Today at my Bedford, New York farm, we're expecting sunshine with temperatures in the mid-50s - pretty mild weather for February. We're getting a lot of work done outdoors and indoors.
Inside my main greenhouse, we've already planted lots of seeds for the coming gardening season and they're all growing nicely - most of them are from Johnny's Selected Seeds, a source I've used for many years. Starting from seed is not difficult to do, but it does require careful attention and patience. And, once the seedlings start to develop, it’s important to keep up with maintenance care - thin out seedlings that are weak, prick out those that are growing too big for their seed starting trays, and transplant them into larger pots and flats.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Seed starting trays and pots come in all different sizes and depths. These flats have individual pots which will accommodate seedlings that are now ready to transplant from smaller containers. Experiment with pots to see which ones work best for what plants. And, always choose containers or trays that have proper drainage holes at the bottom. Johnny’s Selected Seeds offers a huge variety of seedling trays and other vessels.
Wendy Norling, who usually works at Skylands, my home in Maine, is visiting New York and working at my Bedford farm for a couple weeks. Here she is preparing a series of flats with pots so she can transplant some of the growing flower seedlings.
Wendy fills the pots with a good all-purpose potting soil mix. A good quality organic mix designed for seedlings will be fast draining, and light. It will usually contain sphagnum moss and perlite or vermiculite. These mixes are formulated to encourage strong, healthy growth in new plants.
This tool is great for transplanting seedlings – it’s from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It’s called a widger. It has a convex stainless steel blade that delicately separates the tiny plants.
Regardless of how perfect seeds may appear, germination is never guaranteed, so multiple seeds are always planted in each seed starting tray cell. This provides a better chance at least one in each cell will take root. When the seedlings are a couple inches tall, and have reached their “true leaf” stage, which is when each seedling has sprouted a second set of leaves, it’s time for a process called selective thinning – removing the weaker sprouts and leaving those that have a better chance of growing strong. Once selective thinning is complete, there should only be one seedling in each cell of the seed starting tray or container. These hollyhock seedlings are big enough to transplant.
Wendy carefully loosens the soil around the seedling with the widger and lifts the seedling. The widger also helps to avoid damage to the plant’s leaves or roots.
Hollyhocks have long taproots as well as lateral roots that need space, so the deeper the pot, the better.
Wendy uses the wider end of the widger to create a hole a couple inches deep in the new pot.
These holes can also be made with one’s finger – the mix is very soft.
Wendy places the seedling in the hole and gently firms up the surrounding soil. Avoid handling the seedling by its tender stems, which can bruise easily.
The growing seedlings will remain in the new larger pots until they are ready to plant in the ground.
Osmocote is a slow-release fertilizer. Osmocote particles are known as prills. The beige shell on the prill coats a core of nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
My gardeners spend many cold, winter days planting seeds in trays. Some are placed in a smaller greenhouse adjacent to the head house. These seedlings are in different stages of growth. As they germinate and begin to mature, it’s important to check their development, so they continue to thrive. These seedlings are dianthus, treasured for its grasslike, blue-green foliage and abundant small and often spicily fragrant flowers.
These seedlings are foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. Foxglove flowers are clusters of tubular shaped blooms in colors of white, lavender, yellow, pink, red, and purple. These were planted from seed a few weeks ago and already transplanted into larger pots. The purpose of transplanting is to provide enough room – overcrowding can stress the sprouts. These look so much better in the pots.
And these are lupines – colorful spiked flowers that grow one to four feet tall. These are also growing in flats in the greenhouse.
I also use my Urban Cultivators. I have one commercial unit and two smaller residential units in my head house. Once seeds are planted in trays, they are covered with humidity domes which remain positioned over the seed tray until germination begins. Each tray receives about 18-hours of light a day with the appropriate amount of water and humidity.
These seedlings already germinated – the covers have been removed. Inside the Urban Cultivator, they are receiving the best growing conditions. It is fascinating to watch the plants grow.
All our hollyhock seedlings are now transplanted and fed in their larger containers.
Finally, Wendy gives them a good drink of water and returns the flats to the greenhouse to continue growing. And then it is back inside to transplant more – thanks, Wendy. We’ll have a lot of flowers and vegetables to plant outdoors this season.
We can all work together to eradicate hunger and food insecurity in our communities.
Last week, while I was in southern California attending the Big Game, I also partnered with Ralphs, a division of The Kroger Co. and its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste campaign, to Team Up to End Hunger at a fundraiser in LA's Downtown Arts District. The event benefited The Los Angeles Mission which has been providing vital assistance to people in the area since 1936. On Game Day, the second biggest food consumption day of the year after Thanksgiving, we hosted a fun competition for volunteers and influencers to see who could pack the most meal kits in the shortest amount of time. Up to 200 meals along with a grant for $100,000 were given to The Los Angeles Mission to help the area's neediest residents. It was a very fun event and a very special cause.
Enjoy these photos.
Whenever I travel, I try to do as much as possible. These trips are even more special when I can help a good cause – like fighting hunger and food insecurity in our country. More than 100 volunteers, influencers, spectators, press, and friends gathered at this Zero Hunger | Zero Waste event in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
The inside of the 15-thousand square foot WUF Studios space was decorated with a football sports theme – inspired, of course, by the Big Game itself. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
Cheerleaders welcomed the guests at the entrance…
…And performed spirited cheers throughout the two-hour event.
Band players were also on hand. This sousaphone player and trombone player took a short break to smile for the camera. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
Many volunteers attended to support the initiative and the Los Angeles Mission – a non-profit, private organization that serves the immediate and long-term needs of homeless and disadvantaged men, women and children. The Mission is among the nation’s largest service providers and works hard to supply meals, hot showers, safe shelter, and other life-giving aid to those in need. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
Enthusiastic spectators and fans watched from bleacher seats on the side lines. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
And here I am with Sarah Meyer Michaelson, owner of ROE Caviar – one of my favorite caviars.
Teams worked hard to pack as many meal kits as possible.
Meals included nutritious, delicious, fresh Game Day sandwiches. I made sure they were made big and filled with lots of ingredients. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
Everyone had a fun time working for a very special cause. Do you know… one in eight Americans struggles with hunger every day? According to the USDA, more than 38 million people, including 12 million children, in the United States are food insecure. We can all work to end hunger in our communities. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
Denise Osterhues, senior director of sustainability & social impact at The Kroger Co., addressed the audience and thanked everyone for attending. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
The Kroger communications team was there rooting everyone on, including director of corporate affairs, John Votava, on the right. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
I joined event MC, Ben Glieb, as Ralphs presents its check for 100-thousand dollars to The Los Angeles Mission. Ralphs and Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact campaign team is committed to ridding hunger in its communities by 2025. This check will help feed thousands of Americans. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
I always notice the Frenchies. Here I am with Nikki Star of IG @WTFrenchies, and her furred twosome.
London Kaye, a local yarn artist, also displayed some of her works in the space. See more of her work @madebylondon.
Here, a volunteer stands next to some of the meal kits he helped prepare. Did his team come out victorious? (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
It was a very fun and inspirational event. Ralphs customers are also invited to join in the Team Up to End Hunger effort by rounding up in-store purchases or making cash donations at all 95 Ralphs locations in Los Angeles County throughout February with all proceeds benefitting the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. If you are in the area, I encourage you to help. For more information, click on the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste web site. (Photo by Ethan Glanger)
Winter is the best time to cover garden beds with a rich layer of organic mulch.
Last spring, I began planting hundreds of azaleas on both sides of the carriage road leading from my Summer House to my Stable - so far, they're all doing excellently. Recently, I decided to cover the grass surrounding these plants with old burlap and mulch. Mulched areas help prevent the growth of weeds and cuts down on watering and mowing. Fortunately, we are able to make lots of mulch, and compost, right here at my farm. The new layer of mulch has transformed these azalea gardens and they look great.
Enjoy these photos.
I began this azalea project in April of 2021 with the planting of these white azaleas just outside my Summer House garden.
They were followed by more azaleas in different shades of pink.
These azaleas grew beautifully all summer and I continued to add more on both sides of this carriage road, ending with specimens in yellow and orange.
These plants are now dormant – many without their leaves. This winter’s weather has been very erratic. Some days have been bitterly cold and others mild and spring like.
When I planned this garden, I knew I wanted to eventually mulch the entire area, so this week, my outdoor grounds crew took on this task.
Any old burlap no longer suitable for covering boxwood for winter was taken out and repurposed.
The burlap was unrolled and placed around the azaleas and area trees.
Holes were made where the azaleas were planted.
And where there were no plants, the burlap was positioned in long swaths following the shapes of the tree pits.
Here’s Chhiring unloading the mulch from the dump truck, so it can be transported in wheelbarrows to various areas. Do you know the difference between compost and mulch? Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed over time, while mulch is the layer of organic materials used as a protective cover. This mulch is made right here at my farm from downed trees that have been put through the tub grinder multiple times.
Each wheelbarrow is filled with mulch and then walked to a designated place in the garden. The crew works efficiently in a production line process.
The mulch is then dropped in mounds and spread evenly throughout the space. Spreading a two to three inch layer of mulch will suppress weed germination, retain moisture, and insulate the soil.
During the course of the year, my outdoor grounds crew amasses large amounts of organic debris – felled trees, branches, leaves, etc., but none of the material goes to waste. It is either repurposed quickly as milled lumber and wood chips, or made into mulch and compost.
Chhiring uses a hard rake to spread the mulch and break up any clumps that are still frozen.
Working from another side, Phurba uses a soft rake to even the mulch nicely around the plantings, making sure every bit of burlap is covered.
Once an area is complete, it looks so pretty.
With this organic mulch, heavy soils are better equipped to hold water and resist compaction – reducing erosion and runoff. There is still some snow left over from a previous storm, but on this day, temperatures rose to almost 60-degrees Fahrenheit – there was a lot of melting everywhere.
Remember, when mulching tree pits, be sure to pull the mulch away from the base of the tree trunk and not up against the trunk.
Using mulch around the farm is a wonderful way to beautify the gardens and to give back to the earth. It all looks great – I can’t wait to see these azaleas bloom again.
And it won’t be long now – look, there are already signs of spring buds on some of these plants. I will be sure to share many more photos of my azaleas when they flower this year – stay tuned.
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