After weeks of hard work cleaning the woodland, transporting the organic debris - bark, stumps, logs, and brush - to the compost yard, and then seeing it all go through the tub grinder, we now have a massive pile of usable mulch - the biggest we've ever had here at my farm.
Every couple of years, I call in the hardworking team from Material Processors, Inc., located in Warwick, New York. Their large machinery grinds all the material into small chips. Then it is all passed through a second time to make it even finer and mixed with leaf mold, aged horse manure, and chicken droppings. What's left is nutrient-rich "black gold" for all my gardens.
Here are the photos, enjoy.
Here is a drone shot of logs being dropped into the tub grinder. It’s amazing what these machines can do. All of these logs are ground in just a couple of minutes. (Photo by Brett Albright)
Here at my farm, we have a very systematic process for preparing material for the tub grinder. For several weeks before the tub grinder arrives, and during its visit, large piles of organic debris are collected along the carriage roads.
Hundreds of these felled trees are diseased ash trees – infested and killed by the emerald ash borer. The borer larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves water and sugars up and down its trunk.
All of the cut trees and brush is brought to the compost yard in a back field.
Once a good amount is collected, I call in the team from Material Processors, Inc. – a company that focuses on recycling green waste, and clearing and preparing land spaces for development. I’ve been using them for years – so efficient and wonderful to work with every time.
Tub grinders are extremely large and heavy, so the team delivers the tub grinder and excavator to the farm the day before to set it up and prepare it for work. Most tub grinders are powered by diesel engines.
Tub grinders are named for the distinctive in-feed hopper – the large round tub, normally 10 to 14-feet in diameter and roughly six-feet deep. Before any equipment is used, all the controls are checked to make sure everything is in good working order.
These machines have a variety of screens for the output. The screen selection for each job is usually based on the type of material being processed and the desired end-product.
Here is the excavator, which is used to pick up the material using its large “jaws grab” bucket attachment and drop it into the tub grinder.
The jaws can pick up, move and sort several large logs or pieces of debris at a time.
Here’s a drone view of the machinery at work. I drive up to see the progress as often as possible. It is always sad to see the trees go, but I am glad they can be repurposed into usable rich materials for the gardens. (Photo by Brett Albright)
Tub grinders rely primarily on gravity to feed the material into the hammermill at the bottom of the tub. As the tub revolves, the hammermill below, shatters the wood into smaller fragments.
As the tub spins, friction actually causes some of the wood to smoke.
A conveyor belt located below the screens transports the finished product away from the mill to this discharge conveyor which then carries the material away from the machine.
The continuous discharge conveyor deposits the material onto a separate mound.
Every day more and more debris is brought to the compost yard and piled near the tub grinder. I shared some photos at the beginning of this process. The tub grinder is usually at the farm for three weeks.
There is also a pile of horse and chicken waste that gets mixed with the fine wood chips. Do you know the difference between compost and mulch? Compost and mulch are often used synonymously; however, there is a big difference between the two. Compost is biologically active material that breaks down from organic matter. Mulch, on the other hand, is any material, organic or inorganic, that covers a given soil surface.
The machines do this over and over, one load at a time. There is a lot of dust and occasional debris flying around – it is very important to stay several feet away whenever visiting an excavator and tub grinder at work. The team prefers to work on rainy days, which helps to cut down on all the dust.
Here is the output after two weeks. A tractor and bucket help to condense the pile as much as possible.
The entire grinding process is actually quite mesmerizing to watch. It is also extremely loud – the tub grinder can be heard all the way on the other side of the farm.
Here, the process is almost done. The pile is now put through the grinder a second time. The second pass makes it even finer.
And here is the pile at the end of the job – our biggest pile yet. It took a lot of hard work and manpower, but now we have all the material we need to dress all the gardens here at the farm.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, we're expecting snow and rain this week, with temperatures in the 30s. My outdoor garden beds are all cleared for the winter, but fresh, delicious vegetables are growing beautifully indoors - in a special greenhouse I had constructed several years ago that was inspired by Eliot Coleman, an expert in four-season farming.
My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, does an excellent job with succession planting. Last week, he planted more lettuce, cucumbers and carrots. I'm always so happy to share the bounties with my family and friends.
Enjoy these photos.
This time of year, it’s nice to go inside my vegetable greenhouse to see what’s thriving. This structure is located near my Equipment Barn. It uses minimal artificial heat, where many cold hardy crops and other greens can be grown and harvested through the winter. Some beds look more full than others because they are planted at different times as part of succession planting.
Most of the energy in the greenhouse comes from the sun through these giant windows, which can be programmed to open for ventilation or cooling when needed.
Inside the head house, we keep a number of favorite seeds. I am always on the lookout for different seeds when I travel, but seeds are also widely available online and at garden centers. Ryan keeps track of what seeds do well at the farm – indoors and out.
Here’s our bed of parsley. Parsley is a flowering plant native to the Mediterranean. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning “rock celery.” It is a biennial plant that will return to the garden year after year once it is established. We have both curly parsley…
… and flat-leaf parsley. In general, flat-leaf parsley has a more robust flavor, while the curly variety is popularly used as a garnish.
Green onions only take 50 to 60 days to grow from seed to a harvestable size. They’re also easy to grow in any amount of space.
The radish is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, and mostly eaten raw as a crunchy salad vegetable.
In this bed are the beets. Beets are sweet and tender – and one of the healthiest foods. Beets contain a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains, which provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support.
Both the root and the leaves of the turnip are edible. Turnips are smooth flat-round and white vegetables that mature early and are best harvested young – when they are up to two inches in diameter. The flavor is sweet and fruity, and the texture is crisp and tender. When harvesting, we always gently remove the surrounding earth first to see if the vegetables are big enough. If not, we push the soil back into place.
Other vegetables growing in this greenhouse include the Swiss chard. Swiss chard colors are so vibrant with stems of white, red, yellow, rose, and gold.
Chard has very nutritious leaves making it a popular addition to healthful diets.
The gorgeous Swiss chard stalks stand out in the bed. The most common method for picking is to cut off the outer leaves about two inches above the ground while they are young, tender, and about eight to 12 inches long.
I also grow a lot of spinach. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, and a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron and vitamin B2. We use a lot of spinach at the farm for my daily green juice.
Ryan started several trays of lettuce inside the main greenhouse. These seedlings are now ready to be planted in the beds.
Ryan uses a Bed Preparation Rake from Johnny’s Selected Seeds to make the furrows.
This tool is great for transplanting seedlings – it’s also from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It’s called a widger. It has a convex stainless steel blade that delicately separates the tiny plants.
Ryan carefully loosens the soil around the seedling with the widger and lifts the seedling out of the tray cell. The widger also helps to avoid damage to the plant’s leaves and roots.
And then he plants it into the ground. Lettuce plants have shallow roots, so they don’t require much depth to grow, but because of their full heads, they need to be planted at least a foot apart.
I love fresh lettuce. It’s a real treat to have lettuce like this all year long. I share it with my daughter and grandchildren. And of course, I enjoy it for my own lunches and dinners when I am home.
There is always a lettuce head or two ready for harvesting. Butter lettuce is a type of lettuce that includes Bibb lettuce and Boston lettuce. It’s known for loose, round-shaped heads of tender, sweet leaves and a mild flavor.
Ryan also planted some cucumber and carrot seeds. For seeds, the furrows don’t have to be deep. In general, seeds should be planted at a depth of two times the width, or diameter, of the seed. A seed that’s about 1/16-of-an-inch thick should be planted an eighth-of-an-inch deep. Ryan drops the seeds about two inches apart.
Finally, all the beds are watered and weeded. It won’t be long before we start working on the outdoor beds, but for now, I am so fortunate to have this greenhouse where I can harvest flavorful and healthy produce all winter long.
If you’re gathering with friends and family to watch the "Big Game," I hope you're making some of my favorite game day dishes and drinks. Earlier this week, I shared my ideas on the TODAY Show with hosts Carson Daly, Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker. We had Ginger Scallion Wings, Baked Sriracha Buffalo Wings, Pigs in a Blanket, my favorite Guacamole, and specialty cocktails from my restaurant, The Bedford by Martha Stewart at Paris Las Vegas - and inspired by this year's playing teams, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Did you see my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48? It was a star studded morning at the TODAY Show earlier this week. I caught up with Sly Stallone. He was there with his family promoting the second season of his reality series, “The Family Stallone” on Paramount+.
I was there to celebrate this weekend’s Big Game with lots of delicious party ideas. This year’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It’s the first time the football championship game will be played in Sin City. I’ll be there – will you?
During my segment, I shared this delicious recipe for Ginger Scallion Wings with scallions ginger, salt, and oil mixed in a food processor, tossed with the baked wings, and then put into the oven for an additional 10-minutes.
Here’s host Carson Daly helping me toss the sauce with the wings.
I also showed my Baked Sriracha Buffalo Wings – another big favorite served with celery sticks and blue cheese crumble.
Everybody loves Pigs in a Blanket. Here’s my rendition made with sausage. I called them “Brockwursts” after you know who… Brock Purdy, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. One can use any fully cooked sausages, such as frankfurters, andouille, or chicken sausages – I used my Good Things seal of approval Brats from Schaller and Weber.
Then I made a bowl of my favorite guacamole, which I call “Mahome-a-mole” after Kansas City Chiefs QB, Patrick Mahomes.
It starts with a molcajete that contains avocados, jalapenos, tomatoes, and cilantro. I added lime juice, onion, and hard boiled eggs.
And then serve it with tortilla chips – homemade, of course.
All the dishes were big hits with Craig, Savannah, Hoda, and Al.
And don’t forget my game day inspired cocktails, the San Francisco cocktail and Kansas City Water – specialty drinks from The Bedford by Martha Stewart at Paris Las Vegas.
The San Francisco cocktail is a classic cocktail that first appeared in the “Cafe Royal Cocktail Book” in 1937. Lore has it that American bartenders fled to Britain during the prohibition and developed this drink. It’s a play on a martini, a cocktail with strong ties to San Francisco.
It’s made with gin plus the combination of both sweet and dry vermouth and bitters.
And Kansas City Ice Water is made with gin and tonic and vodka soda.
To make it even more delicious and refreshing, I add limes and lemons.
Cheers everyone! Enjoy whatever you serve for your Big Game party. And may the best team win! And follow this blog on Instagram @marthastewartblog.
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