Gardener News May 2016

TAKE ONE

Gardener News Serving the Agricultural, Gardening and Landscaping Communities

May, 2016

GARDENERNEWS.COM

TAKE ONE No. 157

Rutgers Gardens Celebrates its Centennial

Tom Castronovo/Photos

By Tom Castronovo Executive Editor Back in the 1980s, I took a few short course classes through the Rutgers Office of Continuing Professional Education, or OCPE, at Rutgers Cook-College. These classes provided me with the highest quality opportunity

for lifelong learning.

These classes were handson training which helped me advance my career in the horticultural and landscaping field. Today, I still keep in touch with several of my instructors. Some of these instructors were influential in helping me create and publish the Gardener News.

Thank you!

While I was learning at Rutgers I was introduced to the Rutgers Gardens. This was my first encounter to a real outdoor living classroom.

The gardens brought the books and the lectures to life.

I feel it altogether proper and fitting to recognize my first encounter to an outdoor living classroom by saluting the Rutgers Gardens in this

month’s cover story. This month, the gardens, whose diverse variety of landscape plants have origins that span the globe, celebrate their 100th anniversary.

Below is an in-depth interview with Bruce Crawford, Director of Rutgers Gardens, an adjunct professor in Landscape Architecture Department

at Rutgers University, and a featured columnist in the Gardener News.

When and how did Rutgers Gardens begin?

The first portion of the land, a 35-acre tract which is now the center of Rutgers Gardens, was purchased by the University on May 17, 1916. Most of the land was for a vegetable (Cont. on page 9)

2 May, 2016

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May, 2016 3

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4 May, 2016 Most of my life was spent in Bridgeton, N.J., which is a city that is surrounded by farms of all types, boasting an amazing array of crops of every description. Agriculture is the dominant enterprise here, and always has been. The area is bounded by the counties of Atlantic, Salem, Gloucester and Cape May. The rich soil is extremely fertile and welldrained. Pristine artesian well water is abundant for irrigation.

The air is kissed by breezes blowing off of the Delaware Bay. This is tomato country.

In its heyday, South Jersey was the number-one growing area for tomatoes in the U.S. So much lore takes place here about the red beauties. Joseph Campbell grew up in these parts and then moved on to Camden to found the giant soup company we all know as Campbell’s Soup. When I was a teenager, there were still canners established here, packing labels such as Pride of the Farm, Ritters and Hunts.

I can still envision the hordes of flatbed trucks piled with tomatoes hand-packed in half bushel baskets stacked in rows one atop another in pyramid fashion. What a sight!

GardenerNews.com NJ Dept. of Agriculture

By Douglas H. Fisher Secretary of Agriculture

Always the Tomato There was a long caravan of trucks winding up the highway, starting from the can house along the Cohansey River, down Broad Street, past the county courthouse and ending at the old 18th-Century Revolutionary Cemetery by the Presbyterian Church.

In addition to this stretched line of tomato-laden trucks being on display on their way to processing, there also was something else that reminded you it was tomato season, and that was the aroma. The whole town all at once was wafting in the smell of ketchup and tomato sauces being cooked with spices in formulas combining cloves, allspice, red and black pepper, as well as garlic, onion, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar.

No one could escape the deliciousness of those

fragrances and no one really wanted to, because those smells and sights meant so much on many different levels. The farmers were harvesting their crops, factories were engaged, employment and paycheck levels rose and merchants sold more wares.

During my college years, I worked in those factories and toiled in each and every phase of production that occurred: The tomatoes made their way onto sorting tables and revolving belts, where inspectors would sort the red globes into acceptable pathways for their next trip to processing or to waste and back onto fields as in input.

Chopped and churned, heated and turned, secret proprietary formulas added, cooked to specs and then onto the packing end of the plant to

Look Who’s Reading the Gardener News!

It’s in the news

Tom Castronovo/Photo

New York Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets Richard A. Ball looks over the April Gardener News in upstate New York. Commissioner Ball is a lifelong farmer and advocate for sound farm policy. He continually brings fresh ideas and strong leadership to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. As a native New Yorker, Mr. Ball has made a living in agriculture his entire life. For over 20 years, he has been the owner and operator of Schoharie Valley Farms in Schoharie, N.Y., which consists of 200 acres and produces a wide range of vegetable crops, small fruits and greenhouse crops.

be bottled and canned. Even the bottles and cans were made in the town. Millions and millions of clanking ware wound around gears, tables, labelers, into cartons and were finally sped off on to trucks and rail cars to points around the U.S.A. As it is with just about everything in this world, we expect change and this never fails to meet the expectation.

There is only one major packer of Jersey Fresh tomatoes in 6RXWK -HUVH\ ULJKW QRZ ʊ 9LROHW Packing in Williamstown. They do a great job, and when I visit, I immediately remember my days on the lines.

However, the Jersey tomato IS still here and you can buy it from your nearby farmer, the farmstand down the street, farmers markets and supermarkets.

This is May, my friends, which means you also can put some tomato plants in of your own, in patio boxes and in your backyard garden, and enjoy the same flavors and aromas that New Jerseyans have been treated to for generations.

By the way, be sure to look for some of the Rutgers tomato plants like the Rutgers 250 and the Ramapo that Mr. Campbell and Mr. Ritter used in their manufactories. They taste just like you remember.

You can even make your own recipe for catsup or ketchup.

New Jersey, the Garden State, grows the best tomatoes, and that is fact.

Editor’s Note: Douglas H. Fisher is New Jersey’s Secretary of Agriculture. He is the department’s executive officer, secretary to the State Board of Agriculture and a member of the Governor’s cabinet. Secretary Fisher fulfills executive, management and administrative duties prescribed by law, executive order or gubernatorial direction. He can be reached at 609.292.3976.

For more info, please visit: http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture

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May, 2016 5

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6 May, 2016

RUTGERS NJAES/RCE

President Barack Obama to Deliver Commencement Address at Rutgers University-New Brunswick U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver remarks to more than 12,000 graduating students and 40,000 guests at the university’s 250th anniversary commencement ceremony May 15 on the New Brunswick Campus.

“We are delighted that President Obama has chosen to address our graduates at this year’s historic commencement,” said Rutgers University President Robert Barchi.

“This is the first time in Rutgers University’s history that a sitting president has agreed to speak at commencement,” said Barchi. “President Obama’s decision is a testament to the enthusiastic efforts of Rutgers students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as members of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation, who sent numerous messages to the White House urging the president to join our 250th anniversary graduation ceremony,” he added.

President Obama will deliver his remarks during the Rutgers University-New Brunswick Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 15, at 12:30 p.m. at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway.

More than 12,000 graduates, representing 22 academic units from Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, are scheduled to receive their academic degrees. More than 52,000 are expected to attend the ceremony, rain or shine.

Since granting its first degree in 1774, Rutgers has awarded more than 550,000 academic degrees.

Established in 1766, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is America’s eighth oldest institution of higher learning and one of the nation’s premier public research universities, enrolling more than 67,000 students each year and serving people throughout New Jersey. Rutgers University-New Brunswick is the only public institution in New Jersey represented in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Rutgers is also a member of the Big Ten Conference and its academic counterpart, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation – a consortium of 15 world-class research universities.

Next month’s commencement ceremony is part of Rutgers 250, a yearlong celebration that culminates on Nov. 10, 2016 – the 250th anniversary of the birth of Queen’s College. That colonial institution became Rutgers College in 1825. In 1924, Rutgers College assumed university status. By 1956, acts by the New Jersey State Legislature designated all of Rutgers’ divisions as The State University of New Jersey.

Rutgers Master Gardeners of Somerset County Celebrates New Graduating Class The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Somerset County, N.J., recently added 19 new members in a graduation ceremony at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office on Milltown Road in Bridgewater.

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, programs for special needs organizations 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.

The program is currently accepting applications for Fall 2016.

Classes will be held once a week on Tuesdays from 9:30am to 12:30pm from September 2016 to March 2017 at the NJAES Rutgers Cooperative Extension offices at 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 horticulture is required. Call 908-526-6293 press option four or pick up an application packet at the Milltown Road office.

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 848-932-3584.

GardenerNews.com

From the Director’s Desk

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

RU Organic? Rutgers Aids Landscapers in Adding Organic Services to their Businesses This past February, Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) held its fourth annual Organic Land Care Certificate Course. Thus far, 80 landscapers and landcare providers have gone through the program, which educates practitioners about what is acceptable under organic land management and delivers research-based information that will help the industry be successful in their organic endeavors.

In New Jersey and across the Northeast, more and more landscaping companies are adding organic options to their lawn and landscape services. But the question of what “organic” actually means can lead to a lot of confusion. Many incorrectly believe that “going organic” is only about the type of fertilizer or pesticide applied and that one can simply “product swap” from a conventional product to an organic one.

Confusion exists in the industry because there are no universally accepted standards for organic land care. We are all familiar with the green and brown “USDA organic” symbol seen on food labels. That symbol indicates the product met federal certified organic standards for agriculture set forth by the National Organic Program (NOP), which is run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Landscaping is not addressed in this federal organic certification program. A few organizations have developed their own standards, including the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) and Oregon Tilth.

RCE worked for over a year to research and develop an Organic Land Care Certificate Program for New Jersey landscapers. Through this program, landscapers are taught a holistic approach to landscaping that improves the natural resources of a site by fostering cycling of resources, promoting ecological balance and conserving biodiversity. The practices used should promote diversity, restore and improve soil biology, use local materials, and reduce waste, including reducing energy use, material products, and water.

In an organic program, synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and synthetic soil amendments are not used. Rather, organic landscaping focuses on mimicking natural conditions by using fertilizer from natural materials (manure, plant and/or meal-based) and compost in addition to focusing on cultural practices such as returning grass clippings as a nitrogen source, mowing at an optimal height and proper planting of trees and shrubs. Practitioners incorporate native and pest-resistant plants into landscapes and place plants in areas that optimize sunlight, soil and moisture requirements of that species. Strong emphasis is placed on promoting soil health by increasing soil organic matter and enhancing the biological community through the use of composted materials.

Organic landscapers utilize slow-release fertilizers with ingredients that come from natural sources such as plant or animal by-products (i.e., fish, feather or blood meal), rock powders, and seaweed. Some practitioners will utilize a bridge product, which is a mix of synthetic nitrogen (most likely urea) with a natural organic fertilizer. Bridge products are often used while transitioning a landscape but use of these products would not be consistent with true organic management because of the inclusion of synthetic nitrogen.

Many incorrectly believe that no pesticides are used at all in organic land care. Pest and disease management in an organic system is similar to an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach. This approach focuses on creating a landscape that is unfriendly to pests and diseases (using right plant, right place concepts and other cultural practices), monitoring, and using allowed pesticides, usually from a natural source such as insecticidal soaps, horticultural spray oils, and botanical insecticides, as a last resort.

The RCE program uses the USDA NOP standards as guidelines for what substances are allowed in an organic program. These are listed in Section 205.601 under “The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.”

For landscapers thinking of adding organic options to their services, the best advice would be to start slowly, allow time for experimentation, and attend educational trainings to learn from experienced practitioners. There is no boiler-plate organic program that all landscapers can use.

Rather, programs are customized based on site conditions. Practitioners that have had the greatest success are those that allow for trial and error while they get used to small, manageable changes.

In addition, it is important to realize that on especially degraded sites, the transition phase to organic management may take years, and during this time the landscape may not look optimal.

It is important not to force organic programs on clients who will not be accepting of conditions that may be encountered during the transition phase (weeds, etc.).

Through our Organic Land Care Certificate program, RCE is helping landscapers successfully implement more environmentally friendly, sustainable practices on their client’s properties. To learn more about this program, or to find a local landscaper who has completed the program, visit the website http://njaes.rutgers.edu/organiclandcare.

Editor’s Note: This month’s column is written by Michele Bakacs, Environmental and Resource Management Agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex and Union Counties.

GardenerNews.com

May, 2016 7 Around The Garden

By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

The bloom has faded into the sunset

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I was deeply saddened to learn that the beloved Springfest Garden Show at the Sussex County Fairground in Augusta, N.J. will be no longer.

The show burst into bloom for the last time March 17-20, 2016.

Organizers of the Show, in an unexpected decision, ended the annual event after two decades.

The garden show’s executive committee met nine days after the 20th annual Springfest concluded, and unanimously voted to not continue it.

At exactly 12:15 p.m. on March 30, I received a phone call from Barbara Abita, co-chair of Springfest. I was eating lunch at a pizzeria in Verona, Essex County, N.J. Usually her calls are cheerful and pleasant. I could tell by her voice right away that something was wrong. I put down my slice and focused.

I was extremely shocked at the news she delivered to me. Barbara first told me that the show ended and it was decided that a certain number of people would receive phone calls before an e-mail blast went out. I was having a hard time digesting what I was just told. In the back of my mind, I was thinking how magnificent the show was this year. I thought it was the best ever. Right after the show, Barbara told me that they had record attendance. Almost 12,000 people.

Here is the e-mail that I received after the phone call from Barbara.

Announcement from Springfest Committee: Just as a garden is designed, planted, nurtured and admired, so is the acclaimed Springfest Garden Show. Carefully planned and cultivated over the last 20 years, Springfest has grown to be one of the best small flower and garden shows in the region.

However, at the end of the day, a garden is ephemeral and sadly, so is Springfest. The Springfest Committee is announcing the retirement of the Show after 20 years. Although the show has come to an end, we hope that the positive effects of its success and the lasting memories created endure for many years to come.

Respectfully, The Springfest Committee.

I called her back at exactly 12:57 p.m. to make sure it was real. Sadly, it was. It’s still unbelievable to me.

The Springfest Committee should always be recognized as true visionaries and gardening leaders for developing Springfest. These folks brought so much joy to the northern half of the Garden State and beyond. They have surely fulfilled their non-profit’s mission of “promoting horticulture, environmental stewardship, and educational activities through the yearly presentation of an inspiring and creative garden, flower, and landscape show.”

These Springfest folks truly opened up a world of inspiration to anyone and everyone who has a passion to garden.

It all began in 1995-1996 when a 100-by-100-foot, all-glass greenhouse was constructed near the Sussex County Fairgrounds. To celebrate the greenhouse and pay for its construction, a flower and garden show was born and named Springfest. At the very first Springfest Garden Show in March of 1996, 1,000 visitors enjoyed its nine gardens and 16 vendors.

From 1996-2007, the show witnessed rapid growth and expansion, as well as numerous improvements to that area of the fairgrounds, largely funded by Springfest proceeds and supporters.

A paver block pad was laid by Springfest gardeners, so that a tent could be easily erected upon a surface that wasn’t knee deep in mud (typical of March at the Fairgrounds). A parking lot improvement was made, also to combat the March mud. Springfest expanded into the Farm Fun Building, which was winterized by funds realized from Springfest admissions and generous donations from various Springfest enthusiasts and supporters.

As Springfest continued to grow in popularity, the organizers found it more and more difficult to meet the challenges presented by relying on rented tents, as a large and important portion of the venue. They very much wished for a permanent structure that could house more Springfest vendors and exhibitors. Fairy Godparents materialized in the form of Bev and Bruce Gordon. They not only met, but far exceeded, Springfest’s wildest dreams. For the past seven years, Springfest’s ambience has been enhanced by a beautiful conservatory, constructed of smoked glass and mahogany. The conservatory is home not only to many of Springfest’s 70 commercial exhibitors and boutiques, but also hosts numerous lovely weddings and other celebrations throughout the year.

At the beginning of 2016, the show committee announced that they were celebrating 20 years of beautiful garden displays, bountiful garden shopping and beloved scents and scenes of spring in the sun-drenched venue. Three months into 2016, we all lost a gardening treasure in the northern part of the Garden State.

As a veteran Springfester, I will miss all of the friendly folks that I have met over the years.

I will especially miss seeing Barbara Abita, David Wright, Marty Carson, Gale Danko, Louise VanderHaeghen, Brian Hautau, Erik Kelly, and the Kuperus family. You guys are an amazing bunch of people!

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

Until next time…Keep the “garden” in the Garden State.

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

8 May, 2016 APHIS Determines Fresh Andean Blackberries and Raspberries Can be Imported from Ecuador into the Continental United States Under a Systems Approach USDA APHIS is amending the “Fruit and Vegetables” regulations to allow the importation of fresh Andean blackberry (Rubus glaucus Benth) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus Linnaeus) fruit from Ecuador into the continental United States under a system approach. Careful consideration of pest risks, as evaluated through the Pest Risk Analysis, has led APHIS to determine that commercial consignments of these fruits will be allowed if they are produced under a systems approach to mitigate pests, are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from the national plant protection organization of Ecuador, and are subject to further inspection at the port of entry to the United States.

The systems approach includes measures to ensure the protection of American agriculture and natural resources from quarantine pests. As a condition of entry, the fruit will have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for importation in commercial consignments from a pest free production site within a certified low pest prevalence area for fruit flies, and subjected to pest monitoring and trapping. The fruit will also have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO of Ecuador bearing an additional declaration stating that the consignment was produced and prepared for export in accordance with the requirements of the systems approach.

The rule is effective as of May 9, 2016, and a copy of the rule can be obtained at https://www.regulations.gov.

GardenerNews.com

Family business still growing strong

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Phil Biondi, left, and his beautiful wife, May, are celebrating the family business’ 70th Anniversary this year. The couple, who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, also proudly support the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Jersey Grown program. Biondi’s Florist & Greenhouses, at 601 Union Avenue in Middlesex Borough, Middlesex County, N.J., was started by Phil’s father Dominick in 1946.

Dominick was dedicated to selling quality plants and flowers at an affordable price to his neighbors and friends. Whether it’s helping you plant a beautiful garden, sending flowers to a loved one or enduring gardening expertise, the Biondi family still honors Dominick’s dream with their long-standing commitment to horticultural excellence and service.

GardenerNews.com

May, 2016 9

Rutgers Gardens Celebrates its Centennial and fruit tree research farm called Hort. Farm #1. The Gardens was about four acres in size and it was located at the center of the Farm. Its focus or mission was to educate the farming community about growing ornamental plants. At the turn of the last century, a housing boom was predicted for New Jersey as the New York City and Philadelphia suburbs expanded. It was hoped that the plants displayed in the Gardens would help spark growth in the New Jersey nursery industry.

How big is the Gardens now and is that still the mission?

The Gardens is now nearly 180 acres in size and we are recrafting the future overall design and mission of the Gardens.

The new mission statement is: “Rutgers Gardens cultivates inquisitive minds, great plants, and inspired gardening through educational exploration and enjoyment.” The Gardens

is currently going through a new master plan process, with the emphasis being upon the history of plants.

As you walk through the Gardens, the visitor will get an understanding of how the continents were slowly shifting, the climate changing and how that impacted plants over the past 400 million years. Sounds cerebral, but the intention is to make it educational and really fun!

Since this is your Centennial Year, do you have any special events planned?

Aside from the Farm Market on Fridays, the Mother’s Day weekend plant sale and Open House on July 30, we will be having a Wine and Jazz event on June 21, a student performance of “Through the Looking Glass” during the last two weeks of July, and Movie Night on August 9 or 10.

Why does the Gardens have so many hollies? I understand it is one of the largest collections in the

(Continued from page 1) United States.

Yes, we are always asked about the hollies, since it is one of the first things that people see as they enter the Gardens, and yes, it is the second-largest collection in the U.S., numbering just over 450 plants in size.

The Hollies were mostly planted from 1947 to 1954, sponsored at least in part by the American Holly Society for a future breeding program. The intention was to cross the American and English Holly with the hope of creating a holly with the

large fruits and glossy leaves of the English Holly and the hardiness of the American Holly. It was not so much to create a plant for the nursery industry, but for the cutholly industry. Each year, much of the cut branches for the holidays are shipped in from the West Coast and they were hoping to bring this industry to New Jersey.

Dr. Elwin Orton started conducting the crosses in 1960. Unfortunately, the seedlings were sterile and did not yield any fruit! To his credit, Dr. Orton did

Tom Castronovo/Photo

introduce a number of very attractive forms of American Holly and then continued on to introduce a number of white flowering Dogwood hybrids.

What other collections does the Gardens contain?

Well, quite a few! Across the road from the Hollies is the Shrub Garden. It contains a fairly extensive collection of Lilacs and other shrubs, many of which are unique and unusual. At the far end of this garden is a large Magnolia that was nicknamed Larry during one of the Children’s programs and the name stuck.

The Shade Tree Collection was planted in the late ’50s. It was originally planted not so much to highlight shade trees, but to cast shade for a shade-loving shrub collection.

The Donald B. Lacey Garden features annuals and vegetables that grow well in New Jersey. Originally, it was an Iris Garden, but was dismantled (Cont. on page 13)

10 May, 2016

GardenerNews.com

We are moving full steam ahead this month of May. The early-spring weather has given us the time to spread out our spring cleanup, which makes for an easier schedule than the previous spring (we have not forgotten how long the winter of 2014-15 was!)

Now, we are also in full landscape installation mode, with the Memorial Day push to complete our outdoor living projects. From outdoor kitchens, fire-pits and water features, to complete clean-ups and plant installations, we are challenged to schedule all work to be done.

Garden centers and nurseries are stocked with lush plant material which we want to get in the ground before the heat of summer, especially for those residential customers who lack a professional irrigation system.

The month of May is also considered the kick-off month for landscape maintenance.

When spring clean-ups (lawn de-thatching, shrub pruning, trimming, mulching and edging) are complete, our maintenance crews begin the mowing season.

The warmer days and nights are promoting most lawns to grow thick and lush. Because of spring rains, the soil can become very

Light pruning of shrubs is also done at this time. This is a good time for fertilizing many of the trees and shrubs and along with any pest treatment for trees and shrubs.

The month of May is also the ideal time to apply horticultural oil as an effective control of aphids, mites and adelgids (for Canadian hemlocks). In the next few weeks, we will start to apply an early foliar application for any trees and plants that need additional insect control.

So, whether you are spending this month enjoying the sun at outdoor baseball games or gardening and lawn maintenance, it is a busy and productive time. Working in the green industry, we are lucky to spend a lot of time outdoors and beautify many corners of our neighborhood. Enjoy!

“’Network’ is a 1976 American satirical black comedydrama film about a fictional television network, UBS, and its struggle with poor ratings.

The film won four Academy Awards and in 2000, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” (Wikipedia.org). The movie has one of the greatest quotes I know of, “in one impassioned diatribe, (UBS new anchor Howard) Beale galvanizes the nation, persuading his viewers to shout out of their windows ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’”(Wikipedia.org) Howard Beale’s frustration with life has me and others in the “Green Industry” relating his comedic line to our frustration with the lack of appreciation for quality plant material in the industry. The gardening industry, like so many others today, seems to be driven by price first.

Recently, my good friend, mentor and horticultural demigod, Stephen Schuckman, introduced me to a study done

by Edward F. Gilman, professor of Environmental Horticulture Department IFAS University of Florida. A fascinating study, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer

The NJLCA Today

By Tom Canete Association President

Work goes into high gear in May saturated and it is important not to use heavy mowers at this time. Edging and weeding all the planting beds is a continuous challenge.

Our irrigation crews have been activating irrigation systems for any contracted site. Clocks will be set for proper watering needs of specific plants, trees, lawn areas and annual beds, and any necessary adjustments will be made at this time. This is the time we check for any broken or damaged heads, as well as broken lines within the system. It is important that our maintenance crews are trained to report any dry soil areas [or severely wet ones] whenever they visit a property for weekly maintenance.

If a plant is struggling due to improper watering, we want to adjust the irrigation system to prevent further damage.

Efficiency is a constant

struggle in the landscape industry (as it is in many other industries). When we are challenged with scheduling our crews, we continue to look for ways to operate more efficiently.

Weather events can certainly throw a wrench into our work schedule and are often the cause of large overtime expenses.

Unfortunately, there are always factors over which we have little control. But with experience comes wisdom, and we have discovered that preparedness goes a long way to managing unforeseen weather conditions.

The advantage of having long-term maintenance contracts is that we have very intimate knowledge of our client’s expectations pertaining to the maintenance of their properties.

This benefits us in being able to make last-minute changes without compromising our level

of service.

Our landscape services rely heavily on our equipment.

Management of the large fleet of vehicles and equipment requires weekly maintenance. Much happens on Saturdays, including the bi-weekly equipment oil changes for mowers, blowers and edging machines. All equipment is washed and greased. On every other Saturday, we schedule to clean the air filters. If replacement is needed, it is also done this day. Our heavy equipment (i.e. excavators, bobcats) requires daily grease checks. Other trucks and company vehicles are checked weekly for fluids.

Our sales team is selling upgrades to existing planting beds to achieve more color with perennials and flowering shrubs.

Any plants that have suffered from winter weather or de-icing materials should be replaced.

Unique Plants

By Bob LaHoff Nursery Specialist

Network of Quality Trees Services speaks directly to the grades and standards for nursery plants. In 1955, a standard for plant material was passed, and in 1965, the first edition printed helped articulate a more accurate dialogue between the buyer and seller.

In 1998, a second edition was set up and a 10-step process for tree evaluation was in place. Speaking directly to the tree quality at planting time and its impact on the longevity in the landscape, four grades exist for nursery plants in Florida. They include, Florida Fancy, Florida #1, Florida #2 and Cull. Characteristics like trunk, branching, crown, leaf and roots are all thoughtfully looked at so communities can help prevent future problems that most likely would occur. Florida Fancy trees have a single trunk with no flush cuts or open injuries; a crown of full foliage; and the root ball is appropriately sized. Florida #1 requires some pruning to develop

good structure, has minor injuries and a double leader in the top half of the tree. Problems are evident but can be corrected by pruning once or twice within the first few years after planting.

Florida #2 speaks to misshapen trees and those requiring major corrective pruning while Cull grade discusses defects that are not correctable. These trees lack vigor, have circling roots, open wounds, flush cuts and/or a loose root ball. The study goes on in detail about the trunk of a tree and appreciating ones that are straight, less than a 5-degree bow, while pointing out character flaws like forks in the lower half of the tree, doglegs and bows greater than 15 degrees.

Other considerations include the appropriate tree matrix, trunk caliper, crown spread, structural uniformity of the crown, downgrading factors and the tree’s roots. The caliper of a tree is determined by measuring the

trunk diameter six inches from the ground, for trees up to four-inch caliper, and 12 inches from the ground for larger trees. This is important to note as it directly relates to the age of a particular tree. The structural uniformity, for a near perfect tree, is described as branches evenly distributed around the trunk with no major branch located directly above another. The crown is full of foliage and gives the appearance of what most expect a full tree to look like. The antithesis to this would be branches that are not evenly distributed around the trunk, perhaps having several branches on the same side, giving a lopsided appearance with large voids. Root-bound plants are those with large roots growing around the outer edge of the root ball and those would be downgraded and dismissed by many nursery professionals.

Roots larger than one-quarterinch diameter, growing on the

Editor’s Note: Tom Canete is president of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association, also known as the NJLCA. He is also owner of Canete Landscape, Inc., Canete Snow Management, Inc. and Canete Garden Center, Inc. all located in Wayne, N.J. He can be reached by emailing tom@canete.com outer edge, qualify as root bound.

Trees with a disproportionate height matrix, there is a minimum and maximum tree height for each caliper size of tree, are downgraded and will have marks against them.

In short, I’m sure most of you reading this article have a predisposed vision of what a nearperfect tree or plant looks like.

However, somewhere along the way, price enters into the equation and sacrifices are made. Things like open wounds, poorly executed pruning, chlorotic foliage, stunted foliage, structural issues such as major branching touching, are all important, noteworthy and contribute to a tree’s longterm performance. After all, as Benjamin Franklin said, “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

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, ReevesReed 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.

GardenerNews.com

May, 2016 11

A Passion for Gardening!

By Jeannie Geremia Garden Club of New Jersey

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All gardeners are on the same page when it comes to having “a passion for gardening,” and spring just magnifies that passion to the “nth” degree.

We’ve had a mild winter and a really early spring, which has led to an extended period of the joy of basking in the fruits of our labors as our yards and gardens are just a blaze of blooms.

Every day is an adventure out in the garden with new “old” friends popping up just seemingly impatient to delight us with their beauty.

I can’t ever remember bloodroot, Dutchman’s breeches and hepatica blooming on March 30 here in Central Jersey. Bleeding Heart and Virginia bluebells throwing up leaves and buds already and, of course, daffodils, glory in the snow and those gorgeous hellebores competing for our attention and, more importantly, the attention of the myriad bee species hard at work on their pollinating mission.

The great news to share is that the blue orchard mason bees that I purchased last year as part of The Garden Club of New Jersey’s Butterflies & BeeGAP (Gardeners Adding Pollinators) Project, are evident throughout my yard, and the 10 cocoons I purchased have increased and are happily working with honeybees, bumblebees and some of the other species of native bees that are found here in New Jersey (400 species in total).

Just being a novice as far as identifying bee species, I’m hard pressed to tell you just what species are buzzing in and out of the flowering plants, trees and shrubs I have. They have no time to hold still and let

me try and figure it out, but I am amazed and thankful for their presence and delight in watching them go about their business.

What is truly rewarding in providing necessary food, water and shelter for bees is the unbelievable display of flowers spilling over the yard everywhere in places that I never planted them and providing sweeps of blue grape hyacinths, scilla, glory in the snow and violets.

It is really gratifying to see a multiplicity of newspaper, magazine articles, media outlets, plus a plethora of education programs by gardening and environmental organizations, alerting and educating the public on the importance of growing our pollinator population.

Hopefully, you’ve all “signed” onto and have registered your yards and gardens in the nationwide “Million Pollinator Garden Challenge.” If not, please go to the National Pollinator Garden Network and be a part of helping our pollinators make a comeback to their former numbers and provide the fruits, vegetables and flowers we depend upon.

Please also consider having your property certified as a “wildlife habitat” by the National Wildlife Federation and show your commitment to wildlife to your neighbors by erecting a wildlife habitat sign and encouraging them to do the same. Other benefits include getting the National Wildlife magazine, and if you do this right now, request their April-May 2016 special issue: Garden For Wildlife – Nurturing Native Bees. This issue is “chock full” of articles on bees and fabulous photographs of varied bee species. Who knows, they may be out and about in my

yard, if only they weren’t so busy – pollinating!

Now is the time to sign up for CSAs in your area.

Please go to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s website and see the list of CSAs on the Jersey Fresh section of the website.

They have CSAs listed in 18 of the 21 counties in New Jersey, and look for the lists of farmers markets in your area for the best Jersey Fresh and Jersey Grown products.

If you have a bee problem, please go on the NJ Beekeepers website to find the nearest beekeeper. The site has many fascinating articles on bees and the awarding of a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant to NJ Beekeepers in providing late-season forage for honeybees. They are exploring the “feasibility of seeding utility ROWs with an initial planting in the JCP & L ROW in the South Branch Preserve in Mount Olive Township. All good news!

Come visit the GCNJ Butterflies & BeeGAP Project committee’s education exhibit at the Secaucus 6th Annual Green Festival on May 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Secaucus Xchange: www.secaucusnj. gov. Join a garden club!

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

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GardenerNews.com Spring has sprung with warmer than usual temperatures in the forecast.

I’m sure the dandelions are in full bloom by now, unless they already came and went by the time you read this article. A weed is described as a plant growing somewhere you wish it was not. Let’s explore the dreaded dandelion.

Weather in spring can vary greatly; many days are cooler and wetter than usual. This year, dandelions bloomed in early-March and some of you reported seeing some blooming in December of last year/ Incredible! Dandelions are very persistent weeds, and due to the mild winter, we may get a much larger crop than usual this spring.

Dandelions are in the broadleaf weed family. They generally put down a strong tap root frequently in fall after their “fluffy” seeds blow around after blooming in the spring. No one likes the yellow flower invading their lawns, but kids certainly like to spread the seeds by blowing the puff balls around the neighborhood. Sometimes

May, 2016 13 Turf ‘s Up

By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

Is this the year of the dandelion? you may get dandelions from your neighbor’s yard that is loaded with dandelions.

Dandelions are best controlled in late-spring and early-fall. Fortunately, we have selective controls that will kill dandelions and not injure the lawn, provided label directions are carefully followed. Late-spring is a good time to apply treatments because dandelions usually appear when we get a flush of warmer weather. A few years ago, I went to lunch and saw a few dandelions and then when I came back an hour later, temperatures had dropped 10 degrees and dandelions could not be found.

They tend to come in and out with sudden temperature changes.

This makes it difficult for homeowners to decide when to apply

controls. If the dandelion flower and leafy crown are not actively growing and exposed, controls will not work very well. Fall is also a good time to apply controls even though you do not see much of the familiar yellow flower blooming.

Controlling dandelions in the fall will certainly reduce the dandelion population next spring.

Here are a few tips, whether you use granular weed-and-feed or liquid controls. Do not mow the area you are treating two days before or two days after application. Apply to an early-morning dew lawn or a slightly sprinkled lawn so the controls will stick to the dandelions better. Do you irrigate or have rainfall for two days after application?

If one or more of these tips are not followed, the percentage of control will drop dramatically. Also, do not apply controls when the lawn is under stress, such as when temperatures are over 80 degrees or high humidity is present, as this could damage the lawn. Remember, you need to delay sowing grass seed for four weeks after applying broadleaf weed controls.

Controlling dandelions before they go to seed is the key to long-term success.

My father called me a few years ago saying he pulled 500-plus yellow dandelion flowers from his lawn. The problem is, unless you kill the dandelion plant down to the root, it will grow back.

You need to be patient after applying controls for

complete kill. If it is warm enough, you will start to see the dandelion plant start to wilt in seven to 10 days.

Complete kill down to the root may take up to 30 days.

If you still have lingering weeds, do not re-apply controls in less than 30 days, follow label directions.

Remember, when you apply broadleaf weed controls, they also are labeled for control of many other broadleaf weeds.

What about dandelion salad or wine? Some farms are growing dandelions for profit, so it would not be considered a weed for this purpose. Perhaps you do not mind a few dandelions in your lawn? I hope that you reach your goal this year if you wish to eliminate dandelions from your lawn.

Don’t lose heart; it may take a few seasons. The best defense is to grow a healthy, thick lawn.

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

Rutgers Gardens Celebrates its Centennial in 1963 due to the expense of maintaining the collection.

Mr. Lacey was an extension specialist in ornamental horticulture and he began a display area for annuals on that site in 1964. Adjacent to this area is the Roy DeBoer Evergreen Garden.

Roy ultimately started the Landscape Architecture Department at Rutgers, but while he was completing his Masters during the ’50s, he designed this Garden to highlight the diversity of evergreen trees that are available to the homeowner.

The Rhododendron collection is across from the Evergreen Garden and features very mature specimens of Azaleas and Rhododendrons, as well as a variety of small ornamental trees. There are a variety of trails and benches throughout this collection that are used more and more frequently each year.

The last of the true collections is the small tree collection, which highlights

a number of trees that only mature to 35 to 40 feet in height.

Other than plant collections, what attractions or garden areas does Rutgers Gardens have that are most enjoyed by the public?

Unique to the Gardens is a bamboo grove that everyone really enjoys. It is a little over one acre in size, with winding trails throughout. It is a unique spot that I have not experienced at any other public garden.

The Log Cabin is always

(Continued from page 9) a bit of an attraction and a puzzle to most visitors, who ask “Why is there a cabin in the middle of a Garden?”

It was constructed in 193536 for rental by University departments. Today, it is still rented to departments, but also to members of the community for weddings, receptions and private affairs. Two years ago, we updated the bathrooms and improved many of the light features and the adjacent garden areas.

People also enjoy the Rain Garden and Pollinator

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Garden area, and the big green chairs in the Otkens Garden are always a big hit.

They were inspired by the large chair that Lily Tomlin sat in during her skit as Edith Ann on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in during the late1960s. They make everyone feel like a kid again!

The chairs are definitely a popular destination.

Every time I am here I see people sitting in them.

Where did they come from?

In a former life, that was part of my job, making fencing and to a lesser extent, furniture. I and Erik Fargo, who is now a horticulture instructor at Somerset County Vo-Tech, built them in 2006.

You mentioned weddings when talking about the Cabin. Can people get married in Rutgers Gardens?

Yes! From April through October, there are typically one to three weddings every weekend. People really enjoy getting married in a garden

setting. Obviously, they need to reserve the Gardens well in advance, since we often get booked up the year prior for the more popular months.

What about the Woodlands called Helyar Woods?

Frank G Helyar served as Director of Short Courses and then Director of Resident Instruction until he retired in 1953. Helyar Woods honors his service to the University.

The 70-acre woodland features a mixed hardwood forest of Beech, Oak and Maple with a spring-fed stream that empties into the adjacent Weston Mills Pond.

There are numerous trails throughout the woodland and it is a popular destination for many people within the community. There is even an old open quarry in Helyar Woods! There is also a Pine Woodlands that was once a research facility for Christmas trees. The trees are now upwards of 50 feet tall are all lined up in rows. It is a fascinating (Cont. on page 18)

14 May, 2016

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May, 2016 15

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I spend enough time interacting with folks outside of the Garden State to know that New Jersey has a reputation. Of course, I have spent even more time living IN the Garden State (38 years and counting!) so I know that what most people think of New Jersey is wrong.

We have a proud agricultural legacy and the industry is still highly productive. The Jersey Fresh marketing program is an example of how important building a brand and spreading a positive message can be.

Thanks to this program, our agricultural specialty crops are not just known both in and outside the boarders of the state, but they are known for being the highest quality produce around.

So when you have a program as successful as Jersey Fresh has become, it is only logical that you would extend it to other agricultural products in the state as well.

Enter Jersey Grown! In my previous column, I discussed how significant the size and scope of New Jersey’s nursery and greenhouse industry has become. As with

Jersey Grown is not an indicator of a plant’s “nativeness.” There are a lot of hardy, non-invasive plants grown by New Jersey growers that are not native, so purchasing Jersey Grown should not be confused with buying plants that are native to New Jersey.

So now you know that when you see that red and green Jersey Grown logo with the outline of New Jersey in the middle, you can feel good that you are supporting local businesses and receiving the highest quality plants around. With Mother’s Day being the unofficial start to spring, now is a great time to head to your local independent garden center, get out in the garden, and start planting!

Every year in the late-spring, we walk our properties to check them out. Some of our property is in the woods, some of it in the town and some are newly acquired pieces.

All of our properties have trees and streams on them to some degree.

We check for fallen trees, broken fences, ATV trails that have been washed away, the occasional tree stand that is a no-no on our posted land and every now and then someone has used our land for a dump site.

That is when we call the Sheriff, take photos, clean it all up and take it to the landfill. Refrigerators, old mattresses, old TV’s, old AC Units and anything else that could cost some money to officially turn into refuse, the reprobates will dump on someone else’s land.

Not fair, not right, but on one occasion an illegal dumper was actually arrested by the Sheriff. Some of the trash contained their old mail!

They made the family

Growing New Jersey

By Dominick Mondi NJNLA Executive Director

What it means to be Jersey Grown our agricultural brothers and sisters in food production, the trees, shrubs and flowers that are produced by New Jersey growers are not just prolific, but very high quality as well.

So what does it mean when you see the Jersey Grown label on a plant or at your local garden center?

Well, for starters, and perhaps most obviously, it means that the plant has been grown in New Jersey for at least a significant portion of its life. This means that when you purchase a plant that bares the Jersey Grown logo you are not only supporting one, but two New Jersey small businesses, the grower AND the retailer! By virtue of being a plant that was grown and sold in New Jersey, that means it has had ample time to become acclimated to our

climate, and provided it is zone hardy, it will perform well for years to come in your landscape. If the tree or shrub you are purchasing was field grown (also known as balled-and-burlapped) then the Jersey Grown logo would also indicate that it was grown in our native soils, giving it a leg up on getting established in your landscape.

Jersey Grown is a qualitygrading standard as well. A nursery that is certified Jersey Grown must meet certain requirements. First, it must be inspected by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Division of Plant Industry, and hold a current inspection certificate to ensure it is free of any pest and disease problems that could spread into your landscape. Also, it must meet or exceed the American

National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z60.1–2004 standards, entitled the American Standard for Nursery Stock. This very comprehensive and detailed standard clearly lays out all the information a grower needs to professionally grow trees and shrubs. When you buy Jersey Grown, you know you are getting high quality.

The Jersey Grown tag is not only for trees and shrubs, either! Recently, the rules have been amended to allow our state’s many great greenhouse growers and garden centers to produce Jersey Grown annuals for use in your landscape.

These plants still need to be grown to a high standard, and again you know you are supporting local greenhouse farmers and independent garden centers when you make your purchase.

The Miscellaneous Gardener

By Richard W. Perkins Freelance Writer

“Wow… That Was a Surprise!” come with trucks, clean it all up, take it to the dump and watched while they paid the landfill for its legal removal. The part I liked the most was the fine they had to pay on top of the landfill fees. The head of the household, someone I casually knew, refused to pay it and the Sheriff arrested him. Now he had bail to pay, as well as the fine and the Landfill fees, and his wife left him in jail! He was going to be in jail for 10 days, which was the minimum amount of time for this offense.

Well, he had stuff to do and asked me if I would bail him out. Promised he would pay me back.

The Sheriff and I both laughed so hard we had to sit down. The Sheriff

told me that he had his suspicions that this guy, who cleaned people’s homes and businesses out for a living, was responsible for more than one of the illegal dump sites they had found. If he couldn’t take it in and get paid for it, like copper for example, he dumped it illegally. Be that as it may, we let him stay in jail and think about it.

But, that is not what this article is all about.

This was not the surprise I mentioned in the title.

Last fall, we bought a piece of land in a town where I have been on construction jobsites that had to be de-watered.

Over the hill is a yearround wetlands that I look forward to investigating

this summer to see what type of animals live there. Hopefully frogs, salamanders and turtles abound. If not, I just might have the water tested and if the pH, etc. is right, move some in.

OK, I am tromping through the woods on this sandy path, get to a dip, take a step and sink in right above my knees.

The more I struggled, the deeper I got and I said to myself, hey, this is quicksand! I had never been in quicksand before and was hoping I was not in “movie quicksand”!

One thing I did remember from Boy Scouts, was that the more you struggle, the deeper you get. I was waist deep in the muck at the time.

Editor’s Note: Dominick Mondi is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association, a trade association representing the nursery, greenhouse, garden center and landscape industry in New Jersey. He can be reached at njnla.director@gmail.com, one twitter @NJNLAdirector, or online at www.NJNLA.org.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is where it gets tricky. I was alone.

I know. Not very smart, but geez, quicksand in Maine was not on my radar, I was not hunting, I was just hiking and I did have my cell phone. You have no idea how stupid I would feel calling 911.

Needless to say, in my backpack was some rope.

Climbing rope, so it was very strong. I tied the rope to the backpack and threw the backpack in the crotch of the tree 10 to 12 feet away. I pulled and it stuck. Inch by inch, I pulled myself free.

I was lucky, according to my warden neighbor, who told me that there is an aquifer in that area. I now wished I had spoken to him BEFOE I went on my hike. That spot is now staked and caution taped, by the way.

Thanks for reading and see ya next month.

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

GardenerNews.com

May, 2016 17

18 May, 2016

GardenerNews.com

Rutgers Gardens Celebrates its Centennial (Continued from page 13)

area to walk through!

Between Helyar Woods and Route 1 are old research fields that now feature a Labyrinth and walking trails for those that prefer a Meadow Walk.

Is there anything new going up in the Gardens?

Yes! As part of a new program under Dr. Laura Lawson, the Dean of Agriculture and Urban Programs, an organic farm is being constructed that will ultimately expand to three acres. The focus is to develop classes in the Agriculture and Food Systems curriculum that will educate students on how to intensely grow vegetables, both organically and year-round, such that local communities would have a consistent supply of food. It will not only educate students on how to grow food, but on the social impacts of farms and on food security. In other words, it will be a program for a variety of

undergraduate majors, not just those wishing to develop a farm.

Also, this year we are putting the final touches on the Pollinator Garden and we erected an educational display sign for that area this spring. It highlights the importance of planting native plants in the garden.

Does the Gardens work with any other undergraduate classes or offer student opportunities?

Sure! A number of classes, such as Landscape Plants and Herbaceous Plants use the Gardens as an outdoor classroom, as do a number of classes in Ecology and Plant Science. During the summer we offer several internships in Public Garden Gardens Management, Children’s Programming and new this year, Organic Farming. These internships are also associated with three-credit undergraduate courses. Part of the Public Management Course is a

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Bruce Crawford, Director of the Rutgers Gardens focus on Plant Breeding, whereby the students have the opportunity to make crosses and to evaluate the progeny. Currently, we are working with several types of Ornamental Corn, Illicium or Anise and Daylilies. The Gardens also collaborates with the Town of Maplewood, N.J., and with Central Park Conservancy in New York City to provide internship opportunities.

Another focus that the internship covers is a Trails Garden. Currently, we are trialing 30 different cultivars of Hydrangea paniculata or the Panicle Hydrangea. The students take notes on bloom time, rate of growth, size of flower, color changes in the flower, and so on. It is a nice way for the students to become more intimate with a given species and to notice that differences in plants do occur.

Is the Trail Garden open to the public? I do not believe I have seen it.

The Trail Garden is not open daily to the public, but we do offer tours of the area during the Walk and Talk tours that we offer on the first and third Saturday of a month throughout the summer.

Most public gardens also offer adult and children education. Does Rutgers Gardens provide these services?

Yes! For the past 10 years we have offered numerous classes for adults on horticulture, garden design, vegetable gardening and even wreath making. As awareness of the Gardens has expanded, so have the variety and sizes of classes that we offer.

Getting children into the Gardens has always been a focus of ours. We offer a number of after-school programs for elementary school through high school students, as (Cont. on page 23)

April Showers Bring May flowers…or Maybe Mayflies?

By William A. Kolbe B.C.E. Many of our gardeners are also avid fisherman and many may use insects as bait. Most often, handmade “flies” are used and customized by the savvy fisherman. We’re going to dedicate this article about aquatic insects and arthropods...especially the Mayfly...to our fishing friends.

April showers and warm days in May will bring the arrival of Mayflies.

Mayflies are in the order Ephemeroptera. Ephemeros is Greek for a day or shortlived. Pteron means wing.

A mayfly’s life cycle starts with the males forming a swarm above the water and the females flying into the swarm to mate. The male grabs a passing female with its elongated front legs and the pair mate in flight. After copulation, the male releases the female, which then descends to the surface of

the water where she lays her eggs. Once mated, she will fall, spent, onto the water surface to lie motionless, with her wings flat on the surface, where fish pick them off at their leisure. The male fly rarely returns to the water but instead he goes off to die on the nearby land.

The eggs fall to the bottom of the water, where they stick to plants and stones. Flies of the Mayfly family Baetidae pull themselves under the water to attach their eggs directly to the bed before being drowned by the current.

The nymphs (naiiads) take anything between a few days to a number of weeks to hatch, depending on water conditions and the species, and the resultant nymphs will spend various lengths of time, up to two years, foraging on the bottom before emerging as an adult fly.

When it is time to emerge, the nymphs make their way to the surface, where they pull themselves free of their

nymphal shuck and emerge as a sub-imago. While they rest here to dry their newly exposed wings, they are at their most vulnerable to attack from fish. The nymphal stage of this longtail fly spends 364 days either dormant (winter time) underneath the muddy lake or stream bottom. Adults appear in large numbers in May. Trout, bass and bluegills will be waiting at the surface to feed on falling adult mayflies or nymphs coming to the surface to become adults.

Some of their common names are “spinners” (adult mayfly), the winged pre-adult (subimago) is called a dun.

If you want to see Mayfly Madness, check out this you tube click on a massive swarm of Mayflies. http:// youtu.be/1r1wxLKhE2o Mayflies have a double life. For most of it, they live inconspicuously on the water bottom. Then, in a spectacular display, they get wings, and fly out of the water in what can be a colossal swarm. Adult

mayflies are attracted to light, so their numbers are especially high near streetlights. That means they accumulate on the roads at intersections, and combined with the squishing afforded by passing vehicles, they can form greasy slicks. Picture smears of gray lard dotted with little wings. Or perhaps it’s better not to picture that.

In some areas of the country, they can be a driving hazard.

When people try to stop, there are so many mayflies on the road that cars have slid into one another. Try explaining that fender bender to your insurance company.

The total number of mayflies in this hatch are estimated to be around 18 trillion – more than 3,000 times the number of people on earth.

In New Jersey, these insects are considered relatively harmless, but endlessly annoying. An annual May and June pest in areas near open water, hundreds of mayflies can be found hovering near ponds, streams, lakes, golf course water features and

subdivision retention ponds.

These spindly flying insects can become an intolerable nuisance near restaurants and outdoor dining areas.

When swarming, hundreds of these insects may descend and cling to street lights, windows, signs, tables — nearly any surface.

To all you fisherman out there, good luck this year and pay attention to where mayflies are abundant to help bring the fish to you!

Our Denville Garden is right next to the Rockaway River.

I’ll be looking for mayflies this year.

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.

He is a member of The Denville NJ Community Gardens.

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

GardenerNews.com

May, 2016 19

We made it! Summer kick-off is just around the corner. The shore area is looking better than ever and is ready for a stellar summer season. Winter was really pretty mild this year; what a relief! All the Jersey crops are starting to appear, so be on the lookout at your local market or store for the Jersey Fresh sign.

And if they don’t have it ask for it! Aside from asparagus being around, we should start to see some lettuce and cabbage coming up this month, followed by the start of strawberries in early-June.

Being that lettuces will be around, I am inspired to write about the always popular Caesar salad.

Invented in the 1920s by an Italian restaurateur named Caesar Cardini, an immigrant who was operating restaurants in both San Diego and in Tijuana, Mexico.

It is said to be a preparation based off of necessity.

Supposedly, during a busy night, the chef was in a bind and ended up throwing together

anchovy, Worcestershire, capers, chives, parsley and garlic - whisk together until well incorporated then slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture until well incorporated - gently fold the 2 Tablespoons of the parmesan cheese into the mixture - place the lettuce into a large bowl and add enough of the dressing to just coat the leaves using your hands (washed thoroughly), spoons or some tongs - place into bowls and garnish with the croutons and the remaining 1 Tablespoon of parmesan cheese!

BUON APPETITO!

From the Deep

By Craig Korb Executive Chef

Hail, Caesar! a bunch of ingredients that were readily available, including garlic, lemon juice, anchovies, parmesan cheese and eggs. This was done tableside by a chef and VOILA! the Caesar salad was born, most likely in Tijuana, Mexico.

I find this extremely interesting. I would have definitely thought it was a European creation.

Anyhow, the popularity of the salad spread rapidly, straight across the country to New York City. Even the acclaimed chef Julia Child was said to have had one in the 1920s as a child during a trip to the West Ccoast.

Nowadays, there are many different adaptations and variations of this classic salad. I learned how to make this salad while working in

San Francisco in the late ’90s. It is a great recipe and I still use it today. So I hope you enjoy it, and keep on cookin’!

Caesar salad (serves 2) 1 egg Worcestershire sauce, a few dashes Fresh black pepper to taste 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, such as Grey Poupon 1 large head of Romaine lettuce, roughly chopped or pulled apart in large pieces by hand, washed and dry juice of 1 lemon, seeds removed 2-3 anchovy filets, canned or fresh, minced almost to a paste 1 clove fresh garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press 2 Tablespoons fresh

grated parmesan cheese, plus 1 additional Tablespoon to sprinkle on top when finished. About 1/2 cup of good quality olive oil 1 tsp. chopped capers (*optional) 1 tsp. fresh chives, thinly sliced across 1/2 tsp. fresh parsley 1/2 cup of homemade or store bought croutons Method - heat a small pot of water to a boil and add the egg gently, simmer for 30 seconds and place egg into ice water to cool down - crack the egg and separate the yolk form the white - discard the white and place the egg yolk in a small non-reactive bowl - add the mustard, lemon juice, black pepper,

Editor’s Note: Craig Korb is executive chef at The Crab’s Claw Inn, Lavallette, New Jersey. He has an Associates degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelors degree in Food Service Management from Johnson and Wales University. For more information visit www.TheCrabsClaw.com or phone (732) 793-4447.

20 May, 2016

GardenerNews.com

N.J. Agricultural Plastics Recycling Program Announced (TRENTON) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher urges farmers and other pesticide applicators to participate in the 2016 plastic pesticide container recycling program. There are five sites around the state that accept the triple-washed containers from now through November. There is no cost for the program.

New Jersey has had a plastic pesticide container recycling program for the last 20 years, with the Department of Agriculture leading the initiative since 2002. The program is open to all New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection-(DEP)-licensed pesticide applicators. The DEP issues participants one-core credit toward their NJDEP pesticide license.

“Participation in the plastic pesticide container recycling program keeps these plastics out of landfills and saves farmers and other applicators money,” said Secretary Fisher.

In 2015, more than 39,000 pounds were collected through this program. Sites this year include: Cumberland County Solid Waste Complex, Helena Chemical in Hammonton and Woodstown, Allied Recycling in Mount Holly and Rutgers Fruit and Ornamental Extension Center in Cream Ridge.

Non-refillable, high-density polyethylene # 2 (HDPE #2) containers used by agricultural, professional and commercial pesticide applicators will be accepted at the collection sites. Containers must be no larger than 55 gallons and properly rinsed. For the detailed program guide, visit www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/anr/nrc/processingsteps.html.

The Department of Agriculture coordinates the recycling of many different plastic agricultural materials. There are four sites statewide that accept nursery and greenhouse film year-round. The Department also lists vendors who will accept for recycling: mulch film, irrigation drip tape, plastic nursery pots, drip trays and flats.

For more information about the Department of Agriculture’s recycling programs, visit www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/anr/nrc/recycling.html.

A Muscular Tree of Beauty Perhaps I will never know the true answer, but when homeowners consider a small tree for their garden, Flowering Dogwood is typically the plant of choice.

Of course, there are literally dozens of trees that mature 25 to 30 feet in height and provide the size, form and floral interest of Flowering Dogwood, yet they remain undiscovered.

One such “unknown tree” that needs far more recognition for its subtle and refined beauty is Carpinus, commonly called Hornbeam or Musclewood.

Carpinus is a member of the Betulaceae or Birch Family, containing upwards of 40 species worldwide. The genus name was officially assigned

by Carl Linnaeus (17071778), and it is the original Latin name for the European species of Hornbeam. The root of Carpinus is the Latin Karp, or stone, describing the very dense nature of the wood. Hornbeam, combines a

reference to the wood’s hornlike hardness, while Beam is Old English for tree.

The common name of Musclewood justly describes the undulating and muscular appearance of the dark gray stems as they age, often resembling the limbs of a professional body builder.

Carpinus is a monoecious plant, with the male and female flowers appearing on separate dangling catkins on the same tree. The catkins often develop into “hop-like” fruiting structures, with each individual bract of the catkins attached to a small nut, three to six millimeters long. When the catkins shatter come autumn, the bract serves as a wing, allowing the seed to spin and float to a new home.

Carpinus caroliniana is native to Eastern North America, encompassing the area from Ontario to Texas, east to northern Florida and Quebec – an area far larger than simply the Carolinas, as the species epithet alludes.

The plants are typically an understory tree in the wild, but

they will develop a denser form in full sun. This is also a tree for challenging sites. It endures areas that flood frequently and for extended periods of time, making it a good choice where soils are compacted with minimal aeration. However, species are also found on well-drained upland soils. The female catkins provide interest from April through October, when they begin to shatter.

The fall color varies from a clear yellow to a robust orangered, with the best fall color appearing in full sun.

I have seen Carpinus caroliniana used as a hedge in several gardens, but the plant that is best suited for hedging is the European Hornbeam, Carpinus betulus. Native from Britain south throughout Europe and into Iran, this tree grows considerably larger than small tree stature, reaching upwards of 50 to 80 feet tall.

The species epithet honors Betula, the genus for Birch, recognizing the resemblance of the leaf to that of a Birch. In youth, the tree is more upright and teardrop in form, but with

age it broadens considerably, becoming almost spherical in shape. The branching habit maintains a rather upright appearance, which is especially attractive during the winter months. The form “Fastigiata” has a decidedly more upright and slender form, although it too will broaden with age.

The larger size of the plant also translates to an attractive and more enhanced muscular nature of the bark.

However, in my opinion, the most attractive and elegant form for the home garden is Carpinus japonica, the Japanese Hornbeam. Growing to a more restrained 20 to 30 feet tall, the habit is an attractive vase-shape. This form allows the plants to blend well when placed adjacent to each other or when used as a specimen. The foliage is also more refined, having a deep accordion-like venation which, with a touch of imagination, resembles an open Japanese hand fan. The catkins are far longer and larger in diameter than the aforementioned cousins, gradually changing

from an attractive chartreuse in spring to green by mid-summer.

The bark is also muscle-like, with the peaks of the muscular ridges accentuated with silver highlights as it ages.

Perhaps the refined beauty of Hornbeams may be a bit more subtle than a flowering dogwood, but they are a genus well worth investigating. For flower, form, fall color and incredible site tolerance, this is a muscular tree of beauty!

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

GardenerNews.com Here we are again, into another growing season. May it be a beautiful, bountiful and successful one for all the gardeners throughout the land.

With so much that goes on in gardening, I figured I would talk about the basics this go around. What is needed for a successful gardening project? Whether you’re planting a flower bed or flowerpots, a vegetable garden, trees, shrubs, perennials, etc., it is important to remember that there are certain key ingredients and/or requirements that need to be met to be successful.

These are soil, water, sunlight, temperature, nutrients and protection.

Knowing what you have to start with helps tremendously down the road to a successful garden. For instance, let’s start with the soil. If you have good, fertile soil that is optimal for the crop that you are installing, than you know it’s off to a good start. If the soil is questionable or not ideal for growing the crop that you want to plant, you would need to amend the soil or add certain elements that are ideal for the desired crop, to We’re not talking about your bread drawer. It’s the feeling I’m getting when I visit my yard. We have heard this many times from clients who feel the need to create more interest in their landscapes.

But how do we go about implementing the changes needed to create their interest?

One of the simplest solutions is to look through gardening books and magazines and clip or copy pictures of what excites you. We then take these out into the yard and envision this implemented within your garden space. Many times it’s just the introduction of new plants that are different and which create interest in your landscape.

We have even used horticultural pruning to change the look of old tired landscapes by opening up, elevating and reshaping existing plants to let in light and open up space for supplemental planting.

There is a wide range of new species which can offer more interest year-round, as well as plants which have some deer resistance which is a huge concern. The amount of deer grazing our yards has become epidemic. While fencing is the

May, 2016 21 The Professional Grower

By Tim Hionis Greenhouse Specialist

What are the key ingredients to a successful garden? finish off optimally. There are many ways that this can be done, by adding and mixing into existing soil some fresh garden or potting soil, topsoil, compost or manure. This will help to bring the soil to an ideal desired state. Also, more advanced applications may be to bring the pH of the soil to a more balanced range by adding lime or other micronutrients like mycorrhriza. Once proper soil is established, it is much easier to get the crops to grow.

The second ingredient is water. Water is the element of life. Without water, no living organism can sustain life. But be careful; too much water kills. Much like the animal kingdom, the botanical kingdom has certain species that love water, and other species that do not require as much. Knowing what your

crop likes will help with the success. Combining crops with the same likes can also be done by comparing their ideal requirements together.

For instance, combining a crop that can go for long periods of time between water replenishment, like flowering vinca, begonias and geraniums, or crops that need tighter water regimens, like impatiens, petunias and calibrachoa.

The third ingredient is sunlight. Without the proper sunlight requirements each crop needs, the crop cannot break down energy required for it to grow and survive.

This ingredient is also crop-specific and varies for each particular species.

Using crops with similar characteristics for sunlight can help determine different

combinations. For instance, geraniums, petunias, vincas, and the sunpatiens all do well in full sun locations and do not burn easily with very intense sunlight. Combining these types of flowers would work out well. \ Some crops are sensitive to the hot summer sun and can get burned easily, which is why they should be protected by something larger nearby to shade them when the sun is at its peak in the day. If you notice a burn, this is probably a reason why. Also, acclimating crops to the sun is ideal to prevent shock and burn. This is why many seasoned gardeners plant full sun crops on a cloudy or rainy day to help prevent them from shock and burn.

The fourth ingredient is temperature. All crops have

The Landscaper

By Evan Dickerson Landscape Professional

Is it Boring or Stale? only sure-fire solution, using the small but interesting list of deer-resistant plants can create new views in our design as well. Of course, supplemental spraying of deer-repellent sprays is a must to give additional protection even if you don’t have herds of deer running through your yard.

Rotating two or three products weekly or bi weekly will give the best control.

If you need to see plants used in different settings, you can visit the many of New Jersey’s horticultural display gardens within a short driving distance from our area. Starting in North Jersey, the State Botanical gardens at Skylands in Ringwood is a gorgeous property built in the 1920s by civil engineer Clarence Lewis.

His vision inspired him to hire architect John Russell Pope to

create Skylands Manor. This mansion’s unique design was made to look centuries old, and if you go when tours are available you can combine that with your garden tour.

The gardens run the gamut from formal to natural. The annual and perennial gardens, as well as the Rhododendron, Hosta, Azalea, Peony, Lilac feature gardens and the many collections of trees and shrubs, will pique your interest. There are even geometric and water gardens, as well as wildflower and shade and woodland settings. A visit or more to this venue will get you excited to implement change.

If you would like a more local venue, there are many more botanical gardens across the state which will offer many of the same opportunities to see plants growing in different

surroundings. Some of these are: Lewis Barton Arboretum in Medford; Leonard J Buck Garden in Far Hills; Sister Mary Grace Burns Arboretum at Georgian Court University in Lakewood; Colonial Park Arboretum in East Millstone; Duke Gardens in Somerville; Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown; Cora Hartshon Arboretum in Short Hills; Herrontown Woods Arboretum in Princeton; Holmdel Arboretum in Holmdel; Hunterdon County Arboretum in Lebanon; Leamings Run Gardens in Swainton; Pohatcong Native Arboretum in Washington; Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Montclair; Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit; Rutgers Gardens at Rutgers University in New Brunswick; Saven Park Botanical Garden in

an ideal temperature range for optimal growth. This is the one of the main reasons greenhouses have been developed and expand the countryside. A greenhouse is one of the best ways to control temperatures and protect crops from extreme weather conditions. Once temperature conditions are favorable, then crops can be transplanted and or moved to outdoor locations.

And the last ingredients are maintaining nutrients and protection for the crop. Crops use the nutrients that are in the soil to feed themselves.

They may use up what is there and most will need to be replenished. Providing them with replenished nutrients is important. Then there is protection – from disease and pests, such as insect infestations or being eaten by wildlife.

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

Hamilton Township; Stony Brook Millstone; Watershed Arboretum in Pennington; Howard Van Vleck Arboretum in Montclair; and the Wagner Farm Arboretum in Warren.

Who would have known that we have this many opportunities within our borders? I have personally visited most of these and have been impressed by what I have seen and learned from all of the different sites. A quick look at their websites will give you an overview of what you can see and learn as most of them have educational opportunities throughout the year as well.

Using these resources can be invaluable in helping you create that new interesting landscape that you desire.

As always, your landscape professional can assist you in implementing these ideas and can create a plan which will bring this to fruition.

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

22 May, 2016

H2 Guest Worker Programs %25'(172:1 1 - Ę&#x160; $YDLODELOLW\ RI D VWDEOH UHOLDEOH DQG OHJDO ZRUN IRUFH persists as one of the most significant challenges facing the nursery and landscape industry. Without the employees necessary to fill out seasonal crews, many small green industry businesses are forced to hold back on equipment purchases, business investments, and other opportunities to grow and improve their companies. Another unfortunate consequence is often cutthroat hiring practices, with companies â&#x20AC;&#x153;stealingâ&#x20AC;? employees from their competitors. Overall, it makes for a tense and frustrating business climate.

There are two federal guest worker programs available to business owners who are willing to make the investment of time and money to use them. This spring, there has been a renewed interest in these programs. What follows is a summary of these programs and some frequently asked questions as prepared by the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association (NJNLA) in cooperation with AmericanHort.

There are two programs as provided by the United States Department of Labor: The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature.

The H-2B nonimmigrant program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States. The employment must be of a temporary nature for a limited period of time, such as a onetime occurrence, seasonal need, peakload need or intermittent need.

The distinction is important because it is a costly Labor Department violation to use guest workers for work that they were not brought in to do. Here is some other highlevel information that might be useful to someone not familiar with the programs: For H-2A: Housing. Employer needs to understand the obligation to provide housing. For many, that means on-farm housing, which entails significant capital investment, and sometimes local zoning hurdles. There are other options, but this is a key hurdle a grower needs to figure out.

Wages. H-2A requires an elevated wage known as the Adverse Effect Wage Rate.

For New Jersey in 2016, the AEWR is $11.66. It tends to go up each year, roughly 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 percent, and the increase takes effect immediately.

Corresponding employment. Basically, employers must pay any U.S. worker who does any job task in common with an H2A worker the same wage (typically the AEWR).

For H-2B: There are only 66,000 visas available for the entire country in this program, and they are blocked into two sets of 33,000, the first being for workers needed between October and March and the second for workers being needed between April and September.

The application process is lengthy, taking up to five months in some cases.

Employers should plan well ahead to assure they get the workers they need before the cap is hit and that those workers arrive on time.

In addition to paying employees obtained through the program a minimum wage based on state labor surveys and prevailing wage determinations, there are costs associated with advertising the job openings. Under program rules, all positions seeking to be filled by H2B workers must be advertised locally, and if a qualified U.S. citizen applies, they must be hired over the guest worker, and they must be paid the prevailing wage rate.

For both programs: The Department of Laborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Foreign Labor Certification collects user fees, but those fees go into the general treasury. So the agency is reliant on annual Congressional appropriations. Both H-2A and H-2B are seeing rapid growth as the economy improves. DOL is seeking user-fee authority, where the fees collected would be dedicated to underwriting the program costs. Political choppy waters aside, userfee authority could provide stable funding and overcome the risks of appropriations problems and government shutdowns. However, the next couple years would be rocky regardless. So, there are dark clouds with respect to the programsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to accommodate new users; even existing users are at some risk of system failures and delays over the next few years.

Additionally, most H2 users employ the services of a private agent or recruiter to help them navigate the legal trenches and assist with the administrative burden that comes with these programs. For more information about specific providers of this service you can reach out to the NJNLA at 609-414-6161 or via email njnla.director@gmail.com If you want a deeper dive into program specifics, there is much information provided on the United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Foreign Labor Certification website at https://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/.

GardenerNews.com Ortho Brand Announces Plan to Eliminate Neonics from All its Outdoor Products 0$5<69,//( 2+,2 Ę&#x160; 2UWKR WKH QDWLRQÂśV leading brand of insect control products for lawn and garden use, said Tuesday, April 12 it would immediately begin to transition away from the use of neonicotinoidbased pesticides for outdoor use and announced a new partnership with the Pollinator Stewardship Council to help educate homeowners on the safe and appropriate use of pesticides.

Earlier this spring, Ortho expanded its selection of nonneonic based garden solutions. Building on this process, the brand will eliminate the use of neonic active ingredients Imidacloprid, Clothianidin and Dinotefuran by 2017. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This decision comes after careful consideration regarding the range of possible threats to honey bees and other pollinators,â&#x20AC;? said Tim Martin, general manager of the Ortho brand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While agencies in the United States are still evaluating the overall impact of neonics on pollinator populations, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for Ortho to move on. As the category leader, it is our responsibility to provide consumers with effective solutions that they know are safe for their family and the environment when used as directed. We encourage other companies and brands in the consumer pest control category to follow our lead.â&#x20AC;?

To further help homeowners, Ortho and its parent company, ScottsMiracle-Gro, announced a multi-year partnership with the Pollinator Stewardship Council, one of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading pollinator advocacy organizations and supporter of more than 550 beekeepers throughout the United States. The Company has previously collaborated with the Council to promote pollinator habitat, and the expanded partnership will develop homeowner education related to the responsible use of pesticides where pollinators can be found. That effort will use web, social media and other platforms to reach consumers. In January, ScottsMiracle-Gro also announced the Pollinator Promise, a program that will result in the creation of 75 pollinator gardens in cities throughout the U.S. this year.

The program is part of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highly recognized GRO1000 Initiative, which has resulted in the creation of 790 community gardens thus far. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We applaud the Ortho brand and ScottsMiracle-Gro for the steps that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taking to protect pollinators,â&#x20AC;? said Michele Colopy, program director of the Pollinator Stewardship Council. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bees and butterflies are essential to our ecosystem and are increasingly facing a struggle to survive. We know gardeners value the importance of pollinators and we look forward to developing programs that help accomplish our shared goal to protect them. We join Ortho in asking other consumer pest control brands to also transition away from the use of neonics.â&#x20AC;?

In addition to these initiatives, ScottsMiracle-Gro said it would work with the Pollinator Stewardship Council and other partners to encourage government agencies to allow the use of label language that makes the purchase of non-neonic pesticides more apparent for homeowners. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ortho is taking this important action on its products, yet, consumers will still not know which products contain neonics and which do not simply by reading the product label. We know straight-forward, easily understood product labels help consumers make the best choices to protect both their plants as well as honey bees and native pollinators,â&#x20AC;? Ms. Colopy continued. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Regulators need to allow the images on labels to be consistent with typical, recognizable consumer imagery to help the consumer make intuitive choices to achieve these goals. We look forward to joining with ScottsMiracle-Gro in the effort to help consumers better distinguish what products are neonic-free.â&#x20AC;?

GardenerNews.com This time of year is always a harrowing time for fruit growers here in the Garden State. And this year, with our mild winter and extremely warm days in late-February and earlyMarch, the weather has been even more challenging than normal.

The reason for this is that fruit trees are the most susceptible to injury at this time of year. Fruit buds are formed in late-summer.

These buds, along with the rest of the tree, enter into dormancy in the fall and remain there into the winter.

But these fruit buds gradually start to swell and grow as the temperature starts to rise in the late-winter and early-spring. With enough warm weather, these buds will open, the flowers are pollinated and then small fruit start to grow. It is at this stage, just prior to bloom through just after bloom, that these buds are the most prone to being damaged by sub-freezing temperatures.

At this time, temperatures of 29 degrees Fahrenheit or lower have the potential to kill some or all of those

May, 2016 23 The Town Farmer

By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

Frost Season blossoms. And then it is a long wait until next year.

With most vegetables, a great deal of this risk can be avoided. Just wait until after the threat of cold weather is over before you plant sensitive plants outside. But with perennial crops such as fruit trees, this is not an option. In years such as this one, when Mother Nature sends us warmer than normal temperatures during the spring, these trees start to advance into bloom much earlier than normal as well. And once they start advancing, they do not go backwards should the temperatures turn cold again.

In 2015, we had a pretty severe winter. We had more snow than normal and temperatures were lower than normal as well. With

that, the trees started to move out of dormancy later than normal. Consequently, they were not subject to as much in the way of sub-freezing temperatures when they were the most susceptible to being damaged. Although frost is possible here in Central New Jersey right up until the end of May, we rarely get any type of damaging frost after May 20 or so.

2016 was almost a total opposite of 2015. We had a mild winter with not much in the way of snow and the warmer temperatures we had late in the winter really forced our trees to bloom a full three weeks before they did in 2015. This will be great if we do not get any cold weather after they start to bloom, but with a sixweek window between then

well as a week-long summer camp. The focus of the programs is upon vegetable gardening, nutrition and woodland ecology.

What are some of the Gardens’ current and largest challenges? How do you hope to overcome those challenges?

Funding, of course, is always a challenge. The Gardens is in large part self-supporting through plant sales, membership, weddings, photo permits, classes and donations.

Since we do not charge an admission fee, raising funds for the necessary changes that we hope to see over the next 15 or so years will take a lot of thought and planning.

Another issue is Horticulture. In general, all public gardens are seeing increases in attendance as is the Gardens, so visitor recognition and attendance is becoming less of a challenge than it was 10 years ago. For the Gardens, this is all the more understandable when

(Continued from page 18) you consider that Middlesex County has a population greater than the entire state of Wyoming or Alaska! The challenge will be developing different ways for our visitors to understand the plants they are enjoying as they walk about the Gardens.

The overall interest in Horticulture is down from 50 years ago. I would definitely like to see Rutgers Gardens help to change that trend, starting with children. We just launched a new program called Little Sprouts this past April. It was crafted by several undergraduate Rutgers students and it is geared to children 3 to 5 years of age. As I mentioned before, we also have summer and after-school programs for older children.

Hopefully, exposing children to horticulture and the natural world at an earlier age, along with tours, classes for adults and the use of social media as an educational tool will allow horticulture to slowly regain

and our frost-free date, we will be in a very precarious position for a while.

All it takes is a couple of hours of clear calm conditions with no wind at night to set up a scenario of significant crop loss. When this happens, the warm air rises and cold air settles, creating what is known as a temperature inversion. Because there is no wind to keep the air circulated, the temperature at the ground level can be six to 10 degrees colder than the air 100 feet up.

That is why many growers use wind machines or helicopters to aid in frost protection. What they do is to take some of the warmer air that is aloft, and then blow some of that downward, where it then mixes in with the colder air

at ground level. Believe it or not, this has the ability to raise the temperature by a few degrees which, in many instances, can be enough to keep the trees from suffering a substantial loss in potential yield.

Another strategy that growers will employ in frost prevention is the use of irrigation. The way this works is that, as ice forms around the blossoms, it gives off energy, which raises the temperature to just above the critical point where these buds will incur damage.

So let’s all keep our fingers crossed as we try to get through frost season!

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.

Rutgers Gardens Celebrates its Centennial

Tom Castronovo/Photo

its former status.

And when is the Gardens open?

We are open 365 days of the year, from 8 a.m. until sundown, and admission is free.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Bruce. In the 35-plus years that I have been visiting the Gardens, they sure have evolved.

If you would like to visit the Gardens, they are located at 112 Ryders Lane (just off Route 1) in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

Our great Garden State also has a wide variety of other public gardens and arboreta that enhance the landscape as well. You can learn more about this consortium by visiting the Garden State Gardens ad on page 9. There is a good chance you can find an outdoor living classroom by you.

Public gardens play diverse functions in our

community and throughout the world. In closing, the Rutgers Gardens are largely self-supporting, relying heavily upon the generosity of financial and material donors and the efforts of volunteers. They welcome the support of interested parties, and invite you to come out for a visit. All gifts to Rutgers Gardens are tax deductible.

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.

24 May, 2016

GardenerNews.com

GardenerNews.com

May, 2016 25 5ඎඍ඀ൾඋඌ &ඈඈඉൾඋൺඍංඏൾ (එඍൾඇඌංඈඇ 3ඁඈඇൾ 'ංඋൾർඍඈඋඒ

Commitment to Agricultural Education (ENFIELD, CT) — In honor of the Farm Credit System’s centennial year, Farm Credit East announced a $100,000 commitment to support the development of a new agricultural business curriculum and to provide scholarships for agriculture teachers.

“As we celebrate the centennial of the Farm Credit System we are looking towards the future. This investment in agricultural education delivers on that focus through programs to support the next generation of Northeast agriculture,” said Lisa Sellew, Farm Credit East director and chair of the Board’s AgInitiative Committee.

Farm Credit East has committed $50,000 toward the development of the agricultural business course of the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE), a project of the National Association of Agricultural Educators. CASE courses integrate science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts with hands-on, inquiry-based learning.

After an introductory course, students specialize in tracks for animal or plant science, power and technology and natural resources. Farm Credit East’s funding will help to develop a track in agricultural business. Since 2009, CASE has certified 1,134 teachers from 40 states, including 47 teachers from the Northeast states Farm Credit East serves.

“We appreciate Farm Credit East’s support for the development of the Agricultural Business Foundations course,” said Dan Jansen, CASE project director. “Given Farm Credit East’s financial expertise, it’s a great partnership. With their help, we can make the agricultural business course an outstanding addition.”

An additional $50,000 will go toward educator scholarships. Teachers become CASE certified through a rigorous 60-hour training institute. If a teacher in Farm Credit East’s territory is interested in a scholarship to support their attendance at a CASE institute, please visit farmcrediteast.com to apply.

The Premier Gardening Monthly Newspaper Number 157 Published Monthly Contact Information Phone: 908.604.4444 Website: www.GardenerNews.com E-Mail: Mail@GardenerNews.com Staff Executive Editor/ Publisher . . . .

Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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

Tom Castronovo Justin Kukuc Tom Castronovo

May Columnists Tom Castronovo Tim Hionis Douglas H. Fisher Larry Katz Craig Korb Evan Dickerson

Todd Pretz Tom Canete Bob LaHoff Peter Melick Richard Perkins Dominick Mondi

Contributing Writers Bruce Crawford Michele Bakacs

Jeannie Geremia William A. Kolbe B.C.E.

Gardener News is published monthly by

Gardener News, Inc.

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

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

NOTE: All editorial, advertising layouts and designs and portions of the same that are produced and published by Gardener News, Inc., are the sole property of Gardener News, Inc. and may not be reproduced in any form unless written authorization is obtained from the publisher. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to: Gardener News, 16 Mount Bethel Rd - #123, Warren, NJ 07059. (c) 2016 Gardener News, Inc.

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

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

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TIP OF THE MONTH

Vinca is an easy-to-grow annual for beds, borders, edging and containers. Vinca prefers full sun, tolerates heat and drought, and can be relied upon to flower in the hottest weather throughout the entire summer. They should not be planted outside until Memorial Day in the Northeast. Larger pests such as rabbits and deer avoid eating vinca. Vinca does not need either deadheading or pinching to maintain its bloom and form. Pinching, however, will keep them dense. Fertilize vincas every two weeks with a good organic liquid bloom booster.

26 May, 2016

GardenerNews.com

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GardenerNews.com

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Startt your spring with the season’s best…from Kings!

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