Will you be out in the yard watering your plants this weekend? On my big farm, it takes a lot of close monitoring to stay on top of the watering tasks this time of year. Temperatures today are expected to be in the low 80s, with no chance of showers until next week, and that is just not enough to keep all the gardens well irrigated.
Because of this late summer weather, the hoses and sprinklers have been very busy. One of my favorite sources is Gilmour, a company that’s been manufacturing hoses and other watering solutions for more than 70-years. I use several of their products at my Bedford, New York farm and at Skylands, my home in Maine. With so many trees, shrubs and plants to maintain, it’s important we use only the best quality outdoor tools.
Enjoy these photos.
I’ve been using Gilmour products for years. This is our most recent shipment of supplies to keep all my gardens well irrigated.
The hoses are always put to great use in the gardens and wherever thorough watering is needed. Plus, they curve without kinking, connect without leaking, and are easy to store.
I also love Gilmour’s Professional Adjustable Circular Tripod Sprinklers. These tripod sprinklers can be seen all over the farm this time of year.
The adjustable rectangular sprinklers are very durable and long lasting. They work well for smaller garden beds where gentle watering is needed.
And the design of these rectangular ground sprinklers has not changed much. This one is an older model and still very reliable and consistent in the gardens.
Here is another rectangular sprinkler. They all have adjustment controls that are easy to use for customizing various coverage areas. They feature a tube with multiple openings that move back and forth to provide even watering.
Gilmour also carries a wide range of nozzles and wands in different sizes.
A Gilmour hose and at least one sprinkler are placed at every bibb or faucet. And here’s a tip… to keep it from kinking, when it’s new stretch it along a path or the edge of the lawn and then loop the business end back to the tap.
Here’s another hose and sprinkler setup along one of the carriage roads.
This tripod sprinkler is in my soccer field. The adjustable tripod can reach a height of 58-inches and can water everything from above. Once the watering in one area is done, it’s extremely important to turn off the water at the source. Just turning off at the sprinkler puts a lot of pressure on the hoses and pipes.
I always instruct the crew to never direct hard spraying sprinklers at trees – this may mar the bark. Instead, use harder sprays for open spaces and wide lawn areas.
Here’s a tripod in my Linden Allée. Look how far the sprinkler can reach.
I also remind the team to keep the tripod sprinklers at the lowest height, so there is maximum coverage on the garden plants below the branches.
When ready to use, the collar of these tripod sprinklers can be adjusted for partial to full circle coverage. The controls are just under the sprinkler head.
A pin diffuser allows for a customized spray from powerful jet to gentle mist. I show every member of my crew how to use the sprinkler, so they can water properly and efficiently.
The round dial on top makes it easy to set the direction and length of the spray.
And each of the legs is also adjustable. Here is one of the three spiked feet of the tripod sprinkler which provide lots of stability on varied surfaces.
Mornings are the best times to water – when water pressure is high, evaporation is low, and the soil can absorb the water before the sun heats up the ground. The distance and spray patterns of these tripod sprinklers can also be adjusted to suit so many garden needs.
Many ask my why I don’t have expansive irrigation systems installed at the farm. I actually prefer manual watering, to ensure there is coverage everywhere – with a farm this size, it’s important to get to all the gardens. These individual watering supplies are also very easy to maintain.
Every so often, observe any sprinklers in action and look for clogged or leaking heads that may need minor maintenance. It’s nice to know we have the “right tools for the right jobs,” so all my gardens, groves, and allées can be well watered through the season.
Sometimes, getting out of the office and enjoying a business meeting over lunch, al fresco, is a very good thing.
Yesterday, I hosted a small luncheon at my farm for a group of colleagues. I served chicken salad sandwiches, steak sandwiches, beet salad garnished with dill, a light and delicious chicken soup, and bread pudding with whipped cream for dessert - all homemade using vegetables just picked from the garden. Temperatures were in the low 70s, so we dined outside on my terrace parterre. It was an excellent lunch and a most productive and interesting meeting.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The garden is still providing lots of wonderful, delicious vegetables. I am often asked what I do with all the vegetables I grow. Of course, I share most of them with my family, but I also use them for video and photography shoots, and for entertaining. These beets were just picked for my business luncheon.
Inside my Winter House, I decorated the rooms using flowers grown right here at the farm. These are amaranth and dahlia blooms.
Amaranth is an annual ornamental plant characterized by long colorful flower clusters in orange, gold, purple, red, white, or pink – some that are trailing and these that produce upright plumes.
The dahlias are also still going strong. Dahlias bloom from midsummer until the first fall frost. Here at my farm, I had dahlias blooming in June, and hopefully they’ll continue until Halloween.
I like to display seasonal flowers or plants throughout my home whenever I entertain. This is an all dahlia arrangement in bold shades of pink.
And here are some dahlias on my servery counter in shades of orange.
For my salad, I boiled the beets, removed the skins, and sliced them uniformly.
To prepare my sandwiches, I cut thick slices of bread, buttered each one lightly, and then dressed with chicken salad.
I took the following photos to show each stage.
My chicken salad includes celery, diced apples, mayonnaise, and a touch of salt.
On top, I added fresh arugula just picked from my garden.
Each plate included a side of beets garnished with dill, also from my garden.
For the two gentlemen at my table, who needed more than just one sandwich, I made steak sandwiches, also dressed with fresh garden arugula.
And as a vegetarian option, a mozzarella and beet sandwich.
Everything looked so delicious on the table served on my Martha Stewart Gilded Drabware Wedgwood plates.
I served a light and refreshing chicken soup in tea cups and saucers. My soup includes freshly picked vegetables, and pasta.
More dahlias were picked just minutes before lunch to decorate the table.
Joining us outdoors – my beautiful Empress Qin and Luna Moona. Where is Crème Brûlée?
And for dessert, we enjoyed bread pudding I made the day before, with dollops of fresh whipped cream.
And here is my handsome Emperor Han looking on with curiosity, and hope for something to fall his way. It was a perfect day for a homemade luncheon at Cantitoe Corners.
The onion, Allium cepa, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Onions are hardy, easy to grow, and can be grown in a variety of soils and climates. We plant a lot of onions every year. I use them in my cooking, and in sandwiches and salads. I also share many of them with my daughter, Alexis, and my grandchildren, Jude and Truman.
Enjoy these photos.
Every year we harvest lots of wonderful, fresh onions – it’s one of most favorite crops to pick here at the farm.
My onions are started from seed in the greenhouse and then planted outdoors in the garden bed in spring.
This year, we planted two large beds for red onions, white onions, and yellow onions.
Here they are in late June – the plants are now well rooted and established in the bed. The onion, Allium cepa, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. They are planted when temperatures are still a bit cool. Early planting gives the onions time to develop tops and store energy for the bulbs.
In July, the plants are much more developed and the leaves are quite tall, bright green, and sturdy.
In early August, the onions are starting to show through the soil, but they are still small and the top leaves are still very green.
Some of the onion leaves have fallen over, but they are still very green in color. Onions require 90 to 100 days to mature from seed, which is around four months. From sets, onions are ready to harvest after around 80 days, or just under three months.
And this week, the tops of the onion plants have turned brown naturally – an indication they are fully mature and ready to harvest.
The onion leaves are also quite dry. This happens at the “neck” of the onion, where the leaves meet the bulb, and signals that the plant has stopped growing.
To pick, Enma carefully loosens the surrounding soil and then gently pulls the onion up by its top. It’s important to keep the stem intact to prevent the possibility of rot.
Onions can be harvested at any size. Most of these are medium to large.
All the onions are in excellent condition. Fortunately, very few animals eat garden onions.
These onions are left to mature a little more, but they should be ready to pick in another week or so after the leaves fall over.
Enma and Elvira picked lots of red onions, which are most often used for their color and mild flavor in salads, salsas, and other raw preparations.
Here is a tray of yellow and white onions. Yellow onions are full-flavored and are a reliable standby for cooking almost anything. White onions are often used in prepared salads, white sauces, and classic Mexican cuisine. They’re also loved in soups, stews, braises, and rice pilaf.
Enma and Elvira transport the trays one by one – they’re quite heavy with onions.
Once all the onions are picked, they are taken to my carport where they can cure. Curing is a process of preparing the onions for long-term storage. During the curing stage, the outer layers of the onions dry out, tightening around the bulb and creating a protective layer that keeps the onion firm and fresh for a longer time.
Enma and Elvira place the onions in one layer on top of newspaper.
The onions need plenty of space for air to circulate, and can even be turned occasionally to make sure they dry evenly.
We’re expecting warm temperatures the rest of the week – 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They’ll dry nicely here out of the sun.
When cured and stored properly, a good storage onion will retain its eating quality for 10 to 12 months. I can’t wait to try them. How did your onions do this year?
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
