Article and photos by Joe Mish
Black oak leaves are ablaze in the most incredible orange color, which makes you wonder how the black oak got its name.
A robe of many colors is October’s alone to wear. It is a coarse cloth, woven with silken threads of yellow and orange, melting into the extreme end of the red spectrum. Set against a clear blue sky, the colors radiate with brilliance. While the sun is otherwise occupied behind gathering clouds, the colors are no less extraordinary, as they hold their sharp contrast, presenting with a soft matte finish.
As the robe is placed upon the earth’s shoulders, the colors slowly flow downward in an infinitely slow progression, best seen from high above the earth. With that image in mind, it is easy to visualize autumn as a living creature leaving a momentary trail of color across the breadth of the tilting earth.
An alternative to a live, time lapsed satellite image of autumn’s gradual crawl across the latitudes, is best seen from a lofty vantage point with expansive views. Though the view is static, the full range of colors is on display. The cloth of the colorful cloak lies tight against the contour of the wooded mountains, each undulating feature of the landscape accentuated by shade and light. On a typical sunlit October day, herds of white billowy clouds drift across the blue sky followed on the ground by their shadows trying to keep up. As the lagging shadows flow across the colorful mountainsides, the tints change for a brief moment to provide a sense of movement to an otherwise still image. The scene is more dramatic if you can imagine the passing shadows being that of the artist’s hand working as you watch.
Retreating from distant views to stand within the October woodlands, individual trees and stands of trees become the focus. Each species resplendent in their own genetically defined color, modified to some degree by soil conditions, specifically, available nutrients and moisture. Instead of looking at a mass of treetops where smudges of varied colors blend together, we now see the pixels that make up the distant image.
Comparing trees of the same species, we can see the individual variation of color. Many trees with yellow leaves such as hickories, Norway maples, cherry and tulip poplar trees are very consistent in color. Oaks, sweetgum and some maples, whose leaves have a red component, show the most diversity.
The most glorious displays of fall color are where we find them, scattered among the local landscape. Each, an emissary heralding the arrival of autumn; apart from the mass of color sweeping across the land.
We all have a perennial favorite we watch on a daily basis to gauge the progress of autumn color.
A lone white oak in the middle of a field or a native red maple pressing against the chain link fence in the backyard, as seen from the bathroom window, serve as daily alerts.
Among the many autumn images accumulated in my experience, the one that keeps appearing is an old abandoned farm road lined with Norway maples, all the same size. The tree tops form a tight canopy over the road, keeping it clear of weeds and paving it with a golden carpet of fallen leaves. The length of the yellow paved road has a hint of a vanishing point that beckons a traveler to follow deeper into the fire of autumn color.
Author Joe Mish has been running wild in New Jersey since childhood when he found ways to escape his mother’s watchful eyes. He continues to trek the swamps, rivers and thickets seeking to share, with the residents and visitors, all of the state’s natural beauty hidden within full view. To read more of his writing and view more of his gorgeous photographs visit Winter Bear Rising, his wordpress blog. Joe’s series “Nature on the Raritan, Hidden in Plain View” runs monthly as part of the LRWP “Voices of the Watershed” series. Writing and photos used with permission from the author.
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Dawn on the Delaware River, looking downstream from Hamilton, Mercer County, to the other side of the river and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
ABBOTT MARSHLANDS: The Abbott Marshlands are about 3,000 acres, about 1,300 wetlands and 1,700 uplands, along the Delaware River on the boundary of Burlington and Mercer counties in the Bordentown-Trenton area. An interesting point of the marsh is that it is both freshwater and tidal. While Delaware River saltwater going inland ends between the Delaware Memorial Bridge and Philadelphia, the tidal effect continues for miles upstream to the Marshlands. The Marshlands also are known as the Trenton Marsh and the Hamilton Marsh. More information is at http://abbottmarshlands.org/.
The Abbott Marshlands at Hamilton, Mercer County.
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES: Watch for monarch butterflies, “Danaus plexippus,” on their southern migration, to either Florida or, more likely, Mexico. This “super generation” are the great-grandchildren of last fall’s migrators and will make the complete migration. However, next year, they will begin northward, but will only make it so far, requiring three breedings to complete the journey north. Then, those great-grandchildren will become a “super generation,” making the entire journey south.
A monarch butterfly in my garden in August.
DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, BLACK VULTURES: I was driving to Princeton, Mercer County, to meet the lovely Pamela for breakfast and came across quite a scene on Route 27 in South Brunswick, Middlesex County – dozens of black vultures, “Coragyps atratus,” feeding on a dead deer. (As I mentioned last month, I do not recall seeing a black vulture locally until probably the 1990s. They are a southern species that has moved north.) Remember, nature is all around us, just keep an eye out for it.
Black vultures on Route 27 in South Brunswick, Middlesex County.
DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, CHESTNUT TREES: As I was driving through the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, I noticed a Middlesex County Parks and Recreation pickup at the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area. I had to talk to naturalist Eric Gehring about a volunteer project, so I turned around and pulled over. Eric was on a mission with Les Nichols of the American Chestnut Foundation, looking for chestnut trees, “Castanea dentata,” in the Conservation Area. Since around 1900, the American chestnut has been plagued by a non-native and extremely invasive and potent fungal blight, “Cryphonectria parasitica,” – estimated to have crippled up to 4 billion chestnuts initially. American Chestnut blight affects the tree upward from where it infects it. The tree, then, is able to sprout again from roots, only to have those shoots, except for rare cases, infected. The Foundation seeks good specimens, hoping to create resistance in future chestnuts. Eric asked if I knew of chestnuts growing in these woods. Yes, at Swing Hill (which Eric already knew about) and at Big Tree. Into the woods, we headed – on my part unexpectedly, but I would rather walk the woods my family has walked for more than 100 years than do chores around the house – looking for specimens that may produce sought-after seeds in the future.
An American chestnut, in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, infected with the fungal blight.
American chestnut leaves in silhouette – serrated with a surf wave-like pattern.
STINK BUGS: I had noticed one or two brown marmorated stink bugs, “Halyomorpha halys,” outside the house. This is an Asian species, apparently introduced accidentally in the Allentown, Pennsylvania, area in 1996. This week, I found one in the house on a blind in my living room — perhaps just the beginning of an infiltration for their overwintering. As a Rutgers University fact sheet says, “They enter houses through cracks in windows and the foundation and may be seen in large numbers during September and October.” If you go after one and, say, crush it, it will release an earthy odor. So, it is a nuisance, not a damaging bug to the house. However, it is a serious threat to crops. More information is available at https://njaes.rutgers.edu/stinkbug/. (As for crickets in the house, my $45,000 cricket deterrent project – that is the remodeling with the side benefit of keeping crickets out of the house – seems to be working. So far, only 8 crickets in the cellar and 2 in the living section of the house. A cacophony of crickets is beautiful music. A single cricket rubbing its legs in the wee hours like the fingernail scratching of a blackboard. While cleaning the garage, I may have discovered their last main intrusion route into the living section – through a crack/opening between garage floor and foundation.)
marmorated stink bug on a living room blind.
BIRD FEEDING: This is the first summer in years I have not gone all out feeding the birds in my yard. I miss watching them, but I saved quite a bit of money (because I use only sunflower hearts or kernels) and tried something new, letting the birds eat insects, serving as a natural pesticide. But the bird-feeder is back up and the birds are slowly discovering it. I am looking forward to beginning my day watching birds feed.
A chipmunk, “Tamias striatus,” in the yard.
FERRIS FARMS: Now that I am feeding the birds in my yard again, I stopped by my regular bird food supplier, Ferris Farms in East Brunswick, Middlesex County. I recall visiting Ferris as a youngster with my family. Mike Rutkowski and Tony Riccobono have always been friendly and helpful when I have asked gardening questions. See http://www.ferrisfarms.org/.
Gourds at Ferris Farms in East Brunswick, Middlesex County.
Pansies at Ferris Farms.
KITCHEN TABLE: The flower display on my kitchen table gets better and better. One, the Knock Out roses continued flowering. Two, the zinnias also continued blooming. Three, I learned the display looked better with the more zinnias that I used. Lastly, the gourds were the same as before but they seemed to be yellowing in color, making them more autumn-like. Of course, the antique, porcelain-top table adds to the country-ness of the display. On the down side, this rose bloom seems on its way out. (I have something up my sleeve, though: Grandma Annie Onda’s old kitchen table, with porcelain top and more ornate build, stands ready in my cellar to be moved upstairs to the kitchen.)
The kitchen table flower display.
ZINNIAS IN THE GARDEN: This week, my zinnias were distributed to the Helmetta Post Office, the lovely Pamela’s, and Jamesburg Dental Care (where I had my first dental appointment 55 years ago under Dr. Lew Goldstein). Butterflies continue to visit my zinnia patch.
A painted lady, “Vanessa cardui,” in the zinnia patch.
HURRICANE JOSE, THE GOOD: Jose’s effects brought out sightseers to look at the roughness of the ocean. And I saw parasailing surfers taking advantage of the winds at the Atlantic Ocean at Sea Bright, Monmouth County.
A parasailing surfer in the Atlantic Ocean at Sea Bright, Monmouth County.
WEEDS IN THE YARD: When I see some kind of vegetation popping up in the yard, I let it grow to observe it. So, year after year, pokeweed, “Phytolacca americana,” pops up, one plant along my driveway, another in my garden. Here is an interesting article on this complicated plant, http://nadiasyard.com/our-native-plants/american-pokeweed/.
Pokeweed in the garden.
MONMOUTH CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: A shout-out to the Monmouth Conservation Foundation, a not-for-profit land preservation group in Monmouth County, as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. Over the 40 years, it has helped save more than 22,000 acres of open space. (The Foundation recently contracted me to write two articles – one on the group’s origin and another on Monmouth County wildlife — for one of its upcoming publications.)
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were about 69 degrees to 74 degrees on the weekend of September 23-24.
A gull at the Atlantic Ocean beach at Sea Bright, Monmouth County.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For September 24, Sunday, to September 30, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:50 a.m. and set about 6:45 p.m. For October 1, Sunday, to October 7, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:55 to 7 a.m. and set about 6:30 to 6:40 p.m.
THE NIGHT SKY: The next full moon is the Full Harvest Moon October 5, Thursday.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
“Jamesburg Lake,” or more properly “Lake Manalapan,” on the boundary of Monroe and Jamesburg, Middlesex County, is about 35 to 40 acres. On the Outer and Inner Coastal Plains, there are few, if any, natural bodies of water. So, Jamesburg Lake on the Inner Coastal Plain is formed by the damming of Manalapan Brook.
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Joe is active with the Rutgers University Master Gardeners/Middlesex County program. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
A black gum, “Nyssa sylvattica,” changes color at Cranberry Bog in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta.
CHANGING COLORS IN THE PINE BARRENS AROUND HELMETTA: Black gum trees, ““Nyssa sylvattica,” are obvious with their leaves changing colors for the season. “Fall foliage,” meaning the changing colors as colder weather approaches, is a misnomer, because, here, in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, changing colors are noticeable beginning about July 15 to 31. I look for the peak of the coloring October 13 in wet areas and October 20 in dry areas, but, really, it is impossible to pinpoint a peak. If there is even a peak, because there may not be a uniform turning of colors.
“OPIENKI” MUSHROOMS, PINE BARRENS AROUND HELMETTA: As I drove a paved road through Jamesburg Park today, I saw a car parked at the woods and a woman at the car. She wore yoga pants, a short-sleeve pullover shirt, and sneakers, pants untucked — not really dressed as a woodswoman. So, I took a guess at what she was doing.
Mushrooms? I asked.
She said yes.
What kind, honey mushrooms?, I said.
The woman — Lana, who lived a few miles away from the site — said she did not know the name to tell me. Then, I noticed what sounded to be an Eastern European accent.
“Opienki”? I asked.
Yes, she smiled. How did you know that name?
A grandmother from Poland, I said.
Lana is from the Ukraine. She was picking edible mushrooms of the genus “Armillaria,” known by Polish people as “opienka” singular and “opienki” plural. “Pien” means stump in Polish and these mushrooms grow along the stumps of dead oaks. Hence, they also are known as “stumpies” — and “tan and yellow stumpies” because of their color and, of course, where they are found. But the general public probably would know them best by their common name, “honey mushrooms.”
Lana had bags filled with mushrooms in her car. (See the photos, which she let me take.)
Journalisticly, I am publishing this to inform people. In a neighborly way, I am hesitant to publish this because PICK THE WRONG MUSHROOM AND, AT BEST, YOU WILL GET SICK, AND, AT WORST, YOU WILL DIE.
I am 60-years-old and have been in these woods my whole life, and have heard stories from them going back another 50 or 60 years to when my maternal family settled here, and I will confidently pick ONLY ONE mushroom in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta: opienka. In the Jersey Midlands as a whole, I will confidently pick ONLY TWO: the second one, a morel, which I am familiar with on the Piedmont — say, at such areas as Princeton and Sourland Mountain.
I am “somewhat confident” to pick two more. But I made it to 60 and “somewhat confident” does not cut it. Remember the adage: There are bold mushroom pickers and there are old mushroom pickers. There are no old AND bold mushroom pickers.
If one must pick mushrooms, three bits of advice, even for the experienced picker: One, know how to call emergency responders, telephone 911; two, the telephone number of New Jersey Poison Control, 800-222-1222; and three, save one mushroom, perhaps on your kitchen counter, so doctors know the mushroom one ate.
I said good-bye to Lana, warning her of ticks, which can pass along disease such as Lyme, and chiggers, which will get one itching, beginning about 36 hours after leaving the woods, and scratching like crazy for days. (Me, man who got chiggers a week ago, here, in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta. Me, stupid man because I was not thinking and did not avoid grassy areas.)
(Dedicated to Grandma Annie Poznanski Onda, born 1885 in Poland, died 1972 in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta. And a big thank you to Ralph “Rusty” Richards, woodsman extraordinaire of the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, who continues to be a local woods mentor to me.)
Lana’s “opienki” mushrooms in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta.
ALSO IN THE PINE BARRENS AROUND HELMETTA: Look for fall bloomers, such as asters. Joe Pye weed, “Eutrochium purpureum,” remains blooming – and will do so until about October. Queen Anne’s lace, “Daucus carota,” continues blooming to about November. The seed heads of punks, or cat-tails, genus “Typha,” were fluffing as summer passes.
Joe Pye weed in bloom near the Ditch in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta.
CHIGGERS IN THE PINE BARRENS AROUND HELMETTA: I did a brief hike Friday, Sept. 1, and began itching around Sunday morning – chigger bites! Fortunately, I did not get a bad case, a bit of itching here and there on my legs. I first encountered chiggers, here, in about 2004. Some view chiggers as a Southern species moving north; Others will say we already had them up here. I knew of chiggers from hiking in the Pine Barrens down in South Jersey. The bottom line is they itch! So, I will scratch for a few days, then life will go on until the next round of chiggers. (A tip: Avoid grassy areas such as those I walked in on my hike. I just was not thinking.)
MA, GRANDPA, AND THE LOCAL PINE BARRENS: Perhaps I was not thinking of chiggers on Sept. 1 because my mind was elsewhere. Earlier that day, I had mailed in a donation to my church, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Helmetta, and a request for a Mass to be said in Grandpa Mike Onda’s honor October 11– the 100th anniversary of his death in Helmetta from tuberculosis at 35–years-old. He left a 32-year-old widow, Annie Poznanski Onda, and three children 5-years-old and younger. One of those children was my mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who was 3 when her father died. Her only memory of her father in later years was of her with him at Shekiro’s Pond in Helmetta. September 1 was the 22nd anniversary of Ma’s death at 81 in 1995. On this anniversary, I visited Shekiro’s Pond.
PESTS IN THE YARD: Neighbor Tom DeRose contacted me on the night of Labor Day, wanting to show me something in his yard. So, in the dark with flashlights, Tom and I were looking into a hole – perhaps big enough to shove in a few golf balls – of yellow jacket wasps. Ugh! They have scared me since I was a kid playing Army in this same neighborhood with Eddie Kasubinski. I pointed down the street at “The Swamp,” where Eddie and I got attacked – not by an opposing army, but by “yellow jacks.” I ran up the street crying. My father heard me, rushed into the backyard, saw the yellow jacks attacking me, grabbed my Army jacket, which had yellow jacks in it, and threw it aside. A number flew out of the jacket. I had got stung twice. Yellow jacks can be aggressive and multiple stingers. So, I advised Tom to stay away from his side yard until the cold weather sets in or spray a pesticide into the hole.
The yellow jacket nest in Tom DeRose and Trisha Miller DeRose’s side yard.
LAURINO FARMS: I was out in Monmouth County and stopped by Laurino Farms on Route 537 (between Laird and Swimming River Roads) in Colts Neck. There, I picked up a favorite of mine, white peaches, along with a jar of cranberry preserves. A shout out to Bobby Laurino, whom I saw briefly – personally, Bobby has patiently answered my gardening questions and he is an inspiration for me growing zinnias this year. And, more importantly, a shout out to Bobby for what he does for feeding the needy, including helping the Soul Kitchen restaurants (www.jbjsoulkitchen.org) in Red Bank and Toms River, founded by rock and roll star Jon Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, who live in Middletown, Monmouth County, to support the needy. For example, Laurino provides space at his farm for Soul Kitchen to grow food organically. Dorothea said, “Bobby is an amazingly generous person, not only with his contribution of land to the Soul Kitchen so we could raise our own vegetables, (but) he is generous with his time, his knowledge, his spirit. I am not sure if all farmers are as optimistic as Bobby, but he has a positive can-do attitude that maybe all farmers need. Farming is an unbelievably difficult life, with many uncontrollable variables: temperature, rain, sun, insects (Bobby does not use pesticides), animals. I have enormous respect for anyone who grows food for others.” (And a shout out to Dorothea, who handles herself with class and humility. Over the summer, Dorothea received a Volunteer Leadership Award in the New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards for Public Service for her work with Soul Kitchen. “I was very surprised and humbled by the Jefferson award,” Dorothea said.)
Zinnias and sunflowers at Laurino Farms in Colts Neck, Monmouth County.
DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, “BIDENS” FLOWERS: Although I know the yellow flowers of the genus “Bidens” are adorning unplowed farmland and disturbed areas, it still amazes me when I come across fields of these flowers. I was driving in southern Monroe and came across this batch, next to acres of soybeans.
Yellow flowers of the genus “Bidens” in southern Monroe.
IN THE YARD AND GARDEN: The zinnias and Knock Out roses continue to bloom earnestly.
Zinnias, Knock Out roses, and a gourd, all from the my yard or garden, decorate the antique porcelain-top table in my kitchen. One of Ma’s old coffeepots is used as a vase.
MY BELOVED ZINNIAS: While still flowering wonderfully, the zinnias appear to have contracted powdery mildew. So, I will be dealing with this.
Apparently powdery mildew on the zinnias.
IN THE GARDEN: My summer crop, except for the zinnias, was a disaster. The sweet corn was undeveloped, probably because of too much rain and I should have planted in a bigger block to foster pollination, but it was harvestable and tasty. Too much rain translated into no cucumbers, no cantaloupe. Very few tomatoes, because something ate the tops off the plants.
MECHKOWSKI FARM: Timmy Mechkowski farms in Helmetta. He reported good crops of sweet corn, beets, stringbeans, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, and onions. “Tomatoes were decent until the end, when we starting getting the rain.” Timmy reported a bad year for peppers, potatoes, and blackberries. The Mechkowski farm is one of my favorite places.
Sitting on the front porch of his house, Timmy Mechkowski goes over his planting list.
Timmy Mechkowski’s dog, Abby, probably the most beautiful and most gentle dog I have ever met.
NAVESINK RIVER: The Navesink River drains about 95 square miles in the Red Bank area of Monmouth County. It abuts the hilly geological formation that separates the Inner and Outer Coastal Plains. The river sits on the Outer Coastal Plain side. These photos were taken downstream of the Ocean Bridge from the Middletown side. The bridge connects Middletown and Rumson. The Navesink River is one of my favorite places in the Jersey Midlands.
On the Navesink River, looking toward the Oceanic Bridge connecting Rumson, left, and Middletown, right.
Along the Navesink River.
DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, GREAT BLUE HERON: As I was leaving the Navesink River, I noticed a great blue heron, “Ardea Herodias” – a large bird I am in awe of.
The great blue heron along the Navesink River.
BIG SKY COUNTRY, MONROE TOWNSHIP: As the Jersey Midlands continue to develop, there is more a loss of big sky views. But the area between the Applegarth and Wyckoff’s Mills sections of Monroe is still a holdout. Here, there are wonderful views over soy bean fields and cornfields.
Between Monroe’s Applegarth and Wyckoff’s Mills sections, looking over a soybean field toward Route 33.
Between Monroe’s Applegarth and Wyckoff’s Mills sections, looking toward Cranbury, with corn growing to the right and soybeans to the left.
THE FLIP SIDE OF BAMBI: I have published photographs of beautiful deer in nature. I need to point out the flip side: deer on farmland and in garden. Years ago, I was talking to a farmer who grew corn on the state’s Assunpink Wildlife Management Area in western Monmouth County. The farmer paid no rent, but he had to leave a percentage of his crop to feed wildlife. The way I recall the story: “The problem is,” the farmer said, “the deer don’t know which 75 percent is mine and which 25 percent is theirs.” As Jersey Midlands nature writer John McPhee has written, “Deer, in my opinion, are rats with antlers, roaches with split hooves, denizens of the dark primeval suburbs. Deer intensely suggest New Jersey.”
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were in the range of about 69 to 72 degrees during the weekend of September 9-10.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For September 10, Sunday, to September 16, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:35 to 6:40 a.m. and set about 7:10. For September 17, Sunday, to September 23, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:40 to 6:45 and set about 6:55 to 7:05. The fall equinox of nearly equal daylight and sunlight is September 22, Friday.
THE NIGHT SKY: This week, in the pre-sunrise sky, I saw the constellation Orion for the first time this season – Colder weather is coming with the winter constellations. The moon is waning after the September 6 full moon. The new moon is September 20, Wednesday. The next full moon is the Full Harvest Moon October 5, Thursday.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
Joey’s zinnias at the Hightstown Diner, in Hightstown, Mercer County.
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Joe is active with the Rutgers University Master Gardeners/Middlesex County program. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Article and drawing by Maya Fenyk, age 13
Hello! I am Lynx Rufus, but you can call me Blossom the Bobcat. I am New Jersey’s only native wildcat, and have been on New Jersey’s endangered species list since 1991. Sightings of me in the Lower Raritan Watershed and throughout the state are increasing, but are still rare.
You might think “Oh, bobcats must survive just fine. They are at the top of the food chain. They have no predators.” I am sorry to say, that’s just not true. Some of my predators are mountain lions, coyotes, foxes, owls, wolves and humans. I can’t say I blame them as I also prefer a carnivorous diet. My prey includes rabbits, rats, squirrels, ground-nesting birds, turkeys and even small or sick deer. But predator threats are not my biggest concern.
My species used to be abundant and flourishing in the coniferous and mixed forests of New Jersey until humans started deforesting our homes. Clearing land for retail, corporate and housing developments has a huge impact on my survival. And disruption of our habitat by pipelines has huge impacts on us and other endangered, threatened and special concern species. Other issues that affect me are hunting and being hit by cars. Getting hit by cars, development and pipeline installation are linked. Fragmentation of my habitat makes it hard for me to find shelter from the weather, cover for hunting and raising my babies, and forces me and my family to cross roads to find our dinner and safe spaces to hide. Please slow down through forested areas! When humans ruin my home, push me onto their roads, and drive too fast through the woods it really gets my angry purring going.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program’s Bobcat Recovery and The Nature Conservancy’s Bobcat Alley are both doing a great job restoring bobcats in New Jersey, but plans for pipelines and proposals to reduce protections under the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act and the federal Clean Water Act put our population recovery into question.
I must head to my den to check on my kittens, but I want to let you humans know how important it is to keep track of the numbers of my species. To report a bobcat or other endangered species sighting, please contact NJDEP. Thanks! And I say that with a final meow!
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
This photograph – that of a slug on a cantaloupe — basically sums up my garden’s summer fruit and vegetable crop. Slugs like moisture. And it was just a wet season.
GARDEN VOICES, NO.1: “It has simply been too wet for most things,” said Bob Eriksen, a retired biologist with the state Department of Environmental Protection who gardens in Warren County, just outside of the Jersey Midlands. “I have had groundhog issues in our garden, as well as deer. The deer are early — when the mulberries are hitting the ground, they spend time poking around our yard nibbling on everything. The groundhogs have been a major issue, eating everything from tomatoes and peppers to petunias. I have removed eight, so far, and believe there are still at least two more. I did not trap any last summer, but the summer before I caught nine.”
IN THE GARDEN: Aside from the zinnias and Knock Out roses, both of which continue to produce nicely, I pretty much have given up on the rest of the summer crop. Not one cucumber! And I fear not one cantaloupe will ripen properly. But the fall crop of carrots and lettuce, planted in early August, are coming up nicely.
Here comes the fall lettuce crop.
GARDEN VOICES, NO. 2: Paul Migut, a childhood friend and one of my gardening mentors, checked in from South River, Middlesex County. Paul, who is in his early 60s, has been food gardening since childhood: “I’d say this wasn’t the best of year for the vegetable garden. I’d say 3 out of 5.
Bush beans producing about 20 percent of previous month. Some plants drying up, branches showing signs of ‘old age’ (brown, brittle). Pickles still producing, but much slower, and also appear to be drying despite watering at 6:30am. Zucchini, a total waste as borers devoured the stalks.
Eggplants producing, but not as plump as prior years. Rutgers tomatoes small, (good color and that Jersey flavor!). Yellow (acid-free) producing fairly well, though appear a bit delicate with signs of spots, imperfections, but rather juicy. Radishes done. And the ‘mistake’ purchase of turnip (Purple Top White Globe, ‘Brassica rapa’) are still leafy, bushy, and still getting bigger — some over 4 to 5 inches diameter. Pulled more weeds than crops yesterday! Now to the house- rotate use of de-humidifier water between hydrangea in front of house and to refill backyard birdbath.” Paul is a great food gardener, making a not-so-good food garden year still a good year.
Circa late 1960s, Monroe Township – Paul Migut with an 8-horsepower roto-tiller at the huge garden of his uncle, Stanley “Pon” Ceslowski.
AROUND THE YARD: I was harvesting zinnia in the backyard garden when a large shadow passed over the backyard. I looked up and only a few yards away flew two turkey vultures, “Cathartes aura.” Usually, I see them soaring, riding the currents, rather than being nearby. I did not smell any dead animal for them to scavenge. So, perhaps they were perched nearby and I startled them.
This turkey vulture flew off while I was in the backyard.
CATBIRDS AND CAT: I was doing some outside painting when a ruckus interrupted me. About four catbirds, “Dumetella carolinensis,” converged in the shrubbery behind me, next to the street. Underneath the hedges was the neighborhood cat, feasting on what was once part of the catbird clan.
DRIVE-BY NATURALIST: I was driving across the Swimming River Reservoir on the boundary of Holmdel and Colts Neck in Monmouth County and noticed two great egrets, “Ardea alba,” so I stopped and shot photos of one with Canada geese, “Branta canadensis.”
A great egret and Canada geese on the Swimming River Reservoir in Monmouth County.
Another view of the great egret and Canada geese on the Swimming River Reservoir.
SEA BRIGHT BEACH: The Atlantic Ocean had a bit of a chop on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 29, at Sea Bright, Monmouth County, the surf tussled by the wind — sustained at about 10 to 13 knots per hour (a “gentle breeze” to “moderate breeze”) and gusts up to 14 to 19 KPH (“moderate breeze” to “fresh breeze”) about 3:30 to 4 o’clock, all out of the East Northeast, as recorded at nearby Sandy Hook. (Honestly, I thought the wind was blowing harder at Sea Bright.) Flags were extended, the surf rough, and foam, created by an agitated ocean, covered the surf line. Plus, it was raining. …But it was OK, that is what nature is about. And I had the beach to myself!
On this day at the beach in Sea Bright, Monmouth County, whitecaps were on the Atlantic Ocean, the surf churned, and the agitated ocean produced foam covering the surf line. It was kind of a day for the birds – or beach naturalists.
Flags at the Sea Bright Ocean Rescue Headquarters show the force of the wind.
SEPTEMBER AT THE SHORE: The traditional Jersey Shore summer season is the Memorial Day Weekend to the Labor Day Weekend. So, Labor Day Monday, September 4, would mean it is all over. Wrong! Remember the Shore secret, September is the best month at the Shore – less people, warm air and Atlantic Ocean temperatures, soft sunlight. But be extra careful if going into the ocean when lifeguards are not on duty.
2013, September, at the Atlantic Ocean in Asbury Park.
YELLOW FLOWERS IN THE FIELDS: The “Bidens” genus flowers are blooming nicely on unused farmland and disturbed areas. I vaguely remember hearing a story this yellow flower is not native to New Jersey, first being discovered in the state along railroad tracks at Camp Kilmer near New Brunswick in the post-World War II or Korean War years, suggesting it was transported from its native southern United States via railroad. I am going to take a guess and identify the species as “aristosa.” (But this historical and botanical information would have to be verified.) Basically, it is a weed — although a colorful one that brightens fields this time of year.
“Bidens” wildflower growing in South Brunswick, Middlesex County.
More of the “Bidens” wildflower in South Brunswick, Middlesex County.
Where the generally flat Coastal Plain meets the rolling hills of the Piedmont — In the foreground is a soybean field on the boundary of Cranbury and Plainsboro in Middlesex County on the Coastal Plain, or more specifically the Inner Coastal Plain. In the distance haze are the rolling hills of Princeton, Mercer County, on the Piedmont. The Jersey Midlands are filled with stories of geology, flora, fauna, and, especially if we turn off outside lighting, the Night Sky.
COASTAL PLAIN BODIES OF WATER: Between the soybean field and the hilly ground in the previous photograph is a 23-acre pond in Plainsboro. The name on the sign, “Mill Pond Park,” says a lot. Its name suggests the pond was built, by damming Cranbury Brook, to form a power source for a mill. Most, if not all, bodies of water on the generally flat Coastal Plain are human-made.
Plainsboro’s Mill Pond
The dam that holds back Cranbury Brook to form Plainsboro’s Mill Pond.
A TALE OF TWO DEER: As I drove through Thompson Park in Monroe, I noticed a white-tail deer, “Odocoileus virginianus,” buck. He had a beautiful 10-point, velvet-covered rack. He was not free. Instead, he was confined behind a fence as part of the park zoo. Later that day, I saw another beautiful buck, this one on a section of Sourland Mountain in Montgomery, Somerset County. He roamed freely in a rural area of woods and farmland. But how free is “free”? Assuming the status of the two deer does not change, the zoo buck will be safe during hunting season, but the Sourland Mountain deer may wind up as someone’s meal or trophy.
The Thompson Park Buck
The Sourland Mountain buck.
FOR LAWN LOVERS, BLEGGGGGHHHH!: As you probably know, I dislike trophy lawns – basically, non-native wastelands filled with pollutants. Better to go green – go organic, go with native plants instead of a lawn, create high-grass wildlife patches, grow vegetables, or plant annual flowers that attract pollinators. But if you must…. Now is the correct time to seed lawns – as early in September as possible, not later than mid-September. This time of year provides for good seed growth, while competitive weeds are no longer growing. See the Rutgers University Cooperative Extension Service “Seeding Your Lawn” fact sheet, https://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs584/.
A wildlife patch in my neatly kept, but un-trophy-like, lawn.
GARDEN VOICES, NO. 3: Priscilla “Peppy” Bath, who gardens in Hamilton, Mercer County, knows about my quest to eliminate lawn in favor of garden. She checked in from vacation in Germany’s Black Forest. “I took a walk this morning and the house across from my hotel has no grass at all, just a beautifully maintained garden. It has flowers and vegetables, no weeds. Knock Out roses, cosmos, mountain pink, lots of lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, and bare spaces where other already-harvested vegetables were. Perhaps this is what you are striving for.”
LEECHES: Sophie Onda Sapia used to tell me about leeches when she was a kid in the Pine Barrens Around Helmetta, where she lived all her 81 years, from 1913 to 1995. Ma said sometime one or more would latch onto one when swimming in the local waters. I have been around these waters all my 60 years – blessed to still walk afield where my maternal family has walked more than 100 years, despite New Jersey urbanization – and never recall pulling a leech off me. But I saw some chatter the other day on the “Jersey Pine Barrens” Facebook.com page about the “unusual amount” of leeches encountered, this year. Thoughts?
GRIGGSTOWN FARM: I stopped at Griggstown Farm near the Delaware and Raritan Canal in Franklin, Somerset County, and bought some goods – sweet corn, tomato, etc. Of course, I shot photos. More information, https://griggstownfarm.com/.
The market at Griggstown Farm in Franklin, Somerset County.
Tomatoes at Griggstown Farm.
Griggstown Farm’s cookbook library.
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were in the range of about 72 to 74 degrees Thursday, August 31.
A lifeguard boat at Sea Bright, Monmouth County.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For September 3, Sunday, to September 9, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:30 a.m. and set about 7:20 p.m. For September 10, Sunday, to September 16, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:35 to 6:40 a.m. and set about 7:10.
THE NIGHT SKY: The Full Corn Moon is on the Sept. 5-6, Tuesday-Wednesday, overnight.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
UPCOMING: September 9 and 10, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Wild Outdoor Expo at the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, Jackson, Ocean County, WildOutdoorExpo.com.
The zinnias from the garden keep on giving. Here, at a friend’s house.
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Joe is active with the Rutgers University Master Gardeners/Middlesex County program. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Flowers of the “Bidens” genus growing along South River Road/Route 535 in Cranbury, Middlesex County.
YELLOW FLOWERS IN FIELDS: This time of year, it is common to see a yellow flower of the “Bidens” genus on overgrown farmland. Over the last dozen years, I have seen them begin blooming from about August 20 to August 25. This year, I saw the first blooming August 24, Thursday – in this case in Cranbury, Middlesex County.
IN THE GARDEN, SWEET CORN: I wrapped up the sweet corn harvest, which produced a poor, but usable, crop. The ears developed only partially, basically one half with kernels, one half without. The poor development may be attributable to poor pollination. Corn should be planted in blocks so its pollen can fly back and forth to the plants in the wind. If pollination was the problem, I see two major reasons – one, my corn block was probably too small, in part thanks to a house re-modeling project that fouled up my garden area and by planting a bigger garden this year, I lost area to plant corn in larger blocks and, two, the wet weather may have kept down the spread of pollen. Because I like eating the corn raw off the cob or, if cooked, then sliced off with a knife, the poor development did not affect me in eating what I could harvest. But the quantity of the harvest also was terrible, meaning I had less corn to eat.
A half-developed ear of corn from the garden.
ELSEWHERE IN THE GARDEN: The early cool-weather harvest was so-so – great pickings of lettuce, carrots having a low yield, and peas bombing out. The jury is still out on the summer crop – I gave up on growing tomato plants from the seeds I planted and bought plants, only to have something eat the tops off of them; as I said, the corn generally bombed; the cucumbers bombed, probably because of too much rain, and I still have hope for mushmelon. My first-time planting of zinnias has saved the summer crop.
This may be the culprit that is eating the plants in my garden – a ground hog, “Marmota monax.” It was photographed in my next-door neighbor’s yard.
GRATEFUL FOR THE ZINNIAS: If it was not for my zinnias, planted in the food garden to attract pollinators, I would not have much of a summer harvest. Not only do the zinnias attract pollinators, but they are nice to look at – and give away.
Zinnias as a gift for the eye doctor’s office.
Add some Knock Out roses for the eye doctor’s office.
Zinnias, along with tomatillos, for the kitchen table.
ZINNIAS AND BUTTERFLIES: My morning zone-out time, just after getting up, would be watching the birds at the feeder. This summer, however, I gave up the feeder – saving money on top-quality (and costly) feed of corn kernels and putting the birds to work harvesting insects in the yard. So, until cool weather comes and the feeder goes back up, my only meditative exercise was watering the garden. Now, I found something new – watching the butterflies in the zinnia. I have discovered if I just go about my business of walking through the zinnia patch or harvesting zinnia, the butterflies just go about their business. They do not fly off by my intrusion. The butterflies and I have become friends. I am becoming one with the zinnia patch.
I believe the butterfly on the zinnia is a sachem, “Atalopedes campestris.”
DRAGONFLIES AROUND THE YARD: My yard seems to have hosted a lot of dragonflies this summer. Now, I have to learn to identify them.
A dragonfly in my backyard.
Another view of the dragonfly in my backyard.
KEYPORT HARBOR: On a free-lance writing assignment, I had to go out to the Raritan Bayshore of Monmouth County, so I stopped by Keyport harbor to crank off some photographs.
Jaws at Keyport Harbor, Monmouth County
From Keyport harbor, looking to Staten Island, New York City, in the hazy distance.
THE ECLIPSE OF THE SUN: My plan was to stay inside during the August 21, Monday, solar eclipse, so as not to be tempted to look at the sun and possibly ruin my eyesight. Well, I was working at my desk during the eclipse, realized I left my camera in my Jeep, and went outside to retrieve it. I grabbed a kitchen strainer and, with my back to the sun, let the sunlight shine through the holes of the strainer onto my back porch. It was pretty cool, watching dozens of shadows of the sun in eclipse. With about 75 percent of the sun covered around 2:45 p.m., sun shadows were obvious, but the sunlight had the soft glow of dusk. Insects remained calling and a butterfly flew by.
The eclipse through the strainer.
BLUEBIRD SKY: While out in the yard August 24, Thursday, I noticed how clear the sky was – a “bluebird sky.” Jet airplanes could be clearly seen, with that I-almost-can-touch-them look. That means there was little moisture in the air – a dew point of only 52.
With low moisture in the air, this United Airlines flight, headed to Newark Liberty International Airport from Tel Aviv, Israel, looked very close to my backyard. It was actually flying at an estimated 3,000 feet.
Another view of the “bluebird sky” from my backyard.
DEW POINT: My go-to science guy – Joey Slezak of Helmetta, who has a bachelor’s degree in meteorology and is now working on his master’s in meteorology, both from Rutgers University – tells me dew point, not the humidity reading, is the real gauge of moisture around us and how we feel in it. Here, according to www.fredericksburg.com in Virginia, is how we feel at these dew points — under 55, pleasant; 56 to 60, comfortable; 61 to 65, getting sticky; 66 to 70, uncomfortable; 71 to 75, oppressive; more than 75, miserable.
BOBWHITE QUAIL IN NEW JERSEY: A Philadelphia Inquirer article about restoring BobWhite quail, “Colinus virginianus,” to the Pine Barrens, http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/kevin_riordan/bringing-back-a-bird-that-once-made-a-signature-sound-of-the-pine-barrens-20170822.html. See Cornell University’s All About Birds website for more on the BobWhite, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Bobwhite/id.
CRICKETS IN MY CELLAR: As an only child, I inherited the house I grew up in and which my parents owned for almost four years before I was born in 1956. I never remember crickets in the cellar when I was a kid. But after I took over the house 15 years ago, I noticed a cricket invasion from about August until the fall weather set in. Now, a cricket-chirping cacophony is pleasant, but one or two crickets in the wee hours while one is trying to sleep is AN-NOY-ING – and it turns me from Dr. Naturalist to Mr. Killer, Serial Killer if there is more than one of these little nuisances calling away. But I just had a $38,000 re-modeling of my house, including new siding and insulation. The best $38,000 I could spend on eradicating crickets from the cellar. So far, and it is already late August, only six crickets – none of which are with us anymore. I mean, if a cricket wants to live outside and chirp away, I get it. But if a cricket wants to invade my cellar and rub those little ugly legs together, NO. (OK, OK, OK, now that I feel sort of bad about cricket killing, I will tell you about Revenge of the Crickets. A few years ago, I saw a cricket in the cellar. And I had had it! So, I picked up the pail I used to empty de-humidifier water into and SMASHED the cricket. I poured the de-humidifier water into the bucket — and the water spilled onto the cellar floor. Yes, I had cracked the bucket when I obliterated the cricket. I never learn – whenever I act surly, I pay for it.)
(Sorry, no photo of a dead cricket.)
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were in the range of about 74 to 77 degrees.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For August 27, Sunday, to September 2, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:20 to 6:25 a.m. and set about 7:30 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
UPCOMING: September 9 and 10, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Wild Outdoor Expo at the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, Jackson, Ocean County, WildOutdoorExpo.com.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE…?: …Go to a fast-food restaurant and instead of tossing in the garbage all the paper packaging and so on, take it home for recycling?
Sailboats at Keyport harbor.
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Joe is active with the Rutgers University Master Gardeners/Middlesex County program. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page. Copyright 2017 by Joseph Sapia
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Etra Lake, in East Windsor, Mercer County, sits on the Inner Coastal Plain. Most, if not all, bodies of water on New Jersey’s Inner and Outer Coastal Plains, are human-made – in Etra Lake’s case by the damming of Rocky Brook. Rocky Brook is part of the Raritan River-Bay watershed. The damming of the lake appears to go back to the late 1700s to create a power source to run a grist mill. The name “Etra” actually is an acronym, “ETRA,” after a prominent resident, Edward Taylor Rosel Applegate, born in 1831 and died in 1915.
THE CUESTA: Of New Jersey’s four land regions, two are in the Jersey Midlands – the rolling terrain of the Piedmont and the generally flat Coastal Plain. The Coastal Plain can be broken down further – the Outer and Inner. What people may not realize is the Coastal Plains are divided by an on-again, off-again hill system – the cuesta. The cuesta essentially runs from Sandy Hook in the northeast to the Philadelphia area in the southwest. It can easily be traced on a map through place names, from northeast to southwest – Highlands, Atlantic Highlands, Crawford Hill (391 feet above sea level) and Telegraph Hill (360 feet) in Holmdel, Quail Hill (258 feet) in Manalapan, Backbone Hill Road (250 feet) in Millstone, all in Monmouth County; Arneys Mount (230 feet) in Springfield, Mount Holly (183 feet), and Mount Laurel (173 feet), all in Burlington County. The cuesta or cuestas may rise hundreds of feet around surrounding land; Crawford Hill, for example, is the highest point in Monmouth County and rises about 350 feet over surrounding lowlands. The cuesta formation was formed at the time of the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary ages, two periods of geologic time that met about 66-1/2 million years ago. It basically was formed by water runoff, eroding the surrounding land and leaving the cuesta. The cuesta remains because it is cemented together by ironstone.
2017, August 6, Sunday — A view of the cuesta from the Union Transportation Trail in Upper Freehold, Monmouth County. The view is looking toward the Shore, so the abrupt rise in the terrain is seen. From the other side of the cuesta, the change in terrain is more gradual.
2017, August 6, Sunday — Another view of the cuesta – here, near the Horse Park of New Jersey in Upper Freehold, Monmouth County.
2016, January – Looking at the cuesta, about 200 feet above sea level, across Sandy Hook Bay from Sandy Hook.
BUTTERFLIES IN THE ZINNIA PATCH: Last year, my newspaper reporting travels took me to Bobby Laurino’s farm market in Colts Neck and Andy Capelli’s farm market in Middletown. I was amazed by the bees and butterflies attracted to their zinnia patches. Here was this abundance of pollinators and they were fun to watch. So, I did some research on zinnia – liking it because it is an annual, not a perennial I would be stuck with – and planted it in my garden, about 35 to 40 row feet. I wish I planted more! In recent days, I have spotted these butterflies: painted lady, “Vanessa cardui”; spicebush swallowtail, “Papilio troilus”; cabbage white, “Pieris rapae”; silver-spotted skipper, “Epargyreus clarus”; and monarch, “Danaus plexippus.” I try to become one with the zinnia patch, or at least letting the butterflies do their thing and me doing my thing, which allows me to get close to them and take great photographs.
A painted lady butterfly in my zinnias.
Painted lady in the zinnias.
Painted lady on a zinnia.
Spicebush swallowtail in the zinnias.
Cabbage white in the zinnias.
Silver-spotted skipper, lower, and monarch, upper, in the zinnias.
Monarch in the zinnias.
Monarch on a zinnia.
SOURCES, BUTTERFLIES: I love this Internet site of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA)-North Jersey Butterfly Club for identifying butterflies, http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabanj/butterflies.html.
GARDEN VOICE NO. 1, DEBBIE MANS: Debbie Mans reported, “We were just comparing notes at work on our gardens and we are all not seeing great results — split tomatoes, fizzled squash, slow on the tomatoes ripening, etc. This is in Monmouth County and Essex County. I am hearing more and more from others, too. You are not alone!” (Debbie is executive director and baykeeper for the New York-New Jersey Baykeeper environmental group based in Keyport, Monmouth County. Here is a profile I wrote of Debbie last year, http://tworivertimes.com/debbie-mans-midwesterner-with-jersey-sand-in-her-shoes/.)
NAVESINK RIVER BOAT RIDE: Debbie Mans’s New York-New Jersey Baykeeper group is sponsoring a Navesink River boat ride September 19, Tuesday, out of Atlantic Highlands, Monmouth County. Last year, I sailed with the Baykeeper on a Sunday afternoon on Raritan Bay and the Shrewsbury River – a great time! So, if free, consider the Navesink River ride. Monmouth County’s Navesink River, one of my favorite places in the Jersey Midlands as it flows along the cuesta emptying into the Shrewsbury River. For the Navesink River Sunset Eco Cruise.
2015, December – Along the Navesink River.
GARDEN VOICE NO. 2, JACK MAHON: South Jersey gardener Jack Mahon and I recycle dehumidifier water, using it for gardening watering. But, this year, both Jack and I have noticed something – the heavy rains have left us with an overabundance of water. “The rain has been so heavy at times that the dehumidifier is way ahead of the trees’s need for water,” Jack said. Ditto. In recent days, my two barrels of water for the garden, totaling 50 gallons, have been full.
IN THE GARDEN AND YARD: I continued harvesting flowers, both zinnias and Knock Out roses, along with sweet corn. The fall crop is sprouting. And I watch the cucumbers and cantaloupe, hoping something comes about. The cantaloupes look OK as they grow, but the cucumbers seem to be victims of too much rain and I wonder if I will even get one to use.
A male Eastern goldfinch, “Spinus tristis,” perched on a zinnia flower in the garden.
MONROE TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY GARDEN: I visited my lifelong hometown’s Community Garden and Park. It is a nice setting along the Millstone River. But I wish Monroe, which continues to develop heavily, would practice greener principles. For example, abandon magazine-photograph lawns and replace them with more productive organic gardens. Me, I am trying to go with as little lawn as possible – and my lawn is chemical-free. I know, I strive for an Old Monroe in a New Monroe whose population over its approximately 42 square miles is an estimated 45,000, a big difference from the estimated 5,000 when I was born in 1956.
Tomatoes in the Monroe Community Garden and Park.
Flowers at the Monroe Community Garden and Park.
THE ECLIPSE OF THE SUN: On Monday, August 21, New Jersey will be treated to a partial solar eclipse. It begins at 1:22 p.m., peaks at 2:44 p.m., and ends at 4 p.m. DO NOT LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE UNLESS YOU HAVE SPECIAL PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR. (While I find the eclipse exciting, I do not want to take chances of looking up. So, I will take a nap, work in my cellar or garage, or follow the eclipse on the computer or television.) See https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/.
CARDINAL PHOTO: The photo of a cardinal, “Cardinalis cardinalis,” in last week’s “Garden and Afield” drew a nice response from backyard neighbor Fran D’Aiello Rosuck. Fran and her husband, Ed, have been my family’s neighbor for about 40 years, or since about the time I went on my own after college. Then, after my parents, Joe Sapia Sr. and Sophie Onda Sapia, died, I, as an only child, moved back and took over the house. This summer, the outside of the house was remodeled. Fran said, “I always read that a cardinal is a visitor from Heaven. Your mom is probably saying the house never looked so good.” What a nice comment to find on my “The Jersey Midlands” page on Facebook.com.
The cardinal at my garden. Actually, it is on backyard neighbor Fran D’Aiello Rosuck’s fence.
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were in the range of about 75 to 77 degrees.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For August 20, Sunday, to August 26, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:15 to 6:20 a.m. and set about 7:40 to 7:50 p.m. For August 27, Sunday, to September 2, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:20 to 6:25 a.m. and set about 7:30 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
Rabbit, genus “Sylvilagus,” in the garden.
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Joe is active with the Rutgers University Master Gardeners/Middlesex County program. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Article and photos by Joe Mish
Dining at the underwater salad bar, this deer enjoys more than a mouthful of greenery, obtained by submerging its face in the water up to its ears.
August is a deep relaxing stillness in the never-ending cycle of renewable life. It is the moment after the final brush stoke is applied to an artistic masterpiece. Work that began anew, a year before, has reached a higher level of maturity in an infinite succession of seasonal effort.
The terminal end of each season can be a time of reflection, as an endpoint immediately prompts the thought of a beginning. August, however, is different, as there is an aura of timelessness created in an extended moment of satisfying exhalation; an arrival after a long journey.
Time is now suspended by desire. August is the moment we want to last. There is no desire for summer to end or feel the chill of winter sooner than scheduled. Mentally we drag our feet to slow the calendar, even assigning 31 days isn’t enough, and in response, time accelerates.
While the berries harvests of June and July have gone by, the plants that sent their energy to the fruit, now direct it to the roots and leaves in preparation for next berry season. The berry season may have been the highpoint for berry consumers but for the blackberry or dewberry plant, August is a finish line in a race to recover and maximize growth for next year’s crop.
The dark green leaves and vegetation, that dominate the high summer landscape, are noticeably different than the array of green tints seen in the spring. It is as if colors went through a maturation process independent of natural influences. Where the palest greens began to darken in color, as each successive tint accumulated, until it reached a deep forest green.
The summer greenery is not limited to plants and leaves dancing in the wind. Beneath the surface of the river, underwater grasses have reached maturity by late summer. In clear shallow water, the fast current animates long strands of flowing grasses, isolated in bundles across sections of sandy river bottom. Dark green grass sways alongside pony tails of Kelly green and gray green grass to cast a hypnotic spell on a passing paddler.
Deer relish these grasses and spend many a high summer day, faces submerged, full to their ears, in an effort to enjoy that cool mixed salad.
Blooming raspberry colored thistle, topped with flocks of hungry yellow goldfinch, teasel, goldenrod, strands of deep purple pokeweed berries and off-white Queen Anne’s lace, act as colorful bejeweled timepieces set among the greenery of August. Listen closely and you can even hear the ticking of that seasonal clock as black walnuts begin drop. The ticking is especially loud and shocking when a plum sized black walnut falls into quiet water on a calm, windless day, to spike a paddler’s heart rate.
Goldfinch and tiger swallow-tail feed on the blooming thistle of late summer.
August can hardly keep a secret as it reveals a preview of things to come. Look closely and you can find isolated flashes of red and orange staghorn sumac, poison ivy and Virginia creeper. Even if you miss the visual clues, August provides an occasional chilly morning as a reminder that its moment of stillness is just an illusion.
The gold of August is revealed by its first two letters, au, the symbol for gold and awarded for achievement. The ‘gust’ or gusto represents the vigor of mature life that peaks in high summer.
Author Joe Mish has been running wild in New Jersey since childhood when he found ways to escape his mother’s watchful eyes. He continues to trek the swamps, rivers and thickets seeking to share, with the residents and visitors, all of the state’s natural beauty hidden within full view. To read more of his writing and view more of his gorgeous photographs visit Winter Bear Rising, his wordpress blog. Joe’s series “Nature on the Raritan, Hidden in Plain View” runs monthly as part of the LRWP “Voices of the Watershed” series. Writing and photos used with permission from the author.
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Flowers on display at the Monmouth County Fair, which runs through Sunday, July 30, in Freehold Township.
THE DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, FLICKER: I aim to check the family gravesites once a month, with one of my visits to Saint James Cemetery in Monroe. There, I observed a bird I normally only get a glimpse of, flying off when spooked, the northern flicker, “Colaptes auratus” – in Greek, the genus name referring to “peck” because the flicker is a woodpecker and the species name referring to its “golden” underwing, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. The flicker, whose body is generally tan with black speckles, is easily identifiable when it flies off because of its white rump. The flicker is a year-round resident.
A flicker at St. James Cemetery, Monroe.
The Saint James Cemetery flicker.
IN THE GARDEN: I picked multi-color carrots and green tomatoes for a salad. A true tomato crop will be iffy because some animal is snipping the tops of the plants. Sweet corn should be ready for picking soon (if the deer or raccoons do not get to it), although I noticed some yellowing of the leaves, probably attributable to the recent wet conditions. The rains apparently caused the splitting of a cantaloupe – basically, the rain forcing the fruit to develop more quickly than it is capable. So, I am backing off on watering at least the cantaloupe. The missing cucumbers are no longer missing; they are fruiting. I thought the tomatillos – which I did not plant and do not know where they came from – were ready for harvest, but they are still developing.
Pick green tomatoes and multi-color carrots from the garden, add balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and, voila, Joey’s Garden Garden Salad.
MY GARDEN WATERING OBSESSION: My two water barrels are pretty full, meaning I have about 50 gallons of non-house water on hand. The water is from various sources, including rainwater and recycled water from the cellar dehumidifier. But, after talking to other gardeners about watering, most recently Diane Larson, the horticulturist at the Rutgers University Cooperative Extension/Monmouth County, I am backing off on my daily watering. Instead of a daily watering, I am going to an every-other-day watering or even a less-frequent watering.
THE DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, KINGBIRD: As I walked around Saint James Cemetery, I noticed a bird I had not observed in years perched on a utility line, the eastern kingbird, “Tyrannus tyrannus.” It, too, is easily identifiable: dark head, white chin and underbelly, a white border to its dark tail. As the Cornell University All About Birds website says, “With dark gray upperparts and a neat white tip to the tail, the Eastern Kingbird looks like it’s wearing a business suit. …The scientific name ‘Tyrannus’ means ‘tyrant,’ ‘despot,’ or ‘king,’ referring to the aggression kingbirds exhibit with each other and with other species.” Here, it is a summer breeder eating insects, migrating to South America to spend winters and mainly eat fruit. An interesting fact, according to All About Birds, “Eastern Kingbirds apparently rely almost completely on insects and fruit for moisture; They are rarely seen drinking water.”
Pick green tomatoes and multi-color carrots from the garden, add balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and, voila, Joey’s Garden Garden Salad.
MY GARDEN WATERING OBSESSION: My two water barrels are pretty full, meaning I have about 50 gallons of non-house water on hand. The water is from various sources, including rainwater and recycled water from the cellar dehumidifier. But, after talking to other gardeners about watering, most recently Diane Larson, the horticulturist at the Rutgers University Cooperative Extension/Monmouth County, I am backing off on my daily watering. Instead of a daily watering, I am going to an every-other-day watering or even a less-frequent watering.
THE DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, KINGBIRD: As I walked around Saint James Cemetery, I noticed a bird I had not observed in years perched on a utility line, the eastern kingbird, “Tyrannus tyrannus.” It, too, is easily identifiable: dark head, white chin and underbelly, a white border to its dark tail. As the Cornell University All About Birds website says, “With dark gray upperparts and a neat white tip to the tail, the Eastern Kingbird looks like it’s wearing a business suit. …The scientific name ‘Tyrannus’ means ‘tyrant,’ ‘despot,’ or ‘king,’ referring to the aggression kingbirds exhibit with each other and with other species.” Here, it is a summer breeder eating insects, migrating to South America to spend winters and mainly eat fruit. An interesting fact, according to All About Birds, “Eastern Kingbirds apparently rely almost completely on insects and fruit for moisture; They are rarely seen drinking water.”
The Saint James Cemetery kingbird.
FALL CROPS: I should get carrots, lettuce, beets, and peas in the ground around August 1, although my tight schedule will probably delay that planting. Around August 15, I am looking to plant spinach.
This white-tailed deer, “Odocoileus virginianus,” in a genetic piebald state lives in the Route 130 area of Cranbury, Middlesex County. Thanks to George Nikitiades, whose family owns Teddy’s luncheonette in Cranbury, for passing along this photograph.
THE DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, DEER: As I was driving to the Monmouth County Fair, I passed a soybean field in Monroe and noticed a doe with her two fawns. The good thing for me, I captured some nice photographs. As for the farmer, his or her crops are likely being shared with these deer.
The Monroe doe and her fawns.
MONMOUTH COUNTY FAIR: The Monmouth County Fair, operated by the county Park System, completes its five-day run Sunday, July 30. This fair has a little bit of everything – and I like it because it retains the Old Jersey farm, garden, animal, and home exhibits. I spent some time there with retired county Agricultural Agent Rich Obal, county plant horticulturist Diane Larson, and Master Gardeners judging vegetables, flowers, and herbs. It was good to see Rich, whom I dealt with as an Asbury Park Press reporter over 30 years. And a shout out to Diane, who runs the Master Gardeners program, for continuing to answer my questions over the years.
Flowers at the Monmouth County Fair.
QUEEN ANNE’S LACE: Outdoorswoman Priscilla “Peppy” Bath of Hamilton, Mercer County, noted, “The Queen Anne’s lace is outstanding this year. When I was a little kid I would put some stems of Queen Anne’s lace in ink and watch the flowers turn blue.” I, too, have noticed a lot of Queen Anne’s lace, ““Daucus carota,” this year. And, now that Peppy has given me the idea, I will have to go out and buy some food coloring.
Queen Anne’s lace blooming in a fallow field at Heavenly Farms, East Brunswick, Middlesex County.
Goldenrod, genus “Solidago,” is blooming along roadsides. Here, it blooms along ConRail railroad tracks in Monroe.
Punks, or cat-tails, genus “Typha,” are in flower in wetlands.. These were photographed at Heavenly Farms in East Brunswick, Middlesex County.
GARBAGE IN THE WOODS: Because of development, destruction caused by off-road vehicle riding, and littering or garbage dumping, we are losing the battle to protect open space. Earlier this month, I came across living room furniture dumped along an East Brunswick, Middlesex County, public road passing through the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area. Middlesex County Parks and Recreation responded and removed the trash. The Jamesburg Park Conservation Area is approximately 1,400 acres of Pine Barrens ecosystem in East Brunswick, Helmetta, Spotswood, and Monroe. It is home to one of the few Atlantic white cedar swamps in the area, along with pine-oak forest, orchids, carnivorous plants, various wildlife (including the carpenter frog, which could be at its northernmost location, here.) See http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/…/PR/Jamesburg-Park-CA.aspx. It is truly a jewel that needs to be respected, so that future generations can enjoy it, too. I take this personally — My family through my maternal side has walked afield in what is now the conservation area for more than 100 years and I have been a volunteer at Jamesburg Park for years. If anyone recognizes this furniture and knows the owner, please report it to Parks and Recreation, telephone 732-745-3900.
The furniture dumped at the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area.
I thought this tree-mulching scene was ironic because it is on Rutgers University’s Douglass-Cook campus. Cook is where Rutgers agriculture studies are based. And these volcano-like mounds are the wrong way to mulch! Creating the volcano-look, or the pileup of mulch against a tree could cause too much wetness around the bark or make the tree susceptible to insect infestation or disease. Instead, use the “doughnut” method of placing the “doughnut hole” outside of the tree and its exposed roots, so the mulch is not touching bark. Outside of the hole, the mulch should be about only 2 or 3 inches in depth, so as not to overwet the tree. The outer rim of the “doughnut” should go to the end of the root ball or the tree canopy/drip line. If a tree is established, there is no need for mulching.
The Northeast Corridor railroad tracks bridge crossing the Raritan River between New Brunswick, left, and Highland Park, right, in Middlesex County. This photograph shows the day’s changing weather, some rain, some sunshine.
PLEIN AIR ART IN THE GARDEN: One night, I plopped myself in a chair at the edge of my garden and used color pencils to do an artwork of the zinnias, which continue to bloom beautifully.
Zinnias in the garden.
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were reported at around 75 degrees on Saturday, July 29.
UPCOMING COUNTY FAIRS: Middlesex County Fair, August 7, Monday, to August 13, Sunday, in East Brunswick, http://middlesexcountyfair.com/. Somerset County 4-H Fair, August 9, Wednesday, to August 11, Friday, in Bridgewater, http://www.somersetcounty4h.org/fair/. Hunterdon County 4-H and Agricultural Fair, August 23, Wednesday, to August 27, Sunday.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For July 30, Sunday, to August 5, Saturday, the sun will rise at about 5:55 to 6 a.m. and set about 8:10 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
Pickerel weed, “Pontederia cordata,” in bloom on the Millstone River on the boundary of Middlesex County (Monroe and Cranbury) and Mercer County (East Windsor).
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener.
He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Joe is active with the Rutgers University Master Gardeners/Middlesex County program. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Afield references are to the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, unless otherwise noted. Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Queen Anne’s lace along a roadside in Monroe, Middlesex County.
THE DRIVE-BY NATURALIST: During the week, I noticed the white-flowered Queen Anne’s lace, “Daucus carota,” blooming along various roadsides. Also, blue-flowered chicory, “Cichorium intybus,” remains in bloom. This got me thinking, how we can observe nature as we drive by. As I try to point out, keep your eyes open – for plantlife and wildlife, along with looking up at the daytime and night skies. Nature is around us, so do not miss out on it. And keep the camera ready!
Here, Queen Anne’s lace, the white flower, and chicory, the blue flower, in bloom along a roadside.
ON MY DRIVE-BYS: Despite the warm temperatures during the week, I have been watching for the changing colors of foliage. Yes, it is only July, but the “fall” foliage changing of colors should be starting right about now in the wetlands in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta. I have not seen it yet, but I generally look for changing colors in swamps beginning somewhere in the July 15-to-July 31 period.
Here, leaves changing colors in 2015, late July, at Cranberry Bog in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta.
SPOTTED ON A DRIVE-BY: As I was putting together this week’s “Garden and Afield,” I shot some last-minute photographs and was driving home when I noticed some deer, “Odocoileus virginianus,” just off the road near Manalapan Brook on the Monroe-Spotswood boundary, Middlesex County. Usually when you see a fawn, Mama is nearby. On this day, though, I caught what I consider an uncommon sight, fawns and a buck (whose antlers were in velvet). Mama Deer was probably keeping an eye on the fawns from nearby in the woods.
A fawn and a buck in Monroe, Middlesex County.
Two fawns in Monroe, Middlesex County.
LOW-MOISTURE-IN-THE-AIR BLUE SKY: Ever notice days when the sky just has that clear look to it? Based on my Roman Catholic upbringing and 16 years in Catholic schools, I call it a “Blessed Mother Blue Sky,” because the sky has the look of the blue clothing associated with the Virgin Mary. Joey Slezak, my go-to science guy in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, calls it a “Bluebird Sky.” “The first I heard ‘Bluebird Skies’ is (when I was) skiing,” Joey said. “People talking about it. You have white (snowy) ground contrasting the blue sky.” Joey, who has a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Rutgers University and has completed his master’s degree course work in meteorology at the university, explained the clearness translates as “low moisture” in the air.
The clear blue sky is a result of low moisture in the air as the moon wanes after the July 8-9 overnight Full Thunder Moon. The next full moon is the August 7-8 overnight Full Red Moon
GARDEN ENEMIES: I have not seen the ground hog and its offspring lately, although the wood steps at one of my house doors is collapsing into their burrow. The rabbits are always around. Then, the other day, I found deer droppings and hoof prints in my garden. Finally, I found the tops of my tomato plants snipped off. Well, there goes this year’s tomato crop….
A snipped-off tomato plant in the garden.
WATERING THE GARDEN OBSESSION, NO. 1: On Sunday, July 16, for the first time since planting the food garden around May 20, I was able to water it completely by hand, using water I had accumulated in garbage can reservoirs. I used roughly 30 gallons for the 950-square-foot, or 315-row-feet garden. Now, to replenish the 20-gallon and 30-gallen barrels with rainwater, cellar de-humidifier water, water caputured while sprinkling the garden using the house system, and water from Manalapan Brook. (I keep the barrels covered so as not to promote mosquito development.)
WATERING THE GARDEN OBSESSION, NO. 2: With the water accumulated in my barrels, I thought I could cheat a little, by hooking up a simmer pump and hose to a sprinkler, rather than walking the garden with sprinkling cans. Well, I clogged the sprinkler, which required me unclogging it – but not until I gave up on using the pump for sprinkling. I guess the pump picked up gunk from the water barrel. And I am not even sure the pump was powerful enough to propel the sprinkler properly.
WATERING THE GARDEN, OBSESSION NO. 3 — MANALAPAN BROOK: I grabbed two buckets and took the walk of a few hundred feet to Manalapan Brook, the section between “Jamesburg Lake” (Lake Manalapan) and “Spotswood Lake” (DeVoe Lake). There, I was greeted by my friends, ebony jewelwing damselflies, “Calopteryx maculate.” I waded into the Brook, filled the two buckets, took some photographs, and headed home.
Manalapan Brook in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg, looking downstream toward Helmetta.
ELSEWHERE IN THE GARDEN: I am awaiting cantaloupe/mushmelon and sweet corn, both seemingly behind on the calendar from last year. The tomatillos, which I did not plant, are ready for harvesting; I will pass them along to a co-worker. Otherwise, I had some pea seeds laying around I decided to plant about a week or so ago; They are sprouting.
THE SIZE OF MY GARDEN: Friend, fellow hiker, and fellow gardener Priscilla “Peppy” Bath had an interesting observation about my garden: “Your vegetable garden is so good as you tell about it. I expected it to be much bigger. …Perhaps it would be interesting to others that you do not have one to two acres, but just a normal back yard.” Yes, my yard is only about a quarter-acre. “It would possibly encourage others to make a vegetable garden in their backyards,” Peppy said. I think people do not realize how productive a small garden could be. So, I reached out to friend Diane Larson, who is the home horticulturist and Master Gardener coordinator for the Rutgers University Extension Service office in Freehold, Monmouth County. The Monmouth County Master Gardeners garden is about 40 feet by 50 feet, or about 2,000 square feet. From 2006 to 2016, or over 11 growing seasons, the garden has produced 26,000 pounds of vegetables – an average of about 2,364 pounds per year, all donated to food pantries serving the needy. “The best part, besides all the produce going to food pantries, is that the MGs learn so much out there,” Diane said. “Some have never grown vegetables and they love it.”
The Monmouth County Master Gardeners garden in Freehold Township. This 40-foot by 50-foot garden has averaged a yield of 2,364 pounds per year from 2006 to 2016, with all the food donated to the needy.
Another view of the Monmouth County Master Gardeners garden.
ZINNIA OBSESSION: My new obsessive-compulsive fascination – the zinnias I planted to attract pollinators to the food garden. For next year, I plan to dig up the front lawn and plant zinnias there, too.
Zinnias in the garden.
FIRE IN THE MAIN PINE BARRENS: A wildfire has burned about 3,500 acres in Wharton State Forest. The fire remained burning as of Saturday, July 22. The good news is the fire — whose cause is, so far, undetermined — is not near buildings, which means the fire, too, will help keep the Pine Barrens a pine barrens. The Pine Barrens is an early succession ecosystem, so the fire – by knocking down the oaks that would shade out the pines – keeps succession in check. The pines may look like burned spars, but they are alive and can regenerate from their trunks, along with root growth and new growth of wildfire-spread seeds; The oaks, on the other hand, cannot regenerate from the trunks, but have to start all over, so to speak, by root growth. On Saturday, the fire was considered “contained,” meaning firefighters had a safe perimeter around it.
ELSEWHERE IN THE YARD: I am slowly reclaiming my yard after 4-1/2 weeks of a major remodeling project on my house – new roof, soffits, gutters and drainpipes, and siding. (For the first time since the house was built in 1952, it is no longer mint green. The retro green has been replaced by barn red.) So, I have been cutting the lawn and trimming shrubs, along with figuring how to approach my neglected garden. And I finally put up the screen tent that has been sitting in a box in my garage for a few weeks. Now, without getting bit by mosquitoes, I can spend warm nights in the screen tent reading, writing, listening to the radio, or just enjoying being outside. Next year, I plan to put the screen tent in a better location, farther from the house, closer to the garden. So, I put up the screen tent and almost immediately it began raining, then monsooning. …Oh, yes, the contractors still have a few odds and ends to finish, but I do have the yard back under my control.
The brand-new, and rain-drenched, screen tent in my backyard.
SOURCES, BOOK NO. 1: One of my book sources is “Dictionary of Plant Names” by Allen J. Coombes, 1985 to 1989, Timber Press. I have had this book for an estimated 25 or more years and have repeatedly turned to it. It lists plants by common and scientific names, cross-referencing the two – for example, mountain laurel, “Kalmia latifolia.” It goes on, saying the genus name is from naturalist Pehr Kalm (who did work in the 1700s in the South Jersey area) and the species name translates from Latin as “broad-leaved.” Mountain laurel, according to the book, is also known as “calico bush.” I use this book both on its own and in conjunction with plant-illustration books.
“Dictionary of Plant Names” by Allen J. Coombes
TURKEY FOLLOWUP: Bob Eriksen, a retired turkey biologist of the state Department of Environmental Protection, made some observations after seeing the photograph of the wild turkeys, “Meleagris gallopavo,” in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta published in the July 9 “Garden and Afield.” Bob said, “Good to see a hen turkey with at least three poults. They are all old enough that they likely will survive to adulthood.”
A turkey hen and her three poults in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, specifically in the Jamesburg Park section of East Brunswick, Middlesex County.
ATLANTIC OCEAN TEMPERATURES: The ocean temperatures have run from about 70 degrees to the lower 80s. On July 18, Tuesday, Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz, a Philadelphia television Channel 10 meteorologist, said online, “The Atlantic City ocean temperature is now up to 80 degrees. That’s practically unheard of for July. (It) peaks in August. 10 degrees above average.”
UPCOMING COUNTY FAIRS: Monmouth County Fair is July 26, Wednesday, to July 30, Sunday, in Freehold Township, https://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/page.aspx?ID=2492. Mercer County 4-H Fair, July 29, Saturday, and July 30, Sunday, in Hopewell Township, http://mercer.njaes.rutgers.edu/4h/fair/. Middlesex County Fair, August 7, Monday, to August 13, Sunday, in East Brunswick, http://middlesexcountyfair.com/. Somerset County 4-H Fair, August 9, Wednesday, to August 11, Friday, in Bridgewater, http://www.somersetcounty4h.org/fair/. Hunterdon County 4-H and Agricultural Fair, August 23, Wednesday, to August 27, Sunday.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For July 23, Sunday, to July 29, Saturday, the sun will rise at about 5:50 a.m. and set about 8:18 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
A blue jay rests in the garden, surrounded by sweet corn, tomatillos, and zinnia.
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener.
He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Joe is active with the Rutgers University Master Gardeners/Middlesex County program. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
