NJDEP – Notice of Rule Proposal
July 17, 2017
Coastal Zone Management Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:7
Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:7A
Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:13
Proposed amendments, repeals, and new rules
PUBLIC NOTICE
Take notice that the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is proposing amendments, repeals, and new rules to the Coastal Zone Management Rules in response to issues identified through stakeholder outreach and to address other issues that have arisen since the July 6, 2015 adoption of the consolidated coastal rules. The proposed amendments are related to shellfish aquaculture, filled water’s edge, dune walkovers and other beach and dune development, CAFRA findings, V zones, scenic resources and high-rise structures, permits to apply herbicide, trails, building access in flood hazard areas, application requirements, and rule rationales. Amendments and new rules are additionally proposed in the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act Rules and Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules as part of the Department’s continuing effort to align the three land use permitting programs to the extent possible.
The proposal is scheduled to be published in the New Jersey Register dated July 17, 2017. A copy of the proposal is available at http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/proposals/20170717a.pdf and from LexisNexis free public access to the New Jersey Register, www.lexisnexis.com/njoal.
Public hearings concerning the proposal are scheduled as follows:
Thursday, August 10, 2017, at 6:00 P.M.
City of Long Branch Municipal Building
Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
344 Broadway
Long Branch, NJ 07740
Tuesday, August 15, 2017, at 10:00 A.M.
Campus Center Theater
Stockton University
101 Vera King Farris Drive
Galloway, NJ 08205
Written comments may be submitted electronically by September 15, 2017 at http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/comments; or in hard copy to:
Gary J. Brower, Esq.
ATTN: DEP Docket No. 11-17-06
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Legal Affairs
Mail Code 401-04L; PO Box 402
401 East State Street, 7th Floor
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402
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.
Blooming along a roadside in East Windsor, Mercer County, the beautiful, but non-native, chicory, “Cichorium intybus.”
IN THE FOOD GARDEN: I picked a cherry tomato and some carrots. Otherwise, the garden is between harvesting the early season crop of lettuce and awaiting the warmer weather crop of sweet corn, cantaloupe/mushmelon, and more tomatoes. So, come on pollination – the sweet corn has begun forming tassels (the male flower) and some silk (the female flower), while the mushmelon continues to flower in yellow.
Tassels, or the male flower, on the sweet corn in the garden.
ZINNIA IN THE FOOD GARDEN: Hopefully attracting pollinators to the food garden this year are the score of blooming zinnia of orange, yellow, purple, pink, white, and rose. I have been watching more and more flowers develop this week and, in turn, various pollinators – butterflies, bees, and flies – visiting the zinnia. This is my first year using zinnia, getting the idea from watching pollinators visiting the zinnia at Bobby Laurino’s R.J. Laurino Farms in Colts Neck (www.rjlaurinofarms.com) and Andy Capelli’s Capelli Farms in Middletown (www.capellifarms.com). For next year, I plan to go zinnia-crazy, interspersing rows throughout the food garden and converting more lawn to zinnia growing.
Zinnia in bloom in the garden.
FRUITING IN THE WILDS: Heads up in the wilds, blackberries, genus “Rubus,” should be fruiting here and there. Yes, they are edible – and taste great! From the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/farmtoschool/documents/seasonality-chart/F2S%20Blackberries.pdf.
NEW BRUNSWICK IN FLOWER: I work part-time at Rutgers University’s Jules and Jane Plangere Writing Center at the College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick. But my parking area is cross-town, about 2 miles away at the Douglass College campus. This time of year, especially, I try to walk both ways. The walk gives me a great opportunity to photograph the city of my birth – St. Peter Hospital, Class of 1956. This week, I photographed flowers – white, light pink, dark pink, yellow, red. (Side note: For about half of my 31-year newspaper reporting career at the Asbury Park Press, Mr. Plangere was an owner. Mr. Plangere died in September at 95 years old – but he is still taking care of me!)
Flowering New Brunswick.
More of flowering New Brunswick.
STARLINGS: Blame these European invaders on lovers of playwright William Shakespeare! According to Cornell University’s All About Birds website, “All the European Starlings (“Sturnus vulgaris”) in North America descended from 100 birds set loose in New York’s Central Park in the early 1890s. The birds were intentionally released by a group who wanted America to have all the birds that Shakespeare ever mentioned. It took several tries, but eventually the population took off. Today, more than 200 million European Starlings range from Alaska to Mexico, and many people consider them pests.”
A starling on a New Brunswick lawn.
GARDEN TOOLS: As an only child, I inherited the house I grew up in, moving back to it in 2002. My parents, Joe Sapia Sr. and Sophie Onda Sapia, are the original owners of the house, dating to 1953 and my maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda, moved in with us in probably 1966. So, basically, three generations have lived here, meaning three generations of “stuff” reside here. When I moved back, I rented a 30-cubic-yard trash bin and cleaned house, except for things that were sentimental and things I figured I could use. So, today, if I need something, before I go out and buy it, I check if I have it around the house or check to see if I can rig something together from what I have around the house. This includes gardening tools. I have a shovel I use frequently and a garden claw for weeding, both with loose handles. A few days ago, I got tired of this loose-handle stuff. So, I used a technique Uncle John Onda taught me when I was a kid: place the item in water, the wood will swell, end of the loose object. I taped the claw and the shovel to the way I wanted the handles positioned, then I put them in my 20-gallon garbage can of gardening water I keep handy. About 36 hours later, I pulled them out – gardening tools that no longer have loose handles. This week, I took another shovel and am doing the same thing.
This shovel is about to be soaked in the barrel of garden water.
The shovel handle soaking, and swelling, in the barrel of gardening water.
OCEAN TEMPS: Atlantic Ocean water temperatures at the Jersey Shore are running at about 73 degrees to 76 degrees. The average at Sandy Hook for July 16 to 31 should be 71 degrees, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
RIP CURRENTS: This season, you may have seen various warnings of rip currents during television or radio weather reports. Rip currents – also referred to incorrectly as “rip tides” – are currents of water being returned to the ocean from the beach. A rip current dissipates within hundreds of feet, but that is enough time to sweep a swimmer out into the ocean or make it difficult for that swimmer to swim back to the beach against a rip. Basically, there are three things a swimmer can do. One, rips are relatively narrow, so the swimmer can try getting out of the rip by swimming parallel to Shore, rather than back in, until he or she is out of the rip. Two, ride out the rip and, then, swim parallel to Shore and back in. Three, float and signal for help. See NOAA’s advice, http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/surviving.shtml.
WHITE ORCHID IN THE PINES: As its name suggests, the pink lady slipper orchid, “Cypripedium acaule,” generally has a pink flower. But rarely, the flower can be white. During this year’s pink lady slipper blooming season, basically late April-early May into June, outdoorsman Jay Schoss, who is a trustee of the Outdoor Club of South Jersey, found a rare white one in the Whitesbog, Burlington County, area of the Pine Barrens. I have never seen one that I can recall in my 60 years! A great find. (Thanks to outdoorswoman Faye Bray, an Outdoor Club member, for taking the photo and coming through in supplying it. The white variety was “freaking remarkable” and “absolutely beautiful,” Faye said. If you get a chance, take an OCSJ hike led by Jay or Faye. Both are great leaders and great people.)
rare white flower of a pink lady-slipper orchid.
LAST WEEK’S DRAGON FLY: Roger Dreyling, a lifelong Jamesburg area outdoorsman and my cousin through marriage, identified the dragonfly I could not identify last week. It is a common whitetail, “Plathemis lydia.”
A common whitetail dragonfly in the garden earlier in July.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For July 16, Sunday, to July 22, Saturday, the sun will rise at about 5:45 and set about 8:25 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
NORTHERN LIGHTS: Mass ejections from an explosion at the Sun are to reach Earth Sunday, July 16, possibly enhancing viewing of the Aurora Borealis, or “Northern Lights.” The National Weather Service is saying the Northern Lights may be visible as far south as the Great Lake States and New England. Hmmmm, close enough to us to take a look into the Night Sky on the Sunday-Monday overnight.
I HAVE GOT MY YARD BACK: After almost five weeks of a house-remodeling project (altering the roofline, new roof, new siding, new gutters and drainpipes, and little things here and there), I have reclaimed my yard from the contractors – not totally, because a few odds and ends remain in the coming week or two, but generally. This means, I can get back to some very-needed yardwork – cutting the lawn, trimming the shrubs, and maintaining the garden.
The hardwood forest at Van Dyke Farm, a combination of farm and woods in South Brunswick, Middlesex 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 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.
A rainy day begins to clear at a farm on Plainsboro Road in Cranbury, Middlesex County.
IN THE GARDEN: Harvesting-wise, the garden has slowed down, with the lettuce taking on a bitter taste, suggesting it is done for the cool season. I will plant more lettuce later in the summer for the fall season. Otherwise, I wait for tomatoes, corn, and cantaloupe. I do not know what happened to my cucumbers, except that I cannot find any growing. So, again, it is the three Ws: Water, Weed, and Wait. But the big discovery, or re-discovery, was the tomatillo plants growing, and fruiting, in the garden. I never planted them, but, for at least three gardening seasons, there they are. So, add them to my future harvest.
Tomatillos, which I never planted, fruiting in the garden.
AROUND THE YARD: I try to observe, whether it be looking around the yard or the sky (both night and day). As the week wrapped up and I was in the garden, I saw a red-tailed hawk, “Buteo jamaicensis,” soaring over the neighborhood. The Knock Out roses continue blooming nicely, the second bloom of the season. And I am visited by rabbits, probably “Sylvilagus floridanus,” and one of my favorites in wildlife, the catbird, “Dumetella carolinensis.” A catbird, unsure if it is the same one, keeps me company in the yard, whether I am gardening or simply hanging out.
A red-tailed hawk soaring over the neighborhood.
The yard’s Knock Out roses are in their second bloom of the season.
PINE BARRENS AROUND HELMETTA: Over the week, I walked afield only once and briefly. But I am around the wilds and drive paved roads through them daily. And I keep the camera at hand. I photograph a lot in a capture-the-moment way. So, I avoid using a cellphone, because it takes too long to unlock and it is too difficult to maneuver one-handed, instead using a point-and-shoot camera. I keep the camera at the ready — on the dashboard of my Jeep or, when I am doing yard work, in my pocket. Alas, this week, I was driving, I could not stop the Jeep, grab the camera, and focus the camera quickly and properly, missing a good photo of a group of turkeys, “Meleagris gallopavo,” with a deer, “Odocoileus virginianus,” in the background, around a woodpile as I drove past a house in the woods of Jamesburg Park. But I did photograph the turkeys and deer separately.
The deer in the Jamesburg Park section of East Brunswick.
The Jamesburg Park turkeys.
WATERING THE GARDEN: I continue to obsess over watering the garden. This year, I have avoided “brown water,” or already used water such as bath water. Instead, I use freshwater, a combination of house system water, water from Manalapan Brook, captured rain water, and water from the cellar de-humidifier. I water daily, always before 10 a.m. so water is not lost to evaporation in the heat of the day and leaving the day for the plants and soil to dry, keeping fungus away. Now, I am considering watering fewer times a week, but in heavier doses. Friend, gardener, and environmental scientist Virginia Lamb had these thoughts, “I only water maybe twice a week and directly on plants, individual or rows. Probably roughly 2 quarts per plant. … Also you need to add mulching to your list of three Ws. …It will help retain moisture and keep weeds down. Also, add compost to the soil.”
EBONY JEWELWING AT THE BROOK: Manalapan Brook, which my family through my maternal side has lived along more than 100 years, runs about 400 feet from my front door. I regularly take a walk across the street and head to the Brook at the edge of the woods. This week, I encountered one of my favorite wildlife species, the ebony jewelwing damselfly, “Calopteryx maculate” – a beautiful combination of neon green and deep black. Two were flying around. I was hoping at least one would land on my outstretched arm, but not on this day. Eventually, I grabbed a bucket of water for my garden and went back home.
An ebony jewelwing rests along the bank of Manalapan Brook.
DAMSELFLY OR DRAGONFLY: When I was visiting Manalapan Brook, I also saw a dragonfly. What kind? I do not know. But I knew it was a dragonfly because at rest, its wings were like those of an airplane, parallel to the ground. A damselfly rests with its wings perpendicular to the ground.
A dragonfly on the bank of Manalapan Brook.
SPOTSWOOD LAKE: Spotswood Lake, also known as DeVoe Lake or Mill Lake, is formed by the damming of Manalapan Brook. I happened to be at Spotswood Lake this week when the moon rose above it early in the night. So, there was a nice combination of the moon and soft sunlight.
The moon over Spotswood Lake.
Soft sunlight on Spotswood Lake.
BALD EAGLES: I saw a Facebook report of a bald eagle, “Haliaeetus leucocephalus,” on road kill in Jamesburg. Debbie Sullivan Farrell reported, “Did anyone else see the eagle by the rescue squad at 9:50 this morning? I turned onto Gatzmer from Hillside and was going towards the tracks. An eagle was checking out some road kill and flew off towards the firehouse. It was huge!!! Then I saw the unmistakable white head. It was about 20 feet from me. It was an amazing sight.” The state Department of Environmental Protection 2016 bald eagle nest summary, http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/downloads/cwnj_736.pdf. Bald eagles are “endangered” (in immediate peril) as breeders and “threatened” (could become endangered if conditions persist) as non-breeders. In 1982, there was only one bald eagle nest in New Jersey; Last year, there were about 150.
GROVERS MILL: Does the name of this village in West Windsor, Mercer County, sound familiar. Well, it was the site of the Martian landing in the 1938 radio play adaptation -– by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air — of H.G. Wells’s novel, “The War of the Worlds.” Here is the broadcast that scared the country, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0K4ApWl4g. Here is the story of the “panic broadcast,” http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/infamous-war-worlds-radio-broadcast-was-magnificent-fluke-180955180/.
A view of Grovers Mill Pond from the spillway. The Pond is formed by the damming of Bear Brook.
RECORD GARDEN THOUGHTS: As I work the garden, I have thoughts on how I can improve it in 2018. I likely will not simply remember these ideas, so I am writing them down – things such as rotating crops, keeping only a lawnmower’s width between rows, maybe doing less space between plantings, and so on.
“FALL FOLIAGE” IN THE PINE BARRENS: Summer lovers, you probably do not want to hear about colder weather coming. But those of you venturing into the Pine Barrens, start looking for the changing colors of leaves in the swamps – up here in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, roughly between July 15 and 31; maybe a week or two later in the main Pine Barrens to the south.
SEX!!!: Last week’s photo of the man turtle loving the woman turtle seems to have recharged the batteries of some readers of Garden and Afield. One woman emailed, “Love that perched turtle.” But this is my favorite e-mail exchange:
“You men love to watch herpetological porn!,” she said. “I’ve seen more pictures of snakes and turtles mating. LOL. Goes across species boundaries.”
“Baptist girls know about herp porn????” I replied.
“I do not seek out frog, turtle or snake porn!” – a likely story.
“It arrives on my desk via studies on sites like the Stafford Business Park, where the native northern pine snakes there were monitored for seven years via radio telemetry,” she continued. “The largest amount of notes was always on how much each individual male scored each season with which female. LOL. Pages and pages and pages of data and photos.”
Uh, she is an environmental scientist who studies herpetological pornography for a living….
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For July 9, Sunday, to July 15, Saturday, the sun will rise at about 5:35 a.m. to 5:40 a.m. and set about 8:25 to 8:30 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: In the 2017, June 4 to 17, issue of Garden and Afield, I referred to a rabbit in the yard. I, likely, had the wrong scientific name. The correct scientific name probably is “Sylvilagus floridanus,” the eastern cottontail.
Some kind of dragonfly 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.
Message and photos by Jamie Bruno.
Editor’s Note: The LRWP and coLAB arts are pleased to welcome Jamie Bruno to our work in New Brunswick. Jamie will join us for the next 9 months as our National Endowment for the Arts Resident Artist.
Hello Dear Reader. Happy to be writing to you today.
As the new Resident Artist with the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership my work is to bring people to the river and bring the river to people. Increasing that knowledge and access increases people’s value of a healthy river and watershed. Much of my work will be dedicated to CoLAB Arts and LRWP’s existing programming such as Rail-Arts-River and Trash Troubadour, within which the already incredible experience of cleaning up a stream also becomes an experience in arts and culture.
I live in Newark, NJ. My most recent work has been focused around urban agriculture, food security, food waste management, and organizing for urban agriculture alliance development. I manage a small farmers market for a local nonprofit once a week at a hospital in Newark. My most recent artwork, “And all our dead can live again,” is a functioning geodesic dome that, in many ways, is a reaction to doing urban agriculture and local food development work in a post-industrial inner city.
All Our Dead Can Live Again
As a graduate of Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts, I am already familiar with New Brunswick though I am still orienting to this new position and a changed city. My eyes see the river differently from the scientists, geologists and academics who study it. Slowly I will see more. For now I notice the strange interactions between humans and the human built riverfront. On my first trip re-visiting Boyd Park I see moments of departure in the landscape by an uncooperative nature, consistently unconcerned with our good intentions. And neglect by us, to simply sit and listen to her. I can’t wait to tell you more about that visit.
You don’t know me and I will only be with you, officially, for a short nine months. But within that nine months I hope that we can make sweet, passionate earth caring goodness together. Earth Care. People care. Future care. In the incredibly succinct lyrics of M.I.A.’s song “Meds and Feds”: We just “give a damn,” and, another inspiration, Y.A.L.A. (You Always Live Again as opposed to the formerly popular phrase, Y.O.L.O., You Only Live Once)… Earth karma.
Thank you for reading. If you’d like to see more of my work please visit tothedirt.net
Article and photos by Joe Mish
A snapping turtle mom in the process of laying eggs, remains motionless for hours, her body rising up as each egg is laid in the nest. Soil covers her face as a result of excavating a nest hole in which she will lay, according to several sources, 20 to 40 eggs.
I have always been fascinated with turtles, most likely because they were such strange animals, so different from anything else. They wore their skeleton on the outside, so in a way, they never left home even when they traveled. I learned the top shell was a carapace and the lower shell was a called a plastron. For a kid, way back when, to toss those words around, made people take notice and think the kid must be a budding genius. When asked, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” The answer was a quick, “I want to be a herpetologist!”, immediately followed by, “What’s a herpetologist?”.
A small book, A Golden Guide, Reptiles and Amphibians, was my constant companion. I studied the turtle section and noted the distribution of each species as shown in pink on a profile map of the USA. I was used to seeing painted turtles, musk turtles and snapping turtles when I went fishing, and box turtles a-plenty crossing roads on the way to the shore. There was an area in the nearby clay banks where slow flowing streams and spring fed ponds that drained into the river were overrun with spotted turtles.
A musk turtle sunning high above the water. Often when canoeing, a large splash of a musk turtle diving off a high branch causes a moment of mystery.
On occasion an uncommon turtle would cross my path. It was these rarely seen animals that really drew me in. There were wood turtles, Muhlenberg/Bog turtles and even a diamondback terrapin caught in a box style crab trap in Raritan Bay. These turtles being royalty; given their limited distribution.
From top to bottom: A terrapin, red slider and eastern box turtles are a few of the turtle species found in NJ. Sliders and map turtles are working their way north via the Delaware Raritan canal.
As I got to know turtles and realized how long they live and how vulnerable they can be, I felt a kinship of sorts and became a guardian of these gentle creatures. When summer is about nigh, especially the first couple weeks of June, turtles are often seen crossing roads to traditional nesting grounds where the female will lay a batch of white leathery eggs in a hole she digs with her hind feet. This is when female turtles are most vulnerable to being crushed on the roadways. I stay alert to avoid adding to the carnage and will help a turtle cross a road in the direction she is headed, when I can safely do so.
Considering some females may not reach maturity for 8 to 10 years, as in the case of the wood turtle, each lost female represents a devastating blow to an already threatened species.
This wood turtle on her way to lay eggs was killed by a mower. Considering she was at least 10 years old the situation is even more tragic.
Turtle nests may be found hundreds of yards from any pond, river or stream. Telltale signs of a nest will be the curled fragments of the white egg cases scattered around a small hole after hatching. Otherwise you will never find a nest unless you see a turtle laying eggs or a nest dug up by a fox.
Scattered scraps of leathery turtle eggs post hatching, are often the only clue of a turtle nest. A typical turtle nest hole. This was made by a wood turtle.
I recently discovered that several map turtles have been using my yard and surrounding properties as a nesting ground. Map turtles were previously only found in southern New Jersey but have moved north primarily via the Delaware Raritan canal to the Millstone and Raritan rivers. These turtles are travelling at least 400 yards uphill through thick grass to dig nests. Imagine the journey the little guys have to survive as they follow their internal GPS back to the river.
A painted turtle (top) and map turtle hatchlings make their way thru heavy grass and brush to the river.
I was fortunate to come across a snapping turtle laying eggs in a recently planted cornfield. The hours long process of laying, covering and paving over the nest by the female was captured on a GoPro camera. It is distilled down to 6 minutes and can be viewed at http://winterbearrising.wordpress.com/
A snapping turtle lays eggs in a corn field. An hours long process where she is vulnerable to predators.
As the incubation period for most turtles can vary greatly, expect a hatch to occur from late August to September. Sometimes the hatch will not occur until the next spring. The cooler the weather during incubation period produces more males and females when weather is warmer. Across turtle species, the females reach productive maturity, in some cases, years after the males.
So be alert for nesting areas and local migrations during the nesting and hatching periods. Your yard could be a turtle nursery and you might not even know it. Be kind to our turtles and honor the legacy handed down from the Unami, a matriarchal branch of the Lenapes, known as the turtle people which inhabited this part of the state.
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). Afield references are to the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, unless otherwise noted. Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Mama and Papa Canada geese, “Branta canadensis,” and their young cross a road in the Dayton section of South Brunswick, Middlesex County, and stop my Jeep in its tracks. Silly geese! (On a serious note, humans could learn from the dedicated parenting of Canada geese.)
GOOD TO BE BACK HOME: Sorry for missing last week’s “Garden and Afield,” but I was down in New Orleans or traveling to and from. I was attending receptions for a medical residency graduation (of Dr. Anthony M. Sciascia II, the son of my college buddy) and wedding (of Anthony and Nancy). I had a wonderful time with the Sciascia clan who has treated me as family since our Marquette University days that began more than 40 years ago. But I always enjoy getting back home….
SOME N’AWLINS FLAVOR IN THE JERSEY MIDLANDS: New Orleans is known for its coffee made from the roots of chicory, “Cichorium intybus.” Well, guess what has began blooming in the Jersey Midlands? Chicory, the blue flower along roadsides and other disturbed areas. It is a foreign species naturalized here. That is, a weed. But a weed with a nice-looking flower.
Chicory growing on a Monroe roadside.
IN THE GARDEN: While I was gone, my garden did not get its daily watering, even more critical because we had some very hot temperatures, near 100! But I began harvesting lettuce in earnest.
Lake Valley Seeds’s “Salad Bowl Green Heirloom Lettuce” grows in my garden. Next to the lettuce is nature’s pesticide, a toad — probably an American toad, “Anaxyrus americanus.” (Thanks to Sam Skinner, a Monmouth County Park System naturalist who set me in the right direction on the tentative identification of this toad.)
MY ORGANIC GARDEN: I just mentioned the wild toad as a natural pesticide. But, nowadays, people seem to be touchy over the term “organic,” arguing its meaning or arguing that “organic” does not mean purely natural. As I was taught in journalism, say exactly what you mean, rather than using labels. So, here is how I food garden – I add nothing to the mix except water.
MANALAPAN BROOK: The Brook flows about 400 feet from my front yard, but, thankfully, I am about 150 feet from its floodplain – so, close enough to enjoy the waterway, but far enough away not to be affected by flooding. This time of year, the Brook has a summer feel, with lush vegetation growing in the floodplain and, on this day, bright sunlight creeping through the trees. My section of the Brook is between “Jamesburg Lake” (Lake Manalapan) and “Spotswood Lake” (DeVoe Lake). Its watershed drains 40.7 square miles, according to the United States Geological Survey, in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties.
Manalapan Brook, looking downstream toward Helmetta
LIGHTNING BUGS: I saw the first lightning bug, a member of the “Lampyridae” insect family, of the season June 4. On June 17, as I was putting together this “Garden and Afield,” I watched fireflies in my backyard. There seemed to be more than normal, maybe a half-dozen to a dozen, but not the numbers I remember when I was a kid. They flash to signal mates.
ELSEWHERE IN THE YARD: Also in the yard over the last two weeks were rabbit, genus “Lepus”; the state bird, the Eastern goldfinch, “Spinus tristis,”; and my friend, the catbird, “Dumetella carolinensis.” The rabbits allow me to get within a few feet of them, probably because I go about my normal business, not TRYING to get close. The male goldfinch is brightly colored, a beautiful bird – “wild canaries” in the yard. I love catbirds. When I work in the yard or hike the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, catbirds perch nearby and keep me company.
An Eastern goldfinch. Brightly colored, so it is a male.
WHITE ORCHID: Faye Bray, a friend from the Outdoor Club of South Jersey, reported a rare white variety of the pink lady-slipper orchid, “Cypripedium acaule,” in the Whitesbog, Burlington County, area of the Pine Barrens. “It’s freaking remarkable,” Faye said. (Unfortunately, we could not get a photograph for “Garden and Afield.”)
TURTLES: Turtles have been laying eggs, meaning females have been moving around. On my trip to and from New Orleans, I saw a half-dozen or so dead along the Interstate highways, apparently struck by vehicles. Up here in the Midlands, I have heard of various encounters with turtles. One, a person moved a box turtle, “Terrapene carolina,” to water. Wait, a box turtle is a land animal. Two, another person moved a snapping turtle, “Chelydra serpentina,” to a pond, possibly interrupting its egg-laying. So, my advice is, unless there is a compelling reason, leave wildlife alone. Generally, it knows what it is doing, it does not need humans to mess up its life.
TICKS: Ticks are bad this year. Essentially, they cling to vegetation and wait for a mammal to brush by them, then they attach. We have three ticks locally: deer tick, “Ixodes scapularis”; lone star tick, “Amblyomma americanum,” The female is easily distnguishable by the light-colored dot on her back; wood tick, also known as the dog tick, “Dermacentor variabilis.”
Get a tick ID pocket card. It will show the size and colors of not only these ticks, but in different stages of development. See http://www.tickencounter.org/tick_identification/guide.
There is no need to panic. Tick-borne diseases are relatively rare — I mean, if everyone in range of a tick, or even bitten by a tick, were to get sick, there would be a very sick population. However, be vigilant. In the yard, keep grass trimmed. If in the woods, take precautions by dressing properly. (If I am wearing long pants, for example, I tuck them in my socks.) And check for ticks on one’s body. When coming in from the woods or other places ticks are likely, wash the clothes and bathe as soon as possible.
If a tick is crawling on oneself, simply flick it off — It may take a few tries. If one is attached, take tweezers and grab it behind the head and pull it out. Then flush it down the toilet, throw it in a fire, or, if needed for observation, put it with an alcohol-doused cotton swab in a closed container.
If bitten, observe the bite for abnormalities, such as the Lyme Disease bull’s eye, seek medical help if concerned. The big tick disease locally is Lyme. However, New Jersey is now watching for Powassan virus.
My yard is wildlife-friendly and I take no special precautions in the yard, other than observing my clothes and body. I am always in the woods and fields, I found one tick on my body this season, but 10x or 20x that on my clothes — the point being, notice them before they get on one’s body.
Regarding the yard, keep the grass cut. I have tall-grass wildlife patches in my yard and have not found a tick on me yet while doing yardwork, etc. I would be more concerned with cats and dogs bringing them inside.
If you look them up online, use the scientific name, so as not to confuse species and colloquial names.
LETHAL ANIMALS: I would say on a daily basis, the three most lethal animals in the Pine Barens around Helmetta are the tick, mosquito, and pet dog. The former two could do a number for life, while the latter one could be hurtful for the moment.
In the Piedmont region of the Jersey Midlands, I would add copperhead snake, “Agkistrodon contortrix.” In the main Pine Barrens, the rattlesnake, “Croatus horridus.” But the chances of getting bit by either is rare.
Throughout the Midlands, a wandering black bear, “Ursus americanus,” could be a threat – but unlikely. If you see one, stay clear and that should be enough.
YOU SAY “MUSKMELON,” I SAY “MUSHMELON”: My friend Virginia Lamb, who I have turned to for advice (environmental, gardening, and general) over the years, said in reference to my using “mushmelon,” “It’s ‘muskmelon, not ‘mushmelon.’” She is correct, in a more formal sense. But I am correct, too, in a more informal way. So, I responded in an e-mail, “Local colloquialism = mushmelon. I use that only in my blog. Normally, when I talk, I say cantaloupe. (Kind of like the colloquialism “garden snake” for “garter snake.)” Yes, we are all talking cantaloupe.
SCIENTIFIC NAMES: My use of scientific names also has prompted some discussion. Sunil Nair, who has followed my Internet nature posts, said, “Love the fact that you write the genus names, too.” But Virginia Lamb noted, “Just a note on reader preference: I feel the Latin names interrupt the folksy flow of the prose and would prefer they be noted at the end. But that may just be me.” I am considering Virginia’s point. As for using scientific names, I do it so there is no question what is being discussed. “Swamp pink” could be the “Arethusa bulbosa” orchid or it could be the “Helonias bullata” lily. But a scientific name is a scientific name is a scientific name.
A turkey vulture, “Cathartes aura,” sits on a roadside utility line in Monroe after I spooked it when it was eating a dead ground hog, “Marmota monax.” Here, it is easily identified by its red head. Turkey vultures are commonly seen, soaring in a circle, their wings tipped into a V.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For June 18, Sunday, to June 24, Saturday, the sun will rise between 5:25 and 5:30 a.m. and set about 8:30 p.m.
DATE TO KEEP IN MIND, JUNE 21: The longest daylight of the year is Wednesday, June 21, the summer solstice, when the sun rises at 5:28 a.m. and sets at 8:31 p.m. After June 21, daylight gets shorter.
DATE TO KEEP IN MIND, JUNE 24: St. John the Baptist Day. Sophie Majka, a neighbor who died March 8 at 92-years-old, had told me blueberries are ready to pick in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta on St. John’s Day, June 24. So, that is a target I look to.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
SOURCES: As you can see, I have already mentioned various sources of information. Additionally, I enjoy listening to Mike McGrath’s “You Bet Your Garden” radio show on WHYY, 90.9 FM, out of Philadelphia – or on the Internet at http://whyy.org/cms/youbetyourgarden/. I also read Sally McCabe’s “In the Garden, It’s Time To…” column in the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, or on the Internet at philly.com.
MORE N’AWLINS FLAVOR IN HELMETTA: Why do I love traveling in the South? Maybe because I am a boy of the South – South Middlesex County. And my local roots go back to Helmetta, whose founder, for lack of a better term, George Washington Helme, was a Confederate military officer. Although a native of Kingston, Pennsylvania, Helme was a New Orleans resident during the Civil War. After the war, he came up to Helmetta, where his wife’s, Margaret Appleby Helme’s, family had a snuff mill operation – one that George would eventually take over. The George W. Helme Snuff Mill provided my family with work for approximately 75 years, from circa 1900 to 1976. The mill stopped manufacturing snuff in 1993 and, now, it is being converted into housing.
Looking into sunlit Manalapan Brook, here between Helmetta and Jamesburg.
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.
Mountain laurel, “Kalmia latifolia,” in bloom in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, specifically the Jamesburg Park section of East Brunswick, Middlesex County.
MORE MOUNTAIN LAUREL LORE: I have mentioned here before the Pine Barrens lore I had heard, “The snapping turtle lays its eggs when mountain laurel blooms.” Here is some woods lore I just heard, “The deer would give birth around the time mountain laurel blooms.”
If you find a fawn, “Odocoileus virginianus,” seemingly by itself, leave it. Its mother is probably nearby, waiting for you to leave. If you come across a snapper, “Chelydra serpentine,” that needs to be moved from, say, a road, move it to safety in the direction it is traveling. It probably is a female, heading to uplands to lay eggs or returning to water after laying eggs. BE CAREFUL WITH SNAPPERS. More Piney lore, “Only the setting sun or lightning makes a snapping turtle let go.” I move them with a shovel, preferably a big grain shovel. Joey lore, “If a snapping turtle bites and will not let go, shove a wire in its nostril. Or maybe a flashing light will make it let go.”
Wild mountain laurel is virtually impossible to transplant.
Mountain laurel’s scientific name is “Kalmia latifolia.” The genus name comes from Pehr Kalm, a European botanist who worked in the South Jersey area in the 1700s. He published the influential “Travels into North America.” The plant’s species name is Latin for “broad-leaved.”
A SHORE GARDEN: On a newspaper reporting freelance story, I was at the home of artist Laura Petrovich-Cheney and her husband, educator and craftsman Peter Cheney, in Asbury Park, Monmouth County. Their property is on Deal Lake. There, a great egret, “Ardea alba”, and red-winged blackbird, “Agelaius phoeniceus,” flew along the lake. Purple martins, “Progne subis,” nest in houses on the property. In the gardens were various flowers in bloom: roses, poppies, daylilies (budding), peonies, yarrow, and trumpet vine honeysuckle. Also in gardens were Tears of Mary, tomato, eggplant, cucumbers, herbs, raspberry bushes, and a fig tree.
“Tears of Mary” plant in the Petrovich-Cheney and Cheney garden in Asbury Park, Monmouth County.
A red-winged blackbird flies past a great egret on Deal Lake at the Cheney and Petrovich-Cheney garden.
BIRD BATHS IN THE YARD: When my birdbath broke a few years ago, I took the bath part and laid it on the ground. When that had seen its days, I started using a garbage can lid, laying it on the ground. Now, I use large saucers – two in the backyard along the fruit and vegetable garden and one in the front yard. They are used by various animals: bird; squirrel; “Sciurus carolinensis”; and neighborhood cat, maybe even by skunk, “Mephitis mephitis”; chipmunk, “Tamias striatus”; raccoon, “Procyon lotor”; and ground hog, “Marmota monax.”
A blue jay, “Cyanocitta cristata,” in one of my backyard bird baths.
WATERING THE GARDEN: I water the garden before 10 a.m. so as not to lose water to evaporation in the heat of the day and so the garden dries by nightfall, preventing fungal growth. I use two watering methods – one, by sprinkling can if I have enough clean water accumulated (from rain, the cellar de-humidifier, and so on) and, two, by running a sprinkler. Sitting there with a cup of coffee and watching the sprinkler go back and forth is so relaxing. This week, a mourning dove, “Zenaida macroura,” joined me.
A mourning dove perches in a pitch pine – “Pinus rigida,” transplanted to my backyard from a Pine Barrens woods in Monmouth County – and hangs out with me as I watched the sprinkler water the garden.
BUTTERFLIES: As I have mentioned before, I am noticing a lot of tiger swallowtails, “Papilio glaucus,” the females black and the males yellow, this year. I usually cannot shoot a good photograph because they do not sit still. This week around my garden, I had a very cooperative female, allowing me to photograph away.
A female tiger swallowtail cruises over my garden.
She rests in the garden.
DELAWARE RIVER AT FIELDSBORO: I was along the Delaware River near Fieldsboro, Burlington County. This is where the river transforms from commercial shipping (here and south) to recreational (here and north). Although the water here is fresh, there is a tidal effect as far north on the river as the area of Trenton, Mercer County.
Dawn on the Delaware River, looking toward the area of Fieldsboro, Burlington County.
CLOUDS: Over the last several months, clouds have been spectacular. On the evening of May 31, Wednesday, I was along the Delaware River in the Fieldsboro area. It was clear where I was, but to the north were storm clouds with occasional streaks of lightning. The lightning was too sporadic for me to catch a photograph, but I shot pictures of the storm clouds and sunset. (Tip on photographing lightning: If the lightning is flashing near enough to one another, do not try to catch the flash. Instead, just keep on cranking pictures and hopefully there will be a usable shot of lighting in the batch – and hopefully you were not struck by lightning!)
Man in the cloud blows fire at a jet along the Delaware River.
LIGHTNING: A few years back, a Jersey Shore beachgoer at the Atlantic Ocean in clear weather was struck and killed by “out of the blue lightning” because, despite the clear weather at the beach, a thunderstorm was near enough. So, play it safe. The rule I follow, “If you hear thunder, you can be struck by lightning.” Seek cover.
NIGHT SKY: At dawn, look for the bright “star” in the East – the planet Venus. The Full Rose Moon is Friday, June 9. On Saturday, June 3, I stood on my back porch and looked at the moon, with the planet Jupiter just off it. I find it fascinating I can stand in my yard and look at the wonders of the night sky in the home I grew up in – and followed the USA-Soviet Union “Space Race” in the 1960s. Turn off the outside lights, let your eyes adjust for 20 minutes to 30 minutes, and enjoy a naked-eye view of the Night Sky.
The planet Jupiter aligned with the moon on the night of Saturday, June 3.
UNDER THE PORCH: After working an overnight shift, I came home to find a pile of dirt under one of my back porches, the one at the Florida room. Enough dirt in the pile to fill a wheelbarrow. I suspect a ground hog. I raked up the dirt and moved it to my garden, where I likely will rake it out in the fall. As for the animal hole, I let it be. Wildlife is welcome in my yard, but I prefer it does not mess with my vegetable-fruit garden.
The work of a ground hog, I presume.
Off to the garden with the dirt. I can always find a use for it.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For June 4, Sunday, to June 17, Saturday, the sun will rise about 5:30 a.m. and set about 8:25 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
MY GARDEN: I continue with the three Ws – water, weed, and wait. The cool weather plants of lettuce and carrot are growing nicely, but the pea are lame. As for the warm weather plants, cucumber, mushmelon, and sweet corn, along with zinnia, are poking through the ground. No sign yet of tomato. (And I am thinking I may abandon planting tomato from seed. I am considering for next year buying plants and transplanting them into the garden.)
Salad Bowl Lettuce,” by Lake Valley Seed, growing in my garden.
UPCOMING “GARDEN AND AFIELDS”: After I publish a “Notes from Garden and Afield,” I panic, thinking, Will I be able to fill next week’s issue? Then, I realize there is plenty happening afield and in the garden. Alas, because of a scheduling conflict I have, “Notes from Garden and Afield” will not publish June 11. The plan is for it to return June 18. Meanwhile, check out on your own what is happening afield and in the garden.
Mountain laurel, in bloom and about to bloom fully, in Jamesburg Park.
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.
The July 17 LRWP meeting will be held from 10-noon in the Middlesex County Planning Offices at 75 Bayard Street, New Brunswick, NJ – 5th floor mid-size conference room.
We welcome Professor JeanMarie Hartman and her students Sophie Benaroyan, BoYoung Park, and Colin Marx who will speak on the following topics:
“Factors Affecting Infiltration Rates in the Lower Raritan Watershed” (Benaroyan)
“Exploring the relationship between forest cover and water quality in New Jersey’s Lower Raritan Watershed” (Park)
“Forests and Land Cover in the Raritan Basin” (Marx)
Parking is validated for those parking on floors 5 and higher in the RWJ Wellness Parking Deck located at 95 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Be sure to bring your ticket to the meeting for validation.
For more information contact Heather: hfenyk AT lowerraritanwatershed DOT org
The following include May 2017 highlights of local/state news-worthy environmental concerns, as well as national headlines to watch:
New Jersey Water Supply Plan Update: After a 20 year wait, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection released a 2017-2022 Water Supply Master Plan Update. Specific to the Lower Raritan Watershed and our “Central Drought Region” are proposed Capital Improvement Projects including a North/South Branch Confluence pumping station, the Kingston Quarry Reservoir, water transfers from central to coastal North Drought Regions and the Six Mile Run Reservoir (pages 74-77).
New Jersey Freshwater Wetland Protection Act (FWPA) Rules Amendments: The NJDEP is proposing comprehensive amendments to NJ’s FWPA. These amendments propose significant revisions particularly to mitigation rules, and also to transition area (freshwater wetland buffer) impacts. Of note is that the proposed revisions increase the degree to which transition areas can be impacted by development. Written comments will be accepted until June 30th.
Rollbacks on Obama-era climate rules: Last week the Federal Highway Administration announced that it will delay the effective date of Green House Gas emissions analysis and air quality studies on US Interstate roadways.
Rollbacks on Pesticides: The Hill reports that House passed legislation last week to loosen federal regulations on pesticides. The “Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017” would reverse a 2009 court decision that requires that anyone applying pesticides secure a general permit under the Clean Water Act, opening the door to increased pesticide impacts on our waters.
Trump to pull out of Paris Climate Accord: Reuters reports that the United states will no longer be part of the landmark Paris Climate Agreement designed to reduce impacts of global warming.
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.
The Atlantic Ocean beach at Bradley Beach, Monmouth County
THE JERSEY SHORE SUMMER SEASON: The traditional Jersey Shore summer season arrives with Memorial Day Weekend, this weekend, and ends with Labor Day, this year September 4. (A tip: Jersey Shore people know September is a great month at the Shore – the crowds are gone and the weather and ocean are still warm.)
SPRINGTIME AT TONY’S MARKET: A favorite Jersey Midlands place of mine for decades has been Tony’s Farm and Garden Center in the Windsor section of Robbinsville, Mercer County. A nice selection of various products and owned and operated by the warm and helpful Ciaccio family. I regularly patronize three nursery-garden centers: Ferris Farms in East Brunswick, Krygier’s Nursery in South Brunswick, and Tony’s. At Tony’s, I buy houseplants and houseplant supplies. And I try to always shoot photographs at Tony’s.
Flowers at Tony’s Farm and Garden Center in the Windsor section of Robbinsville, Mercer County.
SIX-MILE RUN RESERVOIR SITE: On Wednesday, May 24, I hiked this area in Franklin, Somerset County, with the Outdoor Club of South Jersey. The area, about 3,000 acres and part of the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, had been planned for a reservoir, but that did not come to be. The terrain of red shale soil and traprock is part of the Piedmont geologic region. While pretty terrain – an area that I want to re-visit soon – much of it appears to be grown-over farmland, rather than a pure ecosystem.
A Jack in the Pulpit flower, “Arisaema triphyllum,” in past-peak bloom at Six-Mile Run Reservoir.
MUSHROOMS: The wet weather may have produced mushrooms popping up in your yard or you simply may see mushrooms in the woods. BE CAREFUL! In my 60 years, I have learned only two mushrooms I feel comfortable picking – and I probably would still eat them with hesitancy out of fear, warranted or not. Remember the adage, “There are old mushroom pickers. There are bold mushroom pickers. There are NO bold AND old mushroom pickers.” It may be best to stay away from mushrooms in garden or afield.
Mushrooms popping up post-rain in my backyard.
TURTLES AND MOUNTAIN LAUREL: Some Pine Barrens lore, “When the mountain laurel blooms, the snapping turtle lays its eggs.” Mountain laurel, “Kalmia latifolia,” is coming into bloom and, yes, snapping turtles, “Chelydra serpentina,” and other turtles are moving about. On Saturday, May 27, Priscilla “Peppy” Bath reported seeing a snapping turtle near her Mercer County home: “There was a huge turtle in the road. We stopped. Another car stopped and the turtle was not injured. But it was a big snapping turtle and the man was afraid to pick it up. Then, a young man on a bicycle came along and he picked it up and got it out of the road.” On the same day, I was driving on Route 206 in Burlington County and had to swerve to miss a box turtle, “Terrapene carolina carolina,” crossing 206. The car behind my Jeep hit it, but it appeared to nick it safely, knocking it to the side of the road. So, a heads-up while driving. If you move a turtle, move it in the direction it was traveling. If it is a snapper, I would use a shovel, not my hands. And, if using one’s hands, do not pick it up by its tail, which could injure it.
Mountain laurel about ready to go into full bloom at Jamesburg Park in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta.
I keep this type of grain shovel in my Jeep to move snapping turtles off roads.
TREE MULCHING: I see so many examples of “volcano” mulching, or the wrong way to mulch a tree. 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 mulch “volcano,” or the wrong way to mulch a tree, in South Brunswick, Middlesex County.
BLACKWELLS MILLS GARDENS: The gardens looked beautiful, here — in Franklin, Somerset County — which is part of Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park.
The garden at the circa 1830 bridge tender station at Blackwells Mills.
Flowers at Blackwells Mills.
MOON: The crescent moon waxes toward the June 9 Full Strawberry Moon.
GARDEN AND AFIELD: I already had some lower broom sedge, “Andropogon virginicus variety abbreviates,” gathered, here, in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta on display on my kitchen table. So, with my “Knock Out” Roses blooming, I just added some of those to the vase.
“Knock Out” Roses and lower broom sedge on my kitchen table.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For the week of May 28, Sunday, to June 3, Saturday, the sun will rise about 5:30 a.m. and set about 8:20 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
MY GARDEN: I am simply practicing the three Ws: Water, Weed, and Wait – waiting for lettuce, carrot, pea, sweet corn, tomato, mushmelon, cucumber, and zinnia to grow and be picked.
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.
