the garden spade

The Garden Spade

Fall/Winter 2010

Volume 4, Issue 3

Inside this issue:

Letter From the Editor 2

Heard on the Helpline 2

Exec. Committee Report 3

Garden Field Day 3

Plant Spotlight 4

Recipes from the Garden 5

The Bookshelf 5

New MG Website 6

Around the Web 6

The Garden Frog 6

MG Fall Conference 7

Garden Passion 8

Happenings 9

Bee Keepers Update 10

Greenfest 11

Clearbrook Garden Contest 11

Sightings 12

Safety in the Garden 13

Calendar of Events 15

MGs Win Big at the Fair by Rich Weidman

The 2010 Middlesex County Fair was one of the best in the fair’s history which be-gan in 1938. It was a week without rain, typical of this summer, which brought thousands of people out to enjoy animals, crafts, displays, food and rides. As in previous years, all departments of Middle-sex County Cooperative Extension office; 4-H, Agriculture, (FCHS) Family Com-munity Health Sciences- (EFNEP) Ex-panded Food and Nutrition Education Program and (FSNEP) Food Stamp Nu-trition Education Program were well rep-resented. Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mid-dlesex County, Agricultural Department, was part of the Agricultural Tent which included the Board of Agriculture, Natu-ral Resource Conservation Service, East Brunswick Grange, County Mosquito Commission, Soil Conservation District, and East Brunswick Museum. One side of the tent was primarily devoted to Co-operative Extension which consisted of: invasive species, soil testing and compost-ing educational displays; fact sheets on numerous gardening and environmental topics; promotional materials for Exten-sion programs and events; and the gar-dening Q & A table. Master Gardeners were stationed at the booth throughout the week distributing information and answering many garden questions. In addition, Extension staff and Master Gar-deners assisted with our Jersey Fresh taste test on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening in the Agricultural tent. The pro-duce was donated by local farmers (Bob Von Thun Jr., Jim Giamarese, and John Hauser) and prepared by our Nutritional Education (FCHS, EFNEP and FSNEP) and Ag Department staff as well as Master Gardeners.

As usual, fairgoers raved about the Jersey Fresh sweet corn, peaches, melons, and tomatoes. The EARTH Center vegetable garden managed by Pat Evans and the 2010 Master Gardeners had award winning vegetable entries at the fair. All entries were displayed in the Vegetable/Fruit tent, adjacent to the Agricultural Tent. There were three vegetables from our demonstration garden that received rib-bons; two First Place awards (Cinderella Pumpkin and Sugar Baby Watermelon), a Best of Show (Cinderella Pumpkin), and an Honorable Mention (Baby Bear Pumpkin). Great job to all MGs in-volved in producing these award-winning crops.

Cont’d on page 2

Best in Show from our own Veggie Garden!

The Garden Spade Volume 4 , Issue 3

Letter from the Editor

Welcome to our Middlesex County Master Gardener newsletter. I hope that you can now take a moment to sit back and enjoy some quiet time after this busy gardening season! Most likely though you are already thinking of ideas and plans for the next year and feel the anticipation of a new year and a new garden! I look forward to the onslaught of garden catalogues in the next few weeks and by now many of you have already received some. If not, the beauty of the internet can bring a taste of what you will find in new plant varieties. Check out the All American Selection (AAS) website www.all-americaselections.org where soon you will find the 2011 winners listed. AAS was founded in 1932 and the first AAS Winners were announced a year later, after the results were tabulated for the first trial. AAS Winners have been introduced each year since 1933. Read all about the history of this organization on their website. Another place to checkout is the events list in our newsletter’s calen-dar and remember, you can always find this information on our Mid-dlesex County Master Gardener website: www.mastergardenersofmiddlesexnj.org Look in our past newsletters available on the above website for the Book Review article: find a good book to curl up with and read this winter season! And lastly, save the date! The New Jersey Flower and Garden show dates are February 17-20, 2011. See you in the gardens soon, MaryAnne McMillan

Middlesex County Fair Cont’d from page 1 It is also important to mention that the Fair Association sent a “Thank You” letter acknowledging our contribution to beauti-fication of the fairgrounds. Each year, Rich Weidman and Master Gardeners plant about 20 whiskey barrels, a gazebo border, and a flag pole flower bed. Many generous donations of plant material and supplies were received from local garden centers and markets. A special thanks to Will Sigle, 1993 Mas-ter Gardener, who regularly visited the site throughout the summer to monitor the growth and health of the flowers. The members of the Association, on more than one occasion, indi-cated that the flowers were beautiful this year. If you have ideas for general set-up or information next year, email, fax, or mail them to the Extension office. See you next year at the Middlesex County Fair!

Heard on the Helpline by Jay Scott

Our Helpline is a free program to offer Middlesex County gardeners help. Each day volunteer Master Gardeners “man” or “woman” the phones at the Earth Center’s Ranch House . Currently, from 10 -12 each morning, Monday – Friday, Mas-ter Gardeners take calls from people with questions or con-cerns. They offer information and advice for a wide variety of gardening problems and also act as a clearinghouse to offer the many fact sheets that Rutgers produces each year. You can use them yourself, if you don’t have a helpful neighbor. They are also great for all those questions you get asked in the Shop Rite if you are wearing your MG shirt! The helpline phone number is 732-398-5220. If you want to volunteer on the Helpline or have any ques-tions , contact Jay Scott at [email protected] .

It can be for a day a month or more. We do “on the job” training. This is a great chance to share all that knowledge we have learned and used every day.

Open House 2010


Executive Committee Report by Debbie Henry

We continue to make progress toward formalizing the run-ning of our Master Gardener organization. The by-laws have been voted on and approved and we have a nominating committee in place to find nominees for the upcoming elec-tion. This year’s election will be for the positions of vice-chair and corresponding secretary, which are new positions for the executive board. Anyone else who is interested in running for these positions can submit a nomination form and will be included in the elections. We are not voting on the positions of chair, treasurer or recording secretary until next year’s elections. Although I have acted as chair for the last 6 years, Kathy Dopart will hold the chair position for the coming year. Kathy is highly qualified for this position because she has been a representa-tive on our board for the past 5 years and she has been our representative to the state board for the last 4 years. Kathy is an enthusiastic and forward-looking advocate for our Master Gardener program and for anyone who has ever been to a meeting with Kathy, you know that she can easily get a groups attention. I will take over as recording secretary for the coming year. Pat Scarano, another of our veterans of the executive board, will continue as our treasurer. Since this will be my last executive report (as Kathy will take over doing this report for future issues) I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who made my tenure as chair of the executive committee enjoyable. Thank you to all of the board members and committee heads who have worked so hard on their chosen tasks. You have set a strong foundation to ensure that our Master Gardener pro-gram will continue to be successful. And thank you to all MG’s who have been part of our program. Whether I had a chance to speak with you or not, your choosing to be part of this program has made it all that much more successful. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

There are times when we harvest the most beautifully fresh kale, spinach and chard and don't have enough ways to prepare it. Caroline Yourcheck came across this site: www.vegetablegardener.com that has an extensive rec-ipe section with some very delicious sounding recipes. The link below is for spanakopita. It can be made using spinach, kale, chard or mustard greens. She hopes you find this site helpful. www.vegetablegardener.com/item/7962/savory-spanakopita

Garden Field Day

Garden Field Day 2010 by David Smela

The EARTH Center’s “Garden Field Day” Open House was held on Saturday, August 28, 2010. It was a beautiful day and the event was attended by 200-500 people. The exhibitors included the Master Gar-deners Q & A table, Monroe Township’s Environmental Mobile, the East Coast Greenway, and the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. Representing Middlesex County’s 4-H Program was the Puppy Pals Seeing Eye Dog Training Club, and the Eco-Maniacs Environmental Club. To keep the energy of the day up, food was provided by Elijah’s Promise Catering, and live acoustic music presented by the “Hot Club of the D & R” gypsy jazz band. Free samples of locally grown pro-duce were provided by Hauser Hill Farms, who was also selling their delicious fruits and vegetables. Our friends, the Lawrence Brook Wa-tershed partnership were present as always and happily provided their watershed tour of the park’s eco-system. Guests were given an introductory view of all the EARTH Center’s major display areas such as the Circle of Thyme Herb Garden, the Master Gardeners Vegetable Garden, Compost display Area, Rain Garden and Solar Panels. Of course one of the biggest attractions was the Butterfly House which had a constant stream of visitors. This event does a lot to promote the EARTH Center and the Middle-sex County Extension office. I would like to thank all the Master Gar-deners and Extension staff who made the day such a success. Al-though we are discussing the date of 2011‘s Garden Field Day, we know it will be an equally great event, especially with the incorpora-tion of an awesome idea presented by Donna Pemberton…What do you think of having a contest for the biggest fruit or vegetable sub-mitted by an attendee? Just like the County Fair has. Stay Tuned!


Plant Spotlight by Shyamala Sharma

Bitter Melons-Momordica charantia

This year at the display garden, I experimented with Bitter Melon/Bitter Gourd (Chinese) and “Karela” (India). This is a tropical and subtropical vine widely grown in all of Asia, Africa, Australia and the Caribbean. Bitter melon comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The typical Chinese Melons are 20–30 cm long, oblong with bluntly taper-ing ends and pale green in color and less bitter than the Indian variety. The bitter melon, more typical of India, is narrower with pointed ends, and a surface covered with jagged, triangular "teeth" and ridges. Coloration is green or white. Edible: Culinary and medicinal uses. Family: Cucurbitacase Genus: Momirdica Cultivar: Bitter Melon, Pinyin (Chinese), Karela (India) GROWING BITTER MELONS: If you like to eat a variety of vegetables and love the taste of exotic vegetables, then you should not miss bitter melons. Type of Vegetable: Exotic – Asian , Climbing Vine Skill required: Minimal gardening skills – but you must have an exotic taste Growing Season: May to September (In Zone 7) Growing Structure: A trellis is essential In zones 6-7, growing season is from May to September. Soak the seeds in water for 2 hours and directly sow outside when ground is frost free or start indoors in April, 6-8 weeks before last frost.

Plant in full sun and make sure to provide a structure for them to climb as they do not fruit well if spread on the ground. Loosen the soil at planting time and add compost. Bitter melons are pest free and very easy to grow, no critters like the bitter leaves. PS: I have seeds for anyone interested in growing this vegetable. CULINARY & MEDICINAL USES: Herbal and folk medicine uses Bitter melon juice for curing diabetes, and the leaves of the plant are brewed in hot water to create a tea to treat malaria. Chinese- Bitter melon is often used in Chinese cooking for its bitter flavor, typically in stir-fries (often with pork and douchi), soups, and also as tea. India & Pakistan- A traditional way to cook bitter melon curry is with onions, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, corian-der powder, and a pinch of cumin seeds. In mainland Japan- It is a significant component of Okinawa cuisine, and is credited with Okinawan life expectancies being higher than already long Japanese ones. In Indonesia- Bitter melon is prepared in various dishes, such as stir fry, cooked in coconut milk, or steamed. Bitter melons are also very popular in Trinidad and Tobago (known locally as caraille, carilley). Usually sautéed with onion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper until almost crisp.


Recipes From the Garden by Shyamala Sharma Bitter Melon Stir Fry

This recipe calls for red wine vinegar or even balsamic vinegar for a bit more "bite." but if you have a good Chinese rice wine feel free to substitute it. Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cook Time: 5 minutes Ingredients: 1 pound bitter melon (about 1 1/4 melons)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes.

2 tablespoons oil for stir-frying

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

a few drops sesame oil (optional)

To prepare the bitter melon, cut in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and cut on the diagonal into thin slices. Disgorge the bitter melon by sprinkling salt over the slices and placing them in a colander to drain for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, mash the chili pepper flakes with the minced garlic. Heat wok over medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and chili mixture. Stir-fry briefly until aromatic (about 30 seconds). Add the bitter melon. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then splash with the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. Stir in the sugar. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the bitter melon is browning and beginning to soften. Stir in a few drops sesame oil if desired. Serve hot and enjoy. Serves 4

The Bookshelf by Kathy Krug

The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants (Editors-in-Chief: Christopher Buckell and H. Marc Cathey) is the essential book for the gardener and garden club member who wants to locate identifying and care information about nearly every type of ornamental plant in one reference source. True, going online with either com-mon or scientific name works, but that requires reading at different sites, determining the worthiness of sources, and sifting for useful through useless information. This ultimate authority, with over sixty expert contribu-tors, is highly comprehensive and easy to use. Over 15,000 plants are listed alphabetically by botanical names

(An alphabetical listing of common names for cross referenc-ing appears in the back). The wide spectrum of garden plants does not overlook trees, shrubs, grasses and even herbs, rock garden and aquatic plants. Not every variety and cultivar could be included, but here you will find out about your Turtlehead gift or a friend’s Centaury plant after having had no success in checking other books. For each entry, descriptions are complete profiles, including various names, mature plant measurements, geographic back-grounds, and specific cultivation requirements. Plant photo-graphs have the quality expected of a DK Publishing product. Also of superior value, the book’s introductory sections give a comprehensive overview of plant botany, types of plants, cul-tivation practices—detailed, illustrated information to be re-ferred to again and again by new and experienced gardeners. This reviewer was lucky enough to find the 2004 revised edi-tion at a Borders store at the bargain price of $20.00 but had to get past a concern about carrying it. It’s a heavy book—best kept and read on a solid surface. Another negative feature is the small print of the common name index (An indispensable glossary of terms is in larger print). Aside from these unavoid-able complaints, the plant encyclopedia is huge in quantity and quality –and if located at a bargain price, it’s all the more worth the purchase.


Check Out Our NEW MG Website

by Angelo Gagliano

This year marks the inauguration of the official Master Gar-deners of Middlesex County’s website. The goal of the web-site is to be an online resource for Master Gardeners and for those wanting to learn more about our program. Having a website provides us with a central location to access and share information while giving us the opportunity to showcase who we are and what we do.

It also opens up a world of possibilities and has sparked new ideas for its future use. Can’t remember the date of the MG picnic? Just check the online calendar. Need information about an upcoming event?… check out the events page. For those just entering the pro-gram, the site features an up to date class schedule with class notes. The site also features our current and past newsletters and is the new home to our photos and videos. As time goes on, we will add new features and sections that will benefit our current MG’s and the public. For current MG’s, you can expect more resources such as an online volun-teer hours tracking form. For the public, some of the future enhancements will include the ability to apply online to join the program. We welcome suggestions for new content and uses of the site so please feel free to pass your ideas along. So check out our site at www.mastergardenersofmiddlesexnj.org. We hope you find it useful and look forward to hearing your feedback.

Around the Web by Kathy Krug

www.bhg.com This Better Homes and Gardens site will appeal to the gardener who wants a pre-fabricated garden design, complete with a list of plants, growth requirements, and planting instructions. Try to ignore the ads and click on “Gardening,” then “Garden Plans” and “Continue to your Destination.” (This last step to avoid the subscription offer request for personal data). Maybe you’d like to check out the Woodland Garden, which has Black Mondograss and Ostrich Fern among the nine recommended plants. Then click to “Download the detailed planning guide.” If the design suits your taste, it’s ready for saving or printing.

The Garden Frog

“Oh, hi!” was the Garden Frog’s only remark (uttered with great flair) to the small brown toad found jumping in the garden. She hadn’t seen any close relatives in a lifetime! Could the little cousin have been enticed by the birdbath carefully tended all summer long this year? Or was the at-traction the shady umbrella of Black-Eyed Susan’s stems, leaves and flowers?


21st Annual Master Gardener Fall Conference by Kathy Dopart

Selling bulbs at the Fall Conference L to R:: Ann Caroselli, Camille Randello, Pat Scarano, Kathy Dopart, and Pat Evans

The 21st Annual Master Gardener Fall Conference held on the 2nd of October was overflowing with gardeners. Trayes Hall held over 375 people who love plants, and Middlesex County was well represented with over thirty members of all classes, in attendance. The day began with a continental breakfast and Garden Mar-ket. After welcoming remarks by Dean Larry Katz, Senior Associate Director, NJAES , Nick Polanin, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Statewide Coordinator for the Master Gardener Program and Caryl Hanneman, President of the State Master Gardener Association, the morning speakers took the stage. Restoring Native Habitats to our Urban Centers was the first topic. Dr. Steve Handel, Rutgers Professor of Ecology and Evolu-tion and Director for the Center for Urban Restoration Ecol-ogy spoke to the group. Dr. Handel won over the crowd by showing how the small pockets of greenways in NJ can be changed into natural areas. Claire Sawyers, Director of the Scott Arboretum at Swarth-more College talked on “The Authentic Garden.” Ms. Saw-yers’ slides, showing the use of nature to create scenes in home gardens, were beautiful. During the award ceremony, Rich Weidman presented Phyllis Pappas, Margie Vogel, Martha Moncek, and Mary Schipmann (the 3M’s) with the Middlesex Master Gardener Award for Excellence. Phyllis, class of 06, has initiated quarterly general meetings with speakers in order to have MG’s acquire educa-tional hours and maintains the official record of volunteer hours. She also assembled a great team of butterfly volunteers who erected a butterfly house and kept it full of butterflies and healthy flowers in an unrelenting hot summer. The but-terfly house brought many people and children to the park to see the butterflies. Mary, Martha and Margie worked in designing, planting and sustaining the Circle of Thyme herb beds. They designed and maintained the “Square Foot Garden”, and the veggie garden. They also formed a team and planted 500 daffodils in the park and still had time to help with the butterfly house! They are also involved with the bee project and the wildflower pre-serve signs.

Middlesex County Executive Board members, Pat Scarano, Camille Randello, Ann Caroselli, Nancy Bruneau, Kathy Dopart and Associate Director, Pat Evans sold all the lily tree bulbs we had at the Garden Market by the end of the lunch period. The afternoon workshops were very informative and interest-ing. Columnist Valerie Sudol wryly described her Garden Se-crets to the group and Sabrina Tirpak, of the Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory spoke on Bees and Wasps in the Land-scape. Dr. William Mathis, botanist, discussed Gardening with Perennial Orchids and Lorraine Keifer, horticulturist, spoke on Gardening Naturally with Native Plants. The State Master Gardener Conference has grown significantly each year and it is well worth the price of admission. Hope to see even more Middlesex Master Gardeners there next year!


Garden Passion by Phyllis Pappas

This article is to celebrate our Master Gardeners’ passion for gardening by featuring their home gardens. We had several people volunteer for this, and we will be picking a name from a hat for each newsletter. Pat Scarano was the name picked for this edition. She has been a Master Gardener since 2003. Pat has always been an avid gardener and loves the opportunities the program gives her to share her love of gardening with others. In 2004 Donna Pemberton set up a meeting for a committee to function at the Master Gardener level; it was then called the Steering Committee with Debby Henry as the Chairman. Pat was an original member and has served as Treasurer for six years. She has been very active serving on the Helpline, plan-ning the class reunions, picnics, and fund raising. Her love of gardening was sparked when she was very young helping her grandmother in her garden in Belmar, NJ. Her grandmother’s garden was started with cuttings and seeds. Pat remembers that people would stop and stare at the beautiful garden. When she bought her home 35 years ago, she started her own garden. She has a half acre of land that is full of beautiful per-ennials and annuals. Her passion for hybridizing daylilies be-gan when she dug up Ditch Lilies (hemoridallis) from the side of the road and planted them in her garden. She now has 180 different daylilies in her garden along with 30 hybridized spe-cies. Her garden contains a pool with beautiful Koi fish along with water Lilly plants and Louisiana, Japanese and Flag Iris. As a tribute to her grandmother, she has a circular garden with many perennials and an abundance of the annual, Zinnia, her grandmother’s favorite.

She has sparked the gardening bug in her son. He is a won-derful gardener and often goes shopping in her garden for great plants. All her grandchildren love to pick flowers in her garden. Pat says she is very successful in planting and trans-planting plants. Her secret is to make sure her hole for the plant is filled with lots of mud on the bottom so the roots get plenty of water to start their new life. Pat belongs to the Garden State Daylily Club which she says, “Is an amazing club; the speakers are great and I get help from the members on hybridizing.” She also belongs to the East Brunswick Garden Club. Pat has recently volunteered to head up a committee to pre-pare a playhouse for the Children’s’ Garden with a green roof. Good luck Pat, It’s great to have a Master Gardener like you.


HAPPENINGS by Kathy Dopart and Phyllis Pappas

General Membership Meeting: On July 27th Michael Wolenta, a Master Gardener and intern at the Earth Center, spoke on “Plant Breeding”. His presentation was very de-tailed and informative. At the meeting Kathy Dopart in-formed the group that they would be receiving the new pro-cedures for our MG organization via e-mail and were re-quired to accept them or reject them if they had a change. The meeting was well attended and everyone enjoyed the food and interaction with each other. Butterfly House Dedication to Barbara Krutzel: On the evening of June 29th the group met to dedicate the Butterfly House to Barbara. She loved working on the House and also worked with Jeff Peck printing the beautiful signs outside the House. She died shortly after the House was completed. At the dedication a sign was affixed to the House with her name and we released butterflies in her honor. Her family attended the dedication and was so happy and proud of her for this honor. Evening in the Garden: On August 17, once again Camille Randello, Ann Caroselli and Pat Scarano hosted a lovely eve-ning for an outdoor gathering at the gardens. Wonderful food and drink were devoured by all. It was great fun and a chance to talk to everyone without any meeting agenda. Butterfly House Tours: The Butterfly House was open for tours every Saturday from 10 am– 12 pm during the summer. It was a huge success with many visitors, thanks to the volunteers who assembled, planted, mulched, weeded, watered, hosted and then took it all apart for next year. Speakers Bureau 2009: Master Gardener Volunteers did 38 speaking assignments all over Middlesex County. Topics cov-ered were: Horticulture Therapy, soil and composting, plant selection, deer problems, herb gardens, organic home gar-dens, holiday and pumpkin craft and much more. Special thanks to all who participated.

Horticultural Therapy: Master Gardener’s Martha Moncek and Susan Roberts have been holding monthly sessions with the members of the “Garden Club” at the VA Home in Menlo Park, NJ. The patio garden planted by several

Master Gardeners in the spring has delighted VA residents, visitors and staff and has been an inviting place for them to sit and enjoy the sweet smells of summer. Many flowers, herbs, lettuce, tomatoes and peppers were grown in containers and created a welcome sight for all. This therapeutic gardening program will continue the 2nd Tuesday in November and December at 10 am and all Master Gardeners are invited to attend!

Barbara Krutzel’s husband and daughter at the butterfly House dedication

Evening in the Garden


Beekeepers Update by Pat Evans

Photo courtesy of Pat Geyer, Davidson Mill Pond Park patron, who was kind enough to allow us to use this shot in our newsletter.

In the evening of August 26, fifteen Beekeepers and soon-to-bee Beekeepers met at the EARTH Center to get sticky. The yield from 3 hives was about 6 gallons of honey, and every-one had a turn at extruding the sweet stuff from the wax foundation the bees had obligingly built out and filled. After covering the conference room floor with a large tarp, plastic bins filled with full honey frames were brought in, and two at a time, prepared for extrusion. We were thrilled (and relieved) to have Al DeVito, experi-enced beekeeper and father of MG Joyce DeVito, present to instruct us in the art and science of the extrusion process. I cannot even imagine how many mistakes we would have made without his guidance. Like a lot of things, there’s no experience like hands-on experience!

A heated knife was used to cut the tops off the capped honey as each frame was held over a de-capping tank to catch the excess honey as it oozed out. Then the frames were placed in an extruder, a rather large, stainless steel version of a salad spinner, and gently hand spun so that the centrifugal force released the balance of the honey into a 5 gallon pail. Later, the used but sticky frames were put back into the hives for a day or two, where the bees did a nice job of cleaning up the frames for next year’s use. Every one of us had a hand in the process, and I got to bring home all the raw honey for bottling. Each participant received a jar of honey as a souvenir of the evening, and the rest is in the Master Gardener Ranch House for sale to Master Garden-ers. Next year we expect an even higher yield, since we now have 2 years worth of experience under our belts. Let’s all pray for the girls over the winter so they emerge safe and happy in the spring.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Great Extrusion event: Joe Mironov Joyce DeVito Linda Larson Normadelle Swale Lenore Broyard Marshall Nazin Joan Kenyon Jan Carrato Bob Marshall Al DeVito Lynn Marshall Janice Hazeldine Joseph Smith Dale Duchai Pat Evans

Are You on the MG Email List?

This ensures that you get timely updates regarding Master Gardener activities, information on volunteer opportuni-ties, as well as various state-wide updates. If you are currently a Middlesex County Master Gardener and would like to be included, just email the Communica-tions Committee at: [email protected] with your email address and request to be put on the list. It’s as easy as that!


Master Gardeners and Rain Barrel Presenters at Green Fest 2010

by April-Lippet-Faczak

Saturday, October 2nd at the Garden State Exhibit Center, April Lippet-Faczak and Diana Krewinkle represented Mid-dlesex County Cooperative Extension as Master Gardeners and Trained Rain Barrel Presenters. Visitors enjoyed picking up various fact sheets and seeing the Master Gardener's and Rain Barrel displays designed by Dave Smela and Michele Bakacs. A few people were interested in becoming Master Gardeners. There were many questions about rain barrels because raising public awareness about water conservation was one of the topics of this three-day environmental expo o r g a n i z e d b y P l a n e t H u g g e r E v e n t s .

On Friday, October 1st, Sara Mellor and Amy Boyajian from Rutgers Water Resources Program, demonstrated the Enviro-scape "Messy Town" to school children which had them brain storming ways they can prevent pollution from going down their storm drains. The children enjoyed making their marks on two rain bar-rels which were donated by Rutgers and designed by April Lippet-Faczak These eco-friendly themed barrels included "reduce your carbon footprint," wind turbines, solar chargers, compost and worm bins. Ed Begley, Jr., environmental activist and actor, signed the rain barrels. On Sunday, the rain barrels were raffled off. It was good to be able to help people understand how we are all part of a bigger "environmental" picture and how we can make a difference. Being a Master Gardener and Rain Barrel Presenter make this possible.

Garden Contest Workshop Draws Huge Crowd

by Linda Gaustan Submitted by Daphne Speck-Bartynski

On September 20th the Clearbrook Adult community had its first Garden Contest Workshop. Originally expecting about twenty attendees, they we were pleasantly surprised when forty-eight residents walked through the door. The workshop drew such a large crowd that they had to bring in more chairs. It was encouraging to see so many people in the community who want to improve the curb appeal of the homes in Clear-brook. Enthusiasm like this will improve the overall look of their community. The community had several guest speakers. Art Lee, Daphne Speck-Bartynski, and Judy Wagner, Master Gardeners from Rutgers, graciously donated their time to speak and answer questions. They gave out pamphlets and put together a very informative and useful presentation. Daphne and Judy also agreed to be the Clearbrook contest judges. Charles Gausten spoke about pH, (a measure of how acid or alkaline our soil is), and how to work with the soil, instead of fighting it. David Van Wart, owner of David’s Landscaping, put together a special hand-out for Clearbrook, and answered questions about landscape design. Rubin Parker, the chair of the Clear-brook Architectural Committee spoke about the CCA land-scape rules and was there to answer questions.

Clearbrook is a community which was developed in the mid 1970’s and has over two thousand homes and over three thou-sand residents. They decided to run this contest in an effort to beautify the community. A portion of their residents are well into their eighties and nineties. They are asking for vol-unteers to help some of their older residents who are physi-cally challenged to do some of the planting. If any Master Gardener intern wishes to volunteer for spring planting, they should contact Linda Gausten at 609-619-3222, or email: [email protected].

April Lippet-Faczak with Ed Begley Jr.


Sightings—MG’s at Work & Play

Chris Piech, Roberta Kressel, Judy Hudak and Susan Goldman Honorable Mention—Baby Bear Pumpkin

You never know what you’ll find at the fair!

Dale Duchai at the Butterfly House dedication Martha Monchek at the VA home


Safety in the Garden by Barry R. Weissman

The garden is a fun place to be but it can also hide potentially dangerous situations – let us look at some and see how we can protect ourselves and our family. Feet Who doesn’t like to run around barefoot in a beautiful lawn? Most of the time, that’s not a problem. The problem comes in when we can’t see what’s below the surface of the grass. Sticks, stones, seeds can all cause puncture injuries. I use to have a Honey Locust in my garden. That tree grew spikes that ranged from 2 to 4 inches in length and were multi-pronged. I had a spike go through the sole of my can-vas garden shoe when I walked near the tree one day. It was slow to heal and a painful injury. The answer is good shoes or boots with heavy ridged, non-slip soles. They will protect your feet from little dings and can help to keep your feet dry if they are water-proof. While mowing the lawn you definitely want to have sturdy shoes and maybe even steel-toed safety shoes. Flip-flops have no place in the garden while you are working there. Legs Mowing the grass is a chore but how many of us do it dressed correctly? The answer is safety-toed shoes as dis-cussed above; long pants and long-sleeve shirt. When clearing brush or pruning bushes, we sometimes have to wade into the middle of the plant to cut those limbs cor-rectly; good jeans (you already have good genes because you are a gardener) that are not too tight and not falling down will afford you minimal protection. Professionals rely on what the cowboys wore – chaps; leather leg covers that provide superior protection. Body Insects, sun burn, loose limbs on trees and shrubs – they are all out to get us while we are working in the garden. What’s the answer? A long sleeve-shirt or light-weight jacket will provide necessary protection. If you have sensitive skin and burn easily from excessive sun exposure, they have new fab-rics that provide a level of skin protection. The skin protec-tion factor or SPF rating can be the same or more than sun screen lotions have. Most dermatologists recommend that you use at least an SPF 30 on all exposed skin by putting it on

about 30 minutes prior to going into the sun(1). Depending upon your skin type, amount of time in the sun and how much sun you are exposed to, may mean that you need a higher SPF rating on your lotion. Hands Why do we put our hands where they will get us into trouble? We use our hands to pull, pry, lift and tug; dig and plant. But why, oh why, do we use them unprotected? Gloves come in a variety of types and sizes. If you are work-ing with pesticides and other chemicals, impervious gloves such as rubber or vinyl will protect your hands from inadver-tent contact. When pulling brush or pruning, leather palm gloves will give you the necessary protection while cotton gloves will protect your hands from general work around the garden. Remember that some gloves are disposable and the reusable gloves may need to be washed periodically. What happens if you use the wrong glove? What if you used a leather or cotton glove when you were mixing the pesticide chemicals? The glove will absorb the chemical, just like a sponge, and keep it in contact with your hand. You could get a rash from the constant contact. In this case, remove and discard the gloves and wash your hands with soap and cool water. Face and Eyes “The eyes are the window to the soul” and you need to pro-tect them. We take our work in the garden for granted. Us-ing our pruners to cut a branch, the end flies into our face. Running the lawn mower, it kicks up a stone at us. Where is your eye protection? (continued on next page)


(continued from page13) And no…regular eye glasses and sun glasses do not provide sufficient eye protection. You need industrial eye protection that meets the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard Z-87 (2) for industrial eye protection. This is the same type of safety glasses that workers in industry use to protect their eyes. These types of safety glasses come in a variety of styles and sizes; in plain lens for those who do not normally wear glasses or in prescription lens for those that do. When pouring and handling hazardous liquids, the face in addition to the eyes, needs protection and that’s where a face shield comes in. It fits over the safety glasses and provides splash protection. Handling dry chemicals or even while mowing the grass, particles in the air can make it difficult to breathe or make us sneeze. A covering over the mouth and nose is called for and your bandana handkerchief is not good enough. Such a device is known as a respirator. Like all of the other personal protective equipment (PPE) that we have been discussing, it comes in a variety of sizes and styles. The simplest is known as a filtering face piece respirator. It has two straps and looks like a paper-mask for the face. These are tested and certified by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). They are designed to filter out very small particles with a high efficiency. You will need to read and follow the directions to ensure that the respirator fits you and you are wearing it correctly. Head When working around overhead obstacles such as when you are un-der the deck cleaning up or cutting limbs off of trees, hitting your head or getting hit in the head can hurt, possibly very seriously. You need to protect yourself with an industrial hard hat. It is designed to take a blow or a bump and protect you. Inspect the hard hat before use to ensure there are no cracks or weak spots. If there are, replace it.

Summary All of this equipment has been manufactured to meet various specifications (such as ANSI) and will do its job of protecting you. You, however, must do two things: 1. Read and follow the directions to proper use, maintain and clean the equipment. 2. Use the equipment. Just because you have a hard hat sitting in the garage doesn’t mean that it will protect your head the next time you cut down a tree – it needs to be on your head while you are cutting down the tree. _______________________ Footnotes:

American Academy of Dermatology; www.aad.org/media/background/factsheets/

fact_sunscreen.htm ANSI Standard Z-87, Occupational and Educational Personal

Eye and Face Protection Devices, http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?

sku=ANSI%2FASSE+Z87.1-2003 About the Author Barry R. Weissman is a Certified Safety Professional and has been a graduate Master Gardener since 1990. He is offering to answer questions about safety and environmental handling of garden chemicals to any Master Gardeners. You can reach


Calendar of Events

Save the Date!

The 2011 Annual Reunion Tuesday, January 18

Snow Date Tuesday, January 25

NOVEMBER

9 MG BOARD MEETING What: Meeting of Executive Board, Reps. Committee

chairs and all interested MGs and MG Interns. When: 7:00 pm Where: MG Ranch House Conference Room Who: Questions? Contact Debbie Henry 30 MG GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING - EVENING What: Meeting for all MGs and Interns. Speaker – TBA. When: 6:00 pm Where: EARTH Center conference room Who: Questions? Contact Claire Butkus

DECEMBER 7 MG BOARD MEETING What: Meeting of Executive Board, Reps. Committee

chairs and all interested MGs and MG Interns. Schedule coming year. End of year party. When: 7:00 pm Where: TBA Who: Questions? Contact Debbie Henry 30 MG GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING - EVENING What: Meeting for all MGs and Interns. Speaker –

TBA. When: 6:00 pm Where: EARTH Center conference room Who: Questions? Contact Claire Butkus

NAME CONTACT INFO

Claire Butkus 732-828-0413 or [email protected]

Pat Evans 732-829-8933 or [email protected]

Jan Carrato [email protected]

Debbie Henry 732-545-8032 or [email protected]

Kathy Dopart [email protected]

Ida Howell 732-718-1587 [email protected]

MaryAnne McMillan 908-447-8360 or [email protected]

Phyllis Pappas [email protected]

Carol Richiusa 732-398-5262 or [email protected]

Camille Randello 732-679-3589 or [email protected]

David Smela 732-398-5268 or [email protected]

RCE of Middlesex County 42 Riva Avenue Davidson’s Mill Pond Park North Brunswick, NJ 08902

We’re on the Web! http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/mastergardeners or http://co.middlesex.nj.us/extensionservices

Phone: 732-398-2586 E-mail: [email protected]

The Garden Spade Middlesex County Master Gardener Newsletter published quarterly MG Staff: Executive Editor.... MaryAnne McMillan Layout/Format Editor.... Caren White Copy Editors.... Dorothy Martin, Debbie Henry Contributing Reporters..... Kathy Dopart, Phyllis Pappas Columnists…. Pat Evans, Debbie Henry, Kathy Krug, Pat Scarano, Jay Scott, Shyamala Sharma RCE Staff: Bill Hlublik Rich Weidman Donna Pemberton David T. Smela Fall/Winter Edition columnists: Angelo Gagliano April-Lippet-Faczak David Smela Rich Weidman Barry R. Weissman

The Middlesex County Master Gardeners program is supported by the Board of Chosen Freeholders: Christopher D. Rafano—Freeholder Director Ronald G. Rios, Liaison Carol Barrett Stephen J. “Pete” Dalina H. James Polos Mildred S. Scott Blanquita B. Valenti

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