There’s always something going on at my Bedford, New York farm.
Owning a farm is a huge responsibility. Not only must I look after all my animals and gardens, but I also have to maintain the safety and upkeep of every house and structure on the property - that means staying on top of necessary repairs, replacements, and routine cleaning chores. Among the items every homeowner should watch is the roof. Here at the farm, I have several different roof types: cedar, lead coated copper, coated aluminum, glass, and slate. Not long ago, I noticed that some areas on my slate roofs needed attention. Delicate slate roofs can last a very long time - 100 years or more— if taken care of properly. We got to it right away, cleaning any grime and debris from all sides.
Enjoy these photos.
A roof is any top covering of a building, including all the materials necessary to support it on the walls or uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, wind, and extreme temperatures. Every homeowner needs to take good care of the roof to make sure it lasts as long as possible. Here at my farm, my outdoor grounds crew and I always look out for any damages, or regular wear and tear on the roofs. These are the slate roofs on my chicken coops.
On my Tenant House, Winter House, gym building, Summer House, pool house, and pavilion, I have Alaskan yellow cedar. These roofs age to a nice gray-silver color.
Here are some of the Alaskan yellow cedar roof shingles before they were used on my Tenant House. Alaskan yellow cedar shingles are fine textured, light in color, and moisture tolerant.
We replaced these roofs three years ago. Cedar wood is long-lasting, making it an ideal roofing material. Cedar is also more expensive, but it lasts at least 10-years longer than common roofing materials such as asphalt.
This roof on my pool pavilion is also made from Alaskan yellow cedar to match the other houses.
At my farm guest house and studio, we used a Western pressure-treated red cedar, which also ages nicely and can last more than 30-years if properly maintained.
Over my carport is standing seam lead coated copper. Copper has been used as a roofing material since the medieval times and continues to be very popular. It is lightweight, flexible, resistant to weather and corrosion, and extremely durable. Its minimum lifespan is 75-years. This side of the carport is also where I hang my bird feeders – up to 125 different kinds of birds visit my feeders every day.
I use a different metal on my large Equipment Barn. This is a standing seam aluminum roof. Standing seam metal roofing features vertical legs with a flat space in between. It is very durable and weather-tight. I also placed these antique finials on top. They are made of Swedish or French lead-coated copper.
The roof on my Hay Barn is also made from standing seam aluminum with another beautiful finial on top. I bought these finials many years ago and knew right away they would be perfect for these rooftops.
And this newly installed aluminum roof over my Stable Barn is coated with Kynar. Kynar coating is a metal finish that is chemical resistant, abrasion resistant, flame resistant, and stable under strong UV rays. This barn houses some of our feed products as well as important agricultural equipment and tools.
My vegetable greenhouse and my main greenhouse are, of course, topped with glass – special horticultural float glass that allows in sufficient light for the growing plants.
This is one of several hoop houses on my farm. It is covered with two layers of fabric – one is a heavy-duty, woven polyethylene that features an anti-condensate additive to reduce moisture buildup and dripping. The other side contains UV additives that allow the fabric to maintain its strength through the seasons.
And over my Stable, Carriage House, and stable offices, I use more slate tiles derived from sedimentary rock and clay. Slate roofs are durable, waterproof, and insect-proof…
… but unfortunately, they are not dirt proof. After years under the elements, these tiles can collect mildew, grime, and even moss. Here is a look at some of the build up of dirt from the last year. They are not bad, but definitely need a cleaning.
The areas facing north and west were a bit dirtier than those facing south and east.
Pete uses a cleaner specifically for slate roofs. These are available at hardware stores. He fills a two-gallon handheld sprayer with half solution and half water.
Then Fernando sprays the cleaner generously on the tiles. Regular cleaning should be done once every two to three years, and more if there are obvious signs of mold or other debris.
After waiting about 30-minutes, Pete rinses the solution with a power washer. This is also a good time to inspect the roof closely for any broken or misaligned tiles – everything is in good condition.
Pete does this from the safety of our Hi-Lo cage.
Fernando stands below to control the Hi-Lo and to ensure Pete remains safe at all times. My outdoor grounds crew always works in teams – it is safer and more efficient.
Here, one can see dirt on the left, but the right is now clean. The clouds also rolled in along with some rain. The entire job takes a few days, but already it is looking so much better.
The next morning, the sun was out once again. This is my stable office building. This side of the roof looks good and doesn’t need cleaning, but it’s important to look at all sides to be sure. Whatever type of roof you have over your home, I hope this inspires you to take a close look to see if it needs any maintenance or cleaning – it will save lots of time and money in the long run.
In order to keep my working farm and all its gardens, allées, and groves as beautiful as possible, I pay lots of attention to the maintenance and care of all my trees. This time of year, my outdoor grounds crew is busy pruning many of the trees, including my allée of lindens.
Lindens, Tilia, are medium to large sized shade trees that are easy to maintain and attractive in any landscape. I have two linden tree allées - one that runs from the old corn crib all the way down to the chicken coops and the other slightly older allée near my stable. These trees, with their pyramidal shape and slow growth, are excellent specimens for the type of pruning called pollarding, a very severe method that involves cutting the branches back either to the trunk, or even all the way down to the top of the trunk to promote the growth of club-headed stems and dense new foliage and branches. Pollarding should be done annually. We started pollarding these lindens in 2021, and we've noticed good development in the years since.
Enjoy these photos.
This allée of linden trees is in its third year of pollarding. Pollarding is started when a tree or shrub reaches a certain desired height. The technique helps to shape them so that the trees stay healthy and safe.
These lindens have grown beautifully here at the farm over the years. This photo was taken in fall when the trees were full of leaves and just starting to turn a golden hue before dropping. Lindens have a loose canopy that produces dappled shade on the ground below, allowing in just enough sunlight for shade grasses and flowers.
The bark of the linden tree is gray-brown and on mature trees it is also ridged or plated.
The branches are light brown to gray and the growing twigs are mostly red-tinged. Here, Pasang starts the process of pruning and pollarding this linden. The best time to prune and pollard trees is when the trees are dormant, during the cold winter months. It’s best to complete all pruning before early spring when the buds begin to form. Dormancy pruning reduces the amount of stress placed on the tree. And, the reduced flow of fluids in the tree during the time helps the pruning wounds heal quicker.
Pasang cuts off suckers and low dead, damaged, diseased, or crisscrossing branches. He uses a good pair of Okatsune bypass pruners. Each crew member always carries a pair of sharp snips. Remember, a sharp tool always cuts clean, and helps the plant to recover better. Dull cutting tools rip and shred the plant tissue.
For those branches that are higher or farther away, Pasang uses our STIHL extended-reach pole pruner. It has a cutting capacity of up to 3/4-inch making it perfect for suckers and new growth. The blades are crafted from hard chrome that resists rust and corrosion – it’s a great tool for this job.
It also features an ergonomic, 250-degree rotating arm for precise cutting.
Here, one can see the unpruned branches on the left and the pruned branches on the right. Notice the tops are starting to develop the “nubs” or “knuckles” – these will look even better in a couple more years. More thought and planning goes into pollarding than regular topping, and lopping. Pollarding is similar to coppicing but when a tree is coppiced, it is regularly cut back to ground level to stimulate the growth of vigorous, new stems.
By the next day, an entire side was complete. This day was much more sunny. This entire process takes a few days to do properly by hand, but it is all worth the efforts to have well-manicured, healthy trees. In pollarding, each year the long slender shoots that grow below the cuts are removed, and a set of new shoots develops creating this gnarled appearance.
Down below, the crew spreads out a large tarp to catch all the fallen branches. This makes cleanup a lot easier and a lot faster.
Once the tarp is full, the branches are loaded onto a truck and taken to a designated pile for the wood chipper. Moises just pulls the tarp onto the back of the truck. Traditionally, the cut branches were either burned as fuel or used for building. Pollarding was a way of using wood over time, rather than cutting it down and having only one-time access to its wood.
My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, manages all the work from below and controls our trusted Hi-Lo – lifting Phurba and Pasang from tree to tree. It’s important to have someone on the ground watching out for the safety of the crew.
When cutting, Phurba is essentially forming a “knuckle” or “bole” by removing growth back to the main stem.
At the base of every branch is a distinct bulge where it connects to the trunk of the tree or an older branch, known as the branch collar. Phurba makes the cut just beyond the branch collar. On longer, heavier branches, it is wise to make a couple separate shallow cuts before the final to prevent any bark tears if the branch falls while being removed.
Here is a closer look at one branch completely pruned for the season. The small branches are cut close to keep their growth compact.
It is good to see the progression from year to year. This photo was taken in April 2021, a couple of months after we first pollarded these trees.
Notice the tips of the branches – the nubs are quite small.
Last year, the nubs are larger and more pronounced.
And this year, the trees are looking even more nubby. And don’t worry, pollarding isn’t harmful to trees at all as long as it is done properly and on a regular basis.
Pollarding can actually help make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and windage of the top part of the tree. By the end of the second day, nearly all the trees are complete. Some of the other types of trees that can benefit from pollarding include beech trees, black locust trees, catalpa trees, hornbeams, horsechestnuts, London planetrees, mulberry trees, redbuds, and willows. There are many ways of pruning and training trees to grow in unusual shapes. I am pleased with how this allée is turning out. Wait until the trees are all full of leaves this spring – they are sure to be beautiful.
Have you signed up for our Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon meal kits yet? Every week, I get a delivery of ingredients for three delicious, nutritious, and time-saving dishes that are just perfect for lunches or dinners here at the farm.
Recently, while I was away traveling for business, my housekeeper, Elvira Rojas, cooked one of the meal kits I selected from the week's menu - my own Classic Lemon Chicken Pasta with Spinach & Parmesan. It's an easy, satisfying, and flavorful meal that is so quick to prepare. The entire dish was cooked in 30-minutes and every bit was devoured. Our Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon delivery meal kit service features so many inspiring recipes and cooking ideas, and you can choose the recipes that best fit your family's busy lifestyle. If you haven’t yet tried Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon, please go to the web site right now and subscribe today and see our flash deals!
Here are some photos.
Every week, when we cook our Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon meal kits, we remove all the ingredients included and place them on the counter. These ingredients are pre-portioned and come in easy to open packaging. All one needs to provide is the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
One of the great things about our meal kits is that we include a large recipe card with the photo of the finished dish on the front with the estimated cooking time listed…
… And images on the back showing each of the main preparation steps. Plus, we include the ingredients list, the tools or supplies needed, and a rundown of the nutrition values. These recipe cards are great to save for future use.
The first step is to zest all the lemon. Elvira uses a microplane and runs the lemon up and down over the surface, scraping off the yellow skin into the bowl. Lemon zest, or the zest of any citrus fruit, refers to the outermost layer of the peel known as the flavedo. This layer contains natural oils that are full of sweet citrus flavor.
She also uses my own citrus press to squeeze two tablespoons of lemon juice into a separate bowl.
Then, Elvira prepares the marinade. This Tuscan Spice Blend is included in the kit with all the other necessary dry ingredients for the dish. A Tuscan spice blend includes ingredients such as dried basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, fennel seeds, and garlic powder.
In he bowl, Elvira combines the spice blend along with three tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of the lemon juice.
We sliced the chicken breasts into strips before cooking, but one can also cut them after the chicken is cooked.
The chicken is cooked through in a skillet with two tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. This takes about four-minutes per side. Afterwards, it is transferred into the bowl with the marinade and set aside.
When ready to cook the pasta, be sure the pot is filled with enough water to cover the pasta. Use about four quarts of water for every one pound of pasta. In general, the more pasta one is cooking, the more water is needed to prevent the pasta from clumping up too much in the pot. Also add some salt to the water and make sure it is boiling before adding the pasta.
Elvira cooks the pasta until al-dente. For this specific pasta, that’s about eight to 10-minutes.
The kit also includes a pre-portioned amount of Parmesan cheese. Elvira grates all the cheese and sets it aside.
The pasta is ready. In cooking, al dente describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm to the bite. The exact translation from Italian is “to the tooth” and is the ideal consistency for pasta. Molto al dente is the culinary term for slightly undercooked pasta.
Then, after one cup of the pasta cooking water is reserved, the pasta is drained over the spinach – also included – which cooks it just enough until it wilts.
The remaining pasta water is poured back into the pot and heated again over medium-high heat until it is simmering.
All the mascarpone is added and stirred until melted. Mascarpone is a soft Italian acid-set cream cheese.
Elvira adds in the lemon zest, remaining lemon juice, and all but four tablespoons of the Parmesan. It is all stirred completely and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.
The pasta and spinach are added to the sauce…
… and then tossed to coat and sprinkled with salt and pepper to taste.
Finally, the chicken is served over the pasta with any remaining marinade spooned over the top along with a sprinkle of the remaining Parmesan. This dish was so easy to prepare and so delicious. The final result looks just like the photo. These meals are so flavorful. Nothing was left over. Please go to the web site and sign up today!
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