New Jersey’s growing zone provides tender greens in May, tomatoes in August and a final harvest just in time for Thanksgiving. Because our USDA hardiness zone defines so much of what we grow and how we grow it, it was just the right name for Mikey Azzara’s local produce distribution service, Zone 7.
Zone 7 grew out of Mr. Azzara’s awareness of a “missing link” between small farms and the businesses that want their products. It connects organic and sustainable farms in most of New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania with the grocers and restaurants that need and want that produce.
Since most farmers markets operate Thursday through Sunday, the beginning of the week has turned out to be the best time for Zone 7 to make its connections. Farms don’t just harvest once a week, after all, says Mr. Azzara. Harvesting two or three times a week keeps plants healthy and produce fresh, so the plan works out for everyone, he says.
The business, founded in 2008, grew out of his previous work with NOFA-NJ (Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey), a nonprofit educational organization that promotes organic and sustainable farming in New Jersey. There, he launched a program that connected interested farmers with chefs and grocery stores. In a series of regional meetings it became clear there was a need to connect these elements, he says.
“I was hearing from some of the farmers and from some of the chefs, they said — ‘Dude, just get a truck, and start doing this. You know who the farmers and chefs are, just get a truck and start connecting the dots,’” he says.

Identifying hazardous trees in advance can prevent damage caused by storms and the passage of time

The historic nor’easter that struck central New Jersey in March devastated the area’s trees, toppling them into houses and across roadways. Unable to cope with the combination of saturated landscapes, warm temperatures and violent winds, trees in great numbers uprooted and tipped to crashing finales.

“I watched trees flop back and forth like I’ve never seen before,” says Bob Wells, who’s operated Robert Wells Tree & Landscape in Princeton for 37 years. Evergreen trees, such as Norway spruces, Douglas firs and white pines, were hit particularly hard, he adds, because their branches act as sails that catch the wind, which Rutgers University reports reached 70-mph at times. The storm itself dropped a statewide average of 3-and-a-half inches of rain and, in the wettest places, up to 8.

“We experienced probably the worst weather event that we’ve had in a generation,” Mr. Wells said a few days after the storm. “It was unbelievable. It’s going to be months before we understand the enormity of this event.”

Barber Mike Zingaro can’t picture a better way to make a living

Mike Zingaro didn’t set out in life to become a barber, but after 18 years of trims and close shaves this Princeton entrepreneur couldn’t think of being part of any other profession.

“I got started at 20 after I went to college,” Mr. Zingaro says.

“I went to play baseball, but the college thing didn’t really work out for me. My father had an old Italian friend who owned a barber shop and I had great memories of going in and out of there as a kid. It seemed like an interesting trade so I went to vocational school, graduated and started cutting hair.”

After graduation from Ocean County Vocational School in Brick, he came to Princeton as the manager of Rialto Barber Shop on Nassau Street. There he built up a strong clientele and learned the skills that today are the foundation of his craft.

“It was a great experience and I developed great friendships,” Mr. Zingaro says. “But after a while I wasn’t progressing and decided to open my own shop."

Mike’s Barber Shop opened at 16 Witherspoon St. in 2006. Competing with two other shops wasn’t easy — Rialto Barber Shop on Nassau Street and Continental Barber Shop also on Witherspoon Street — but with quality service and a warm, welcoming atmosphere Mr. Zingaro quickly gained a loyal following.