My Bedford, New York farm looks so eerie shrouded in a blanket of thick fog.
As many of you know, I live in close proximity to the Cross River Reservoir, where patches of fog are quite common. Fog is essentially made up of condensed water droplets - a result of the air being cooled to the point where it can no longer hold all the water vapor it contains. Yesterday started off cold and rainy with extremely icy road conditions. As the day progressed, it also became very foggy - in fact, the fog seemed to get heavier through the afternoon and into the evening. The low visibility made it difficult for driving or even walking in some areas.
Here are some photos of the dense fog at the farm, enjoy.
By afternoon, the fog was so thick, one could barely see the trees around the farm. The giant dark green stand of tall white pines is visible here, but the trees behind it are all blocked by the fog.
The view through this grove of dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, looks mysterious in such thick fog. Fog can form in two ways: either by cooling the air to its dew point or by evaporation and mixing – this happens often when the earth radiates heat at night or in the early morning.
Looking into the peafowl pen, many of my peacocks and peahens are perched on their favorite tree – they don’t seem phased by the fog at all.
Here’s a look across the paddock to one of two linden tree allees. This one runs from the old corn crib all the way down to the vegetable garden. I am so pleased with how well these trees have grown since we planted them.
This is a view looking up through a section of the same linden tree allee. At the end is the carriage road to my home – hard to see, but it’s there.
This is the carriage road to my Winter House. The beautiful bald cypress trees are on the left and my long pergola is on the right. All the boxwood hedges and shrubs are now covered in protective burlap.
This is the garden behind my Tenant House. All the garden beds are now put to bed for the season. My charming Basket House is seen nestled among the bald cypress trees.
And here is the Pin Oak Allee. Again, it is so hard to see past the stand of trees. The fog is thick everywhere. The foggiest place in the world is the Grand Banks off the island of Newfoundland, Canada. It gets more than 200-days of fog per year.
This view is from one end of the pool. I placed the pool in this location, so one could see the gorgeous vistas, but on this winter fog-filled day, even the tallest of trees are hard to see.
This is one of the most popular vantage points at the farm – the foot of the carriage road leading to the woodlands and hayfields. In this photo, it’s difficult to see where the road leads, making it quite mysterious and even ghostly.
Down the road is this view of the lower hayfield and the weeping willows. Can you see the willows? Some describe fog to be “as thick as pea soup”. This was originally used to describe the dingy yellow smog from burning soft coal common in Europe. Such fogs occurred in London until the Clean Air Act of 1956.
The fog appeared to cover every area. The thicker the fog, the longer it takes to dissipate. This view is just outside what I call my Contemporary House, where there are several old apple trees original to the farm.
This view is just past the apple trees looking down the hayfield from the other end – and yes, there is an expansive field out there.
To the left is my small pond – hard to see the reflecting water with all the fog.
Fog reduces visibility to less than one-kilometer, or six-tenths of a mile. It can really impair driving or even walking. Here’s a look over the old stone wall and through the woodland.
This is the back hayfield. This is a giant open space, but hard to see across the landscape.
At one end of the back hayfield is my giant sycamore tree, the symbol of my farm. This tree is among the largest of the trees on the property. If you look closely, there is also a screech owl house on one side of the tree – I wonder if there are any occupants inside.
Don’t confuse fog with mist – mist is actually easier to see through. Visibility is at least one-kilometer with mist. Visibility below this is fog.
Fog also covers the run-in paddock for my horses. On the right, one can see the run-in shed. Some areas, including parts of northern New England, the Appalachians, and the Pacific Northwest are more prone to fog.
Hours later as the sun begins to set, a soft pink tint could be seen through the clouds. The fog remained thick through the night. And today, we’re expecting sun and clouds with temperatures in the mid-30s. How much fog do you get where you live? Share your comments below.
Here in Bedford, New York, we've been pretty lucky this winter. So far, temperatures have been relatively mild and we've been able to get many tasks done around the farm.
This week, my outdoor grounds crew is busy caring for all sorts of potted saplings I have waiting to be transplanted into the ground. These saplings, or young trees, were originally ordered as bare-root cuttings, which are plants that are removed from the earth while dormant and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. I order some every spring and then nurture them in containers behind my stable for a couple of years until they are ready to plant in more permanent locations.
Enjoy these photos.
Here is the area behind my stable where I keep most of my potted tree saplings. I like this spot, so they can be closely monitored and well-watered. Every few months, we take stock of the inventory, and do some maintenance work – these trees need to be repotted and re-organized into neat and tidy rows.
Here is a group of them when they were first potted last April. Bare-root cuttings are difficult to identify when there are no leaves, so it is important to keep them separated by cultivar and always properly marked.
They’ve all grown quite a bit – some are now more than four feet tall.
These are the feathery needles of the bald cypress tree. My mature bald cypress trees have already lost all their foliage for the season, but these young specimens are still showing off their beautiful russet brown leaflets. Like trees with leaves, bald cypress trees drop their needles in the fall leaving the tree – well, bald.
These young trees are osage orange trees. Despite its name, it is not related to oranges at all. It is actually a member of the fig family. Macular pomifera is more commonly known as a hedge apple, bow wood, or bodark.
And these spiny branches belong to the Helmond Pillar Barberry – a very striking vertical deciduous shrub, growing four or five feet tall, but staying just one or two feet wide. It has rich, deep-purple to red leaves, which hold their color throughout spring and summer, and then turn bright red in fall before falling and revealing the many spines on the branches.
We use composted manure and top soil for potting. Composting manure above 131-degrees Fahrenheit for at least a couple weeks will kill harmful pathogens, dilute ammonia, stabilize nitrogen, kill weed seeds and reduce any objectionable odors. I am so proud of the nutrient-rich soil we make here at the farm.
Once a good mound of compost is unloaded, Domi adds some good fertilizer and then mixes it into the compost. Here, we are using Bio-tone Starter – an all-natural plant food enhanced with bio-stimulants, beneficial bacteria, and mycorrhizae. It helps to to prevent transplant loss, promote faster establishment, deeper roots, and good soil structure.
The weather has been cold enough to freeze the potted trees in their their pots. To loosen them, Phurba places them in a large tub of water for several seconds while each plant absorbs the liquid.
And then carefully pulls out the rootball – still intact.
The trees are lined up and ready to go into their new, larger pots.
We save pots whenever we can – they always come in handy for projects like these, and I always encourage the crew to reuse supplies whenever possible.
Each pot is laid out with a small layer of soil ready for the tree and backfill. The crew has devised an efficient production line process for potting massive amounts of trees.
When planting, Phurba places each tree at the same level it was grown in the original pot. More soil is then gently backfilled around the root ball. Lastly, Phurba pats the soil gently to ensure good contact.
In order to get all the seedlings re-potted as quickly as possible, it was “all hands on deck.” The crew still has many more to repot, but look at all the’ve done in just a few hours.
Pasang works in the aisles placing the newly potted trees in organized rows and raking up any debris left over.
Any detritus is collected in my Multi-Purpose Reusable Heavy Duty Tote Bags – so useful for carrying, organizing, and storing so many things indoors and out. My crew loves these bags and uses them every day. Look for them at my shop on Amazon.
There are hundreds and hundreds of healthy young specimens. I am so glad they are thriving here at the farm.
Here, one can see how we used garden rope to corral the trees in the space – hopefully, this will keep them all standing strong through the rest of this cold season.
Trees are very important to our environment – they help combat climate change, provide habitat and food for birds, and other animals, and release oxygen for us to live. In fact, in one year, an acre of mature trees can provide enough oxygen for 18-people. I have planted thousands of trees since I purchased my Bedford, New York property. They look so pretty planted in allees, in groves, and as privacy hedges. I feel very strongly about giving back to the earth – the more trees planted, the better. I always look forward to spring, when many more of these young trees will be transplanted in the ground.
I always enjoy growing my own plants, but there’s something even more exciting and gratifying about propagating them - producing plants by dividing, grafting, or taking the cuttings from existent stems. It’s an interesting and very easy-to-follow process.
One of the easiest plants to propagate is the begonia. I have been collecting begonias for many years. The genus begonia contains about 1500 different plant species and hundreds of hybrids. Rhizomatous begonias are grown for their interesting and spectacular leaves. They come in many sizes, colors and textures, and can be small or large, smooth or veiny, decorated in bold accents of red, copper and silver or subtle shades of green. Yesterday, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, selected some beautiful varieties to root.
Enjoy these photos.
In my main greenhouse I have a large collection of beautiful begonias, many of which were grown from leaf and stem cuttings. I keep these beautiful begonia plants on a long, sliding table, where they can be watched closely and maintained in a temperature and humidity-controlled space.
Begonias grow best in light, well-drained soil. It’s best to use a pre-made seed starting mix that contains the proper amounts of vermiculite, perlite and peat moss. Seed starting mixes are available at garden supply stores.
Ryan uses these plastic seedling trays made especially for our Urban Cultivator – an automated system that provides a self-contained growing environment with everything the plants need to thrive. These trays are made with indentations for adequate and equal water flow.
Ryan fills four trays with the light soil medium.
Next, Ryan goes into the greenhouse to trim some stems. Rhizomatous begonias range from small, delicate plants with one-inch wide leaves to large, robust specimens with 12-inch leaves. There is no end to the variety of leaf shape, color, and texture in the begonia.
Begonias are considered cool temperature plants and do best in temperatures ranging from 58 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. I am always on the lookout for rare and unusual varieties. This one has green star shaped leaves with chocolate margins.
Begonia soli-mutata is a compact medium-sized species from Brazil. The heart-shaped leaf colors vary depending on its exposure to bright light, which is why its common name is “Sun Tan Begonia”.
Several of my soli-mutata begonia plants were grown from leaf cuttings off a parent plant. The leaves are highlighted by a fine, reddish hue, which is also seen on the leaf undersides. Here, Ryan uses sharp snips to cut off a healthy leaf stem.
Ryan carefully selects mature stems for cutting, but leave those that are old and have become fibrous or woody.
Any viable leaves that fall off during regular plant grooming or repotting can also be saved for rooting purposes. Begonias are remarkably resistant to pests primarily because their leaves are rich in oxalic acid – a natural insect repellent.
Begonia paulensis has large, shiny, green leaves with an extremely textured surface. It is light green and has a puckered texture. The leaf petioles are densely covered with white hairs. The pattern resembles a spiderweb and gives this species one of its common names, “The Spiderweb Begonia”.
Here are the stem cuttings Ryan collected. Begonia leaves root easily. All one needs to do is snip a leaf, push its stem into potting soil, and keep it moist. After a few weeks, or more, one will start to see new leaves emerge.
Ryan inspects each cutting and trims the stem down to about one to one-and-a-half inches long.
Then he sticks the leaf in the soil so that the petiole is covered but the rest isn’t. The petiole is the part where the leaf connects to its leaf stem.
All begonias can be propagated by rooting stem cuttings, sometimes called tip cuttings. The basic idea is that a plant will clone itself by sprouting roots on a piece of stem that is in a moist growing medium. Many begonias root easily, and one can use the similar technique of rooting them in water.
Ryan plants each one the same way – gently positions the stem and tamps down the medium to hold the cutting upright.
The leaves can be positioned closely together, but not touching.
Here, Ryan has filled four trays with begonia stem cuttings. They are now ready to be placed into our Urban Cultivator.
The seed trays sit over these reservoirs and are automatically watered from the back of the unit. The water is absorbed through the holes at the bottom of each tray.
Ryan uses the Urban Cultivator residential unit in the head house. It takes up the same footprint as a dishwasher and is plumbed to water and electrical in the same way. Each residential machine has two grow shelves for the seed trays and pre-set control centers to ensure specimens get exactly the right amount of water, light, and humidity.
Once placed into the Cultivator, each tray is covered with a humidity dome. The humidity dome remains positioned over the seed tray until germination begins. In about six to eight weeks, we’ll have baby “plantlets” ready to be transplanted into containers. It’s that easy.
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