After weeks of frigid below-freezing weather, we're expecting temperatures to climb to the high 30s today and the rest of the week - a welcome change for all at my farm.
When conditions are extreme, it's important that my crew checks the animals several times a day to ensure they are all warm and comfortable. When it comes to my chickens, I make certain they are housed properly, fed all the best, most nutritious foods, and have enough room to roam and range happily in their pens. This year, I felt they needed extra support for the bitter cold. My neighbor, Gregory Goodwin, who shares my passion for raising chickens, makes his own feed and bedding mixes to keep his birds calm and well-nourished during winter's coldest days. He shared some with me and the flocks are loving it.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here in the Northeast, we’ve been battling bitter cold for three weeks – snow, ice, and temperatures in the single digits. This kind of weather can take a toll on the animals, especially the chickens.
My chickens have full access to heated indoor coops…
But they are also free to roam in their enclosures during the day. I line areas with hay to cover snow and ice.
But this year has just been so cold, I wanted to provide a little more support for these wonderful birds.
My neighbor and friend, Gregory Goodwin, also lives on a farm and cares for many animals. He creates these tonics to help his birds through the season. He saves some to give as gifts and recently dropped off some at my farm to try.
Gregory gets his corn from a restaurant depot. Corn provides energy through its high carbohydrate content. When chickens consume it, they need to work harder to digest it. In turn, this increases their activity and generates added internal heat.
Chickens can be given fresh or cracked, dried corn. I provide lots of high-quality corn for my birds – they love it.
Gregory’s Winter Poultry Tonic includes the corn, wheat berries, and regular feed. The mix increases both their calorie and carbohydrate intake to raise and maintain their body temperatures and overall health.
And then he adds some extra water to keep the chickens well-hydrated.
Gregory mixes it up and offers it to his flock as a porridge.
Here he spreads it out on a tray and serves the birds.
His chickens seem to love the added treats.
This is Gregory’s Calming Poultry Bedding Mix. He combines equal parts – 1/3 lavender, 1/3 dried oregano, and 1/3 chamomile. He sprinkles it onto newly changed bedding to keep his chickens close to the heated coops. It encourages them to scratch up the bedding mix and keep them active.
Gregory dropped off some of his tonics for me to try. These tonics also help to keep the chickens calm and relaxed during times of stress, such as extreme weather.
Cesar pours generous amounts into their feeders and mixes it with their regular feed.
My birds are offered many feeder type options – with both dry and wet mixes.
They all seem to love the tonic mix.
It’s also very important to keep all the birds well hydrated during the cold. My chickens have multiple waterers that are checked and changed frequently. It is crucial to the water does not freeze.
This is a White Sultan Rooster – one of the birds I got from this year’s Northeastern Poultry Congress in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is doing well adjusting to the new environment despite the winter cold.
And the hens are still producing lots of eggs – did you see my Instagram post @marthastewart48? One day last weekend, I picked 49 eggs! It was the coldest day of the season. Thank you, ladies! If you raise chickens and live in an area where temperatures can get extreme, be sure to fortify your poultry food with good, high-calorie, stress-reducing ingredients and herbs – they’ll keep your chickens warm and happy.
Among my favorite plants are the exotic forms of succulents - they make excellent container specimens.
If you like growing plants, but don’t really have the time to care for them properly, I encourage you to consider growing succulents. Succulents are so easy to maintain and are able to survive prolonged drought because they store moisture in their fleshy stems, roots, and leaves. Not long ago, during a business trip out west, I stopped for a brief visit to see Flora Grubb, one of our 2012 American Made Winners, and got some beautiful small succulents to add to my growing collection.
Enjoy these photos.
I am always looking for interesting and unique plants to bring home and add to my greenhouse. I have amassed quite a collection of specimens over the years. Most of these succulents are from Flora Grubb’s San Francisco location. Succulent comes from the Latin word “sucus,” which means juice or sap. It’s also a nod to the nourishing leaves that help these plants survive in extremely warm conditions. They are often grown as ornamental plants because of their striking shapes.
Succulents are considered slow to grow with most varieties showing growth after several months to even years.
Succulents are known for their ability to store water, come in various colors and sizes, and require minimal care, making them popular among plant enthusiasts.
Succulent colors include shades of purple, green, blue, pink, and even red. Their colors can change based on environmental factors such as sunlight exposure, temperature, and water availability.
Some are smooth and some have decorative and sharp spines.
Before potting, Ryan puts together a suitable soil mix. The right soil mix will help to promote faster root growth and provide quick anchorage to young roots. I use Miracle-Gro potting mix specifically formulated for succulents. This mix contains sand and perlite to help prevent soil compaction and improve drainage.
Ryan moves several large scoops of potting mix into a bucket.
Ryan and I also like to create our own mix to add more of the elements preferred by these plants. Ryan adds more perlite, a lightweight, porous volcanic glass used to improve aeration and drainage in soil and other plant mixes.
Next, he adds some vermiculite, which is a naturally occurring mineral that expands when heated and is widely used to improve soil moisture retention and aeration.
And then he adds some horticultural sand, a very gritty sand made from crushed granite, quartz, or sandstone. Horticultural sand is often known as sharp sand, coarse sand, or quartz sand.
And don’t forget to feed. Ryan sprinkles a generous amount of Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Extended Boost, which feeds up to six months.
After wetting down the mix, Ryan thoroughly combines all the elements. Because succulents don’t like wet roots, it is important to use a soil mixture that is appropriate and will drain well.
Ryan chooses the appropriate size container for each specimen. I’ve been using Guy Wolff pots for many years – he makes every one of these by hand.
Each pot has a drainage hole. A clay shard is placed over the hole to help with drainage. I also like to use clay pots because they allow proper aeration and moisture to penetrate through the sides and to the plant.
Ryan fills the pots with the soil mix, adding just enough so it is filled just below the top rim of the pot. When potting several plants, Ryan works in an efficient production line process – filling all the pots first and then pot them up.
These succulent roots are light in color, long enough to hold the dirt in the pot, and veiny. Healthy roots will appear moist and will taper in thickness the further they get from the plant.
The Kalanchoe is a popular succulent plant known for its thick, fleshy leaves and vibrant, long-lasting flowers, making it an excellent choice for indoor and outdoor gardening.
This pincushion euphorbia is a succulent with spines on ribbed stems.
This succulent will last a couple years in this pot before it will need to be transplanted again.
Ryan adds pea gravel to the top of the pots. Pea gravel, so named because the pieces are pea-sized, is available at garden centers and comes in different colors.
The newly potted plants are placed into a crate and brought up to my Winter House porch.
And here they are now – joined with some other well-nurtured specimens. My porch is a lovely space for displaying potted plants. The floor to ceiling windows allow lots of light. Most succulents need at least half a day to a full day of sunlight. They’ll do beautifully in this space and will be a joy to watch grow and thrive.
If you're entertaining at home this winter, don't forget to take time to polish the silver.
Last week, my housekeeper Enma Sandoval took on the task of cleaning and polishing some of the silver in my Winter House Brown Room - a couple days ahead of a small dinner party I hosted. There are several ways to clean silver. One nontoxic method is to fill an aluminum pan with hot water, salt and baking soda, stir until it is all dissolved, and then soak the pieces until a chemical reaction occurs that removes the tarnish. This technique is faster than hand cleaning, but may cause pitting and remove the more desirable tarnish called patina. Experts recommend using a good-quality, non-abrasive commercial silver polish. Silver cleaning cloths made especially for removing tarnish from precious metals are also available.
Enjoy these photos.
Polishing silver three or four times a year is generally sufficient to keep it in good condition, but if you’re entertaining and planning to use some pieces, give them a little extra attention before the event.
I hosted a small dinner party for 12 over the weekend and asked my housekeeper to polish some of the pieces in my Brown Room. These are already finished and look so beautiful.
These pieces are very lightly tarnished – some pieces don’t even look tarnished at all.
I’ve used Wright’s Silver Cream for years. Wright’s Silver Cream is a gentle all-purpose polish that works on all types of silver. It also works nicely on stainless steel and chrome.
After washing this silver serving tray with dish soap and warm water to remove any dust, Enma applies a small amount of silver cream.
Enma rubs both sides of the tray. Tarnish ranges in color from a light yellowy gold to almost black, depending on how long it has been allowed to develop. In addition to using soft sponges and rags, use cotton swabs to apply the cream to tight spots and crevices when cleaning.
After rubbing the piece with silver cream, rinse the piece well.
And then wash it with dish soap and water again to ensure all the cream is removed.
Enma uses the sponge to remove any of the leftover cream.
And she rinses both the top and bottom of the tray thoroughly, so there is no trace of cream left.
All the cleaning is done on a terry cloth towel lining the bottom of the sink, so the metal doesn’t bang against any surfaces. The towel is also a good idea to use when washing special china… just in case anything slips through the fingers.
After rinsing, Enma dries the silver right away with a soft absorbent cloth to avoid any water marks.
Here she is cleaning a silver dish. It may take a little longer when cleaning a piece with more intricate designs, crevices, or indentations. Enma is sure to wipe every area, getting into the tight spaces carefully. It’s also a good idea to use gloves when taking on this task, so the cleaning cream does not come into contact with the skin.
Completely coat any pieces with the cream. The silver will start to brighten as it is rubbed. Always use silver polishes that are non-abrasive, and opt for formulas, such as creams and gels instead of sprays.
The silver dish is rinsed carefully over the towel and then dried in the same fashion as the silver tray.
Every piece cleaned is buffed to perfection. Do not let your silver air dry, because water left standing can cause spotting.
These pieces will look so lovely in my Brown Room. Another tip – never clean silver in the dishwasher. The detergents’ aggressive chemicals, combined with the washer’s high cleaning temperature, will eventually turn it grey or white, with a dull, non-reflective surface.
Because my silver is cleaned regularly, it doesn’t take too much time to get the job done.
Here’s the same tray with everything newly cleaned and polished – everything looks great.
The tray of silver is displayed in my Brown Room, near my long dining table where guests will see them.
The joy of owning beautiful silver pieces does require some work to keep everything looking beautiful, but it is all well worth the effort.
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