FREEHOLD – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher today kicked off the spring planting season by urging residents and businesses to patronize the state’s nurseries and garden centers.
Secretary Fisher visited Brock Farms Home and Garden World in Freehold, one of Central Jersey’s largest garden centers and long-time supporter of the Department of Agriculture’s Jersey Grown marketing program for the state’s half billion dollar a year horticultural industry.
“When planting your spring gardens this year, visit your nearby nursery or garden center and look for Jersey Grown annual bedding plants, perennials, shrubs and trees,” said Secretary Fisher. “These businesses at the shore and throughout the state are open and here to help during the Superstorm Sandy rebuilding process.”
Secretary Fisher today also announced the launching of the new Jersey Grown website at www.jerseygrown.nj.gov. The site has a wide range of information about the program and industry, including a search function for nurseries and garden centers. There are listings for “choose and cut” Christmas tree farms and gardens or arboretums to visit. The site has details on all the Jersey Grown products and information for growers on how to become part of the program. There also is helpful information for gardeners, such as New Jersey weather and the plant hardiness zone map, and a number of links to resources covering everything from where to get soil tested to what plants are deer resistant.
“Use the Jersey Grown website,” said Fisher. “It is the most up-to-date and easy to navigate resource for gardeners who are interested in buying locally grown for their landscaping needs.”
To promote the industry, the Jersey Grown branding program was created and over the years expanded so it now includes trees, shrubs, flowers, annuals, perennials, Christmas trees, firewood, wood and black oil sunflower seed for birdseed.
Brock Farms has been a certified Jersey Grown grower since the inception of the program. The business was first started by Ed and Jean Brock, opening the Colts Neck retail outlet first, then the Freehold location in 1958. Freehold also serves as a re-wholesale center. The company farms more than 600 acres of nursery products in Bridgeton, as well as 200 acres in Monmouth County.
“We have been providing the highest quality plant materials and landscape supplies to the horticulture industry for over 50 years,” said Paul Witter, Brock Farms Manager. “Business is improving currently and the weather so far has been cooperative for harvest. Some demand has been seen for plant material due to Sandy, but it’s still early in the recovery process to gauge any impact on the horticulture industry.”
Steve Wagner, General Manager of Brock Farms in Bridgeton was named the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association’s Nurseryman of the Year for 2012.
"Being a part of the Jersey Grown program has always made sense to us," said Wagner, who also serves on the NJNLA Board of Directors. "New Jersey has some of the best conditions for growing nursery plants in the country, and this program only serves to further highlight the quality and success of New Jersey's nursery industry."
All growers are encouraged to join the Jersey Grown brand. There are many benefits, such as identifying their products in the marketplace; capitalizing on the popularity of Jersey Fresh; and it is high quality.
To find Jersey Grown products, look for signage and the Jersey Grown logo. Supporting local growers and outlets helps to rebuild the Garden State and the lives of all New Jersey residents.
Source: New Jersey Department of Agriculture
