Gardener News March 2022

TAKE ONE

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March 2022

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TAKE ONE No. 227

New Jersey’s 2022 Outstanding Young Farmer

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Mike Beneduce, Jr., New Jersey’s 2022 Outstanding Young Farmer, and owner of Beneduce Vineyards in Pittstown, New Jersey. chosen as New Jersey’s 2022 Outstanding Young Farmer by the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture.

In 2010, Beneduce Mike Beneduce, Jr., a graduated Magna Cum Laude Hunterdon County vineyard from Cornell University and winery owner, has been with a double major in Plant

By Tom Castronovo Executive Editor/Publisher Gardener News

Sciences and Viticulture/ Enology. The major focused on techniques specific to cool climate grape growing and winemaking, and most classes were taught in one of the local vineyards or Cornell’s new student winery.

As a vigneron, his focus is on producing premium quality wine entirely from estate grown grapes, on his 22 plus acre vineyard.

Everything on Beneduce’s vineyard is done by hand, so he knows it’s done with

care and it’s done right. And it’s done sustainably, so he knows he’ll pass on healthy land to future generations.

The 12,000 square foot winery itself is outfitted with some of the best equipment available to (Cont. on Page 22)

2 March 2022

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March 2022 3

Around The Garden

By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

Agriculture History and Women in Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was established by President Abraham Lincoln on May 15, 1862. Two and a half years after he established the Department, in what would be his final annual message to Congress, Lincoln called the USDA “The People’s Department.” The first USDA Commissioner of Agriculture was Isaac Newton, a Burlington County, NJ, farmer who had served as chief of the agricultural section of the Patent Office since August 1861.

Moving forward, each year in March, the United States celebrates National Agriculture Week and National Agriculture Day. These designations recognize the vital role agriculture plays across the country, state and in our local communities. Did you know that agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis?

National Agriculture Week will be celebrated this year on March 21-25 by a presidential proclamation.

National Agriculture Day will be celebrated on March 22 by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA), which is a nonprofit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber community. ACA dedicates its efforts to increasing the public’s awareness of agriculture’s role in today’s society. This will mark the 49th anniversary of National Agriculture Day which is celebrated in classrooms and communities across the country. The theme for National Agriculture Day 2022 is “Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.”

Women in Agriculture The USDA Census of Agriculture conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2017 revealed that 36% of the nation’s farmers are women, and about 56% of all farms have at least one key female decision-maker.

In New Jersey, 40.5% of all farmers are women compared to 36% nationwide. 62.2% of all farms report having at least one female farm producer working there.

Overall, 40.5% of all New Jersey farm producers are women. Out of all states, New Jersey has the 17th highest percentage of female farm producers.

In 2017, the United States had 1.2 million female producers, accounting for 36% of the country’s 3.4 million producers. Female producers are slightly younger, more likely to be a beginning farmer, and more likely than male producers to live on the farm they operate. More than half of all farms (56%) had a female producer. These femaleoperated farms accounted for 38% of U.S. agriculture sales and 43% of U.S. farmland.

The Census of Agriculture, conducted once every five years, is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The USDA is already developing its 2022 census.

Today, most Americans connect to agriculture through farm visits, farmer’s markets or what’s on their table or what they are wearing.

For women in agriculture, Annie’s Project is a risk management educational program for women farmers that began in the Midwest and spread throughout the country. It is based on a real woman farmer Annette Fleck, who spent her lifetime learning how to be an involved business partner with her farmer husband. Her daughter, Ruth Hambleton, who became a Cooperative Extension educator in Illinois, created Annie’s Project.

Annie’s Project gives New Jersey women farmers the tools to help them succeed by focusing on five areas of farm risk – marketing and pricing, production risk, financial management, human and personal risk, and legal risk. You can learn more about Annie’s Project through Rutgers NJAES at https://anniesproject.rutgers.edu/ In New Jersey we have four new women in agriculture, Shelly Bell, Pam Garosalo, Julinna Heck and Dana Walter, in Assemblyman Roy Freiman’s office. Freiman is chair of the Assembly Agriculture and Food Security Committee.

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, landscaping and nursery communities through this newspaper and GardenerNews.com.

Tom Castronovo Todd Pretz Gail Woolcott Andrew Bunting

March 2022 Columnists Brian Schilling Peter Melick Diana Dove Bob LaHoff

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4 March 2022 If you have read the columns that I have written over the years in Gardener News, it becomes obvious I have a love affair with plants.

It has always been this way since oh-so-many decades ago when I started my first garden at the age of eight. That’s a really long time ago! For me, the best part of all of this is that my appreciation and respect for plants has grown even deeper as each year gets racked up.

The plant world provides us sustenance in food and fiber. On the more ephemeral plane, we are showered with sheer beauty and enormous comfort from seemingly endless combinations and varieties of natural and propagated offerings. Obvious examples are trees, which protect life forms from searing sun rays, capture carbon, give us timber to harvest, and so on.

Every specie of plant has an assignment in nature, and the mysteries of these charges are constantly being studied by humans. As a result, there seems to be evermore evidence of the power and potency contained within these natural treasures. The deeper we probe, the more we observe, the wonders just keep expanding.

Over time, I have been

GardenerNews.com the literally hundreds of herbs, spices, and flowering plants that at one time or another were used prominently and then slipped into disfavor or less use. Additionally, on the flip side, many plants are

By Douglas H. Fisher nowhere near the plateau of their Secretary of Agriculture newfound popularity.

It is not about what traditional or New Age media channels are spouting. It has to be you doing exhaustive investigation! Once you spend the time, however, you will hemp products that have flooded All these wonderful plants have find some of these natural cures the marketplace, not to mention a history, waxing and waning, will trump some of the more massthe phenomenon of medical about healing, calming, and other processed manufactured items.

Take some time and I believe marijuana. such attributes. You might come you will derive great benefits to In addition to the attention to away with a real appreciation for your body and soul. unprocessed raw ingredients is nature’s plant-based apothecary. the confluence and juncture of Here are just four examples, cultural practices and applications, along with very basic descriptions Editor’s Note: Douglas reflecting various viewpoints of their benefits: H. Fisher is New Jersey’s about plant-based medicinal cures.

Yarrow (Achilles millefolium) – Secretary of Agriculture.

At times we hear of the clash The leaf and the flower are ascribed He is the department’s between allopathic medicine as an astringent, considered a First executive officer, secretary and herbalism, but I have come Aid herb for sunburn, bug bites, to the State Board of to understand how the two etc.

Agriculture and a member can work in tandem. In short, Bee Balm (Monarda) – An of the Governor’s cabinet. allopathic medicines kill bacteria antibacterial, antifungal etc.

Secretary Fisher fulfills and viruses, while herbal cures Dandelion (Taraxacum executive, management work to build and restore systems. officinale) – All parts are known and administrative duties As with any plan, consult with to aid digestion and improve liver prescribed by law, executive medical professionals and seek function. order or gubernatorial out information on your own to Comfrey (Symphytum direction. He can be reached make some determinations as to officinale) – Reduces swelling. at 609.292.3976. For more ultimately what might be most There is a lot of ancient info, please visit: http:// appropriate for you. history and folklore attached to www.state.nj.us/agriculture

NJ Dept. of Agriculture

Plant Power!

attempting to learning more about the healing power of plants. If you listen to old-timers you will get stories about remedies based on what a particular flower, or stalk, or seed combination, ground into a salve, or balm, or mixed as a tincture, or blended as tea or an aromatic can do for you.

For much of the “modern” 20th century, one did not find these combinations, with few exceptions, in the drug aisle at your local pharmacy or grocery store. The alchemy was considered “old fashioned.” This was the period where over-processed prepackaged goods containing many unrecognizable ingredients sprang ahead in the aisles.

This is changing rapidly, however, as more shoppers are looking for alternative cures.

Look at the explosion of CBD and

USDA to Conduct First-ever Agroforestry Survey

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is conducting the first-ever National Agroforestry Survey. Data collection began on February 1 and concludes April 5, 2022. NASS will mail the survey to 1,842 farmers in the 11 Northeastern States to gather information on the five agroforestry practices used for climate, conservation and production benefits, including windbreaks, silvopasture, riparian forest buffers, alley cropping as well as forest farming and multi-story cropping.

“In this first-ever survey, ag producers have the opportunity to share the different ways they manage valuable agroforestry resources,” said King Whetstone, director of the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office. “The data will inform programs and policy to benefit both the landowners and farmers as well as the environment.”

The survey is conducted cooperatively with the USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC), which is a partnership between USDA’s Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service. The NAC will release the summarized data in studies, press releases, and publications such as highlights. Highlights will give an overview of how agroforestry practices are used in regions across the United States.

Producers can respond to the survey securely online at agcounts. usda.gov or by mail. The survey will take no longer than 50 minutes to complete if producers have all five agroforestry practices on their operations. Response time will be shorter if there are fewer practices to report. The information provided by farmers and ranchers is protected by federal law (Title V, Subtitle A, Public Law 107-347), which keeps respondent identity, operation, and answers confidential. For more information, visit www.nass.usda.gov/go/Agroforestry. For assistance with the survey, please call (888) 424-7828.

American Agricultural Exports Shattered Records in 2021

The American agricultural industry posted its highest annual export levels ever recorded in 2021, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced. The final 2021 trade data published by the Department of Commerce this morning shows that exports of U.S. farm and food products to the world totaled $177 billion, topping the 2020 total by 18 percent and eclipsing the previous record, set in 2014, by 14.6 percent.

“These record-breaking trade numbers demonstrate that U.S. agriculture is incredibly resilient as it continues to provide high-quality, cost-competitive farm and food products to customers around the globe and that the BidenHarris Administration’s agenda is working for American farmers and producers,” Vilsack said.

“This is a major boost for the economy as a whole, and particularly for our rural communities, with agricultural exports stimulating local economic activity, helping maintain our competitive edge globally, supporting producers’ bottom lines, and supporting more than 1.3 million jobs on the farm and in related industries such as food processing and transportation.”

The United States’ top 10 export markets all saw gains in 2021, with six of the 10 – China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, the Philippines and Colombia – setting new records. Worldwide

exports of many U.S. products, including soybeans, corn, beef, pork, dairy, distillers grains and pet food, also reached all-time highs. China remained the top export destination, with a record $33 billion in purchases, up 25 percent from 2020, while Mexico inched ahead of Canada to capture the number two position with a record $25.5 billion, up 39 percent from last year.

“It’s clear that our international trading partners are responding favorably to a return to certainty from the United States,” Vilsack said. “We owe our thanks to America’s agricultural producers who always work hard to be reliable global suppliers and the Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are fighting hard on their behalf to keep our home-grown products moving around the world. We’re strengthening relationships with our trading partners and holding those partners accountable for their commitments. We’re addressing transportation and infrastructure challenges through the work of the Administration’s Supply Chain Task Force and calling out ocean carriers that are putting profits above their responsibility to serve both importers and exporters. And we’re expanding opportunities for agricultural exports by knocking down trade barriers and partnering with industry on marketing and promotion efforts worldwide.”

GardenerNews.com SupportSupport NJ Agriculture Support NJ Agriculture NJ Agriculture

March 2022 5

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6 March 2022

R U T G ER S N J AE S / R C E

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From the Director’s Desk

Rutgers Outreach Hands-on Pruning Classes There's no substitute for learning by doing!

Introduction to Pruning

Advanced Pruning

March 30, 2022 March 24, 2022 9:00am - 3:30pm 9:00am - 3:30pm $245 per person $195 per person New Brunswick, NJ

Learn about the science behind pruning, then go outside for demonstrations and hands-on activities during these courses!

Dress for the outdoors and bring your own pruning equipment -including hand pruning shears and a small pruning saw -- to truly learn by doing!

Learn More & Register Online at: go.rutgers.edu/plants

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Phone Directory 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: 856-224-8040 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

Provided by Brian Schilling Director

Rutgers Master Gardeners Never Lose Sight of Their Mission The dozen or so seed catalogs that I’ve received in the mail, and the seeds and seed starting kits appearing in my local hardware store, are reminders that gardening season is upon us.

Historically, this is the time of year when Rutgers Master Gardeners (RMGs) start to conduct gardening workshops, explain the importance of soil tests to home gardeners, and identify those insects people find crawling inside their homes.

Rutgers Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who assist Rutgers Cooperative Extension in its mission to deliver horticulture programs and information to the general public. Amazingly, the pandemic did not change this annual routine – it just required us to rethink how over 2000 active RMGs might do their work.

Despite the obvious challenges, 2021 was a good year for the program. Community gardens in North Jersey benefited from the Morris County RMG’s Community Garden IPM bulletins, which received the national “Award for Excellence” in 2021 from the National Master Gardener Association. And RMGs across the state participated in a tomato pruning experiment to study the impact of pruning tomato plants during fruit production, efforts that produced both data and fruit (donated to food banks). We also gained experience with online gardening classes for the general public as well as training new Rutgers Master Gardener volunteers – making the Rutgers Master Gardener training more accessible to New Jersey residents.

For Spring 2022, many people in New Jersey are buying seeds for the first time. After they bought seedlings and started their first flower or vegetable garden in the last 18-24 months, they now want to “grow their own” from seed. This builds on a surge of interest in home gardening that has been observed nationally during the COVID pandemic. Anecdotal stories from Rutgers Cooperative Extension county offices on increased inquiries for gardening information bear this out. Since 1984, Rutgers Master Gardeners have been teaching gardening techniques and answering the questions of new and experienced gardeners in New Jersey. Faced by the many public health restrictions of the last two years that made their traditional teaching and outreach activities impossible, RMGs have found new and creative ways to continue to serve their communities.

Early in the pandemic, Rutgers Master Gardeners began answering phone calls and emails from their homes. By spring of 2020, RMGs were introduced to online meetings and workshops – and this thing called “Zoom.”

Some county programs launched Helpline Zoom sessions, creating virtual communities where people could ask questions, exchange ideas, and hear what other people were doing to manage the pandemic and its forced isolation. Lunch break gardening talks offered in one county were joined by people from across New Jersey and the nation.

Dozens of dedicated volunteers in each county RMG program made it possible to continue Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s education and outreach mission throughout the pandemic.

Importantly, online programs are allowing RMGs to maintain a connection with underserved or isolated residents of our state in senior residences, rehabilitation centers, and vocational programs.

While online programs have allowed them to remain engaged with their communities, RMGs prefer to get their hands dirty in the real world, and gardening is generally an outdoor activity. As public health guidelines changed to allow outdoor activities, RMGs went back to work in community and school gardens, demonstration gardens, public parks, and environmental education sites. RMGs offered vegetable gardening demonstrations to hundreds of people attempting to grow their first “Jersey tomato,” or how to identify the insects eating these prized fruits.

As work at county parks, school gardens, and environmental education centers resumed, the pandemic created a new dynamic in communities. People looked for opportunities to become involved. In Essex County, RMGs were joined by neighborhood volunteers to maintain the Brookdale Park Rose Garden. With more people turning to RMGs to ask about how to join or start community gardens, our teaching and demonstration gardens are producing thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables that are donated to community food banks in New Jersey.

We don’t know what challenges to expect in 2022, but RMGs will meet them head on. While we have all been preoccupied by the pandemic, the Spotted Lantern Fly has become a significant agricultural threat across the state. RMGs will be helping to educate the public on how to control this pest. The variability of our weather can cause problems for new and experienced gardeners alike; or another insect will threaten our gardens or forests. The Rutgers Master Gardeners will continue to learn, adapt, and provide sciencebased solutions to the public. I invite you to contact your local Rutgers Cooperative Extension office and inquire about training to become a Rutgers Master Gardener volunteer. Information is available at: njaes.rutgers.edu/master-gardeners.

Editor’s Note: This month’s contribution was written by Jan Zientek, Essex County Agriculture & Natural Resources Program Coordinator, and Statewide Rutgers Master Gardener Coordinator.

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March 2022 7

LAND-GRANT UNIVERSITY NEWS Bruce Clarke, Extension Specialist in Turfgrass Pathology, Retires from Rutgers After a Long and Distinguished Career

Bruce Clarke, extension specialist in turfgrass pathology in the Department of Plant Biology, retired on January 1 after almost 40 years of dedicated service to Rutgers University and the turfgrass industry. Clarke (CC ’77, GSNB ’82) started his education at Rutgers in 1973 as an undergraduate in the first matriculating class of Cook College, now the School of Environmental and Biological Science (SEBS). He earned bachelor’s degree in forest management and, after receiving his doctorate from Rutgers in plant pathology, joined the faculty as an assistant extension specialist in 1982.

Clarke served in multiple leadership roles in Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES). After one year in an interim capacity, he was named director of the Center for Turfgrass Science in 1994 and served in that position until the end of 2020. Under Clarke’s leadership, the Rutgers Turfgrass Program added 11 new faculty and gained international recognition as a center of scientific and educational excellence. One of

the keys to his success as center director was his ability to forge productive collaborations. With the help of his colleagues and the turfgrass industry, he raised more than $12 million dollars to support research, teaching and outreach activities in the center, as well as more than $2 million dollars for student scholarships.

In addition, Clarke served as the chair of the Department of Plant Pathology at Rutgers from 1999 to 2001, and later as vice chair of the department, then renamed Plant Biology, from 2001 to 2011. He then served a second stint as department chair from 2011 to 2014, where he worked with his colleagues to restructure the large and diverse group of more than 50 faculty.

Clarke also served his academic profession with distinction as president of the Northeastern Division of the American Phytopathological Society from 1999 to 2000, a member of the Board of Directors of the International Turfgrass Society (ITS) from 2001 to 2009 and ITS president from 2013 to 2017.

Upon Bruce’s retirement, Brian Shilling,

In Memoriam: Charles Meirs Holmes, Former Agricultural Agent for Cape May and Mercer Counties Charles Meirs Holmes, retired professor emeritus with Rutgers University, passed away on January 14, at the age of 92, in Holland, PA. Born and raised in Cream Ridge, NJ, he also resided in Titusville and Seaside Park, NJ before moving to Holland, PA in 2016. He was a 1st Lieutenant in the United State Army, and after his service, he became the county agricultural extension agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County and later served as the extension agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County. He retired in 1991.

Holmes worked with fruit, vegetable, nursery and turf growers, golf courses, agricultural organizations, county government groups, and garden centers. He assisted residents in solving insect, disease and growing problems in their homes and grounds. He also served residents through a weekly gardening column in the local newspaper and a home gardening radio program. Holmes was a member of numerous agricultural boards and committees and was especially proud of his association with the New Jersey Vegetable Growers and the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) 72 Escher Street Trenton, NJ 08609.

Blackwell Memorial Home 21 N. Main Street Pennington, NJ 08534 (609) 737-2900.

director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, asked Bruce for his recipe for success and Bruce said he did not have one—actually, that is not true. I have known Bruce since we started as freshman in September 1973. For almost 50 years Bruce has been a committed and steadfast presence at Rutgers. He is a genuinely decent person who puts service above self. He is very nurturing of his students and very supportive of his co-workers.

He worked hard to understand the needs of his constituents and delivered meaningful, relevant and practical solutions to problems related to turf and ornamental disease prevention and control.

In graduate school Bruce and I had a superb role model in Dr. Spencer H. Davis, one of the best teachers, mentors, and extension specialists at Rutgers. Dr. Davis set a very high bar for quality extension and teaching. Bruce exceeded the high standard Dr. Davis set many years ago. We are all better for having worked with Bruce Clarke, and I am honored to have him as a longtime friend and colleague.—Mark Robson, Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology

Nick Vorsa Receives Service to Industry Award from Wisconsin Cranberry Growers

Rutgers professor of plant biology Nicholi Vorsa was named as a 2022 recipient of the Service to Industry Award at the December 2021 Board of Directors meeting of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association (WSCGA). The WSCGA awards are given to individuals for their work on behalf of the WSCGA and the Wisconsin cranberry community.

Vorsa has built a nationally recognized cranberry breeding program at Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at the Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension in Chatsworth, NJ, where he served as director from 1988 until 2021. The program has released seven patented cranberry varieties with increased productivity and fruit quality.

The cultivars have received wide acceptance and are being extensively planted and grown in all U.S. cranberry growing states and Canadian provinces, as well as in Chile and New Zealand.

Vorsa’s program focuses on the development of cranberry varieties with enhanced disease resistance, insect

resistance, and adaptation to stresses, such as heat, in addition to genetic modification of fruit chemistry profiles.

His research has led to the sequencing of the cranberry genome and identification of genes impacting fruit chemistry, e.g. flavonoids and fruit acids, as well as disease resistance.

The award was presented on January 19, during the 2022 Wisconsin Cranberry School and Conference.

The WSCGA Board of Directors presents the Service to Industry Award to individuals or groups who have provided outstanding service to the industry and WSCGA. The award is the highest recognition that the WSCGA provides. In addition to Vorsa, this year the Board voted to provide recognition to Kathryn VandenBosch, dean of the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Wisconsin is the nation’s leading producer of cranberries, harvesting more than 60 percent of the country’s crop. Wisconsin’s official state fruit, the cranberry is the state’s number one fruit crop, both in size and economic value.

8 March 2022

GardenerNews.com

Invite One of These Ladies to Your Next Online Garden Club Meeting

Battery-Powered Lawn Equipment Sector is Growing

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Bob Kaufman, the Residential Landscape Contractor Division Sales Manager for Storr Tractor Company, with the new Toro GrandStand Revolution.

Storr Tractor Company showcased the new Toro GrandStand Revolution in Edison, NJ, at the Total Pro Expo & Conference, on February 1-2, 2022.

The Revolution mower is powered by Toro’s HyperCell Power System™, which was specifically designed with the same innovative spirit Toro has applied for more than a century to its equipment, and delivers all day power and reliability. The Battery Management System (BMS) allows for longer run times and quick charging to maximize productivity. HyperCell is built to run cooler than other power systems, so it can last as long as the sunlight. Ultimately, operators gain efficiencies, cut down on emissions and can complete more jobs with less hassle.

Featuring a Turbo Force deck with adjustable baffle, operators can adjust the deck baffle to get the most pristine cut in any conditions. The Turbo Force deck is a 50 KSI 7-gauge high strength steel deck, complemented with an extra strength tubular chassis and durably rugged I-beam front-end. It also features industry-leading dual capture anti-scalp rollers to ensure the highest quality of cut in the harshest terrain. Discharge and disperse clippings with the industry’s highest IQ system—rubber discharge chute clears obstacles, while debris dispersion is second to none.

Rough bumps and challenging terrain are all in a day’s work. Feeling them shouldn’t have to be. The Toro GrandStand Revolution combines the speed and comfort of a zero-turn rider with the on-and-off ease of a wide area walk-behind — creating a fast, maneuverable and more productive alternative to meet your quiet, battery-powered, efficient mowing needs.

Storr Tractor Company has been serving the Turf Industry since 1945. With locations in Branchburg, New Jersey and Ronkonkoma, New York, the company has been recognized as one of the leading and very best industry distributors in the country.

GardenerNews.com “Won’t you come into my garden? I would like my roses to see you.” – Richard Brimsley Sheridan (1751-1816, Irish poet) That’s the way I feel about roses too. So as my birthday approaches, and I select a rose for my family to surprise me with, I think about my criteria. To be included in my garden, a plant must provide beauty over a long period of time, demonstrate its ecological value, and have an engaging story.

As I search for a rose with a story, it’s fun to explore “celebrity roses.”

Here are some curated collections currently under consideration as my birthday present.

To honor my love of Shakespeare, three shrub roses bred by David Austin, all about 4’ tall.

Rosa ‘Shakespeare 2000’ offers old-rose fragrance, strong disease resistance, and pointed buds that open to velvety, deep crimson blooms, maturing into a royal purple in consecutive flushes. Its 120 petals are divided into 4 quarters and spread open flat, like an antiquariat book from whence the Bard might emerge.

Rosa ‘Desdemona’ has deep green foliage that serves as the backdrop for big peachy-pink buds which open to pure white, chalice shaped blooms with a pinkish hue. The 52 incurved petals add a 3D dimension. Featuring a long flowering season, ‘Desdemona’ fills

March 2022 9 The Garden Historian

By Lesley Parness Garden Educator

A Celebrity Rose

the garden with it strong, almond blossom fragrance.

Rosa ‘Sweet Juliet’ has apricotcolored, neatly formed rosettes with repeat flowering. With 70 or so petals, this reliable, healthy variety has a bushy, upright habit, and glossy, dark green leaves. Its fragrance is delicious – changing from that of a tea rose into a very strong and almost pure lemon.

Music is best enjoyed in a garden, so maybe I should pick a rose for one of my favorite classical composers.

Rosa ‘Chopin’ was introduced in Poland in 1980. This hybrid tea rose gets its high-centered bloom shape and delicate, translucent petals from its mom, ‘Crêpe de Chine’ and its size (up to 5” across), superior cold resistance, and big leathery foliage from its dad ‘Peer Gynt.’ Its flower is a pale creamy yellow with cerise margins and a haunting scent.

The arching habit and shade

tolerance of Rosa ‘Mozart’ make it a good candidate for a small tuteur or pillar in a garden corner and will reach 6’ tall. This hybrid musk, bred in 1936, produces enormous sprays of 1.25”, single deep pink blooms with white centers and dark reddishpink edges, just five petals each. Its lacking in fragrance, but it has lots of bright orange hips in the fall, perfect for candying for Thanksgiving.

Rosa ‘Tchaikovsky’ has clustered double, old-fashioned rosettes of creamy white with a buttery yellow center, which are beautiful against its dense semi-glossy, dark green foliage. This 6’ tall, vigorous floribunda blooms continuously and offers excellent disease resistance and a pleasant fragrance.

Color comes first, right? And where better to look for fabulous color than roses named for artists?

The hybrid tea petals of Rosa ‘Cezanne’ seem hand-painted,

each one unique, in a dusky palette of pinks and pale yellows with splashes of white and ochre. Small and feminine, growing only to 3’, this would be a good choice for a container set up close to seating so one can admire its unfolding ruffled edges and take in its cinnamon, raspberry scent. It blooms in flushes of cupped to flat forms throughout the season.

The color of Rosa ‘Matisse’ is a tribute to its namesake, with its raspberry pink petals and gay stripes of red and white. As a grandiflora it will reach 6’ tall. It’s very pretty, double, cupped repeat blooms emit a happy, fruity fragrance. I love a striped rose, especially a flat one with dark, glossy foliage.

Rosa ‘Monet’ prefers Zone 7+ which means it will need greater freeze protection. But its large blooms, produced in abundance and featuring charming swirls of white,

rose-pink and yellow splotches coupled with a wonderful perfume make it worth the extra care. Bred in 1996, it grows to 5’ tall and can be either single or double. The single is positively Giverney-esque.

There are so many choices! I’m still deciding. What about you?

There are roses for everyone from Rosa ‘Dolly Parton’ for country music lovers to Rosa ‘JFK,’ for presidential scholars. If we choose the right “celebrity rose” it will reward us with superstar bloom and an award-winning story to match!

Editor’s Note: Lesley Parness offers a variety of presentations and workshops for garden clubs, plant societies, and horticultural gatherings.

Recently retired from her position as Superintendent of Horticultural Education at the Morris County Park Commission, and with four decades of teaching environmental science and garden education, her focus now is garden history. A complete listing of her talks can be seen at lesleyparness. com and she can be reached at parness@verizon.net. This column will appear in the paper every other month.

Blueberries, Cranberries, Deerberries: Family Ties

By Hubert Ling Blueberries, cranberries, and deerberries are all in the genus Vaccinium and they are common native plants in NJ. Vacciniums are generally found in north-temperate parts of the world. About 450 species are included in this genus, but many of these are not very similar to each other. In fact, I was surprised to find that large blueberry bushes and small cranberry vines are in the same genus since they look so different.

Superficially blueberry flowers are shaped like a Swiss cow bell (like a rounded tin can with only a small, flared opening and a hint of the five fused petals which make up the bell). Our commercial blueberry was, of course, developed by Elizabeth White of Chatsworth, NJ and Frederick Coville of the USDA starting in 1910. The commercial blueberry is a selection from

Vaccinium corymbosum, the wild highbush blueberry, which is common in NJ and in much of Northeastern US. In addition to V. corymbosum, other wild species of Vaccinium have been used to breed heat-resistant commercial blueberry plants. In Canada the lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium, is grown as the common commercial blueberry. All our blueberries have been placed within the genus Vaccinium in the SubSection Cyanococcus.

Instead of forming bushes, cranberry plants form low growing mats or vines. The flowers of the commercial cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, have five tightly curved, reflex petals which expose the stamens and pistils. These are tightly clustered together into a sharp spike reminiscent of a crane’s bill; cranberry is the contracted form of crane berry.

Thus the flower is radically different from the enclosed bell shaped blueberry flower. Since

the structure of the flower generally determines what genus a plant is in, it is rather surprising that cranberries and blueberries are lumped into the same genus.

It is rather difficult to buy cranberry vines online but a few dealers have them.

Cranberry, V. macrocarpon, is placed in the Sub-Section Oxycoccus, but some scientists think it should be removed from Vaccinium altogether and placed in its own genius Oxycoccus.

But wait a minute, there is a third distinctive Vaccinium in NJ, the deerberry. Deerberry leaves and stems look very much like lowbush blueberries, but many deerberry branches spread out horizontally instead of vertically. Imagine my surprise when I first viewed the flowers on what I thought was a blueberry. These flowers were completely opened up with five separate white petals and looked somewhat like an apple blossom or a blackberry flower. A rush to my plant

keys identified this plant as deerberry, which is Vaccinium stamineum. Deerberry is in the Sect. Polycodium of Vaccinium.

Don’t deer like almost all types of berries? Sure they do, but only one plant, V. stamineum, has the common name of deerberry. Deerberries are occasionally available for sale on the internet.

If you consider deerberry the most primitive flower with the five wide petals, you could imagine that blueberry flowers developed by a fusion of the petals to form the bells. In addition, you might imagine cranberry flowers developed by a narrowing and a severe reflex curling of the five primitive petals.

All Vaccinium berries are edible but not all are good tasting. In addition, you should carefully note that not all berries that happen to be blue are true blueberries from the genius Vaccinium. For example, berries of Clintonia borealis are blue but are really horrible tasting and may endanger your

health. In addition, several Viburnum species have blue or black berries.

You might consider planting Vaccinium in your garden; the flowers are a delight and the birds and mammals (including humans) love them. Bears are said to fatten-up on blueberries before hibernation. I wondered how that could be done since wild blueberries are generally widely scattered, but then I witnessed a grizzly bear traveling directly towards my family (in Yellowstone Park).

The bear was moving at about five miles per hour with his mouth mowing through dense wild blueberry beds. I am a multi-year champion low bush blueberry picker (about one cup per ten minutes). I’m pretty sure the bear does that in one minute.

Editor’s Note: Hubert Ling is President of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey.

He can be reached at milhubling@verizon.net.

10 March 2022 Every year gardeners search for new plants for early spring color that have somehow evaded the vigilant eyes of their gardening friends.

Ideally, these new finds should provide more than just floral interest; they should be easily grown, long lived and – dare I say it – deer resistant!

Oddly, one of my long time favorites remains unknown to far too many gardeners and is both easily purchased and inexpensive.

The plant is Spring Starflower or Ipheion uniflorum, a bulb whose true identity long evaded botanists.

Ipheion, which is pronounced if-ey-on, is a member of the Amaryllidaceae or Amaryllis family. Currently, the genus Ipheion contains three species native to Argentina into Uruguay.

This unto itself makes the plant rather unique since most winter hardy bulbs originate from the mountainous regions bordering Turkey into the Caucasus, not South America!

Ipheion uniflorum was originally found by the Scottish gardener and botanist John James Tweedie (1775-1862) who was among the first to botanize in Argentina after its independence from Spain.

Although he never returned to Scotland, he After having attended several industry shows in the past few months, it is clear that technology is becoming much more common place in the landscaping industry. Robotic, or autonomous, lawn mowers are a perfect example.

Robotic lawn mowers are going to be the next lifestyle changing appliance in America. Think about it. How many times have you wanted to get away for the weekend or go to some event but yard work kept you tied to the house? Or simply taken up a full Saturday while you could have been relaxing?

Robotic lawn mowers can mow your yard, go back to the charger, and go back out again on their own without human intervention. This is a big step forward from only a few years ago. Although you will want a professional to install and maintain the autonomous mower, it will reduce your time in the yard if you are a DIY’er, and if not, it may be a greener option, using only battery power.

Residential robotic lawn mowers run on batteries, so they don’t use gas or oil. They are

GardenerNews.com Morris County Park Commission

By Bruce Crawford Horticultural Manager

By Any Name, Spring Starflower Brings Spring Color continually sent seed and plants back to England throughout his 30+ years in South America.

From Tweedie’s collections, the French botanist and zoologist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783-1840) penned the new genus Ipheion in 1836. Rafinesque was a brilliant, self-taught authority on a number of topics and although a prolific writer, he never revealed the actual inspiration for the genus name. It appears the fragrance of the foliage may have been the directing force of the name, as the name’s roots may have come from Iphyon, a name the Greek botanist Theophrastus (c. 371 – c.

287 BC) gave to Lavender, or from the Greek Iphios for strong, mighty or stout! Unfortunately, the name of Ipheion vanished for well over a century as indecision over which of numerous genus names was deemed appropriate.

Finally, in 2010 most authorities determined Ipheion uniflorum to be the correct name!

Of some comfort to gardeners, the common name of Spring Starflower has remained consistent over the years! I first discovered this plant near the start of my career and was intrigued at how the matt green and somewhat flattened 8-12” long foliage would appear in November and weather the northern New Jersey winters.

It also smelled distinctly like a skunk when disturbed, preventing deer predation!

Come late March through late April, the plant not only pushes additional foliage, but a wonderful carpet of light blue flowers. In stark contrast to the foliage, the flowers have a sweet honeylike fragrance. Each flower is close to 1” in diameter and as the common name implies, they

appear like a star! Similar to many early blooming bulbs, the flower consists of an inner ring of petals and an outer ring of modified leafy bracts that appear identical to the petals. Visually indistinguishable, they are called tepals. Flowers appear singularly on 5-10” tall scapes that emerge from the leaf axils. As the flowers open, the tepals reveal an icy blue color on the inside, typically blushed darker blue towards the tips. At the flower’s center are six attractive orange anthers that contrast nicely with the blue tepals.

The color of the tepals and the size of the anthers do vary, especially among the named cultivars. The selection ‘White Star’ has large, nearly white flowers while ‘Wisley Blue’ has a slightly deeper blue appearance than the straight species. ‘Jessie’ has probably the deepest blue

Editor’s Note: Bruce Crawford is a lover of plants since birth, is the Manager of Horticulture for the Morris County Parks Commission, and a Past President of the Garden State Gardens Consortium. He can be reached at BCrawford@ morrisparks.net

maintain and monitor the equipment. Some contractors offer a subscription-based model of payment where they continue to own the equipment,

By Gail Woolcott and others will have you Executive Director purchase the equipment while they maintain it.

Robotic mowers are definitely an exciting development in the landscaping A time can be set for them wire and follow it back to the equipment world. They are to mow. Since they are quiet charger. All robotic mowers still an oddity, so if you get one and don’t need to see the yard, on the market today do a very expect the neighbors to come they can be allowed to run at good job covering the yard and from blocks around to watch it night while everyone is in the not leaving uncut patches. It’s do its work! house or even asleep. They always a good idea, however, to run more often than you would have someone out to check on Editor’s Note: Gail Woolcott have your lawn mowed, so they their status and functionality is the Executive Director for provide a daily cut of just a on a regular basis. the New Jersey Landscape few millimeters or so, leaving Something important to Contractors Association. clippings as they go. If you remember if you plan to use She was presented with a want striping (mow lines) on an autonomous mower is that community service award from your lawn, however, current a rain sensor is a must-have. the Borough of Fairview for models are not able to provide Keeping your property well her assistance in leading the this yet. water, but not soaked, is key 9-11 Memorial Park project On schedule, they will leave as some robotic mowers are and the Legislative Champion the charger and start to mow. heavy and can get stuck in soft of the Year award from the When they run into the wire areas.

Federation of Employers and or an object, they will turn and Robotic lawn mowers are Workers of America. She is go another direction. Some useful and practical, but don’t currently the State Licensee mowers use a random pattern work for every property. You Chair on the National while others go back and will still need your maintenance Association of Landscape forth. When the battery gets contractor to trim and clean Professionals International low, they find the perimeter off your property, as well as Certification Council.

The NJLCA Today

Are Robot Mowers the Future?

not maintenance free, but will require infrequent intervention for the occasional replacement of the blades, maintenance, tires, software updates, etc.

A perimeter wire, like an invisible dog fence is placed around the yard to define the mowing area, similar to your robotic vacuum. Gardens, beds and trees can also be easily protected by running guard wire around them. The wire can be buried up to a few inches deep.

Robotic mowers will sense the presence of the wire around them. If the mower should somehow go past the boundary, it will immediately shutdown or turn around, so you don’t have to worry about it running down the street (unlike the dog).

coloration of all of the selections.

‘Jessie’ also has strongly reflexed tepals with larger bright orange anthers. Spring Starflower is easily grown and is amenable to varying soil conditions. They grow well in full sun as well as providing much needed spring color under the dappled shade of dormant deciduous shrubs.

Not surprising, many plants lack easy recognition among gardeners based on their botanical names. Even more challenging though is a plant whose name changes frequently with the years, making it a challenge to both learn and find in catalogues. By whatever name you prefer, Spring Starflower is a dependable bulb, providing painterly sweeps of gleaming blue and deserving of a spot in your garden!

GardenerNews.com

March 2022 11

N.J. Agricultural and Environmental News The Following Bills Were Signed Into Law by Governor Phil Murphy on January 18, 2022 Restricts use of Neonicotinoid Pesticides

S-1016/A-2070 As amended and reported, this bill would direct the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adopt, within 12 months after the bill is enacted into law, rules and regulations classifying neonicotinoid pesticides as restricted use pesticides.

The bill would also direct the DEP, every three years, to review the latest scientific information concerning neonicotinoid pesticides, and classify as a restricted use pesticide any neonicotinoid pesticide that the DEP determines will cause harm to populations of pollinating bees, birds, other pollinating wildlife, or aquatic invertebrates. A restricted use pesticide is a pesticide that can be purchased and used only by a certified and licensed pesticide applicator, or persons working under the direct supervision of the certified and licensed pesticide applicator.

Under the bill, beginning October 31, 2023, a person would be restricted from selling, offering for sale, or using within the State any neonicotinoid pesticide, unless the pesticide is registered and will only be applied by a licensed pesticide applicator to an agricultural plant. The bill would also authorize the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, to authorize one or more licensed pesticide applicators to use a pesticide that is prohibited under the bill if the commissioner finds that: 1) a valid environmental emergency exists; 2) the pesticide would be effective in addressing the environmental emergency; and 3) no other, less harmful pesticide or pest management practice would be effective in addressing the environmental emergency. The bill defines “environmental emergency” as an occurrence of any pest which presents a significant risk of harm or injury to the environment, or significant harm, injury, or loss to agricultural crops, including, but not limited to, any exotic or foreign pest which may need preventative quarantine measures to avert or prevent that risk, as determined by the DEP in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Rutgers, the State University.

The provisions of the bill would not apply to: 1) any pet care, veterinary, personal care, or indoor pest control pesticide product; 2) an application for the commercial production of a preserved wood product; 3) the application by a licensed pesticide applicator of a neonicotinoid pesticide within one foot of a building foundation perimeter to manage structural pests provided that the neonicotinoid pesticide is not applied on any plant; 4) any direct action taken by certified and licensed responsible pesticide applicators or by persons working under their direct supervision within the New Jersey Department of Agriculture or its agents, or within the Department of Environmental Protection or its agents, against any invasive plant or pest; or 5) any application to protect agricultural seeds. The bill provides that, notwithstanding the provisions of the bill to the contrary, the application by a licensed pesticide applicator of a neonicotinoid pesticide adjacent to a building foundation perimeter to manage structural pests may be extended by an additional four feet, if such additional area is necessary to treat the source of the infestation and the application is limited to a spot targeted treatment of the source of the infestation only.

P.L.2021, c.386.

Helps Protect Farmland from Deer

S-4231/A-4232 This bill would create a grant program within the Department of Agriculture (department) to provide matching grants to the owner or operator of (1) unpreserved farmland; (2) a farm for which pinelands development credits have been sold or otherwise conveyed pursuant to the “Pinelands Development Credit Bank Act,” P.L.1985, c.310 (C.13:18A-30 et seq.); or (3) a farm that is located in a sending zone pursuant to section 13 of the “Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act,” P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-13).

Contingent on available funding, the department would award grants of up to $200 per acre, not to exceed a total of $20,000 per applicant for up to 50 percent of eligible project costs, which would include the cost to purchase deer fencing, the maintenance costs of existing deer fencing, or any other costs established as eligible project costs as defined by the department. To be eligible for the program, an applicant would be required to have a minimum of $10,000 in gross sales in the preceding calendar year from agricultural or horticultural products grown or derived from the applicant’s farm operation. A grant recipient would be required to retain the land in agricultural or horticultural production for eight years following receipt of the grant. If a grant recipient does not retain the land in agricultural or horticultural

production or sells the land within eight years of receiving the grant, the recipient would be required to repay the grant on a pro rata basis.

The bill would define unpreserved farmland as a commercial farm, as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1983, c.31 (C.4:1C-3), on which a development easement has not been conveyed to, or retained by, the State Agriculture Development Committee, a county agriculture development board, a county, a municipality, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization pursuant to any State law enacted for farmland preservation purposes.

The department would be required to request annually, as part of its budget proposal, such amount as may be necessary to fund the deer fencing matching grant program. The department would also be required to work with the Division of Fish and Wildlife in the Department of Environmental Protection, the United States Department of Agriculture, and any other applicable State or federal agency, to pursue any available federal, State, local, and private funding for the grant program.

The department would be required to adopt rules and regulations to implement the grant program.

P.L.2021, c.451.

Supports New Jersey Dairy Farmers

S-3465/A-4336 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to reimburse annually each enrolled dairy farmer in the State the amount of the annual premium paid by that farmer for coverage under the federal Dairy Margin Coverage Program up to the amount of the premium for coverage for the first 5,000,000 pounds of annual milk production per farm, the first tier of coverage under the program. The bill requires the department to adopt rules and regulations to establish procedures to reimburse enrolled dairy farmers the amount of the annual premium authorized under the bill.

The bill would also require the department to include in its annual budget request to the Governor an amount equal to the moneys necessary to pay the annual premiums for the federal Dairy Margin Coverage Program for the coverage authorized under the bill for all enrolled dairy farmers in the State. The bill, as amended, appropriates $125,000 for this purpose.

The federal Agricultural Act of 2018 (commonly referred to as the 2018 Farm Bill) replaced the former federal Margin Protection Program for Dairy Producers (MPP-Dairy) with the Dairy Margin Coverage program (DMC). The DMC is a voluntary risk management program for dairy producers that makes payments when the national average income-over-feed-cost margin falls below a farmer selected coverage level. The program provides catastrophic coverage and various levels of buy-up coverage. Farmers register for the DMC between June and December of a given year. In 2019, 23 dairy farmers in New Jersey applied to participate in the program.

P.L.2021, c.401.

Requires that Only Fruits and Vegetables Grown and Packaged in NJ May Be Labeled by Food Retailers as Local to State

S-4128/A-6231 This bill, as amended, requires that only fruits and vegetables grown, harvested, and packaged in the State may be labeled by food retailers as “locally grown,” “locally harvested,” “locally-sourced,” or local to the State.

The bill, as amended, beginning 60 days after the effective date, prohibits a food retailer from labeling, or advertising or in any way implying with labeling or signage in the store or other establishment where the fruit or vegetable is sold, that a fruit or vegetable is “locally grown,” “locally harvested,” “locally-sourced,” or local to the State unless the fruit or vegetable was grown, harvested, and packaged in the State.

Any food retailer that violates the provisions in the bill would be subject to a penalty of not less than $100 for the first violation, or more than $200 for a second or subsequent violation. The bill specifies that each type of fruit or vegetable improperly labeled by a food retailer would constitute a separate violation. “Food retailer” is defined in the bill as an establishment that sells a selection of foods to consumers including, but not limited to, grocery stores, supermarkets, farmer’s markets, and convenience stores.

Finally, the bill, as amended, requires the Department of Agriculture to post on its website, as soon as practicable after the effective date of the act, notification of the enactment and provisions of the act.

P.L.2021, c.422.

12 March 2022

GardenerNews.com

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Growing Gardeners

By Diana Dove Environmental Educator

Plan Art Activities for Children in a Garden

Children and teens who create ART in a garden may benefit for years to come. The variety and kinds of children’s art is limitless as it is designed, sketched, crafted, sculpted, constructed or painted

by Growing Gardeners of all ages. Throughout the seasons, the garden becomes an exciting setting for children and teens to become artistically inspired as they explore and investigate plants and wildlife.

Gardens are filled with sounds and fragrances that heighten children’s senses. They stop to listen to the sounds of humming bird wings, and seek out the sources of sweet fragrant scents from plants such as lilac, magnolia, or my favorite, the flowers of the Fringe Tree. Eager young artists have endless art possibilities as they explore and investigate seasonal changes and life cycles, witnessed first-hand in a garden. It is well known that art relieves stress, makes you feel better, and is healthy for the development of the brain, while increasing skills needed for learning.

Art is a form of visual communication and self expression. When in a garden, art helps youth connect with the natural world. The garden is the perfect backdrop to motivate children’s creativity with art while exploring a beautiful environment.

Even the youngest child may be inspired to become an artist when close to wildlife and blooming flowers. The striking colors, shapes of flowers, patterns, textures and details experienced in nature can be profound.

Youth Gardeners should practice Art Journaling, drawing pictures in a journal, recording observations.

Over a year’s time, the artist will have a treasured portfolio of art and memories from the garden.

One fun activity is to hide marbles throughout the garden, beside or on interesting garden plants or features.

Ask the children to “walk” and find a marble, then draw one object near the marble in their Garden Journal.

What a fun way to relax and nurture the brain. As children have more hands-on experiences in the garden, they become more aware of their surroundings, adding more detail to their art.

Another time, I will focus on instructions for carrying out specific garden art activities, but for now, here are a few ideas: designing cement Stepping stones decorated with glass marbles, colored stones or natural materials, Plaster Cast Animal Tracks in the snow, Corn husk figures and Corn husk animals (I recall a unique corn husk jelly fish made by an elementary school student that won a Flower Show Blue Ribbon), Leaf Art - pressed leaf and flower animal designs, and Sculpted Clay Owls and Butterflies which included collecting buckets of natural clay from the swamp (with permission).

Some youth groups Painted wooden plant labels for their garden and Painted garden scenes on canvas boards, then held an Art Auction fundraiser. Others Sketched trees with Arbor Day messages and Drew colorful garden scenes on Thank You Note Cards for their sponsors.

Garden Photography helps children sharpen observation skills regardless of the type of camera they use. With a camera in hand, children may document something brief, then later paint, draw, or sculpt art from their photographs. Events such as a caterpillar making a chrysalis require a keen eye.

Local Garden Club members taught youth workshops making Holiday Wreaths and Floral

Designs that were displayed at Flower Shows. Our garden volunteers held kids’ craft activities at our Farmer’s Markets: painting Rock Critters, making Pine Cone Critters, and creating Bean and Seed designs using silhouettes of dragonflies and butterflies.

Woodworking workshops are popular. How proud children are when they construct blue bird boxes and help wildlife! Our Youth Garden Club provided craft materials for At-home projects during the pandemic: Decorating pumpkins, Painting mini bird houses and designing Environmental Posters for town events and contests.

Children find that art provides experience in problem solving and decision making. A garden is teaming with art subject possibilities, so choosing the subject is the first choice. Next they must decide how to draw, then choose their art supplies and colors. Children need practice interpreting their world.

When you combine the benefits for children who spend time outdoors with gardening and art, the results may be life changing. Art provides a positive psychological benefit that is so badly needed, especially now as we deal with the pandemic. Children learn a great deal spending time involved in garden art activities.

Think about what would happen if children stopped practicing being creative. Offer to teach a Youth Garden Art Activity, or sponsor a Grant. You could promote National Garden Week, which is June 5-11, 2022. Contact your local Garden Club or a Community Youth Group to offer an opportunity near you for Growing Gardeners to experience art in a garden. Encourage children and teens of this generation to become our future gardeners.

Editor’s Note: Diana is an Environmental Educator who can be reached at dianadove13@ gmail.com She co-teaches, “Wildlife & Litter” programs with her husband Mike. They offer this and Wildlife Education booths, free, with kids’ crafts, fully funded by County & Local NJ Clean Communities for Pre-K through all grade levels and adults. Please “Like” the FB page of the Karen Nash Memorial Butterfly Garden she founded in Washington Borough, Warren County. Diana is Co-Youth Chair on the Board of the Garden Club of NJ and is the 2021 National Garden Club Youth Leader Award Recipient. She has a BS in Forestry & Wildlife Mgt, with a concentration in Biology, plus a BA in Communications from Va Tech. She is a former Sr. Naturalist for Somerset Co. Parks and has been teaching since 1975.

Doosan Bobcat Unveils World’s First All-Electric Compact Machine to Power the Future of Work at CES 2022 Doosan Bobcat unveiled its new, all-electric Bobcat T7X compact track loader at CES® 2022, the world’s most influential technology event. The T7X is the first machine of its kind to be fully electric, offering the full benefits of eliminating hydraulic systems, components, emissions and vibrations – all while providing cleaner, quieter machines.

“Doosan Bobcat is at the forefront of innovation, and we are proud to debut the all-electric technology of the T7X to help customers maximize both sustainability and productivity,” said Scott Park, president and CEO of Doosan Bobcat, Inc. “Our focus remains on providing solutions and products that empower people to accomplish more and build a better world.”

The Bobcat T7X is the world’s first all-electric compact track loader. This machine is fully battery-powered, built to be more productive from the ground up with electric actuation and propulsion, quieter with high performance torque and more powerful than any diesel-fueled track loader that has ever come before it – all while eliminating any carbon emissions.

“This machine is a technological feat for Bobcat and for the entire industry,” said Joel Honeyman, vice president of global innovation at Doosan Bobcat. “We challenged the status quo to deliver a connected, all electric machine designed for power and performance that previously was not possible. We are excited to share this advancement with the world and proud of the hard work that has gone into making this a reality.”

Applications Available for Jersey Fresh Farm to School Farmer Recognition Award Registration has begun for farmers wishing to participate in the Jersey Fresh Farm to School Farmer Recognition Award. The Recognition Award is an opportunity for farmers to highlight their Farm to School efforts and provide them with resources to help feature their Jersey Fresh produce in local school meals.

Farmers can register for the 2022 Jersey Fresh Farm to School Farmer Recognition Award Program at www. farmtoschool.nj.gov. The deadline to complete and submit the application is March 31, 2022.

Participating farms will receive an exclusive Jersey Fresh Farm to School promotional materials kit. One farm, selected out of the group of farms recognized, will be presented as the winner of the 2022 Farm to School Farmer Recognition Award during Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week, September 26-30, 2022.

Farm to School provides hands-on, experiential learning opportunities to help students learn about local agriculture, how food grows and what it means to eat a healthy diet with fresh fruits and vegetables.

16 March 2022 I recently read an article concerning food waste in the United States. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, somewhere between thirty and forty percent of the food produced in this country goes to waste every year. At first glance, that number seems almost too high to be even possible. But the more I thought about it, the more I believed it was probably true. This study took into account food that was wasted not only during production and harvest, but through the packing, transportation, marketing, storage, and sales of those products. It even discussed food that was wasted after it was purchased by consumers.

The article came at it from the perspective of the “outraged consumer,” who was very concerned with the impact of food waste on the environment and society as a whole. How could so much wasted food be good for our country? What else could we do with all of that wasted time, energy and effort that goes into producing thirty percent more food than we need? These are What am I talking about?

I looked back and noticed I started writing this column for Gardener News in 2007. If you read all my articles since then, you should have the best lawn in town! Were you able to get out and work on your lawn, or is everything looking just fine?

From the looks of the Lawn & Garden Industry reports, Covid seemed to spur a lot of lawn activity. All aspects of outdoor projects (and indoor ones too!) grew tremendously.

The large number of people who worked remotely perhaps contributed to more time at home to do house projects.

The fact is that some of you couldn’t go on vacation, or didn’t feel safe going, and instead stayed home and spent money on your home and landscape. Extra money was available by not going on vacation, allowing for a lot of lawn renovations and other home projects.

These past few years, large 25 lb. and 50 lb. bags of seed were selling very briskly, which leads me to believe that a large number of lawns were totally renovated in order to

GardenerNews.com The Town Farmer

By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

Food Waste

all very valid questions, but as is usually the case, the answers to these questions are not so simple.

First, let me point out where I agree with concerns about excessive food waste. We should all be doing more to limit the amount of food that is discarded purely for cosmetic reasons. A piece of fruit that is a little lacking in color or has a slight abrasion is still a sound piece of fruit and is not diminished in terms of flavor or nutritional value. Every effort should be made by growers, marketers and consumers alike to make sure food with minor defects is not wasted but is instead put to some type of use.

Another peeve of mine has to do with portion sizes. We

have all been to restaurants where we have ordered a meal and then been presented with way more food than we could possibly eat. So, we eat onehalf to two-thirds of the burger, five to ten fries, slurp down half of a drink and then waddle away to do it all over again.

Meanwhile, the remnants end up in the dumpster out behind the restaurant. Sure, we could take the leftovers home, but that is not always an option.

And we know how microwaved French fries taste anyway.

I can remember watching reruns of “The Honeymooners.”

On that show, they had a fridge that was about the same size as a toaster oven. Now we all have refrigerators the size of walk-in closets. And think about all

the food in these refrigerators.

Will it ever be eaten? I could go on and on, but there is another side to this story.

When it comes to our food supply, there is a very fine line between “just enough” and “sheer panic.” Due to the pandemic, we have had all sorts of disruptions to the supply of many products that we had taken for granted.

Suddenly there were shortages of everything from televisions to tater tots. That “Just in Time” inventory management strategy works great if you have an extra three months to spare. Fortunately, our nation’s food supply was not heavily impacted by the pandemic.

Sure, there were shortages of certain products at certain

Turf ‘s Up

By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

Here we go again…

give a “fresh-coat-of-paint” look to improve the whole lawn area. While the majority of grass seed is used for touching up bare spots and repairing damage, these last few years must have been the once in a lifetime chance that many folks spent a lot of money on grass seed. When was the last time you re-seeded your whole lawn? Ten years ago, or never? I bet the majority of you will never re-seed your whole lawn; it takes a lot of work and money!

Now that spring is here, you can start your lawn applications and projects. As I have been indicating in my last few articles, the prices for grass seed and fertilizer are going to be higher than last

year. The reason grass seed is higher is because of a poor crop in the Pacific Northwest last summer, due to the stifling heat wave that scorched the crop and reduced yields tremendously. Fertilizers are higher due to the fact that world-wide agriculture drives the prices and they are traded on a global basis. And of course, supply and demand drove up the prices. You know the supply chain thing we have all been hearing so much about. Barges of fertilizer that couldn’t get unloaded or sent up the Mississippi River were sometimes diverted to other ports or perhaps another country. If the market price for Urea was higher in Brazil, they may ship it there after

sitting on a barge outside of New Orleans for a few weeks.

You know the old saying, “Time is money.”

First thing in spring, I would get the mower ready and consider taking a soil test to determine if you need any soil amendments. Most likely in our area, your soil pH is too low and you need to apply calcium carbonatebased products to raise soil pH to a desired grass growing range between 6.2 - 7.0. If March is cool and wet, it is too early to apply crabgrass preventers. Apply a regular lawn fertilizer to wake up the lawn to start it growing, and adjust soil pH if necessary.

Start mowing when the grass reaches about 4-5 inches so

times, but by and large, we always had food on our shelves.

As a society, we have become very accustomed to food security. People like the idea of not having to worry about where their next meal is going to come from. That is why many people keep extra food in their pantries.

Restaurants do not like closing early because they ran out of food. If they have to throw some out once in a while, it’s just the price of doing business.

Sure, we can all do a much better job of not wasting food, but food scarcity is not a viable option either.

Editor’s Note: Peter Melick is co-owner of Melick’s Town Farm in Oldwick and a 10th-generation New Jersey farmer. Peter is Mayor of Tewksbury Township, Hunterdon County, NJ. 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. you can level out the grass height for a sharp look. This mowing and feeding will spur growth to green and thicken the lawn.

If you are looking for more of an organic approach, consider seeding bare spots heavily to reduce potential for weed growth. Regular feeding, even if you use only organics, helps the grass to thicken for a great looking lawn. There is an organic weed preventer, corn gluten, which prevents crabgrass and some broadleaf weeds from germinating. Be sure to apply this in early spring and do not plan on seeding these areas for 60-90 days.

Remember in New Jersey you can start to apply fertilizers to lawns starting March 1st!

Happy spring, we all look forward to a great year!

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

GardenerNews.com

March 2022 17

New N.J. Agricultural Officials

Roy Freiman has been appointed Chair of the Assembly Agriculture and Food Security Committee

Robert Andrzejczak has been appointed FSA State Executive Director for New Jersey

New Jersey Assemblyman Roy Freiman was appointed on January 14, 2022 to chair the Assembly Agriculture and Food Security Committee by Speaker Craig Coughlin for the 220th Session. As a resident of Hillsborough Township, he will lead the committee on issues related to the Garden State’s diverse practices of cultivating the soil, producing crops, harvesting, and raising livestock and/or bees from the natural resources of the state.

The Assembly Agriculture and Food Security Committee is also responsible for addressing food insecurity throughout the state and monitoring issues that affect parks, farmland preservation and water resources.

Freiman is the Assembly’s Deputy Majority Leader. He has served his District 16 constituents Tom Castronovo/Photo since 2018.

Born and raised in Cape May, New Jersey, Robert Andrzejczak joined the United States Army as an Infantryman in 2005. On his second deployment to Iraq, he was severely wounded when his convoy was attacked. After two years of recovering from his injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., Andrzejczak returned home to New Jersey. He was active in multiple community-based service organizations before being appointed to serve in the New Jersey General Assembly in 2012. While in the Assembly, Andrzejczak served as Chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He was appointed to the New Jersey Senate in 2018 and served until 2019.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

IT DOESN’T TAKE LUCK TO GROW A BEAUTIFUL LAWN Discover the “Jonathan Green” Difference on your lawn today.

Available at garden centers and hardware stores in your area.

Ask for a free copy of our Lawn guide.

3/22

18 March 2022

GardenerNews.com

NORTHEAST DEPARTMENT NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Department of Agriculture Seeks Agencies to Sponsor Meals for Summer Nutrition Program New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher encourages organizations to help provide nutritious meals to children during the summer months through the Department’s Summer Food Service Program.

The Summer Food Program began in 1976 as an outgrowth of the National School Lunch Program. The Summer Food Service Program is designed to reach those who are age 18 or younger in economically disadvantaged areas. It also is open to people over 18 who have intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities and who participate in public or nonprofit private programs established for individuals with disabilities.

In School Year 2020-2021 in New Jersey, 609 School Food Authorities with a total of 1,835 sites participated in the National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option to provide over 74.5 million lunches and

68.3 million breakfasts free to all children 18 and under. In 2021, 151 organizations participated in the Summer Food Service Program serving 75,875,999 nutritious meals which included breakfast, lunches, dinners, and snacks to over 1,308 summer meal sites.

Applicants may include public or private nonprofit school food authorities, units of local, municipal, county or state governments, public or private nonprofit organizations, residential summer camps or national youth sports programs.

For more information on the Summer Food Service Program or to obtain an application, call (609) 292-4498.

The deadline for submission of completed applications is March 21, 2022. Learn more about the New Jersey Summer Food Service Program at https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/ divisions/fn/childadult/summer_food.html.

CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Connecticut Department of Agriculture Announces Funding Opportunities For Connecticut Specialty Crops The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (DoAg) is now accepting applications for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) for the 2022 program year. Funding priorities include strengthening and improving food systems, improving food security and food safety, and implementing controlled environment agriculture production systems to adapt to climate change. Applications are due by March 10, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. to AGR.grants@ ct.gov.

“Connecticut is pleased to offer eligible applicants an opportunity to fund initiatives which will benefit a wide variety of specialty crop producers,” Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt said. “From marketing to research, participation in the Specialty Crop Block Grant program further enhances our

diverse agricultural production to strengthen our food systems and mitigate climate change.”

Eligible applicants include commodity groups, agricultural organizations, colleges and universities, municipalities, state agencies, and agricultural nonprofits. Projects must benefit the industry as a whole and not a single organization, business, or commercial product. As a result, individual farms or businesses are encouraged to apply and partner with other eligible applicants rather than apply themselves. This is a reimbursement grant with awards up to $99,999.

For more information on the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, please visit the website, http://www.ctgrown.gov/grants and click on Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, or contact Rebecca Eddy at Rebecca.Eddy@ ct.gov or 860-573-0323.

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Pennsylvania Bans Sale of Three Invasive Plants: Ravenna Grass, Glossy Buckthorn, Common Buckthorn The PA Department of Agriculture has added ravenna grass, glossy buckthorn and common buckthorn to a list of noxious weeds — plants that cannot be legally sold or cultivated in the state. The non-native plants spread aggressively into wooded areas and fields, crowding out beneficial plants and disrupting native ecosystems. The ban on sale and cultivation will take effect April 5, 2022 with enforcement phased in over the next year.

“Pennsylvania is working to repair the damage done by plants that were introduced to our landscape decades ago without foresight into how they might harm our environment and food supply,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “Banning the sale of invasive plants and educating homeowners and consumers to plant native species today are both vital for protecting our environment, our food supply and our economy tomorrow.”

Property owners should consider eliminating these plants and seek native alternatives when choosing plants for landscaping.

Ravenna grass (Tripidium ravennae), also known as hardy pampas grass, is a six-foot tall, perennial, ornamental grass commonly sold in nurseries. Its seedy plumes allow it to spread rapidly, choking out native plants and reestablishing easily. The department will begin enforcing the ban on its commercial sale in September 2022. Find more information on ravenna grass and native alternatives on the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website, dcnr. pa.gov.

Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) is a small tree or shrub whose berries are eaten by birds, spreading the plant. It aggressively spreads in wetlands, choking out native plant and animal habitats. It has a commercially available cultivar called rhamnus fine line. The department established an exemption procedure for breeders who own the rights to varieties that have been researched and proven sterile, and will consider exempting these varieties from the ban. The department will begin to enforce the ban on glossy buckthorn sale in 2023.

Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is a deciduous tree that reaches 22 feet high, with dark green leaves and berries. It forms dense thickets, choking out native ecosystems. It is not sold commercially.

For more information about noxious weeds, controlled and poisonous plants in Pennsylvania visit agriculture.pa.gov.

GardenerNews.com

March 2022 19

OF AGRICULTURE NEWS NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

State Agriculture Department Seeks Industry Nominations for Marketing Order Advisory Boards The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets today announced that nominations are open for positions on New York State’s Apple, Onion, and Cabbage Marketing Order Advisory Boards. Marketing Order Advisory Boards convene to recommend funding priorities to the Department’s Commissioner, inform the Department of industry issues, and ensure that funded projects are having the intended impact on New York State agriculture. Nominations should be submitted no later than Friday, March 11, 2022 at https://agriculture. ny.gov/farming/marketing-order-administration.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “New York’s agricultural industry is strengthened by our Marketing Order Advisory Boards, which help to identify emerging market opportunities for vital crops, develop innovative promotional initiatives, and so much more. I encourage growers and processors across our state to consider lending their voice to these important initiatives by serving on a board.”

New York State’s Marketing Order programs are industry-initiated and provide critical funding for promotional and research-based projects aimed at improving the profitability of target crops statewide.

Marketing Order Advisory Boards typically convene twice a year: once to establish a recommended annual budget based on available funds and provide required motions; and once to ensure funded projects are meeting desired outcomes. As needed, each Advisory Board may also convene to discuss pressing industry or program issues to ensure proper implementation of the Marketing Order. Currently, all Advisory Board communications are held exclusively via conference call and video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Consumer Demand For Buying Locally Grown Strong In Delaware the Delaware Department of Agriculture announced that Delaware farmers’ markets had nearly $3.16 million in sales in 2021.

As the second-highest sales year on record for Delaware’s farmers’ markets, 2021 has proven demand for buying locally grown products is strong among residents and visitors to the state.

A return to a more normal season could be one of the contributing factors to the success of Delaware farmers’ markets.

However, Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse credits the connections made throughout 2020 when residents relied on family farms to provide produce, meat, fresh eggs, honey, and more.

“When the pandemic first hit, people quickly realized that food wasn’t readily available at their grocery stores. For many Delawareans, it was their first time reaching out to a farm or visiting a farmers’ market, so they could put food on their table,” said Scuse. “We hoped consumers would pick up in 2021, where they left off in 2020, realizing farmers play a significant role in providing fresh, nutritious products grown right here in Delaware. And they did.”

Sales from 18 Delaware communityrun farmers’ markets this year totaled $3,159,175. Three farmers’ markets did not provide sales figures, which would have likely put sales closer to the 2019 record.

Fresh produce made up 55 percent of total sales. The remainder came from products such as meats, cheeses, jellies, bread, salsa, eggs, or honey.

“This past year, we saw several new farmers’ markets open, offering more opportunities for both customers and vendors,” said Kathy Jackson, DDA Marketing Specialist. “We also experienced

RECYCLE THE

a change in the length of our market season this year. With great weather and a bountiful growing season, consumers wanted to take advantage of all the fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other items that local farms had to offer. So, we had several established markets expand into late Fall to benefit both the consumer and the farmer.”

In 2021, 13 markets participated in the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and the Women, Infants, and Children Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.

The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program had its highest participation since Delaware began offering these benefits. Seven markets participated in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). These programs help expand access for low-income residents to purchase fresh local produce at Delaware farmers’ markets.

Delaware farmers’ markets are run locally by municipalities, business groups, farmers, or market associations.

The Department of Agriculture provides support and marketing assistance.

The 2022 market season will begin in April; most markets start operations in May and June. A current list of the 2021 markets is online at Delaware Grown, https://delawaregrown.com, and will be updated in late March for the 2022 season.

Farmers and others interested in becoming a vendor, or community groups interested in starting a local market, can contact Department of Agriculture marketing specialist Kathy Jackson at (302) 698-4625 or by email kathy.jackson@ delaware.gov

Gardener News SHOW IT TO A FRIEND

20 March 2022 In gardening, there is a term “wet feet” that refers to plants that can tolerate wet conditions.

Many gardeners in the area have issues in their garden whereby the soil does not drain properly because it might be the low part of the property. Another reason the soil might not drain properly is because of it being compacted by construction. Additionally, our native soils are clay-based which by nature are poorly drained. Furthermore, during construction decades ago, many housing subdivisions were built on naturally occurring springs and the soils are inherently wet.

All these potential issues can make it difficult to establish garden areas unless the plants are adapted to those condition and thrive in this type of environment.

In recent years rain gardens have become more and more popular. Their popularity has coincided with the heightened awareness around the use of native plants, those plants that serve ecological functions, and the need to mitigate stormwater runoff. Fortunately, there are many great plants that thrive in these conditions, most of which are native.

The following are some of my favorite trees for moist or wet conditions. While most oaks need well-drained soil, there are a few that take these conditions. The pink oak, Quercus palustris, is a good choice. The epithet “palustris”

GardenerNews.com Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

By Andrew Bunting Vice President of Public Gardens and Landscapes

“Wet Feet”

means “of the swamp.” The aptly named swamp white oak, Quercus bicolor, also makes a great street tree, and the finetextured willow oak, Quecus phellos, tolerates wet conditions and urban conditions. Both the pond cypress, Taxodium ascendens, and the baldcypress, Taxodium distichum, can grow in standing water, which is evident in the swamps of the southeastern parts of the United States, most notably the Okefenokee Swamp. These two deciduous conifers have needles that turn a brilliant copperyorange in the fall. Magnolias in general, like the oaks, prefer well-drained soil, however the sweetbay magnolia, Magnolia virginiana var. virginiana, is native to the swampy areas of the Pine Barrens, and Magnolia virginiana var. australis and its cultivars like ‘Henry Hicks,’ ‘Satellite’ and ‘Santa Rosa’ grow natively along the southeastern coastal plain and even into Cuba. The river birch is a native that can be found

along streams and lakes in its natural habitat. This fastgrowing birch has beautiful peeling bark. Heritage™ and Dura Heat™ are both very good selections.

Many excellent shrubs will grow in these areas too, including winterberry hollies.

These deciduous hollies have multi-stems to about 8-10 feet tall. Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’ has bright red fruits.

The fruits on ‘Winter Gold’ are salmon orange. The redstemmed dogwood or red-osier dogwood have many stems from the base of the shrub which provide exceptional winter interest. Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’ has striking soft orange stems in the winter.

In August, the summersweet, Clethra alnifolia, comes into full flower with an abundance of bottle-brush flowers that have a sweet fragrance. Most of the cultivars are white, however ‘Ruby Spice’ is pink.

One of my favorites for these conditions is the Virginia

sweetspire, Itea virgninica, which has goosenecked bottle brush flowers in May. In the fall the foliage turns burgundy.

‘Henry’s Garnet’ and ‘Merlot’ are popular cultivars, while Little Henry™ is a diminutive selection only reaching two feet tall. Also native to the waterways of the New Jersey Pine Barrens is native azalea, Rhododendron viscosum. In the spring, clusters of up to 12 sweetly scented flowers are borne. It is popular for the first returning Ruby-throat Hummingbirds.

There are a host of perennials that can also take wet conditions in the garden. Several ferns, including the Ostrich fern, Matteucia struthiopteris, and the Royal fern, Osmunda regalis, have upright, architectural fronds which will thrive in these conditions, and Osmundastrum cinnamomea, the cinnamon fern, has cooperycinnamon-like fronds in the fall. In recent years there has been considerable hybridizing

and selection work done with Hibisucus moscheutos, the rose mallow, which has large openfaced flowers in the summer.

Midnight Marvel™ only reaches three feet tall and has dark foliage with burgundy-red flowers, while Summerific® Berry Awesome has lavenderpink flowers with a dark center.

Editor’s Note: Andrew Bunting is Vice President of Public Gardens and Landscapes for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. He is one of the most recognized horticulturists in the Philadelphia, Pa., region and a highly regarded colleague in the world of professional horticulture.

Bunting has amassed a plethora of awards, including the American Public Gardens Association Professional Citation, Chanticleer Scholarship in Professional Development, Delaware Center for Horticulture’s Marion Marsh Award, and the Certificate of Merit from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

In addition, Bunting has lectured extensively throughout North America and Europe, and participated in plant expeditions throughout Asia and Africa. Learn more at https://phsonline.org/team/ andrew-bunting

New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s Intent to Restrict Certain Neonicotinoid Pesticide Products Plans to reclassify certain neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticide products as “Restricted Use” effective January 1, 2023.

Every pesticide product used, distributed, sold or offered for sale in New York must be registered by DEC. Mainly, pesticides are classified as either general or restricted use pesticides. Restricted use pesticides can only be used by a private or commercial certified applicator possessing NYS issued certification.

What are Neonicotinoid Pesticides or “Neonics”?

• Neurotoxic insecticides. Neonics affect the nerve cells of insects often causing paralysis and death of the insect.

• Systemic insecticides. Neonics are transported by water and absorbed throughout all parts of the plant including roots, foliage and flowers.

Why are Neonics harmful to pollinators?

• Honeybees, butterflies, beetles, birds and other pollinators are attracted to fruit and flowers. Pollen and nectar are major sources of food for these creatures. Plants and seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides have the ability to transport the insecticide to the fruiting

and flowering parts of the plant. Insect species come in contact with neonics during foraging and feeding activities.

New York is committed to protecting pollinator populations.

Pollinators contribute to the sustainability of our environment and play an important role in the health of our economy in agricultural production.

As such, DEC and NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets have collaborated to publish the 2020 New York State Pollinator Protection Plan Update (PDF) as an educational resource base for the public.

Restricting Neonicotinoid Pesticide Products Pesticide products containing imidacloprid, acetamiprid and thiamethoxam that are labeled for foliar, outdoor use and/or seed treatment will be reclassified as “restricted use” pesticides in NYS. This reclassification will ensure proper use by trained, licensed applicators and also require sales and use data of neonics to be annually reported to the DEC. For more information on the January 2023 reclassification of neonic pesticides, visit DEC’s Bureau of Pesticides Management webpage at https:// www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/298.html.

GardenerNews.com

March 2022 21 Unique Plants

By Bob LaHoff Nursery Specialist

Remembering My Friend’s Favorite Tree

On March 8, 2020, I lost one of my closest friends. Stephen Schuckman was not just my friend, he was a mentor and at one time my boss. Steve’s entire life, it seemed, revolved around the outdoors, and agriculture was a huge part of that. Whether it was his apiary skills, hiking in the Adirondack Mountains, managing Metropolitan Plant Exchange in West Orange, cofounding the Montclair Farmers’ Market, or acting as the horticultural manager for The Van Vleck House & Gardens, Steve’s passion for agriculture was obvious. A certified New Jersey arborist and continuing education instructor at Rutgers University, Steve often lectured on pruning and loved his trees! Our daily morning discussions would often begin with current events, but quickly turn to discussing our industry. At the heart of nearly every conversation was our shared tree-centric world.

Steve’s determination to use less conventional trees for municipal tree plantings, seeking out new and exciting cultivars, was refreshing. And a tree at the top of his list, perhaps impressing him the most, was one native to Iran and the Caucasus.

Persian Parrotia, Persian Ironwood or Irontree, Parrotia persica, is one of the “toughest” trees on the planet. A quintessential tree with an abundance of attributes, this smaller-statured tree has remarkable pest and disease resistance. Typical landscape stature is about 20-40 feet tall by 15-30 feet wide.

Certainly a formidable candidate for residential gardens, Parrotia is typically seen as a small to medium tree with an oval-rounded crown. In early spring as its leaves unfold, reddish-purple hues emerge on its leaves, changing to a

dark green in the warmer months.

As fall approaches, rich shades of yellow, crimson, rose-pink, purple and maroon are expected, but not guaranteed. Leaves reminiscent of witchhazel and beech, complete with wavy, scalloped edges, provide great texture, particularly when paired against conifers. The maturing bark of Persian Parrotia develops exfoliating gray, green and white segments or patchwork.

Mosaic patterns remind many who adore conifers of Lacebark Pine, Pinus bungeana. The flowers of Irontree develop in late February and March before its leaves emerge. A harbinger of spring, one can expect small, curious redanthered, spidery flowers with slight yellow markings. Flowers without petals (apetalous), you have to look closely for these tiny gems or you could miss them.

Regardless, it’s an attribute worth looking for. The flowers, for me, are a sort of barometer that Spring is almost here while also reminding me of my friendship with Steve.

“The genus name honors Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot (17921841), a German naturalist and traveler who climbed Mount Ararat in 1834,” (Missouri Botanical Garden). Classified in the witchhazel family, I have read reports of the genus name being inspired by colorful tropical birds, readings I find comical.

Nonetheless, Parrotia appreciates full to partial sun and is “hardy” in zones (4)5-8. Well-rooted specimens seem to survive drought, heat, wind, cold, and clay soil types, even being embedded in parking lots surrounded by concrete and asphalt.

Even though Parrotia persica, in its own right, will not overwhelm most residential landscapes, there are a handful of

noteworthy cultivars today whose stature is more svelte. ‘Persian Spire’ is a columnar to uprightoval form that would fit nicely into snug areas where a strong vertical line is called for. ‘Ruby Vase’, while described with the same outline, academically, is a bit more rotund. ‘Vanessa’, the cultivar we chose for our personal garden, hails from Holland and is another upright form, but with more density. Finally, ‘Burgundy’ has its young foliage emerging purple and its fall color holding deep burgundy tones, although it is closer in size to the species.

Perhaps it’s the anniversary of my friends passing this month that prompted me to write about Parrotia. Perhaps it’s the flowers forming outside our upstairs bathroom window right now that I have been steadfastly watching for. “In the face of climate change, disappearing global biodiversity, and an increasingly urban human population, striving for diversity in the trees species we chose to plant on our streets and in our parks and gardens will become ever more important. A richer, more diverse collection of trees around us is healthier (better able to avoid plagues of insects and diseases), more diverting to the eye, and more refreshing to the spirit.

We can all do our part to learn more about and plant underused, undeservedly rare trees, like Persian Ironwood,” (Matt Ritter: Professor in the Biology Department and director of the Plant Conservatory at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo). Mr. Ritter’s words, to this writer, are as articulate as they are poignant, posing the argument to use all types of plants from around the globe responsibly in our landscapes.

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, past member of Reeves-Reed Arboretum Buildings and Grounds Committee, a lifetime member of the Conifer Society and past member of the retail council for Monrovia Growers.

He can be reached at (908) 665-0331.

EPA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Further Extend Certification of Pesticide Applicators Rule Deadline The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule seeking public comment on the need to extend the deadline up to but no longer than November 4, 2024 for states, territories, tribes and federal agencies with existing certification plans to comply with the updated federal standards under the 2017 Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule.

The 2017 Certification of Pesticide Applicators final rule set stronger standards for people who apply restricted use pesticides (RUPs) and required that states, territories, tribes and federal agencies with existing certification plans submit proposed modifications by March 4, 2020, to comply with the updated federal standards. In December 2021, EPA issued an interim final rule extending the existing plans’ expiration deadline from March 4, 2022, to November 4, 2022, due to the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the complexity of plans, and the need for careful review of program-specific issues and questions.

EPA is requesting comments on the potential need to further extend the expiration date of existing certification plans which would allow for certifying authorities that need more time to respond to EPA comments and prepare approvable certification plans. Also, EPA will have more time to work with the certifying authorities to assure that their proposed certification plan modifications meet current federal standards without interruption to Federal, State, territory, and tribal certification programs or to those who are certified to use RUPs under those programs.

EPA has reviewed all proposed plan modifications and is making progress on sending agency comments to certifying authorities (states, territories, tribes and other federal agencies). To date, EPA has completed 55 final reviews of the 68 plans submitted by certifying authorities.

Comments submitted on the interim final rule and on this proposed rule will be used to inform a further extension. The comment period for the proposed rule is open for 30 days in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0831 at www.regulations.gov.

First Day of Spring Sunday, March 20, 2022

Full Moon March 18, 2022 Eastern Daylight

22 March 2022

GardenerNews.com

New Jersey’s 2022 Outstanding Young Farmer (Continued from page 1)

the industry, which allows for a more gentle processing of the fruit and a focus on quality over quantity. Beneduce offers a range of wine styles to suit every palate, though his main concentration is on aromatically intense, foodfriendly wines.

Beneduce gained experience working at Sawmill Creek Vineyards in the Finger Lakes region of New York, where he was trained in the arts of pruning and canopy management by a fourth-generation grape grower. He is a Certified Sommelier under the Court of Master Sommeliers and remains an active professional member of the international gastronomic society the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.

“It’s humbling to receive this award and be on the same list as so many others who are respected for what they’re doing in the agricultural

industry across the country,” Beneduce said. “Wine grapes represent one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture in the Garden State, because they’re well adapted to our climate and can produce a viable business on the small tracts of farmland we often have to work with here.”

He volunteers on the Board of Trustees for America’s Grow-A-Row, a nonprofit farm dedicated to sustainably growing and donating fresh produce to people in need.

He sits on the Agricultural Advisory Committee for the New Jersey Highlands Council and has served as Chairman of the Garden State Winegrowers Association.

Beneduce has developed his vineyard and winery into a destination location not only locally, but nationally as well,” said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. “His

education and background have allowed him to become a premium example of how a younger person in agriculture can reach great heights. His vision and dedication are examples of the assets that many of our younger farmers possess that will keep New Jersey agriculture at the forefront.”

The Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) program is the oldest farmer recognition program in the United States, with the first group of national winners selected in 1955. The goals of the OYF program are: to foster better urban-rural relations through the understanding of farmers’ challenges, as well as the appreciation of their contributions and achievements; to bring about a greater interest in farmers/ranchers; and to help build an urban awareness of the farmers’ importance

and impact on America’s economy.

The OYF program encourages a greater interest in agriculture and recognizes local citizens’ contributions.

The National OYF program is sponsored by Deere & Company, administered by the Outstanding Farmers of America Fraternity, and supported by the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, the National Association of Conservation Districts, and the US Junior Chamber of Commerce.

David DeFrange, president of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, presented the award to Beneduce at the 107th State Agriculture Convention in Atlantic City on Wednesday, February 9, 2022.

A family farm since 2000, the vineyard was first planted in 2009, and opened to the

public in 2012.

Beneduce Vineyards, located at 1 Jeremiah Lane in Pittstown, was named one of the top 25 vineyards in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure, and the No. 4 winery in the U.S.

by Tasting Table.

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, landscaping and nursery communities through this newspaper and GardenerNews.com.

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March 2022 23 B o B c a t. c o m / L a r g e e x c a va t o r s B o B c a t. c o m / L a r g e e x c a va t o r s

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