If you have a vegetable garden, how is it doing this year? The new vegetable garden here at my Bedford, New York farm is amazing. I hope you saw my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 showing some of our latest bounty.
Over the last week, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, and my housekeepers, Enma Sandoval and Elvira Rojas, picked cucumbers, summer squash, artichokes, carrots, beans, Swiss chard, and so much more. They also picked nearly a bushel of peaches - that's almost 50-pounds of delicious, sweet fruits. Despite some very uncomfortable summer weather, the produce in the gardens is thriving.
Enjoy these photos.
Here at my farm, we’re all so pleased with the new vegetable garden. It’s been so productive and all the vegetables look fantastic. It’s important to check it every day – there’s always something ready to pick. It makes me so happy to be able to share all of this produce with friends and family every summer.
So many tomatoes are developing on the vines, but they’re not ready just yet. Most tomato plant varieties need between 50 and 90 days to mature. Planting can also be staggered to produce early, mid and late season tomato harvests.
And the onions are doing excellently also. We planted a lot of white, yellow and red onions. Onions are harvested later in the summer when the underground bulbs are mature and flavorful.
But so many other vegetables are ready to harvest right now. Look at the cucumbers! These are perfect, and what a bounty.
Cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, are great for pickling – I try to find time for pickling every year.
Ryan is using a double harvest bag from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Originally designed for Canadian tree planters to carry heavy loads, it’s so popular to use for harvesting lots of vegetables. This is one of two bags that are each about 10-inches by 12-inches by 14-inches deep and the triple padding on the harness can be adjusted for maximum support.
Ryan starts to fill the bags with cucumbers. I like them best when they are at least six to eight inches in length. These will be so sweet and juicy.
There are also a lot of beans. Beans grow best in full sun and moist soil. Bush beans are second only to tomatoes as the most popular vegetables in home gardens. Bush beans are eaten when the seeds are small. They are also called string beans because of a fibrous string running the length of the pod.
Swiss chard always stands out in the garden, with its rich colorful stalks. Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable often used in Mediterranean cooking. The leaf stalks are large and vary in color, usually white, yellow, or red. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color. Harvest Swiss chard when the leaves are tender and big enough to eat.
The globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, is actually a flower bud, which is eaten when tender. Buds are generally harvested once they reach full size, just before the bracts begin to spread open. When harvesting artichokes, cut off the bud along with about three inches of stem.
We picked lots of artichokes in just a few minutes. Artichoke harvest starts in late July or early August and continues well until frost. The container is Johnny’s harvest bucket – a kidney shaped hard bucket on an adjustable heavy duty wide strap for easy carrying.
Here’s the bucket filled to the top with garden fresh artichokes.
Here are our trug buckets of cucumbers. I think this is one of our biggest cucumber harvests yet!
All the freshly picked vegetables are loaded up and brought to my flower room, where they can be washed if needed, then bagged and stored in the refrigerator.
Here’s our bin of carrots. We have such beautiful carrots this season. Most are familiar with the orange carrots, but they also come in red, yellow, white, and purple.
And then it was a walk to the orchard. My orchard surrounds three sides of my pool. It’s filled with a variety of apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, peach, pear, and quince trees. Most of the fruits are not yet ready to pick, but many of the peaches are ripe and sweet.
And all the peach trees are filled with bright pink fruits. Can you see them?
Here’s a closer look. This time every year, everyone around the farm eagerly awaits the first fruits.
If the peach is firm to the touch, it’s not ready. It’s ripe when there is some “give” as it is gently squeezed. Color is another great indicator of maturity. Peaches are ripe when the ground color of the fruit changes from green to completely yellow.
Here’s our first big bounty of fresh, organic peaches of the season – so sweet and delicious!
It’s always so much fun to harvest the “fruits of our labor.” Thanks Ryan, Enma, and Elvira! And be sure to look at my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 to see more of what we harvested. I hope all your gardens are just as productive as mine.
It’s never too early to start planning and prepping for the holiday season.
Yesterday on QVC, I celebrated "Christmas in July" with some of my newest decorations. I hope you were able to catch my appearances. I joined LIVE throughout the day right from my Bedford, New York farm, talking with QVC hosts Mary Beth Roe, Alberti Popaj, and Rachel Boesing about my festive ornaments, figures, tabletop trees, and wines. My entire home studio living room was lit up and filled with cheerful lights and pieces.
Enjoy these photos, and be sure to shop all my holiday offerings on the QVC website.
Here I am in my studio living room surrounded by lots of my newest holiday items for QVC. Outside, it’s a warm summer July day, but inside, we’re celebrating Christmas. It’s a lot of work, but always fun.
Everyone loves my artful metallic houses modeled after the outbuildings at my Bedford, New York farm. This one is a miniature version of my Winter House. I also offer a model of my Summer House and my stable. Lights shine through all the windows of these gold-toned structures. They’re great on a table or along a wide windowsill where guests can see them.
Here is my metallic Summer House. Group them altogether to create a farm just like mine.
These lush greenery wreaths decorated with faux foliage, long-leaf eucalyptus, garlands, and drops look wonderful on the windows. They also look great over the fireplace, hung on a door, or used as a centerpiece. It measures 24-inches in diameter, six-inches wide and can be used indoors or out.
And one of our favorites this year – my Glitter Fur Squirrels. Golden glittery paws and soft faux fur add to the charm of these critters. These squirrels come in pairs – display them close together…
… or separate them and sit them next to one of my metallic houses.
During the holidays, I always decorate my home with lots of trees – big trees, tabletop trees, in a variety of colors that match the rooms in my home. Here are my bottle brush trees in green, gold, and silver. This six-piece set shows the trees in various shapes, but one can also adjust the branches to make them appear more wide or more slender.
One can never have too many holiday ornaments. This is my Martha Stewart Set of 16 Mini Round Kugel Ornaments. Add colorful tones to the tree with these minis. Each one is about two-inches in diameter and comes in a round kugel shape in a variety of colors.
Here is one in green mixed in with other ornaments on our tree. Mix and match these minis with other ornaments to make the tree even more festive.
Look at all these glistening ornaments. As part of my Collection, I am offering 13-piece Tree Décor Kits – complete with stars, beaded birds, and metallic bursts. Buy one set, two, or even three and use them on your own tree or give away as gifts.
The entire kit contains two large burst clips, two small burst clips, three snowflake ornaments, three wreath ornaments, and three bird ornaments – all ranging in size from 10-inches to three-inches.
And here is one of the metallic bursts – they really do brighten up the tree.
As many of you know, I love birds, and the beaded birds from the set are a great addition to the holiday décor.
The set also includes glistening snowflakes that are about six-and-a-half inches in diameter.
Here’s another snowflake – each 13-piece décor kit comes with three different snowflakes.
And here is one of three small wreath ornaments – also with the décor kit.
Also on our tree – fun Floral Leaf Stems. These silvery stems add an elegant element when used as holiday tree picks, or placed together in arrangements.
And here’s my new 28-inch Indoor/Outdoor Crystal Star – covered in faceted faux crystals and tiny white lights. It will surely make any holiday season bright. Put one on your mantel, on the hearth, or hung in a window.
And don’t forget the wine. Order this for yourself or give as a gift. This wine set includes 12 bottles of wine and gift bags. The wines are 2021 Primasera Sangiovese di Puglia, Italy; 2021 Sierra Trails Cabernet Sauvignon, California;
2022 Vol Du Flamant Grenache Ros IGP Aude, France, and 2021 Spencer Family Sauvignon Blanc, California. There’s still time if you missed “Christmas in July.” Just go to the QVC web site and shop now! The holidays will be here before we know it.
I love beautiful ornamental urns filled with lush, green plants.
As many of you may know, I have a rather sizable collection of tropical specimens at my Bedford, New York farm. During the winter, they’re all stored in my greenhouses. Once warm weather arrives, they are brought out for display. A number of them are potted up in spring and placed in various locations here at Cantitoe Corners, especially around my Winter House. And through the summer, they flourish outdoors where they can be enjoyed by me and all those who visit.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The plants I display are brought out of the greenhouse and potted up in pretty ornamental urns of all sizes. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, and I make these displays different and interesting. And these plants grow and thrive all summer long.
Some of the potted plants are paired with contrasting trailing specimens to give them more texture such as this spider agave underplanted with Helichrysum petiolare.
Agaves are so beautiful – I have many of them. If you also like agaves, be sure to keep them in low traffic areas, as their spikes can be very painful.
Here on a table outside my Winter House, I placed agaves and small ponytail palms together. The urns are just as interesting as the plants themselves. On the far right is a small kalanchoe.
In May, Ryan selects the plants from the greenhouse. He considers variety, size, development, light exposure needs, and then he decides the urn and the plant’s placement.
Beaucarnea recurvata, the elephant’s foot or ponytail palm, is a species of plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz and San Luis Potosí in eastern Mexico. Despite its common name, it is not closely related to the true palms. In fact, it is a member of the Agave family and is actually a succulent. It has a bulbous trunk, which is used to store water, and its long, hair-like leaves that grow from the top of the trunk like a ponytail, giving the plant its renowned name.
Every urn has a drainage hole at the bottom. Here, Ryan places a layer of weed cloth in the bottom of this urn to protect the vessel itself. This will also make it easier to remove the plant next autumn, when it is put back in the greenhouse for the cold season.
Remember, whenever transplanting always scarify the root ball, meaning tease or loosen the roots, so they are stimulated before planting. This will help the plant form a good foundation in the pot.
Ryan uses his hori hori knife to also give the bottom a scarifying trim.
And then he places the palm into the pot. Select urns that are the proper size for the plant, so it has room to grow during the season.
The plant is potted at the same depth it was in its plastic container. Ryan uses compost that was made right here at the farm. And he also adds a sprinkling of Osmocote fertilizer. Osmocote contains a core of nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. As the plant’s root system takes-up nutrition from the soil, it also takes up the needed nutrients from the Osmocote.
This ponytail palm is perfect in this location where it gets bright light during the day, but also protection from direct light, so its long, leathery green leaves do not burn.
Here is another agave Ryan potted up last May in this faux bois container.
After he backfills with soil, he tamps down lightly to ensure good connection between the plant and the soil.
Two months later, this plant is looking so bold green and lush. The recent rains have also kept the plant quite clean.
And remember the hens and chicks we planted in the troughs this spring? Those charming mat-forming succulents with fleshy pointed leaves arranged in rosettes. These plants are among the first I see when I walk out of the house and some of the last I see when I return.
Hens and chicks are members of the Sempervivum group of succulent plants. They are also known as houseleeks. Hens and chicks are so called because of the rosette shape and habit of the plant to produce numerous babies.
Here they are now – growing so beautifully. One can hardly see the soil around them.
All the hens and chicks are thriving. These drought-tolerant plants need very little water once they’re mature and can go weeks without watering. Once established, water them only when the surrounding soil dries out.
If you decide to display some plants outside your home, be sure to check them regularly. Weed them if needed, and don’t forget to water them if the soil is dry. Potted plants in pretty outdoor containers are a very good thing.
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