news 2012 Calendar of Events

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1 Spring 2012 Volume 22, Number 22 WAGNER FARM ARBORETUM news 2012 Calendar of Events Inside this issue: 2012 Calendar of Events 1 WFA Greenhouse Fundraising Arbor Day at WFA 2 Demonstration Tomato Garden Finding Higher Ground 4 Movie Night 5 The Barn 6 Community Garden Update 7 A Letter from Suzanne Community Garden Orientation Community Fire House, Community Place, Warren Whole Foods Fundraising Event 2245 Springfield Ave. Vauxhall Giving Garden Orientation Growing to Give Spring Blooms Arbor Day Event Presented by Jeff Calvert from Sava Tree Boutique March 1 PM March 21stAll Day March 1 PM First date April 20th April 27th April 27-April 29 * May 4-May 7 * May 11-May 13 * Plant sale May 11-May 13 * Children s Garden Event Warren Green Fair 2012 Sponsored by Warren Green Team & Warren Environmental Commission Greenhouse Fund-raising Kick-Off to include a Butterfly conservatory Bees honey extraction Hosted by Rich Lepik May 12th May 9 AM - 12 noon June 2nd June 23rd Brite Nites October Holiday Boutique (Unless otherwise indicated event is at the arboretum) October Dates TBD

2 Page 2 WAGNER FARM ARBORETUM news Volume 22, Number 22 Wagner Farm Arboretum Launches Fundraising for Greenhouse By Andrew Elwell The grounds of the Wagner Farm Arboretum may soon feature a new structure: a greenhouse. Wagner Farm Arboretum started a fundraising campaign to raise $100,000 for a greenhouse as part of the organization s master plan. A formal kickoff is scheduled for June 2nd. The greenhouse will feature space for a native butterfly conservatory as well as space to expand the organization s Giving Gardeners Project. The new structure will allow Wagner Farm Arboretum to host docent-led tours to introduce community members to native plants and wildlife in the area. We are excited to add the greenhouse to Wagner Farm Arboretum, Suzanne Smith, President of Wagner Farm Arboretum, said. This new addition will allow us to expand our programs and services to the community. Fundraising began with the annual Holiday Boutique. Proceeds from the Holiday Boutique, donations from 2011 and a grant from Wells Fargo has gotten fundraising off to a quick start, but more help is needed to reach their goal. We ve seen a lot of support from the community for the new greenhouse, Smith said. There is a lot of ex- citement around this. Members of the Greenhouse Committee are working to recruit donations from local businesses and community members. Planning is underway for fundraising events to drum up support for the greenhouse. Those interested in donating to the greenhouse fund or volunteering with the Arboretum can contact Suzanne Smith at suzannesmith@wfafnj.org. How to Fill our Landscape Voids Join Us at the Arboretum for Arbor Day on April 27 By Jeff Calvert 2011 has left us. Left us with a different look and not necessarily for the better. A visit in late August by a stormy lady named Irene was quite unwelcome and she took some of our large shade trees with her. Then right before we could enjoy our skittles and other Halloween candy mother nature again sent an unwelcomed guest. To me this guest was the worst I've seen in my 18 years in the tree business. We didn't lose entire trees, in most cases but then again we might as well have. So now we kick off 2012 and hopefully we are planning on filling our landscape voids. Maybe you have more sunlight with the loss of trees or significant canopy loss. Now might be a good time to add that evergreen you always wanted. Evergreens not only prefer dry soil but they adore full sunlight. If fall color is your objective we all know how beautiful Maples look in October but have you ever considered a Black Gum? These are different than Sweet Gums and don't produce those spiny balls. They do however produce a jaw dropping red fall foliage. I can't say I can argue with someone fearful of larger trees by the house anymore, but this shouldn't stop you from looking into some really attractive trees like a Red bud or a Silverbell. Let's not forget about those low spots that need coverage too. Is your foundation in need of a makeover? If so and you don't want the local deer feasting on your investment, plant Boxwoods or Barberry. Andromeda's also will not be deer targets but prefer shade and don't like lots of sunlight. Stop by a local nursery and help restore our landscape for us and future generations to enjoy. To learn more, join Jeff at the Arboretum on Arbor Day, April 27. Jeff will be demonstrating pruning and planting techniques. In addition, he will answer all your tree questions.

3 Page 3 WAGNER FARM ARBORETUM news Volume 22, Number 22 Demonstration Tomato Garden By Carl Lewis, NJAES Rutgers Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Submitted by Ernie Cottrill If you passed by Giving Garden plot D3 last season, you would have noticed a brochure box with NJAES* Rutgers Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets on growing tomatoes. The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Somerset / Hunterdon (MGOSH), certified by Rutgers University, engage in public outreach activities and are expected to continue educating themselves on various gardening topics. What a great opportunity then, to adopt a Giving Garden plot and use it to showcase and learn about best practices while growing produce for local food banks. Listed below is my experience with the 8 best practices from Fact Sheets FS678 Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden and FS1102 The Stake and Weave Training System for Tomatoes in the Home Garden along with some tips from the 2011 Rutgers Home Gardening School. Gardening and Landscaping Fact Sheets are available from njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/. Soil Tested, ph Adjusted A soil sample analyzed by NJAES Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory indicated a ph of 7.45, which is above optimum for most plants. The ph needed to be in the range for tomatoes. Powdered elemental sulfur, an organic soil acidifier approved for vegetable gardens was applied at the recommended rate. By mid season the ph was 6.5. All other macro and micronutrients were adequate, so only nitrogen was needed. Fish emulsion was applied at the rate recommended by the soil test before planting and mid-season. Weed Block Weeds were not a problem not only because weed block was used; but because of a process called winnowing. The plot was deep cultivated and left untouched until the weed seeds germinated. The plot was then shallow cultivated, killing off the weeds, and then planted. The shallow cultivation prevents new weed seeds in the soil from coming to the surface. Disease Resistant Varieties Better Boy and Early Girl hybrids were the two indeterminate varieties that were available and had good disease resistant profiles. Unfortunately, they were planted as early as they could have been (5/20) and just as they were maturing, the weather got hot and slowed their ripening. They managed to stay disease free until the wet spell we had later in the summer. Deep Planting for Stronger Root System Tomatoes can send out roots from their stems, so each seedling was planted deep up to their first leaves. The vines and root systems were very robust, adding to their strength, health and ability to resist pests and diseases. Spacing for Good Air Flow Good air circulation is another method of disease prevention. The tomatoes were spaced 2 apart in two rows, 40 plants in all. Buckwheat planted to attract Beneficial Insects Beneficial Insects need carbohydrates as well as protein. Protein they get from the insects they eat, but carbohydrates must come from flowering plants. One of their favorites is buckwheat, which was planted in between the tomato plants along the outer perimeter. At any given time, you could see at least two different kinds of beneficial insects on each of the buckwheat plants. The buckwheat, however, is an indeterminate plant that needed to be cut back several times during the growing season. Pruned to Enhance Vigor Sucker growth below the first Y branches of each tomato plant was pruned to enhance vigor, but not limit the total yield. Stake and Weave Trellising Stake and Weave is a method of supporting a row of tomatoes by placing a stake at both ends of the row and between every other plant, then weaving twine between the stakes. It provides support without tying the plants directly to a stake. It s efficient, less costly and worked well all season. Despite hurricane Irene, the demonstration garden yielded approximately 250 lbs of tomatoes. Seventy-five fact sheets went home with garden visitors and some of the best practices will be adopted more broadly next season. *NJAES New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Photo courtesy Cathy Tchorni, NJAES Rutgers Cooperative Extension Master Gardener

4 Page 4 WAGNER FARM ARBORETUM news Volume 22, Number 22 Finding Higher Ground Book By Amy Seidl Book Report By Keith Cooper This book's subtitle is Adaptation in the Age of Warming. The author asks us to consider how we will adapt to the long term nature and irreversibility of climate change. Even with mitigation of the factors promoting it, climate change will persist for the next thousand years. Can we now begin to consider new ways to imagine the future? Seidl introduces the concept of ecological adaptation to climate change with descriptions of genetic changes in a salad green in California, red squirrels in the Yukon and mosquitoes living in pitcher plants. The mizuna adapted to drought by becoming shorter, flowering earlier and setting fewer seed. The red squirrels fed on the more numerous spruce tree cones, bred and birthed earlier and their young had better chances of surviving winter. The mosquitoes reset their biological clocks, extending their time for reproduction. These species adapted by natural selection, in the Age of Warming, with rapid evolutionary change. Natural selection has acted on humans, too, as we've adapted to novel conditions over the past hundred thousand years. Beyond our genes, though, our adaptations include the development of culture with learned behaviors like farming, technology and urban living. Seidl affirms that if our cul- ture has the necessary flexibility, we have the opportunity to fit in with our ever changing environment. Noting first some recent changes in bird and mammal migration strategies, she shares concern with human migration. "Environmental refugees (twenty million in 2007) are leaving their homes because of floods, hurricanes and droughts strongly associated with climate change." Literally seeking higher ground are the whole populations affected by rising sea levels, migrants looking for a place where there is still room. She proposes that we will help each other as we find ourselves migrating. Changing in place by adaptive agriculture is requisite in Seidl's view of our future. She cites Carl Fowler's "The coolest growing seasons of the future will be hotter than the warmest seasons of the past." Farmers in her Vermont locale are taking first steps in generating food in a time of global warming, even learning to grow rice. Here in Finding Higher Ground Seidl transitions to developing perspectives on long term problem solving, which includes finding higher moral ground. Before the family began their efforts to create carbon -controlled living on a Vermont hillside, and got their gardens going, they bought shares in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project. They sought increasing self-reliance with wind power, photovoltaic panels, heating with wood, drying laundry over the stove, installing double-paned windows and by creating a list of more changes they'd like to make, while wrestling with their use of fossil fuels-- "Carbon complicity." Seidl has some hope for assists from improving technology. She hopes that research on artificial photosynthesis will yield home-based systems that use sunlight and catalysts in water to produce hydrogen to feed fuel cells which would then yield electricity and water. Perhaps "mega-agribusiness technologies will work." But her major concern is the development of local responses to climate change as the beginnings of grassroots support for the national and international legislation yet to come. Participating in the CSA, trying out eating as a locavore, finding "true to life" actions that establish relations with others are her exemplification and advocacy. Her new ways to run a household and to think about self-reliance and sufficiency have been eminently shareable. Eating from local resources ties in with sharing and enriching other community resources. Seidl describes how a school visit to her home led her to involve other parents in installing a solar system at the school. Curriculum development and a school garden followed. The middle school which receives their children is now installing 200 kilowatts of solar energy on its roof. For the children, solar would become the new normal. Seidl sees these events as exemplification of adaptation in the Age of Warming: "Impressed by what our little elementary school had done, a well-connected group of individuals moved to the next level of change, increasing the resilience of our community with distributed renewable energy, advancing and normalizing the alternatives to fossil fuels and pragmatically leading the transition as adults aware of the crises at hand and the need to adapt to them.." Seidl asks us to consider selfreliance and sufficiency-- having enough--as guides in finding ways to replace carbon-dominated consumerism. An historic cultural shift is beginning, a "Great Turning" based on environmental ethics, and we are asked to participate in social and adaptive responses to climate change as we enter unknown territory. A brave persistence in the reformation of our lives and a brave belief that we can endure the Age of Warming are the bulwarks illuminated by this existential ecologist.

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6 WAGNER FARM ARBORETUM news Volume 22, Number 22 Page 6 The Barn An Iconic Figure to be Demolished By Suzanne Smith The next time you visit the arboretum things may look very different. On March 5th the demolition of the barn will start. It s hard to believe that the iconic figure will no longer be seen as you drive down Mountain Avenue. Fortunately the silos will remain in wait of a new structure to tie them back together. As many of you know the barn was structurally damaged a few years ago in a snow storm. Since that time insurance issues were addressed, with the big decision being should it be repaired or replaced. Since repairing it would only make the structure stable, however, still unusable the decision was made to replace it. Although there have been some meetings to address the details of the replacement, more discussion is needed before an architect will be hired to draw up the plans. Some of the items discussed have been a large event area, a couple of smaller rooms for meetings/ classes, an arboretum/ recreation welcome area and a warming kitchen. The arboretum s new landscape master plan includes a greenhouse to be provided by the arboretum. Fundraising has started towards our $100,000 goal. After doing more research it appears that we will probably put in three greenhouses instead of one large one. The first one you will enter from the new building will be a butterfly conservatory; the next one will be split into two areas, one to raise butterflies and the other half an educational area. The third greenhouse will be used to grow plants. During the demolition we are asking everyone to limit their visits to the arboretum to after 4:30 during the week and on weekends. We expect the project to be completed by April 1st. We appreciate your patience during this time. It s sad to see the barn go, but it opens up so many possibilities.

7 WAGNER FARM ARBORETUM news Volume 22, Number 22 Page 7 Community Garden Spring 2012 Update By Jonathan Jeans Chairman of the Garden Committee The Community Garden at the Wagner Farm Arboretum is getting ready for the warm weather and kicking off the new season. After what has been a warm Winter after a really wet 2011, we are all anxious to get out and start gardening. The year 2012 finds several new volunteers managing the Community Garden. dener and they have started with a burst of enthusiasm. Pam Farina stepped down as the Garden Manager to take over Membership for the Arboretum. We were very lucky to find three gardeners willing to comanage the garden. They are Anna Murphy, John and Mary DeLello. With three people managing the garden we hope we can be much more proactive in helping out our gardeners. Of course, Ernie Cottrill continues to be the dynamo running the Giving Garden. He has even bigger plans this year with the garden. Soon he will be putting in a 16 foot by 24 foot cold frame greenhouse that will enable him to raise more early vegetable starts and also extend the season further into the Fall. It will also benefit the Growing to Give Program. The garden officially opens March 11 after our garden orientation. Everyone associated with the garden is encouraged to be at the orientation at the Community Firehouse in Warren. The barn will be taken down this Spring and it will slightly interfere with our access to the garden. We hope that it will be completed by April 1 when the season begins in earnest. By the time you are reading this Spring will be around the corner and the garden will become inhabited again by gardeners. There are many early season tasks to After many years our Garden Administrator, Holly Hall, stepped down to concentrate on our Children s Garden. Joe Sagarese has stepped in and has already made a big impact. Looking over the garden he somehow found four more areas to create plots. All the plots have been rented for 2012 and there is a long waiting list. Joe personally met with each new gardo in the garden mulching the paths, final weeding (yes weeds take hold during the winter and spring to life about March 1), preparing the soil, planting seeds (likely indoors), etc. Late March many of us will plant the very early season vegetables like peas, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, arugula, etc. By April I am expecting to pick the first Spring greens! Hope to see you all out in the garden this year. Also hoping for a little less rain this year! Gardeners of Watchung Hills Presentations The gardeners of Watchung Hills, General Meeting, will have presentations from two of their Rutgers University scholarship recipients on Tuesday, March 27th. The evening starts with some special refreshments at 7:30 pm to welcome our student speakers. Alexandra Bolinder-Gibsand, will discuss her thoughts about Landscape Architecture. Evan Ralph s talk will be entitled, Architecture is Landscape, Landscape is Architecture. Both students are among the best in their graduating class. We are proud to be able to sponsor them. Everyone is invited. Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 27th at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. 725 Mountain Avenue, Berkeley Heights. Please call Barbara Troianello at (908) for further information.

8 Wagner Farm Arboretum Volunteer Opportunities If you d like to get involved we have many volunteer opportunities available. Meet new people and have a direct impact in creating a beautiful natural environment for all generations to enjoy. Whether you d like to pick up a shovel and dig or use your expertise in another area there is a position for you! Buildings and Grounds, Community Garden, Giving Gardeners Project, Education and Community Programs, Fundraising, Grants, Membership and Volunteers, Public Relations Please visit us at our Website: Officers and Trustees: Suzanne M. Smith, President Carol Senff, Vice President Karen Manner, Secretary William Apgar, Treasurer Julie Gnoy, Trustee Holly Hall, Trustee Jonathan Jeans, Trustee Meera Rao, Trustee Barbara Sullivan, Trustee Here we are again, the holidays are a memory and the seed catalogs are coming fast and furious. We already have all of the garden plots rented thanks to our new garden administrator Joe Sagarese and are looking forward to orientation on March 11. We continue to have a waiting list so if you have been considering renting a plot I would suggest you let Joe know that you want to be on the list and hopefully you will have a plot for the 2013 season. About the Arboretum: The mission of the Arboretum is to provide environmental and horticultural education of children and adults through the development of plant life in a beautiful, natural setting. All of the programs offered throughout the year as well as the maintenance of the gardens would not be possible without a volunteer staff that is dedicated to the continuing growth of the Arboretum. As we continue to grow, we create new and innovative fundraisers to support our goal for additional gardens and educational programs and facilities. ************************************************** Disclaimer: The articles, reviews and news items contained herein should not be interpreted as an endorsement by WFAF of any viewpoint espoused or of any publication cited. Any copyrighted material not specifically authorized by the owner is made available in an effort to advance the public s knowledge and understanding on the subject discussed and therefore constitutes a fair use of such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. Dear Members and Friends tee has already started planning for Growing to Give as well as planting seeds at Duke Farms who has so generously agreed to share a portion of a greenhouse with us. We will again celebrate spring with Spring Blooms that will include our plant sale, spring boutique and children s garden event. This year the Warren Township s Green Team will be adding an environmental awareness piece to the event. The Morris Somerset County Beekeepers will again be doing a honey extraction on June 23rd. If you missed it last year, you missed a great opportunity to learn about that wonderful natural sweetener honey. We will also have our 3 rd annual Brite Nites during the last two weekends in October. Our pumpkin carvers have already been thinking about some new elements for this year. We like to offer something new in the haunted house each year so if you have any ideas or know of anyone that has any ideas or would like to work on that production, please let me know. The demolition of the barn has started, with the silos remaining and waiting for the next phase of the project with the addition of a new building. Our new landscape design plan, as many of you know, includes a greenhouse, which will also house a butterfly conservatory. If you have not seen the new design please visit our website at We have very ambitious plans for Art classes were started right after the first of the year. They are given by Lisa Young and a portion of the class fees come back to the arboretum. The Giving Garden commitwww.wfafnj.org. We are planning a Greenhouse fundraising kick off this spring. I would like to thank everyone that volunteered in We would not have been able to have any of our events or programs without your help. I would also like to thank all of the trustees and members of the executive committee that have volunteered an unimaginable amount of time in order to make the arboretum a success. I look forward to seeing you in the garden. Suzanne Smith President, WFA