GardenerNews.com A few years ago, while selling our produce at a farmers market, people kept coming up to our tables and asking if we had any spinach. I found this to be somewhat odd, because first of all, we didn’t even grow any spinach, and second, we just happened to be in the midst of a food safety scare which was centered around the possibility of some tainted spinach from the Southwest or Mexico entering our nation’s food supply chain and causing an outbreak of a foodborne illness throughout the United States. I kept asking myself why in the world would these people keep asking us if we had spinach, especially because we were in the midst of this media-induced maelstrom of food safety caution? Then it finally dawned on me why these people were requesting spinach from us. Other than the smartass who said he wanted to buy some spinach so that he could give it to his ex-wife, these people, by and large, were all looking for a product that the news media had identified as being potentially unsafe, and the first place that they turned to was Now that another year has passed, I always like to look back and reflect upon some of the events of the year, and what it means to the tree-care industry. First, after a mild fall, the new year began with frigid single-digit temperatures. I recall bringing in 2018 under a moonlit and very cold night. It stayed cold for many days, and this sudden hard freeze is not good for some trees, as with a warm fall many have not gone fully dormant. This is especially true for both broadleaf and needled evergreens, since they have a large surface area that loses water. Fully established trees are usually OK, but fall installations are more vulnerable to these rapid temperature swings. I observed a great deal of “winter burn” on holly, Leyland cypress, and lateplanted white pine. Best rule of thumb is to plant evergreens in spring so they have ample time to establish. Then, depending upon where in the state you
January 2019 23 The Town Farmer By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer
Messaging Matters in Outbreaks their local farmers market. I distinctly remember one woman saying that she felt as if she could trust our products more because she knew us personally, and that she had no idea who was on the other end of some of the other produce that she normally purchased at the supermarket. Whether she was right or wrong about her assumptions, that was the way that she felt, and those personal feelings had influenced her purchasing decisions. Now, let’s fast forward to today, where recently the FDA and the CDC just issued and then lifted a nationwide ban on the sale of romaine lettuce because of the strong possibility that romaine lettuce was the source of an E. coli outbreak that had sickened people across the United States. This almost unprecedented
action by the federal government seems, at least to me, to be at its best, overly cautious, and at its worst, heavy-handed and not properly thought out. Sure, in defending this action, they will use phrases such as “erring on the side of safety,” and “proactive measures.” But other than ruining a lot of lettuce, what have they really accomplished? They say that they were able to “pinpoint” the location of the tainted lettuce to California. If that was the case, why on earth was there a nationwide ban? Why should growers and consumers in the eastern part of the United States be lumped into this? Someone growing lettuce in a greenhouse to sell to restaurants in New York City is now suddenly forced to abandon their crop because some lettuce
in California may or may not have been contaminated? Actions like this defy logic. I remember that a few years ago, green onions from Arizona were thought to be the culprit in a foodborne illness outbreak. This was accompanied by the usual news media stories. Only a few months later, it was found that Mexican grown tomatoes were actually the real culprit. How do you ensure food safety without putting a chokehold on an entire industry? Perhaps one way to start would be to put growers back in touch with their customers. Due to the massive consolidation that has taken place within the industry, the only way for growers to comply with many of these regulations is to get bigger and bigger.
Tree Notes By Steve Schuckman NJ Licensed Tree Expert No. 512
A Look Back On 2018
live, we had that earlyMarch snowstorm, with heavy, wet snow…at least where I live in Essex County. The snow clung to tree limbs and branches, and anything weak or previously damaged came down. In Montclair, most of the damage was to green ash. In most cases, it was just a portion of the tree – not the entire tree – as green ash tends to have co-dominant trunks. In addition, many trees had been weakened by Emerald Ash Borer. In total, we lost about 200 trees. Crews worked for weeks just making damaged trees safe, then had to go back and finally remove them. It was, to say the least, devastating. April showers bring
May flowers, so the saying goes, but spring was just a little too wet and cool. Now, I know it was not good for retailers, nor was it good for trees. Consistent cool, wet weather while the trees were breaking bud and leafing out resulted in widespread foliar disease. I observed anthracnose of many varieties, leaf spots, cedar-apple rust galore, powdery mildew and things I never did figure out. While usually not a long-term problem for most trees, it just makes the leaves unsightly. For crabapples and flowering pears, cedarapple rust can weaken the trees and multiple years of infection can kill them. Fine by me if it gets the pears.
Emerald Ash Borer continues its march throughout the state. I have written about this pest in the past, so need only to say if you have an ash tree on your property, you have only two options: have the tree treated by a professional tree-care company or remove it. Treatment is only worthwhile if the tree is in excellent condition and you are really attached to it. I recommend removing it and replacing it with something other than ash, as the pest is not going away. Of course, the new pest in town is the Spotted Lanternfly. First observed in Pennsylvania in 2014, it has spread quickly to New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. It reproduces
This would be fine if nothing went wrong. But now, due to the massive scale of many of these growers, what would have been a minor issue now shows up in 45 different states. And because of the myriad ways of selling, preparing and packaging lettuce, it makes it that much more difficult to track down if there is a problem. Hopefully, we will be able to figure out a solution to this problem. If not, people may gravitate away from eating healthy things. As Larry the Cable Guy once said, “When was the last time you heard of someone getting sick from eating a Slim Jim?” 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 a Tewksbury Township Committee Member. 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. well, and populations can be huge. The problem is that unlike Emerald Ash Borer, Spotted Lanternfly has many host plants, many of them economically important. States are scrambling to control this new pest. We will keep you up-to-date. As I write this, December is still to come, so I have no idea how the year’s end will play out. Will it get cold and snow, or stay mild? I cannot predict. But considering all the rain we have gotten in November, I am going to go out on a limb (ha!) and just say…have your shovel ready, and keep some good books on hand. Editor’s Note: Steve Schuckman is owner of First Mountain Aboriculture, which provides horticultural consulting and community forestry services. He is currently the consulting forester for Bloomfield, Hawthorne, Maplewood, and Montclair, in New Jersey. He is also a New Jersey Licensed Tree Expert. He can be reached at smschuckman@verizon.net