy moth caterpillar.

7KH 1-'$ÂśV DJJUHVVLYH VSUD\ SURJUDP LQ UHVXOWHG LQ D PRUH WKDQ SHUFHQW GHFUHDVH LQ WKH QXPEHU RI DFUHV SURSRVHG IRU spraying this year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are pleased to announce that last springâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sprayings helped decrease the gypsy moth caterpillar populations in many areas across the State,â&#x20AC;? said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will continue to act by spraying the most impacted areas to minimize tree damage and nuisance to homeowners in the coming years.â&#x20AC;?

The NJDA held an informational session in Trenton today to outline its 2017 Aerial Gypsy Moth Suppression program. Egg mass surveys were conducted from August to December and treatment is proposed for areas of: Upper Township in Cape May County; Jefferson and Rockaway townships in Morris County; Manchester Township in Ocean County; Wanaque Borough and West Milford Township in Passaic County; Stillwater and Vernon townships in Sussex County; and Liberty, Lopatcong and White townships in Warren County.

Participation in the program is voluntary. If the towns agree, spraying would take place in May and June. To qualify for the spray program, a residential or recreational forest must have an average of more than 500 egg masses per acre and be at least 50 acres in size.

A single egg mass contains up to 1,000 eggs. ,Q WKH 1-'$ÂśV VSUD\ SURJUDP LQFOXGHG DFUHV LQ PXQLFLSDOLWLHV DQG RQH FRXQW\ SDUN V\VWHP LQ &DSH 0D\ 6DOHP Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties to combat the tree-killing gypsy moth caterpillar. Both treatments and defoliation DUH GRZQ GXH WR D FRPELQDWLRQ RI HIIHFWLYH WUHDWPHQWV LQ DQG VSRUDGLF ( PDLPDLJD J\SV\ PRWK IXQJXV UHGXFLQJ WKH SRSXODWLRQV especially in the northern counties of the state.

The NJDA and Department of Environmental Protection use Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) to combat gypsy moth. It is a biological insecticide that kills the gypsy moth caterpillar when ingested. /DVW VXPPHUÂśV GHIROLDWLRQ VXUYH\ LQFOXGHG DFUHV LQ FRXQWLHV DQG PXQLFLSDOLWLHV 7KH PDMRULW\ RI WKH GDPDJH ZDV LQ 6XVVH[ DFUHV :DUUHQ DFUHV 0RUULV DFUHV DQG 3DVVDLF DFUHV FRXQWLHV Two to three consecutive years of significant defoliation (defined as 75 percent or more) can kill an otherwise healthy tree. However, any gypsy moth defoliation can make trees more susceptible to other damage that can lead to the death of the tree. Oak trees are the preferred host for gypsy moths, but the caterpillars can be found feeding on almost any tree in the vicinity.

For more information on New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gypsy moth suppression program, visit: www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/gypsymoth. html. Also, for national gypsy moth material, visit www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/gm/.

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February, 2017 25

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Brewing Crops Seminar to be Presented at Vegetable Growers Association of N.J. Trade Show on February 7

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show it to a friend!

IN MEMORANDUM Alvira J. Condurso 1919-2016 $OYLUD - &RQGXUVR RI 0RQWYLOOH GLHG RQ 6XQGD\ 'HFHPEHU DW 0HUU\ +HDUW Nursing Home in Boonton Township. $ YLVLWDWLRQ ZDV KHOG RQ 7KXUVGD\ 'HFHPEHU IURP 30 DW 7KH 'DQJOHU /HZLV DQG Carey Funeral Home, 312 West Main Street, Boonton, NJ 07005. A Funeral Mass took place on 'HFHPEHU DW 6DLQW 3LXV ; 5RPDQ &DWKROLF &KXUFK &KDQJHEULGJH 5RDG 0RQWYLOOH 1- DW $0 ,QWHUPHQW IROORZHG DW *DWH RI +HDYHQ &HPHWHU\ 5LGJHGDOH $YHQXH East Hanover, NJ. Letters of condolence may be posted at danglerlewisandcareyfuneralhome.com.

Born in Morristown, Alvira was a lifelong resident of Montville. Alvira was a Sales Associate at her families business Condorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Garden Center in Montville, Morris County, New Jersey.

Alvira was the beloved daughter of Bartholomew and Rose Condurso. Alvira was predeceased by four brothers and three sisters. She is survived by many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.

There is interest among many craft brewers in the state and region to source locally grown ingredients for beer making. The cultivation of New Jersey State produced ingredients, like malted barley and hops could provide opportunities for farmers. Has the thought of producing ingredients for the craft brewing industry crossed your mind? Have you ever wondered what the brewers are looking for with respect to varieties and quality? Would you like to know what is involved in producing hops and malting barley for market? Craft brewers, hop growers and grain farmers are encouraged to attend the Farm Brewery sessions (AM and PM sessions) at the 2017 Vegetable Growers Association of N.J. Trade Show at Harrahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Resort Hotel Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Tuesday February 7, 2017.

Topics to be covered at this day-long event include: Â&#x2021; 3URGXFWLRQ DQG 3URFHVVLQJ 5HDOLWLHV RI 3URGXFLQJ +RSV Â&#x2021; 4XDOLW\ &RQVLGHUDWLRQV IRU 0DOWLQJ *UDLQV DQG +RSV Â&#x2021; 6WDWXV RI WKH &UDIW %UHZLQJ ,QGXVWU\ LQ 1Â&#x2021; )DUP %UHZHU\ 2SSRUWXQLWLHV For more information, registration materials, and program for the 2017 Vegetable Growers Association of N.J. Trade Show visit http://njveggies.org/convention.htm

Deep Cut Orchid Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 20th Annual Orchid Show This is the largest orchid exhibit in Tri-State area.

It will take place on Thursday, February 9 through Sunday, February 12, 2017 at the Dearborn Market, Route 35, Holmdel, Monmouth County N.J. Exhibit KRXUV DUH 7KXUVGD\ SP WR SP )ULGD\ DQG 6DWXUGD\ DP WR SP DQG 6XQGD\ DP WR SP 7KHUH ZLOO EH H[KLELWV IURP RUFKLG FOXEV LQ WKH PLG $WODQWLF area and vendors from across the United States. Certified American Orchid Society judges will award prizes to the best exhibits and flowers.

Admission and parking are free. Lunch is available in Dearborn Marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 11,000 square foot garden center, where the orchids will be shown. Special group WRXUV FDQ EH DUUDQJHG E\ FDOOLQJ &DURO $ED\D DW

The Premier Gardening Monthly Newspaper Number 166 Published Monthly Contact Information 3KRQH Website: www.GardenerNews.com E-Mail: Mail@GardenerNews.com Staff Executive Editor/ Publisher . . . .

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Full Moon, February 10, 2017 Eastern Daylight

TIP OF THE MONTH

If you are clearing a light snowfall from your driveway, walkway or steps with a backpack blower, direct the snow away from plants. Otherwise, the blowing ice crystals may damage the tender bark of young trees and shrubs. If you use a snow blower to clear the snow, blown snow can break branches. Direct the chute away from plants as much as possible. Constantly adjusting the chute may take a few more minutes than just straight snow blowing, but the results will be much better for your plants. And shoveled snow has to go somewhere, but it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to go onto the plants in your landscape. Plan your piles strategically to avoid placing additional weight on snow-covered plants.

26 February, 2017

GardenerNews.com

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28 February, 2017

GardenerNews.com

romantic meals…

We love to inspire your passion for food. From the freshest ingredients for the perfect romantic meal for two, to premium gourmet chocolates and custom-arranged blooms, get the inspiration to go above and beyond this Valentine’s Day at your local Kings.

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Strawberry Arugula Bruschetta with Balsamic Reduction For Other Valentine’s Day Recipe Ideas go to kingsfoodmarkets.com/love