Gardener News October 2016

TAKE ONE

Gardener News Serving the Agricultural, Gardening and Landscaping Communities

October, 2016

GARDENERNEWS.COM

TAKE ONE No. 162

A Day Spent Appreciating Central Park’s Central Perks

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Bethesda Fountain, in Central Park, N.Y., with the famous Angel of the Waters statue atop. The statue references the Gospel of John, which describes an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda and giving it healing powers. The fountain commemorates the Croton water system, which first brought fresh water to New York City in 1842.

By Bob Lahoff Featured Columnists Those of you who remember the popular sitcom Friends, I’m sure, remember the iconic coffee shop “Central Perk.” A play on words, this article has nothing to do with Gunther and the rest of the cast of

Friends, and everything to do with Central Park and its many green inhabitants.

One of the many words used to define the word “perk” is “privileges.”

Wednesday, July 27, of this year was one of those magical days that will stay with me forever! This was yet another installment of my friend, wingman and

horticultural demigod John Stella and me on a most excellent adventure looking at trees. The call came to me just a few days before when John said, “Can you get away for the afternoon on Wednesday?” John and I do this sort of thing from time to time and, I don’t believe, we have ever turned the other one down.

Central Park is just one of John’s many clients.

John sells large trees, in some cases huge trees, to many prominent arboretums, parks, landscape architects/ designers, private residences and garden centers throughout the country. July 27 was a chance to see some of his “babies” installed and an opportunity to tour

privately some of Central Park’s oldest and most grand trees, as well as the surrounding architecture.

Central Park’s design was the collaborative effort of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

“The design of Central Park embodies Olmsted’s social consciousness and commitment (Cont. on page 22)

2 October, 2016

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

Plan Your Fall Landscape With Us! Pumpkins & Gourds Corn Stalks Garden Mums Fall Decorations Hay & Straw Harvest Baskets Scarecrows

All Grown in our Family Owned Greenhouses

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October, 2016 3

4 October, 2016 You have a story, don’t you, of a time when a tree was at the center of an event in your life?

Really, think about it, and I know you’ll come up with something. Perhaps it’s the time you fell out of a large tree in the back yard and got bruised up a bit. Maybe you were proposed marriage to under a large canopied tree.

Or you could have camped out under a majestic oak, maple or sycamore on a midsummer night, and you remember just sitting around telling stories.

The memories are there, even sometimes after the trees are not, but often are buried under the weight of just conducting our daily lives.

I recently read about the Holy Oak in Basking Ridge.

This tree is more than 600 years in age, and is considered to be the oldest white oak in North America, perhaps even the world. It is said that General George Washington and his friend, the Marquis de Lafayette, picnicked beneath the trees boughs. Talk about memories!

Down in Salem County, there is another old oak that people point to where John

GardenerNews.com NJ Dept. of Agriculture

By Douglas H. Fisher Secretary of Agriculture

The Allure of Trees Fenwick signed a treaty with the local Native American Lenni -Lenape tribes. Major happenings all marked by a site where a tree came into view and through which life is still growing.

People become attached to these living wonders and for good reason. First there are the symbolic meanings that people associate with the tree. Thoughts come to mind that connect our being with countless images and associations, like the tree of life, with roots extending deep into the earth, and branches, leaves and flowers reaching for the sky.

People speak of human qualities when they attach meaning to the life cycle of a tree, starting with the planting of seeds, of fight for survival, and the period of well-rooted

endurance as a tree matures into a period that mimics the wisdom of its environment.

Aside from the mystical nature, there is a very practical aspect of these plant-life marvels. Trees provide vital wildlife habitat. They also remove pollution from the atmosphere while improving air quality and human health.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, in a recent survey in Baltimore, Md., there was a 12 percent decrease in crime when corresponded to a 10 percent increase in tree canopy.

Countless studies like this point to less graffiti, vandalism and littering when trees are included as part of the natural landscape, as opposed to plantless spaces (University of Washington).

One large tree, according to North Carolina State

Look Who’s Reading the Gardener News!

It’s in the news

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Kings Food Markets President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Durante looks over the September Gardener News in the Kings Short Hills Food Market.

Kings Food Markets is an upscale food market chain headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., with stores in northern New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. The food market offers gourmet meats, seafood, fine meats and cheeses, bakery foods, and fresh produce. It also provides organic products, beverage and coffee, breakfast products, canned items, condiments and oils, dairy products, entrees, frozen products, pasta, sauces and marinades, sides, sandwiches, salads, soups, snacks and sweets.

University, can provide a day’s supply of oxygen for up to four people. One tree! A mature tree will absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen in its place. Of course, I could recite amazing and extraordinary benefits, but I would just be saying, essentially, what most anyone knows intuitively.

So why am I going on here? Because I really, really think it’s important for you to help the next generation think about a tree, a grove, a forest as something to be experienced in the physical world and not the cyber, or cartoon, realms. Take your kids out and put them in places that they too can look back over the years and think about their natural experiences with these magnificent marvels of nature.

Don’t forget, too, that if you plant a tree now, whether from seed or sapling, you are doing your part in what we hope is everyone’s quest to leave a better world behind. Trees do so much that we should not take them for granted.

I started this article asking you to think back and conjure up these images that are buried in you. I asked a number of people their thoughts on a time with a tree in the picture and invariably they laughed for a second but then talked effusively about their particular memories. Try it, and savor the thoughts. You’ll be amazed at what comes to mind.

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

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

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October, 2016 5

6 October, 2016

RUTGERS NJAES/RCE

Rutgers Master Gardener Applications Available The Rutgers Master Gardener program of Hunterdon County is now accepting applications for review. The upcoming Class of 2017 will begin on January 17, 2017. Classes will be held at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension office located in the Route 12 County Complex on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 am to 12:45 pm.

The Rutgers Master Gardener volunteers are men and women of diverse backgrounds, experiences, talents and skills who, after receiving horticultural training and certification by Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension, share their knowledge with their community through many varied volunteer activities.

The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Hunterdon County is a volunteer program that assists Rutgers Cooperative Extension in its mission to deliver horticultural information to the public.

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

For more information about the program, contact Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Hunterdon County at (908) 788-1338.

Rutgers 250 Celebrated in a Corn Maze!

Stony Hill Farms in Chester, New Jersey is one of several New Jersey farms that are honoring Rutgers’ 250th anniversary with a Corn Maze design. Stony Hill’s maze features the Scarlet Knight mascot and R250!

Replete with five bridges, game sheets and decoder glasses, a journey through the maze teaches about what Rutgers and its New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) have done to help and influence New Jersey agriculture. This includes information about NJAES plant researchers testing new varieties of corn and breeding other crops for hardiness to resist both diseases and pests, as well as heat and drought tolerance, and cold hardiness.

The Maze features facts, images and a game sheet of NJAES Rutgers 250 All-Star Varieties such as the Rutgers 250 tomato, Rutgers Scarlet™ strawberry, TangOs® peach, dogwood and more.

This is Stony Hill Farm’s 15th Annual Corn Maze and Fun Park with exciting activities for everyone including a Giant Corn Maze, Mini Corn Maze, Rope Maze, Tile Maze, Barnyard Board Game, Noah’s Ark Playground and more.

Located at 15 North Road in Chester the Farm will be open 10am-5pm daily from September 3 through November 13 (closed on Labor Day) and will have extended hours every Saturday in October, 10am-8pm.

A 2016 Northeast Regional Urban Extension Conference Join the Rutgers Cooperative Extension in building collaborative partnerships across university, community, and civic leaders!

This two-day conference will provide opportunities to build collaborative partnerships, examine emerging urban issues, discover innovative technology for outreach, explore innovative funding practices, and address the challenges of urban programming. This regional conference will convene Cooperative Extension professionals, governmental officials, community organizations, and local stakeholders around the following themes developed by the National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL): Strengthen Communities, Protect the Environment, Improve our Health, Enrich the Youth, and Feed our Future.

Registration is now open! Register today at $195 per person on/before October 15, 2016 and $225 per person after October 15th. Visit http://www.cpe.rutgers.edu/urbanext/ to learn more and register for this event hosted at the Rutgers UniversityNewark Paul Robeson Campus Center!

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From the Director’s Desk

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

Are Neonicotinoid Insecticides Responsible for Pollinator Decline and Should They Be Banned?

Populations of honeybees and wild pollinators have been declining over recent years. But what exactly are the causes of this decline? Environmental groups point to insecticides as major culprits, and particularly the group of neonicotinoid insecticides that have been widely used for well over 20 years.

But experts tend to agree that neonicotinoid insecticides are fairly low on the list of factors playing a role in the decline.

The prevailing consensus among researchers is that by far the most significant factor in honey bee decline is the spread of the Varroa mite (note the scientific name: Varroa destructor) and associated diseases that it transmits. Moreover, there are many other risks associated with how honey bees are managed. Large numbers of honey bee hives, an agricultural commodity, are trucked across the country to pollinate crops like almonds in California, blueberries in the East, and so on; crops that often don’t provide good nutrition for the bees. This process can be stressful for the bees. Also, honey bees lack much genetic diversity. All these factors contribute to greater susceptibility to mites, diseases, and other negative dynamics. Another significant factor in pollinator decline, and especially with native bees, is habitat loss.

Much of the misinformation that has stimulated the recent public outcry for the ban of neonicotinoid insecticides is based on two issues: 1) Some seriously flawed research implicating neonicotinoids in pollinator decline was published in a pay-for-publication, low impact journal by non-entomologists. Findings as important as these, if based on sound research, would have been published in higher quality peer-reviewed journals, perhaps even in Nature or Science.

2) Irresponsible workers applied a neonicotinoid directly on trees filled with foraging bumblebees in a shopping mall parking lot. This violated the directions for use on the label of any insecticide that is potentially damaging to pollinators. Clear instructions indicate not to apply to flowering plants and/or plants in which pollinators are foraging.

Banning neonicotinoids because of such incidents is akin to banning cars because people die in motor vehicle accidents. However, as a result, insecticide labels now contain a ‘bee box’, making the instructions more readily seen and read before application.

So, while some good outcomes are derived from the activity of groups against the use of neonicotinoid insecticides, the focus of environmental groups on neonicotinoids has been damaging with respect to resolving the honey bee and pollinator decline challenge. Unfortunately, by drawing attention away from the primary causes of poor honey bee health, sick honey bees continue to interact in the landscape as disease vectors to other species of bees. If we can solve the Varroa/virus problem, this should help honey bees and native bees, as well. The long-term solution to pollinator health is to support a multipronged research and extension program to restore the health of honey bee populations and thereby protect native bees.

Some people argue that even if neonicotinoids only play a minor role in bee decline, banning them would at least help somewhat. However, neonicotinoids would likely be replaced by older insecticides that are more toxic to vertebrates and many invertebrate predators and parasites of pests and the pollinators themselves. Additionally, the management of highly destructive invasive insect pests like emerald ash borer, Asian longhorn beetle, or hemlock wooly adelgid would be even more difficult without neonicotinoids, and likely more damaging to pollinator populations. The emerald ash borer is now in New Jersey, and within a few years will kill most ash trees throughout the state that are not being protected.

What can you do to minimize any potential negative effects of using neonicotinoids in garden and landscape management? In turfgrass it is pretty simple since the grass itself does not attract pollinators: a) mow the grass before application to remove any blossom of flowering weeds, b) use granular insecticides that cannot contaminate blossoms, c) consider using Acelepryn® for control of white grubs and caterpillar pests, as this insecticide from the group of anthranilic diamides has been shown to be very safe for pollinators.

For other landscape plants, the issues are a bit more complicated due to the multitude of different flowering plants. Here, certain neonicotinoids do have the potential to negatively affect pollinators. The following are excellent online sources of information on how to improve pollinator health in the urban landscape: Pollinator Health Concerns, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/pollinator-health-concerns#factors How to protect and increase pollinators in your landscape, Michigan State University Extension http://bit.ly/IPMpollinators Finally, home gardeners and landscapers can do their part by providing a variety of flowering plants that produce nectar and pollen in the garden all season long. Selecting, planting and caring for trees and shrubs to avoid the need for pesticides is also a good strategy.

Editor’s Note: This month’s column is written by Albrecht M. Koppenhöfer, Extension Specialist in Entomology, Department of Entomology, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

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RUTGERS NJAES/RCE

A Tree of Many Stories

Ginkgo biloba! To most individuals, those two words signify a pill that reduces memory loss and mitigates coronary issues. However, to the plant lover, it represents not only the tree from which that pill is derived, but also a tree that has numerous stories to tell.

Ginkgo biloba is a large shade tree native to Eastern China, which often reaches heights of 80 to 100 feet tall and over 100 feet across after 150 years. Commonly called the Maidenhair Tree, its first story revolves around its earthly age. Despite resembling a typical shade tree like an oak or a maple, it is actually more closely related to the ancient Cycads, with Ginkgo fossils dating back over 270 million years.

In fact, it is the only remaining member of its family, the Ginkgoaceae!

This ancient plant was described and named by

Carl Linnaeus in 1771.

Linnaeus based the genus name on a mispronunciation of its Japanese name by Engelbert Kaempfer (16511716), a German naturalist and physician who described plants from Persia to SouthEast Asia and Japan. During a trip to Japan in 1690, Kaempfer misunderstood the English translation of this tree to be Ginkyo rather than Ginnan. The species epithet of biloba was provided by Linnaeus and comes from the Latin “bis,” or two, and “loba,” for leaf, referring to the twice-lobed foliage.

Its earthly age is the source of numerous additional stories.

The plants are dioecious, with specific plants sporting pollen producing male flowers and others female flowers and seeds. In and of itself, that is not unique, since numerous more advanced plants are also dioecious, such as hollies.

What is unusual is that once the pollen from the male flower is windblown to the female, the male gametophyte, or sperm, carried within the

pollen granule produces two tails, or flagella, that allow it to swim a short distance to the egg or female gametophyte, much like the more primitive ferns and mosses.

The pollen from pines and conifers that developed subsequently lack flagella and developed pollen tubes, an advancement that was also adopted by flowering plants more than 100 million years later. Lastly, the story of its age is expressed by its vascular system; similar to pines and other ancient gymnosperms, water is transferred from the roots to the tree top by Tracheid Cells, which are long, thin-walled cells that lack any openings at the cell ends for water passage; water merely moves slowly up the tree by passing through the cell walls.

By contrast, flowering trees like oaks and maples have additional watertransferring cells called “sieve tubes,” with openings at the ends of the cells that allow water to proceed upward more quickly. The later is obviously

Rain Garden Rebate Program The Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Water Resources Program partnered with the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA) Watershed Protection Program in 2013 to launch the Rain Garden Rebate Program. To date, the Rain Garden Rebate Program has educated over 130 attendees about rain gardens, created 99 unique rain garden designs for 84 properties, and as a result 31 rain gardens have been installed on 26 properties within the eligible rebate area of Bridgewater, Hillsborough, Raritan Borough and Somerville. In 2016, rebates for properties in the Royce Brook Watershed have been awarded by a 319(h) grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Under a National Fish and Wildlife grant, the RCE Water Resources Program was able to provide an educational and design session in Berkeley Heights. The Berkeley Heights Environmental Commission received a grant from Sustainable Jersey to provide rebates to those Berkeley Heights attendees who installed their rain gardens. Our first homeowner to install a rain garden in Berkeley Heights hired young entrepreneurs Plow Mow Yard (PMY), who came knocking on the door looking to mow the homeowner’s lawn. The boys in return gained more than they were looking for; knowledge of stormwater management and hands on education on how to install a rain garden. The transfer of knowledge is a beautiful thing!

Rutgers Department of Food Science Celebrates its 70th Birthday With one professor, one room, and two support staffers, the Department of Food Science opened its doors in 1946 to bring food-related science, education, and research to Rutgers. This year, the department celebrates its 70th anniversary…and its incredible evolution.

Looking back at the history of the Department of Food Science is much like hopping in a time machine and taking a journey through our culture’s relationship with food. In its earliest days—the late 1940s and early 1950s—researchers in the department focused primarily on food processing and canning technology, says professor and former chair Mukund Karwe. Slowly but surely, around the late 1990s and early 2000s, emphasis began to shift onto natural products and the natural functionality of foods (think of the health-boosting lycopene in a tomato for one example). Today, the emphasis has shifted yet again, and this time it’s onto food safety, food microbiology, and nutrition.

Take it from Donald Schaffner, extension specialist and distinguished professor in the department: bacteria touches everyone. “Bacteria don’t care whether they’re in your kitchen or in a food processing plant,” he says. “The work we do stretches from making sure that the food is safe in your kitchen, to making sure that restaurants, supermarkets, and food processors of all sizes are safe.”

Some of the research focuses on nutritional aspects of food, like the 1992 findings that green tea boasts antioxidant benefits. (Look no further than supermarket shelves stocked with everything from green tea ice cream to green tea powders for proof that this benefit is invaluable in today’s food industry.)

Going forward, the department has a clear and distinct charge: to be an internationally recognized and student-centered program for innovative education and research, focused on global concerns of hunger and obesity.

superior when water is ample, but during prolonged periods of limited rainfall, a predominance of the Tracheid Cells allows the plant to “rule.”

Its tough constitution was also evident after the bombing of Hiroshima during World War II; six trees that were located near the epicenter of the bomb blast were severely burned, but re-leafed and continue to grow to this day.

The female trees and the resulting nuts have a story that is both a blessing and a curse. The nuts have an outer fleshy coating containing high levels of butyric acid, which not only smells like vomit, but can create a dermatological reaction similar to poison ivy.

By contrast, the nut is highly prized for its taste and health benefits in Asian cuisine. It takes upwards of 40 years before the sex of a seedling plant is known, so it is often best to purchase a grafted male selection if a female plants is not desired.

For the New Jersey gardener, the best story is the beautiful habit created by

October, 2016 7 the upright web of dancing branches that develops over time and the golden yellow fall color. Mystically, all the golden foliage falls during the morning following the first hard frost, creating a rather romantic rain of golden leaves. Best planted in full sun in a moist yet well-drain soil, this denizen of years long gone has many stories fit for a New Jersey garden.

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

5ඎඍ඀ൾඋඌ &ඈඈඉൾඋൺඍංඏൾ (එඍൾඇඌංඈඇ 3ඁඈඇൾ 'ංඋൾർඍඈඋඒ Atlantic County Phone: 609-625-0056 Bergen County Phone: 201-336-6780 Burlington County Phone: 609-265-5050 Camden County Phone: 856 216 7130 Cape May County Phone: 609-465-5115 Cumberland County Phone: 856-451-2800 Essex County Phone: 973-228-2210 Gloucester County Phone: 856-307-6450 Hudson County Phone: 201-915-1399 Hunterdon County Phone: 908-788-1339 Mercer County Phone: 609-989-6830

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

8 October, 2016

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USDA Survey to Focus on Farm Labor During the second half of October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct its biannual Farm Labor Survey. NASS will reach out to more than 1,400 producers to accurately measure hired labor on Northeastern farms.

“Farm labor is a key component of the entire agricultural economy,” said King Whetstone, director of the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office. “Farmers who respond to the survey provide timely, relevant data that farmers, associations, and leaders in the public and private sectors use to make all sorts of important policy and business decisions.”

USDA and the Department of Labor will use the statistics obtained from farmers to help establish minimum wage rates for agricultural workers, administer farm labor recruitment and placement service programs, and assist legislators in determining labor policies.

The survey asks participants to provide information about farm labor on their operations, including total number of hired farm workers, hours worked, and wage rates paid for the weeks of October 9-15 and July 10-16, 2016. For their convenience, survey participants will have the option to respond online at www. agcounts.usda.gov or by mail. NASS will compile, analyze and publish survey results in the Farm Labor report, to be released on November 17, 2016.

“Participating in this survey is a convenient and effective way for farmers to guide potential labor and economic policies, locally in their very own communities, as well as at the national level.

Policymakers use Farm Labor report data to inform their reasoning and decisions, so I encourage farmers to take advantage of this opportunity help provide them with accurate data,” said Whetstone.

All farm labor reports are available online at http://bit.ly/ FarmLabor. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office at 1-800-498-1518.

Delicious Jersey Fresh Produce is Everywhere

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Jersey Fresh produce, such as basil, cilantro, corn, dill, mint, and parsley from Vineland, Cumberland County, New Jersey farmers is proudly sold in upstate New York at the Freshtown Marketplace in Margaretville, Delaware County.

Andrew Ramos, left, and Jacob Johnson are seen promoting the Garden State’s bounty in the market’s produce aisle.

Jersey Fresh is an advertising, promotional and quality grading program launched in 1984 to help farmers inform consumers about the availability and variety of fruits and vegetables grown in New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture has continually worked to bring Jersey Fresh to all who want it. Farmers in the Garden State produce more than 100 different kinds of fruits and vegetables for consumers to enjoy either fresh or processed in New Jersey and elsewhere in the Northeast, in Canada and in many countries around the world.

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October, 2016 9

Around The Garden

By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

4 FOR $19.99

Organic Survey and Agritourism

First and foremost, I thought that I would share with you the latest information on organics, since I am not a fan of chemicals.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently released the results of the 2015 Certified Organic Survey, which show that 12,818 certified organic farms in the United States sold a total of $6.2 billion in organic products in 2015, up 13 percent from $5.5 billion in 2014. California and Wisconsin had the largest number of certified organic farms with 2,637 and 1,205, respectively.

The top 10 states in terms of sales accounted for 78 percent of total U.S. certified organic sales in 2014 and in 2015, showing continued national leadership by California with $2.4 billion, up $205 million since 2014. Additionally, the industry shows potential for growth in production, as existing producers are transitioning another 151,000 acres nationally to organic production.

The selection of certified organic products sold by U.S. farms in 2015 was diverse, from dairy and meats, to fruits, vegetables and grains. The value of sales from livestock and poultry products led the way ($1.9 billion); followed by vegetables ($1.4 billion); fruits, tree nuts, and berries ($1.2 billion); livestock and poultry ($743 million), and field crops ($660 million). The top-five commodities in certified organic sales were: Milk, $1.2 billion, up 8.4 percent from $1.1 billion in 2014; Eggs, $732 million, up 74.5 percent from $420 million in 2014; Broiler chickens, $420 million, up 13.1 percent from $371 million in 2014; Apples, $302 million, up 20 percent from $251 million in 2014; and Lettuce, $262 million, down less than 1 percent from $264 million in 2014.

The vast majority of certified organic agricultural products sold in 2015 were sold close to the farm or ranch, with many growers having multiple outlets. The first point of sale for 75 percent of all U.S. organic farms and ranches was within 100 miles from the farm and 35 percent was 100 to 499 miles away, virtually unchanged since 2014.

Additionally, 71 percent of U.S. certified organic farms and ranches reported selling products to wholesale markets. Wholesale markets, such as buyers for supermarkets, processors, distributors, packers and cooperatives, were serving as the marketing channel of choice for U.S. organic farmers and ranchers to get their products to customers. Thirty-six percent sold directly to consumers and 22 percent sold directly to retail markets and institutions.

The 2015 Certified Organic Survey is a census of all operations identified as having certified organic production. Certified organic farms must meet the standards set out by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) and be certified compliant by an approved agent of NOP. Second I’m going to share a bit on agritourism.

October is truly a farm family month, with corn mazes, hay rides, pumpkin patches and pick-yourown.

Lots of people wonder what agritourism means. Well, there is no universally accepted definition of agritourism. In fact, various terms have evolved to represent the business of inviting the public onto farms for recreational enjoyment or education. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture defines agritourism broadly as the business of establishing farms as travel destinations for educational and recreational purposes.

In order to remain economically viable, many farms take advantage of the rural and outdoor appeal of the farm and have developed entertainment attractions which offer visitors a “farm experience.”

In that past couple of years, I have visited three farms that offer a real New Jersey farm experience in the fall.

The first is Melick’s Town Farm at 19 King Street in Oldwick, Hunterdon County. Here you can enjoy a hay wagon ride in and out of their apple orchards while eating some of their famous roasted corn and sipping on some good old-fashioned apple cider. You can also enjoy a glass of their new hard cider.

I’ve purchased several bottles to bring home. Yum! You can even visit with Gardener News featured columnist and farmer Peter Melick here.

The second is Wightman’s Farms at 1111 Mount Kimble Ave (Rt. 202 North) in Morristown, Morris County. This farm offers a hay maze, a corn maze, a rope maze a labyrinth maze and a paver maze. This year they have expanded their famous pumpkin sling shot. If you visit the farm on any given weekend in October, you might have me as your scenic hay wagon tractor driver, as I drive around their apple orchards and mountain tops. I love their cider donuts.

The third is Beneduce Vineyards at 1 Jeremiah Lane in Pittstown, Hunterdon County. Climbing into a red wagon, driven by a legendary, red Farmall tractor for a ride around a meticulously maintained vineyard is breathtaking and educational. Make sure to stop by their tasting room for a relaxing, informal and enjoyable experience. They have plenty of seating inside the tasting room or outside on their beautiful stone patio. Feel free to kick back and enjoy their wines by the glass or bottle. My favorite is their Cabernet Franc.

Please remember one thing when you are visiting any farm experience activity. Open-toe shoes should not be worn on any farm. Closed-toe shoes are the safest bet. The famers will really appreciate it.

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

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

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

"Drop and Swap"

10 October, 2016 Wow! It was an amazing summer season this year. And Jersey Fresh is still in season.

Thanks to everyone who came down to enjoy our beautiful beaches and beach towns.

Without your support, many businesses down here wouldn’t survive.

Most beach communities survive on the tourist industry, which allows us to live down here year-round.

The whole “benny” thing is ridiculous and should be thrown in the garbage. It is an old term used for people from up north. It’s completely outdated and so lame. We are not going to dwell on that, though.

We are now into football season. YES! I love watching football, especially college. There are quite a few “typical” football foods out there.

I feel that chicken wings might be on the top of those foods. Chicken wings have come a long way. Years ago, butchers would almost give them Everyone likes to complain that there are too many regulations. Ask anyone who has just completed a building project or some type of significant financial transaction how things went, and I bet that the conversation will start with “You wouldn’t believe all of the permits I needed to get,” or “You should see all of the forms that I had to fill out,” or “All I wanted to do was put in a hot tub and it took me six months just to get the permits.”

Phrases such as these are becoming more and more commonplace here in the Garden State.

While there are many industries that are very heavily regulated, I would bet that there are few industries that are as regulated as agriculture.

Sure, there are industries such as finance, banking, healthcare and medical marijuana, just to name a few, that are watched over by different governmental agencies. But in terms of the sheer number of agencies that one industry has to deal with, you would be hard pressed to find another industry that has to deal with as many regulatory agencies as agriculture.

GardenerNews.com From the Deep

By Craig Korb Executive Chef

Winging our way into football season away for their lack of usage. Nowadays, they cost more than chicken breasts!

They are the canvas for many chicken wing connoisseurs.

Immortalized in Buffalo, N.Y., they have become a staple of the American diet. They can be fried, broiled, grilled, etc.

Personally, I can eat about 15 per sitting, which unfortunately could explain my larger than normal gut. I prefer them fried, hot sauced and dipped in chunky homemade blue cheese dressing. I also enjoy them plenty of other ways, as well as traditional Buffalo style.

We do a garlicparmesan wing at the

restaurant which is quite delicious as well. First we fry the wing, then we toss it with butter, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic and a nice sprinkling of parmesan cheese. There are also plenty of other “pre-made” sauces that are delicious as well. The recipe I will be writing about his month is a grilled Asian style wing that is super flavorful and great with a good football game.

There could still be some of the ingredients for this recipe in your garden. Cilantro and garlic come to mind. One of the most important things is to purchase a good wing. Preferably a free-range or organic

chicken wing. These may cost a bit more, but I truly believe they are of much better quality. The marinade is key and they should be marinated at least three hours, if not overnight. You can dip them in ranch or just eat them plain off the grill.

I hope you enjoy them and look forward to next month for another football season-inspired recipe, I’m thinking clam chili!

Thai style chicken wings (serves a few or more depending!)

2 lbs. chicken wings 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce 1 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. minced ginger 1 tsp. chopped

The Town Farmer

By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

Regulations First of all, you have to start with local government. Here in New Jersey, the municipal government is tasked with a multitude of ways to regulate its citizens. Construction permits are given at the local level.

And this includes all of the other building trades, such as plumbing and electrical, which all require permits for any type of construction. If you happen to farm in a historical zone, any building permit also requires approval from the historical commission as well. Zoning is also regulated at the local level.

Does your farm have employees? If it does, then there is the Department of Labor and OSHA to deal with.

All motor vehicles are covered by the State Department of Motor Vehicles. If they travel to other states, then they

also fall under the federal Department of Transportation.

Does your farm use scales?

Then you must answer to the county Weights and Measures Department.

Environmental regulation is probably the one area that affects farms and farmers the most. And because farmers here in New Jersey are more and more in the minority, they are often subject to the wrath of these regulations, no matter how well intentioned or innocuous they seemed at their inception. The federal Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, governs the whole country. Then there is also the State Department of Environmental Protection. And if you are unfortunate enough to live in either the Highlands or Pinelands areas of New Jersey, there is another layer

of bureaucracy that has to be dealt with. Then there are also the environmental regulations that occur at the local level.

Luckily for farmers here in New Jersey, the State does have a Right to Farm Law. In very broad terms, this gives farmers and agricultural operations certain exemptions and latitudes when it comes to generally acceptable agricultural practices, with the general provision that the public’s health and safety must not be compromised.

And while I feel that New Jersey farmers would be lost without this law, they are still susceptible to the ire of some of these other regulatory bodies until someone decides that the Right to Farm Law does in fact, take precedence.

But there is a funny thing about regulations. I bet

cilantro 1 tsp. light olive oil or vegetable oil 1 tsp. fish sauce 1 pinch red pepper flakes 1 tsp. rice vinegar pinch sugar *juice of 1 lime for after grilling Method- whisk all ingredients, except chicken wings in a small bowl and place in a large Ziploc style bag with the wings, marinate three hours or overnight for best flavor - grill on a medium hot grill until cooked through - serve with lime wedges.

ENJOY! Editor’s Note: Craig Korb is executive chef at The Crab’s Claw Inn, Lavallette, New Jersey. He has an Associates degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelors degree in Food Service Management from Johnson and Wales University. For more information visit www.TheCrabsClaw.com or phone (732) 793-4447. that if I took a poll among New Jersey residents, a huge majority would say that there is too much bureaucracy and too many regulations and that their excess is holding back our economy. But then if their neighbor started constructing something that blocked their view or expanded a property that increased traffic flow or something else along these same lines, then there would be an outcry of a different sort.

It would then be, “We need more rules to prevent this,” or “There should be more regulations to prevent this type of thing.”

And that is why we are in the state that we are in…

Editor’s Note: Peter Melick is co-owner of Melick’s Town Farm in Oldwick and a 10th-generation New Jersey farmer. Peter is currently the Mayor of Tewksbury Township. He also served as a director for the New Jersey Farm Bureau and is a past president of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture. Peter has also been featured on NJN, News 12 New Jersey and on the Fox Business Network.

GardenerNews.com

October, 2016 11

Putting the “Green” into a Garden Center and Greenhouse The Great Swamp Greenhouses in Gillette, Morris County, N.J., has installed a roof-mounted 76.52 kW solar array to save energy. They wanted to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for electricity, and to be as environmentally conscious as possible.

The high-efficiency SunPower solar modules are expected to save the garden center and greenhouse facility nearly $500,000 over the next 20 years through electric savings, tax savings and extra revenue generated as a result of New Jersey’s Solar Renewable Energy Certificates.

The system will produce nearly 100,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, offsetting an estimated 50 percent of the electric usage on the property.

This amount of power is equivalent to eliminating about 75 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

The system was designed and installed as a turnkey solution by Green Power Energy.

In addition to investing in solar on the property, The Great Swamp Greenhouses have taken other steps to limit their carbon footprint.

Those steps include the installation of a new automated outdoor irrigation system for their nursery stock and a 160-foot by 60-foot shade structure for their perennials, which reduces water consumption significantly.

The Great Swamp Greenhouses was opened in 1979 by owner Michael Beneduce and continues to operate today as a family owned business. The Beneduce family has roots in the industry dating back four generations to their ancestors, who grew Photo/Green Power Energy roses near Naples, Italy.

One of the exciting aspects of being an arborist and scientist is the joy of discovery. No one knows everything, and I truly enjoy learning new tree species, better ways to prune, and after any tree failure, trying to determine why it happened.

However, not all “discoveries” can be considered joyous. Recently, while performing routine street tree inspections in Montclair, I observed several green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) that displayed symptoms of Emerald ash borer (EAB). Upon thorough sampling, I determined with 99-percent confidence that indeed I had found EAB. I was both excited and depressed, for I knew what that meant for Montclair’s ash tree resource.

I sent photographs of the symptoms to the EAB Task Force in the Department of Agriculture, and following a field inspection, it was confirmed.

EAB had previously been reported in Bergen, Burlington, Mercer and Somerset Counties.

Emerald ash borer had made its way to Montclair, and therefore Essex County. It is the first confirmation of EAB in this area.

Tree Notes

By Steve Schuckman Certified Arborist

KISS OUR SWEET ASH GOODBYE Emerald ash borer is an exotic insect pest of ash. It was first reported in Michigan in 2002, likely arriving from Asia in wood packing materials. Being very difficult to detect, it killed millions of ash trees in the Midwest as it began its march eastward.

EAB larvae feed on the living tissue (cambium) just under the bark, and once populations have reached a large enough size, the tree declines and then dies. The pest migrates fast, as emerging adults are small and fly some distance before mating and laying eggs in a new tree. Once symptoms are observed, it is often too late to preserve the tree.

The pest is found in almost every state east of the Mississippi, and several on the western side (for a great review of this pest, symptoms, and its distribution, go to www. emeraldashborer.info). It has

moved faster than expected, probably due to it being transported in firewood. Many states now ban importation of firewood from out-of-state.

Arborists, landscapers and homeowners alike should become familiar with the symptoms of infection. These are 1) decline/dieback in the upper crown; 2) epicormic sprouting (shoots emerging along the lower trunk); 3) bark splits in the branches, and 4) excessive woodpecker activity.

If these are observed, further investigation is warranted. Look for D-shaped exit holes near bark splits, and, if possible, chisel open that area. The presence of stronglyserpentine galleries is strong evidence. Any suspect trees should be reported to the EAB Task Force. If confirmed, the preferred response is harvest of the infected tree and complete

chipping, leaving the wood on-site. For a full review of New Jersey’s requirements and EAB Task Force contacts, go to www.emeraldashborer. nj.gov.

Municipalities with large ash inventories, like Montclair, now face a very large economic crisis. Removal and replacement of thousands of street trees over the next few years will be costly, and the change in streetscape will affect local residents in a less than positive way.

Homeowners with ash on their property should retain a professional arborist with good knowledge of EAB and have the tree(s) inspected immediately. Since symptoms appear after several years of infestation, just because the tree looks fine does not mean it is not infected, and there are treatment options available to preserve the tree. Trees

showing any signs of decline or stress need immediate attention, as there are many other reasons for ash decline.

Only a professional arborist will know.

The extent of damage in the trees I observed in Montclair means the pest has been in the area for a few years. It is likely more widespread than has been reported, and I expect new reports later this year and in 2017.

Emerald ash borer is another example of our cosmopolitan world. Pests and disease (think Zika virus) are easily transported from one country to the next, often not observed until problems arise.

For our trees, the question is…what’s next?

Editor’s Note: Steve Schuckman is owner of First Mountain Aboriculture, which provides horticultural consulting and community forestry services. He is currently the consulting forester for Bloomfield, Hawthorne, Maplewood, and Montclair, in New Jersey. He is a New Jersey Certified Tree Expert and an ISA Certified Arborist. He can be reached at smschuckman@verizon.net

12 October, 2016

GardenerNews.com

GardenerNews.com

October, 2016 13

Native Food Plants 1: American Persimmon

By Hubert Ling Although several dozen New Jersey native plants were used by Native Americans, only a handful are in global markets. Included are: Acer saccharum, sugar maple syrup, an increasingly popular natural sweetener; Fragaria virginiana, used as a parent for the commercial strawberry industry; Rubus strigosus, red raspberry; Vaccinium corymbosum, used to breed the commercial blueberry; Vaccinum macrocarpon, cranberry; and the fox grape, Vitis labrusca, from which the Concord grape was developed.

I would like to focus on an almost unheardof New Jersey plant, the American persimmon Diospyros virginiana. Diospyron means “fruit of the gods” in Greek. The name persimmon comes from the Algonquian “pessamin,” which means “fruit which is dried.”

You may see a three-inch diameter Asian persimmon in the fall at your supermarket.

However, our native New Jersey persimmon is only one to two inches in diameter, is too soft to ship, and has about 5 to 20 percent the weight of the commercial persimmon.

Why grow the smaller version? Well, our native persimmon thrives in a wide range of conditions, including reasonable growth on clay and rocky soil, is droughtand pollution-resistant, and, with a breeding program, we should be able to produce a firm three-inch fruit on a plant well suited to American soils and weather conditions.

Our wild species grow best in moist, sandy soils in full sun or partial shade; plants can be easily propagated by seed or well rooted suckers.

Persimmons are generally disease-resistant and easy to grow. In fact some people think of them as weeds, since they often vigorously sprout up in abandoned fields.

The American persimmon tree grows about 30 to 60

feet tall, and ranges from Connecticut to Texas. On poor, dry soils, persimmons may only be large shrubs, at 15 to 20 feet. The leaves are simple, shiny ovals and the bark is deeply fissured in a distinctive rectangular pattern. Male and female flowers are generally borne on separate trees, so you must plant at least two trees to ensure you get fruit.

The orange (occasionally red-rosy purple) fruit ripens in late-October and is generally edible after the first hard frost. Before then, the green fruits are very astringent, since they have large amounts of soluble tannins.

The persimmon was the favorite fruit of several native North American tribes; they ate it fresh or dried it like prunes (drying and freezing both reduce the astringency). It was also made into syrup, pudding, and baked into bread. The Catawba Indians used boiled persimmon tree bark extract to treat mouth yeast

Tapping Sorghum’s Genetic Potential

By Dennis O'Brien Public Affairs Specialist An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticist has developed new genetic resources that allow the breeding of sorghum varieties with higher grain yields and greater resistance to diseases and pests.

The work by Robert R. Klein and his colleagues is important because with climate change and water shortages, sorghum is becoming an attractive alternative to U.S. crops that require more water. Sorghum also is a critical option for staving off hunger overseas.

Decades of breeding has produced sorghum suitable for a swath of 14 States extending from Texas to South Dakota.

This year’s U.S. crop is worth an estimated $1.9 billion.

Breeding new varieties for growers in the United States and other temperate regions is challenging because sorghum originated in the tropics. Many tropical sorghums flower when day lengths are short. By the time the days are short enough for flowering in temperate

regions, it’s often too cold to produce a sorghum crop with sufficient grain.

Klein and his colleagues selected sorghum lines for cross breeding from the ARS Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit in Griffin, Georgia, that were known for producing high grain yields in countries such as Sudan and Ethiopia. Because they were originally from sorghum’s center of origin in Africa, the lines selected would not flourish in temperate regions. But they had the potential to produce high grain yields while offering resistance to some of Mother Nature’s most daunting threats.

The researchers used both molecular and traditional breeding techniques to “convert” tall, late-flowering tropical sorghum plants into lines that mature faster and come equipped with genes for producing high grain yields.

Editor’s Note: Dennis O’Brien works for the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

He can be reached at 301504-1486 or by emailing dennis.obrien@ars.usda.gov

infections and a poultice of the green fruit was used externally to treat warts.

This is a pretty good clue that the unripe fruit really is semi-toxic.

Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto was given persimmon bread by the Cherokee Indians near present day Memphis and Captain John Smith of Colonial Jamestown wrote: “The fruit is like a medlar; it is first green then yellow, and red when ripe; if not ripe, it will drive a man’s mouth awrie with much torment; but when it is ripe, it is as delicious as an apricock.”

During the Civil War, many Confederate soldiers roasted persimmon seeds for a coffee substitute. Today, we use persimmon fruit much like the natives, did but we also make it into ice cream, cookies, cakes and pies. Persimmons have been added to hops and cornmeal to produce a unique beer.

Persimmons are members of the ebony family and thus the wood is dark, strong

and very hard. The wood would be quite valuable, but it is only available in limited quantities from small diameter trees. Persimmon is used for shoe lasts, billiard cues, shuttles for weaving cloth, and is highly respected for golf club heads. In the past, it was used for the body of wooden shaving planes.

Persimmons are a valuable wildlife food resource avidly sought out by deer, raccoons, songbirds, and squirrels. The flower nectar is utilized by bees and the tree is a host for luna moth caterpillars.

American persimmons should be encouraged in gardens and on public lands for wildlife and you might try the varieties “Killen,” “Meader,” or “Morris Burton” if you are interested in the fruit.

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

14 October, 2016

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GardenerNews.com

October, 2016 15

NOW IS THE TIME TO SEED & FEED YOUR LAWN Black Beauty Fall Magic Grass Seed Mixture is great for starting a new lawn. It also blends well with established lawns to repair summer damage and provide an attractive, thicker and greener lawn.

This hearty mix will grow in both sun and shade, and contains for natural insect resistance.

Winter Survival Fall Fertilizer has a fall and winter feeding formula that keeps your lawn greener later into the year.

It provides a well balanced formula, ideal for winter turf protection. This “true” fall/ winter formula promotes root growth and stores nutrients for spring. Contains humates for root development.

Specially formulated for successful fall seeding!

Ideal to use with a fall seeding!

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16 October, 2016

GardenerNews.com

Bobcat of North Jersey Celebrates 25th Anniversary Over 400 landscape contractors converged on 201 Maltese Drive in Totowa, Passaic County, for a giant landscape construction industry celebration on Saturday September 17, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Industry attendees and Bobcat executives from all over the county were at Bobcat of North Jersey to participate in excavator skill challenges, sit in on educational machine safety sessions, learn what machines are best used

for each job task, network with their peers, and watch machines dance to the Kenny Loggins song “Danger Zone” which appeared in Top Gun soundtrack, a 1986 American military action drama film.

Attendees were also treated to an incredible lunchtime buffet of food and soft drinks.

The Bobcat of North Jersey dealership provides new equipment sales from Bobcat, pre-owned Bobcat sales, Bobcat rentals, parts, service and field service.

They also offer: Towmaster Trailers, Toro Snow Blowers, Multiquip generators and stone cutting power tools, rammers and plate compactors, Ventrac tractors and attachments, and Buffalo Turbine equipment.

The men and women of Bobcat of North Jersey have created an innovative culture of opportunity, inclusiveness and prosperity for their partners by working to surpass the benchmark standards of the construction equipment industry.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

John Funk, Director of East Region Sales for the Bobcat Company, presented an award to Vincent Ryan and Kathy Ryan, owners of Bobcat of North Jersey.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Future landscape contractors Maximo Pedatella, left, and his brother Anthony look over a Bobcat T740 with a laser controlled grader attached to it.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Attendees stand for the singing of the National Anthem during the opening ceremony.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Brian Generoso, owner of JG & Son Landscaping in West Milford, Passaic County, N.J., won the free use of this Bobcat S650 Skid-Steer Loader for a year.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Bobcat Man made a special appearance.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Tom Castronovo/Photo

The Kerry Pipers from Bronx, New York entertained the crowd with several notable favorites.

Ken Kruppo, left, a Bobcat Specialist, instructs Joe Granata, owner of Granata’s Nursery in Long Valley, Morris County, N.J., on how the Excavator Challenge works.

GardenerNews.com

October, 2016 17

18 October, 2016 This past summer was rough on lawns, between drought and heat stress, coupled with chinch bugs and fungus damage.

Many lawns suffered great damage, even crabgrass had a banner year and some of the crabgrass control chemicals have sold out.

What do I do now? My lawn is in ruins.

You need a strong base to grow a great lawn, and that starts with the quality of grass seed you choose.

Do not buy cheap grass seed; you wouldn’t buy a cheap car if you wanted Mercedes performance would you? The lawn can only be as good as the seed sowed in it. Choose the right seed for your climate and area, and if it involves sun or shade or both.

Over the years, I have observed that improved turf-type Tall Fescues hold up best in many different lawn situations.

Tall Fescues tend to be more tolerant of poor soil conditions, require less water and fertilizer A good friend of mine, in response to what is happening in my article heading, just did something about it! He has a lot of land and plowable fields full of wildflowers, corn, etc. But he also has neighbors that are growing all kinds of produce.

What did he do? He built a good-sized apiary with bear-proof electrical fencing, powered by solar energy! I visited this ninebeehive apiary and was quite impressed. He has a professional beekeeper tending to it as well. OK, not everyone can afford to do this, but the people that can should.

Where I live in Maine, there are three beekeepers that sell 100-percent organic honey at the farmer’s market.

I have plenty of honeybees around my flowering plants and so do my sister and mom.

I am thinking about building an apiary myself, so I met with a local beekeeper. What was interesting to me is that she gave me some guidelines for what we ALL should do to help our honeybees.

Plant bee-friendly flowers and flowering herbs in your

GardenerNews.com Turf ‘s Up

By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

Time to re-seed! to look good. They also hold up very well in both full sun and shady areas of the lawn. Do not apply too much grass seed and waste money. If you do this, the plants will only compete with each other for soil space, nutrients and water, and some will eventually die. Sow seed at the proper rates suggested on the package.

Preparation is also the key to successful lawn seed establishment. If you have not taken a soil test, this would be a good time to so. With the proper soil nutrients and amendments and a balanced pH level between 6.2 and 7.0, your lawn should thrive. You can raise pH levels by adding calcium to the soil; there are many pelletized

forms available on the market.

If you have hard, compacted soil or drainage problems, now would be a good time to correct them. If you want to add some topsoil for better growth, ideally you should work it into the top three to five inches of the soil. I know this is a lot of work but the proper way to do it. I would rent a machine with some neighbors so you can all re-do your lawns!

Do not forget to fertilize with a “new seeding” type fertilizer and apply the grass seed last. Turn a leaf rake over and gently work the seed into the top quarter-inch of soil, do not burry the seed!

There are some

pelletized erosion products on the market you can use to cover the seed.

Do not cover the grass seed too much. If you are considering using hay, use salt hay or better yet, use straw that does not have weed seeds. Water the new seedlings lightly everyday if possible until new growth starts. Gradually cut back on the watering once the new seed grows two to three inches. Do not mow more than onethird of the grass blade, and set your mower high until the lawn thickens up in several weeks.

I mentioned that this was an exceptional year for crabgrass. If you are seeding your lawn this fall, it is best to not try and kill the crabgrass

The Miscellaneous Gardener

By Richard W. Perkins Freelance Writer

Without Them, Our Planet Is Doomed! – Part One garden and yard. Bees are losing habitat all around the world due to intensive monoculture-based farming practices, pristine green but flower-barren sprawling suburban lawns and from the destruction of native landscapes. Just planting flowers in your garden, yard, or in a planter will help provide bees with forage.

Avoid chemically treating your flowers as chemicals can leach into pollen and negatively affect the bees’ systems. Plant plenty of the same type that bloom together, one bee per square yard is a good estimate.

Here are a few examples of bee-happy plant varieties: Spring – lilacs, lavender, sage, verbena, and wisteria.

Summer – mint, squash, tomatoes, pumpkins,

sunflowers, oregano, rosemary, poppies, blackeyed Susan, passion flower vine, honeysuckle. Fall – fuschia, mint, bush sunflower, sage, verbena, toadflax.

Weeds can be a good thing – my yard is full of them. Contrary to popular belief, a lawn full of clover and dandelions is not just a good thing, it’s a great thing!

A haven for honeybees and other native pollinators, too.

Don’t be so nervous about letting your lawn live a little.

Wildflowers, many of which we might classify as weeds, are some of the most important food sources for native North American bees.

If some of these are “weeds” you’ve chosen to get rid of, say you want to pull out that blackberry bush that’s taking over, let it bloom first for the

bees and then before it goes to seed, pull it out or trim it back.

NEVER use chemicals and pesticides to treat your lawn or garden. Yes, they make your lawn look pristine and pretty, but they’re actually doing the opposite to the life in your biosphere.

The chemicals and pest treatments you put on your lawn and garden can cause damage to the honeybees’ systems. These treatments are especially damaging if applied while the flowers are in bloom, as they will get into the pollen and nectar and be taken back to the beehive, where they also get into the honey, which in turn means they can get into us.

Pesticides, specifically neo-nicotinoid varieties, have been one of the major

plants before seeding.

This would delay your seeding window by about one month. I would much rather have you apply grass seed in early-fall to establish a great lawn and try to crowd out crabgrass next year with a sound lawn program. Crabgrass plants will be killed with the first frost.

In New Jersey, this usually happens in earlyOctober. The crabgrass plants cannot withstand the cold and the leaves will turn purple and then brown in a few weeks.

Later in fall, I would apply a “winter” type lawn fertilizer to your whole lawn, including the newly seeded areas as a follow-up lawn feeding.

This will help promote root and growth to get the thick, green lawn you wish for.

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 culprits in Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Buy local, raw organic honey that is untreated! IMPORTANT: If you find honey in the grocery store and it’s imported from China, don’t buy it. There have been a number of cases recently of chemically contaminated honey coming from China. If you buy honey from the grocery store and it doesn’t say “100 percent organic,” and you can’t read in the description that it’s untreated by chemicals, don’t buy it. If it’s untreated, the label will say so, as this is an important selling point.

I recommend a simple solution. Go to your farmer’s market, shake hands with the beekeepers you meet and make sure their labels say 100-percent certified organic.

That is what everyone I know does. And, we have a coalition of people NOT mowing their lawns until after the wildflowers have bloomed!

Thanks for reading and see ya next month.

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

GardenerNews.com

October, 2016 19 The NJLCA Today

By Nelson Lee Association President

Get involved with the NJLCA Greetings. My name is Nelson Lee. I was sworn in to act as the new President for the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association a few months ago. It is my honor and pleasure to be able to serve as President of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association for the next 16 months.

I would like to thank Tom Canete for all the hard work and dedication he has given the association for the past two and a half years as president. We wish Tom continued success with his company and hope that he will continue to be a driving force in the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association.

I would also like to recognize and thank all of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association associate members who are there for us to cater to all of our needs, no matter what those needs are. From landscape suppliers, insurance brokers, equipment dealers and repair shops, to truck sales and everyone in between. There isn’t one member at our association who has not benefited from one of our associates in one way, shape or form.

Please support them because they are here to help us succeed.

For those of you who don’t know me, I am the Founder and President of Landscapeworks, Inc., Advanced Mulch Services, Inc. and Advanced Hauling. I started the company in 1988. Like many of you, I started out with a push mower and a pick-up truck, and with hard work and long hours I was able to grow my business to a multi-million dollar company.

I am truly blessed to be given the opportunities over these years and grateful that I am surrounded by people like yourselves that I have been able to learn from along this 28-year journey.

One of the greatest things about the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association is that our members are all here for a common reason: to be educated about our industry so we may take that information and help our companies and others grow and flourish, both today and in the future.

For the past several years that I have been on the Board of Directors, I have seen the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association grow in many ways with the help of Jody Shilan and Gail Woolcott and the entire Board of Directors. We all share the vision of seeing our industry become more professional.

The New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association has helped all of our members and non-members with continuing Education initiating legislative reform to help our industry grow. Some examples of what the association has to offer include the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association University throughout the winter months, monthly membership meetings throughout the year, the Landscape Achievement Awards, the Landscape Industry Certification Exam, as well as Social Events to help reduce the stress of our daily routines.

One of the most important events that took place this past July was a letter that was composed by the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association to encourage Governor Chris Christie to veto the increase of the minimum wage in the State of New Jersey. This letter was published in the Gardener News a few months ago. The letter made history because it was the first letter to be signed by five Associations throughout the state asking the Governor for his assistance. These associations include New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association, New Jersey Nursery & Landscape Association, New Jersey Green Industry Council, Golf Course Superintendents Association of NJ, and New Jersey Pest Management Association. We would like to thank Governor Christie for vetoing the bill and helping our green industry by stabilizing wages so we as an industry can continue to do business in this great state without affecting all New Jersey consumers with this increase.

The New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association Board is committed to giving you the education, the knowledge and information to help you grow professionally in this industry. But we can’t do it alone. We need your help. I hope you will consider joining the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association and participating in one of our committees, becoming a volunteer in one of our community projects or just attend our membership meetings and classes.

Please tell your friends who are landscape contractors what they are missing out on if they don’t belong to the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association.

If you have any questions or comments that can help our industry as a whole, please feel free to contact myself or any board member. We are here for you. Please find us on the web at: www.NJLCA.com.

Thank you!

Editor’s Note: Nelson Lee is president of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA). He is also Founder and President of Landscapeworks, Inc., Advanced Mulch Services, Inc. and Advanced Hauling. Lee can be reached at nlee@landscapeworks.net or by calling the NJLCA at 201-703-3600.

U.S. Dept of Labor Final Rule: Overtime On May 18, 2016, President Obama and Secretary Perez announced the publication of the Department of Labor’s final rule updating the overtime regulations, which will automatically extend overtime pay protections to over 4 million workers within the first year of implementation. This long-awaited update will result in a meaningful boost to many workers’ wallets, and will go a long way toward realizing President Obama’s commitment to ensuring every worker is compensated fairly for their hard work.

In 2014, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department to update the regulations defining which white collar workers are protected by the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime standards. Consistent with the President’s goal of ensuring workers are paid a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work, the memorandum instructed the Department to look for ways to modernize and simplify the regulations while ensuring that the FLSA’s intended overtime protections are fully implemented.

The Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on July 6, 2015 (80 FR 38515) and invited interested parties to submit written comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov by September 4, 2015.

The Department received over 270,000 comments in response to the NPRM from a variety of interested stakeholders. The feedback the Department received helped shape the Final Rule.

Key Provisions of the Final Rule The Final Rule focuses primarily on updating the salary and compensation levels needed for Executive, Administrative and Professional workers to be exempt.

Specifically, the Final Rule: 1.Sets the standard salary level at the 40th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region, currently the South ($913 per week; $47,476 annually for a full-year worker); 2.Sets the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees (HCE) subject to a minimal duties test to the annual equivalent of the 90th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally ($134,004); and 3.Establishes a mechanism for automatically updating the salary and compensation levels every three years to maintain the levels at the above percentiles and to ensure that they continue to provide useful and effective tests for exemption.

Additionally, the Final Rule amends the salary basis test to allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the new standard salary level.

The effective date of the final rule is December 1, 2016. The initial increases to the standard salary level (from $455 to $913 per week) and HCE total annual compensation requirement (from $100,000 to $134,004 per year) will be effective on that date. Future automatic updates to those thresholds will occur every three years, beginning on January 1, 2020.

20 October, 2016 As summer has ended, we can now look forward to investigating and making the necessary changes in our landscapes. Fall planting is our current focus, and we need to decide what we will install to bring us a beautiful color display this spring.

What to plant where becomes a question many property owners ask, and it’s a good thing they do. With the changeable and dry summer weather we just endured, many of our landscape plants will need replacing. The most important component in installing landscape plants is planning. When planning your fall planting, look at which plants did not survive this summer’s extreme conditions and think about what can be done to improve these areas moving forward. The exposure is probably most important when thinking of replacing, but right with that is the soil and drainage.

We have found many sites that had plant failures due to poor soil conditions.

This could be something as simple as plants raised out of the ground and planted in berms which did not hold

GardenerNews.com The Landscaper

By Evan Dickerson Landscape Professional

Fall, A Perfect Time To Plant For The Future moisture. Knowing why plants are bermed up and what can be done to alleviate these conditions will go a long way in ensuring future planting success.

Many times tight rocky soils are the reason. If so, more excavation, soil replacement and the possible installation of drainage could help make these berms less needed. We may also have competition from major tree roots, which will need to be looked at, and possibly change our planting in these areas.

Often, ground covers are a favorable alternative to deeper rooted plants or even turf.

Investigating the soil profile through a soil test is the only way to know for sure what is going on and what amendments are needed to balance the soil and keep plants healthy. The

soil test recommendations and amendments can be addressed when this excavation process takes place. Proper hydration is a key component to be included in this process as well.

Now that the major areas have been planned, we can include the first signs of color, spring flowering bulbs. The simplest installation of bulbs must be thoughtfully laid out for location, color, size and blooming period.

Location becomes important since most bulbs are deer and rodent candy.

Daffodils, Grape Hyacinths, Allium, Crocus, Dwarf Iris, Frittilaria, Puschkinia, Winter Aconite, Snowdrops, Lillies of the Valley and Scillas are good choices for any areas that deer frequent. Deer will browse just about any plants but these

are the least appetizing to them. An adequate amount of sunlight is helpful and good drainage is important as well.

Once the location is selected, a simple layout of the beds can be made with varieties and quantities listed.

We like to plant bulbs tighter than recommended to ensure a blast of color when spring arrives. This is a matter of taste and design. With spring bulbs, there are almost as many height differences as there are varieties. This affords you the chance to create pockets of color that seem to come and go as the different height bulbs bloom.

When planted in mass, using the different heights can create the illusion of many separate areas. The view from inside the house cannot be forgotten as well. Installing

To effectively manage disease-causing ticks and to create a tick-resistant garden or property, a gardener must understand how the blacklegged tick lives. It takes two years for Ixodes scapularis, a.k.a. blacklegged tick, to complete its lifecycle.

Females lay eggs in May. Eggs hatch into larvae from July into early-August and feed on mice, chipmunks and birds – many infected. They drop off and molt to nymphs, over-winter, and appear the following spring with May, June and July being the peak months for nymphal activity.

They appear before newly hatched larvae and feed on rodents and birds – many already infected and others that they now infect.

Nymphs molt to adults that feed on large mammals including deer, humans and pets. Female adults are active in fall and on warm winter and spring days. A bloodfilled female blacklegged tick produces one batch of 2,000-3,000 eggs, then dies.

Most ticks don’t survive to

the next stage. Most larvae do not successfully feed to become nymphs and many nymphs do not successfully feed to become adults. And many adults do not find a host.

Nymphs over-winter in rodent burrows if they fed on chipmunks and whitefooted mice, or under leaf-litter if they fell off elsewhere. Ground foraging and ground nesting birds are another preferred food for blacklegged larval ticks.

Ticks pick up the spirochete while feeding on field mice and other reservoirs of Lyme disease. Birds readily pick up the ticks when they’re on the ground, and in one study it was found that more larval ticks came from robins and other birds than from mice.

Deer are infected with the spirochetes and mount a detectable antibody response. However, the deer immune system is good at eliminating the bacteria so that is part of the reason they are disease-free, but this is the main reason they are not

reservoirs for the spirochete; i.e., they can’t infect the ticks feeding on them. Over 90 percent of adult ticks feed on deer. Studies on islands with high deer densities (more than 100 deer per square mile) have superabundant tick populations. Islands without deer do not appear to support I. scapularis or B. burgdorferi.

Having a fenced property with no deer means shortcircuiting the blacklegged tick’s lifecycle. If you don’t have female ticks coming off deer to lay eggs, you’re just not going to have all those ticks feeding on rodents.

You’re going to have, then, no larvae or fewer nymphs and even fewer adults.

Some other tips to keep ticks out of gardens and your property: Remove leaf litter.

Clear tall grasses and brush around homes and at the edge of lawns. Place a three-footwide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas to restrict tick migration into recreational areas. Mow the lawn

the taller bulbs to the center of an open bed and tapering to the house and the other directions is striking.

The blooming period can set off the final elements in the design. If there is enough room to extend the blooming period late into the spring, then there will always be color emerging from within the planted areas.

The blooming period can be as simply manipulated as using different styles of tulips in an area and letting them emerge at different times, creating waves of color or using the different varieties within these areas to create a mixture of sizes, heights, color and blooming periods.

Your landscape professional is available to bring the planning of your landscape renovation and an explosion of color next spring to fruition.

Editor’s Note: Evan Dickerson is owner of Dickerson Landscape Contractors and NaturesPro of North Plainfield. He has been pioneering the organic approach to plant health since 1972. Evan can be reached at 908-753-1490

Ticks – Not Just Summer Pests

By William A. Kolbe B.C.E. Depending on the location of your garden, you could easily be at risk to contact and become a blood meal for black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularius). These ticks (formerly called deer ticks) are the primary vector for Lyme disease. Lyme disease is an illness caused by infection with a spirochete; a corkscrew shaped bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports 75 percent of Lyme disease cases are contracted in residential back yards. The CDC report from 2014 shows 2,589 confirmed cases of Lyme Disease in New Jersey. Black-legged tick activity in New Jersey was down in some areas due to a wet spring and cool temperatures.

Regional activity varies with this tick, due to many circumstances such as weather, host health and availability.

frequently. Stack wood neatly and in a dry area (discourages rodents). Keep playground equipment, decks, and patios away from yard edges and trees. Discourage unwelcome animals (such as deer, raccoons, and stray dogs) from entering your yard by constructing fences.

For more information on Tick Control, The Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station has a Tick Management Handbook.

You can find it at: http:// www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/ documents/special_features/ tickhandbook.pdf

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

Bill is a member of The Denville NJ Community Gardens.

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

GardenerNews.com

October, 2016 21

Bumper Crop of Caterpillars

By Jeannie Geremia Garden Club of New Jersey This summer didn’t start out on a promising note as far as butterflies were concerned. In fact, I thought, “Oh no, another summer minus our ethereal creatures.”

Well, I’m happy to report that late-summer produced a “bumper crop of caterpillars,” and not only in my neck of the woods but throughout the Garden State. Naturally, I had my overwintering Black Swallowtails hatch out, and another 10n added to that early on. But I felt downhearted in seeing only a sparse number of butterflies, spotting my first Monarch of the season on June 29, and that seemed to be the extent of it through the month of July. Oh, there were Eastern Tiger Swallowtails here and there, plus the usual Cabbage Whites, but nary another species to speak of.

My friend, Diana Kazazis was equally dismayed to report the complete absence of Monarchs and Black Swallowtails on Long Beach Island as we teamed up to work on our latest GCNJ Butterflies & BeeGAP project, “Creating Pollinator Centers.” Of course, this project had us indoors a good part of June, July and into August, so we may have been missing the action.

Or, maybe we are “jumping the gun,” thinking caterpillars and butterflies should be in abundance earlier than what is normal. Our Monarch sign does reflect the fact that Monarchs typically don’t show up in New Jersey until midsummer, so our list of Nectar Plants for Monarch Butterflies begins MidSeason and continues through Late-Season.

Everything did seem to converge with the advent of the New Jersey State Fair at the Sussex Fairgrounds in early-August. For one

thing, I was fortunate to have found a “bumper crop” (love those words) of Black Swallowtail eggs on a flat of dill at Kingwood Gardens in mid-July.

Naturally I bought the flat anticipating their presence in my educational exhibit in the Conservatory at the Sussex Fairgrounds.

This was our third year at the fair, with Black Swallowtails always being a crowd pleaser, and we had great news to tell attendees that we had, in fact, accomplished our mission to have the Black Swallowtail Butterfly designated as the Official State Butterfly of New Jersey. Along with our Swallowtails, with plenty of their host plants of dill and fennel to feed the growing caterpillars, we also had seven plants of butterfly weed that we had received, complements of the fabulous Monarch Grant Project, administered

by Somerset County Park Commission at Leonard J. Buck Garden.

The first Monday of the New Jersey State Fair brought a breathless woman into the Conservatory on a mission to find milkweed plants for her Monarchs. It seems she was the owner of the traveling butterfly exhibit, and was in desperate need of milkweed for her egglaying Monarchs. What could I do, but give her six of our seven plants.

Armed with her precious milkweed, she told me that she’d return the plants to us at fair’s end laden with Monarch eggs. Hence, another “bumper crop” of caterpillars would come into my life.

Luckily, I let the butterfly exhibit keep two plants, so I only had four plants covered with Monarch eggs. I have, meanwhile, lost sleep as I ministered to my growing Monarchs, while watching my 28 Black Swallowtail caterpillars hatch out over the subsequent weeks. I tried to get a “tally” as to how many Monarch caterpillars I actually had,

as I kept finding new babies. I’ve since come to the conclusion that the milkweed I was cutting from my community garden plots must have had eggs on them, too, so it seems I’m doing my part in “growing our butterfly population.”

Happily, I’m not alone, as Diana has reported she is inundated with Monarch caterpillars at her house on LBI. Alice Dickson from the Garden Club of Long Valley also reported a bevy of Black Swallowtail caterpillars on a container of parsley on her deck. It seems a chipmunk had also spotted the caterpillars and thought he was in for a treat. Alice let out a bloodcurdling scream, scaring her husband and dog, and had her husband scramble to build a butterfly habitat while she stood guard over her precious caterpillars.

While at the fair, I accessed a desperate plea on my cell phone from Flo, who attended the Garden Party talk I gave in July at Colonial Park.

Every attendee received a milkweed plant and it seems Flo had a bonus of a Monarch caterpillar hatch out on her plant. Friends came to her rescue, providing more milkweeds, her caterpillar metamorphosed into a butterfly which she released in a field of lavender.

So many tales, such fun!

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

22 October, 2016

GardenerNews.com

A Day Spent Appreciating to egalitarian ideals” (mprnews.org).

Olmsted believed that the common green space of Central Park should be equally accessible to all citizens. And what about that green space… where did it come from?

The Greensward project, a competitive entry plan submitted by Olmsted and Vaux for the now Central Park, was a parcel of land that was seen as undesirable.

More than 700 acres, the land between Fifth and Eighth avenues and 59th and 106th streets, was acquired by the power of eminent domain. The project had irregular terrain and swamps and displaced some 1,600 residents who lived in shanties.

Another notable individual, and there were many, who helped shape, design and maintain America’s first landscaped public park, in the United States, was Ignaz Pilat. An Austrian-born gardener, who migrated to the United States, helped work on the design and planting of Central Park. Ignaz Pilat’s accomplishments include studying botany at the University of Vienna and obtaining a position at the Imperial Botanical Gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. Pilat has been credited for many of the plant choices seen throughout the park, a list so diverse it’s worth the Google search…

”Trees of Central Park.”

Our day was filled with so many of these magnificent plant choices and we have a few gentlemen to thank for the experience. Bob Rumsey, ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) Studio Director, and Steven Bopp, ASLA, Senior Project Manager, are employees of the Central Park Conservancy.

Gracious with their time, forthcoming with their work and responsibilities, and all the while mindful of their surroundings, their combined efforts gave what John and I call a “Top 10 Day!” We entered Central Park, passing hundreds of “Pokémon Go” users who were caught up in their

own form of “reality,” and immediately came upon “The Mall.” “The Mall” is an intense experience whereby magnanimous American elms, Ulmus americana, are planted in double rows, an allée formation, and their canopies provide shade on “Literary Walk.” We discussed, briefly, these trees and the immediate concerns surrounding them.

Compacted soils and Dutch elm disease are but a few of the concerns that the Central Park Conservancy team are always mindful of.

This team’s passion for what they do has led to strong decisions and treatments that are as thoughtful as they are progressive.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Bob LaHoff, a featured columnist in the Gardener News stands by the Central Park, N.Y., scenic landmark of Olmsted & Vaux Way.

(Continued Wearing one of my Hall’s Garden Center & Florist T-shirts, Steve quickly noticed our insignia and asked, “You want to see some big Ginkgo trees?” One of the most well represented trees in Central Park, some 350, is Ginkgo biloba. My absolute favorite tree, Ginkgo has been around some 250 million years.

Dinosaurs roamed under and around these giants and it’s no surprise this tree was picked, in regularity, given its tolerance and adaptability to virtually anything.

The park does have its fair share of female Ginkgo, hence the fruit! An undesirable trait for many, as the fruit ripens, butyric acid is released, the same acid that gives rancid butter its horrible smell. However, despite its vile smell, as the decay happens, it exposes the hard inner seed. A popular delicacy among the Asian community, many roast or boil the fruit-like seed while herbalists tout the leaf’s extracts for improved circulation and memory.

This “olfactory infraction” (Central Park Trees and Landscapes) should not negate this tree’s other outstanding attributes.

Superb disease and insect resistance, tolerance to difficult urban growing conditions and its unusual fan-shaped leaf that turns a brilliant gold in the fall, have always been enough for me. The largest Ginkgo in the park is a twin-trunked monster whose diameter is nearly five feet!

Bob Rumsey felt some pressure recommending our next giant, as he seemed unsure if we would appreciate his find. An American hornbeam or “ironwood/ musclewood,” Carpinus caroliniana, was of epic proportions tucked right off a pathway. This tree’s common name is penned for the trunk’s extraordinary resemblance to muscles. A caliper of nearly 24 inches and well north of 30 feet, you simply don’t see many this size. Complete with fruit clusters intact this day, musclewood was among the first trees planted by

GardenerNews.com

October, 2016 23

Central Park’s Central Perks

from page 1) Olmsted’s gardeners.

Another favorite of ours, seldom seen outside arboretums and botanical gardens, is Turkey Oak, Quercus cerris. Another “rock solid” candidate for poor soils, urban settings and air pollution, like Ginkgo, is this handsome tree.

For me, this oak is about as handsome as you get.

Rounded lobe foliage that looks crinkled or waffled to me at times, and cute acorns with the best description I have found to date: “long and turn a burnished deep brown and sport a bristly cap reminiscent of a hat from Dior’s New Look collection in the 1950s” (www. centralparknyc.org). Touring in our EcoCar, near the southwestern corner of the Reservoir, we spotted many.

Named for the country, native to Europe and Western Asia, this tree’s common name is not named after the bird.

The “biggest and baddest” tree of the day, for us, is the same that the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation uses as their logo, the leaf of the Great London Plane tree, Platanus x acerifolia. A hybrid between the native American sycamore and the non-native oriental plane tree, Central Park has more than 1,000 of these beauties. Perhaps its most striking feature is its bark. Thin, peeling, mottled bark flakes off with colors of gray, tan, white and olive.

Long-lived trees and another tolerant to a wide variety of environmental factors; the largest tree in Central Park is a London Plane. John and I quickly asked if we

could hug this monster on the northeastern corner of the Reservoir along the bridal path. Plane trees appreciate being well irrigated, thus it’s not surprising this tree is doing so well, as the water table is close to the surface here.

The Greensward Plan of 1858, which Olmsted and Vaux wrote, had “The Ramble” as being an “American garden.”

Dedicated space for the likes of rhododendron, azaleas and spicebush, I was impressed with the voluminous presence of black cherry, Prunus serotina and Sassafras, Sassafras albidum. More than 3,800 black cherry are in the park, at last count, and many of them we admired for their scaly trunks that look like potato chips. Birds have done an outstanding job dispersing the seed and as a result, not a single black cherry has been intentionally planted in nearly three decades.

My beloved Sassafras is also well represented around the park. Distinct three-pattern leaves, deeply furrowed bark, egg-shaped black seeds on red stalks and their entrancingly small flowers in the spring are nothing compared to its brilliant fall color display.

However, despite the initial vision of The Ramble, many exotic species from Europe and Asia have found their way in.

One obnoxious curiosity that was diligently being plucked by gardeners this day was Japanese knotweed, Fallopia japonica. Again, good stewards of the

Tom Castronovo/Photo

A red-eared slider turtle pokes his head out of the man-made pond in Central Park, N.Y.

Tom Castronovo/Photo

A scenic retreat where Central Park, N.Y., visitors can quietly observe wildlife without interfering with their natural habitats. landscape, this team of gardeners had its hands full, literally, as they were hacking away and removing this aggressive exotic. Japanese knotweed, deemed a noxious weed by many, has invaded many landscapes across the country. A significant threat to riparian areas and others, this plant quickly colonizes and forms dense thickets, bullying out many other plants. Broad oval leaves, and tiny greenish-white flowers may have been pretty to look at initially; this plant has proven to be a nightmare in many landscapes, including Central Park. Bravo to the team I saw removing what they could that day. That was tough work!

Olmsted’s idea to preserve areas of natural beauty for future public enjoyment is heard through his own words. “What artist so noble…as he who, with far-reaching conception of beauty, in designing power, sketches the outlines, writes the colors, and directs the shadows of a picture so great that Nature shall be employed upon it for

generations, before the work he arranged for her shall realize his intentions.”

Olmsted’s attempt to improve society is echoed in his work. His open spaces are seen as “places of harmony” where we can, even today, escape from the grind of our everyday lives to a more perfect place.

Aptly called “The Lungs of New York” (www. centralparknyc.org), Central park has a long history, not only acting as a release and haven for the city, but to the point, the trees help to improve the quality of air and water; reduce stormwater runoff, flooding and erosion; and lower the air temperature in the summer (www.centralparknyc.org).

The Central Park Conservancy is the official management organization in charge and they take their job very seriously. After our tour, we were introduced to another principal, Christopher J. Nolan, FASLA, Vice President for Planning Design and Construction. He, along with our group, sat down and

talked about the industry, preservation and future projects and even a few of our own private endeavors, all done with broad paint strokes.

Everyone we encountered this day, from the landscape architects to the gardeners in the field, was affable and kind. The entire Central Park Conservancy team we met proved themselves good stewards to the park and all contributed to our “Top 10 Day!” John and I were both so appreciative of the day and the “perk” we were afforded.

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

24 October, 2016

GardenerNews.com

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October, 2016 25

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Full Moon, October 16, 2016 Eastern Daylight

TIP OF THE MONTH

Fall planting of shrubs and trees offers many advantages that may outweigh spring planting.

Transpiration is low and root generation potential is high. When the air temperatures are cooler than the soil, new root growth is encouraged without new top growth. The result is a stronger, better developed root system for the next spring when the plant begins to grow. Another great reason to plant in the fall is your ability to pick your shrubs and trees by the fall color they produce.

26 October, 2016

GardenerNews.com

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