My Farm in Late August
It’s been a challenging summer weather-wise. It was a very hot spring, which caused plants to grow early and fast. Nearly everything was a good two weeks ahead of schedule. We also had very little rain when rain was much needed. And, to top it all off, there was that twister in late July, causing tremendous damage to many, many stately trees. Despite all of this, my grounds crew continues to work hard at making the farm a beautiful and productive place. Enjoy these photos taken yesterday.
1 The vegetable garden has grown quite nicely this year.
2 This eggplant is called Rosa Bianca, a delicious Italian heirloom.
3 Eggplant - Listada de Gandia - A unique eggplant pleasing to both the eye and the palate.
4 Pepper - Yankee Bell - a green pepper that becomes red
5 Pepper - Biscayne - A prolific sweet pepper
6 Pepper - Shishito - an abundant, sweet Japanese variety
7 Pepper - Peppino - a hot cherry pepper
8 Pepper - a hot variety from Thailand
9 The peas and beans have been amazing! Snap beans - Fresh Pick
10 The edamame - soybean - are not quite ready for picking.
11 I've never seen more beautiful kale as this year's crop.
12 These are the bright red berries of the asparagus plant.
13 I had a meeting with an event planner and a tent person for an upcoming wedding to be held at my farm.
14 These plants are for a magazine shoot.
15 The hornbeam hedges needed a good pruning. I suppose it's time for lunch.
16 The cutting garden needed a lot of attention.
17 Weeds, weeds, and more weeds!
18 There are still some lovely blooms - lilies, cosmos, and flox
19 And pretty celosia - Flamingo Feather
20 And Verbena bonariensis
21 A bee enjoying fluffy ageratum
22 Shaun is pruning and dead-heading.
23 The crew, busy at work
24 The six heritage breed turkeys are enjoying their grassy open pen now that their wings have been clipped.
25 Deep in the woods - It will be some time before the twister damage can all be cleaned up.
26 Bracket fungus is already at work helping to decay this wood.
27 These apple trees are in a far corner of the property and are quite old.
28 Can you believe how much fruit there is on this one tree?
29 These are windfall apples, which will go to the donkeys, horses, and chickens.
30 This is the load out from the fun taping of my upcoming Halloween show down in the equipment barn. Watch for it on the Hallmark Channel.
31 More of the props used
32 Neil, who works with me on Sirius Radio, arrived for a live broadcast of my show, AskMartha.
I was wondering , why don't you open a Martha Stewart Store in Manhattan. I believe that all of your fans, including myself would appreciate so much a store.
Although at this moment I live in Puerto Rico but I travel constantly to NYC and love your products. And although the thing now is to buy online, I honestly prefer to visit a store and be able to see everything carefully and study what Im going to purchase.
Well just a thought. Who knows maybe next time when Im in my beloved NYC I can visit a Marta Stewart Store.
your truly
Annette Rodriguez
Posted by: Annette Rodriguez | August 30th, 2010 at 12:28 am
What can I say, Martha, that I haven't said before? Your farm is just breath-takingly beautiful!!! I wish I could be there!!!!!!
And, I wish I could see your TV shows, but I can't. I only get one channel.
I'll bet the Halloween Show will be great if it is like the ones in the past.
Gloria!!
Posted by: Gloria | August 30th, 2010 at 12:56 am
Hello Martha,
I delight in seeing your farm at anytime of the year. I live in the country outskirts of Sydney Australia. I am situated in the most beautiful setting on the escarpment of a river called the Nepean River in a little village called Douglas Park. We have kept the property in its natural native state. We have all the lovely native animals like wallabies, echidnas, wombats, possums and too many birds to count. So we feed them with wild bird seed and other little treats. They are just adorable and we feel very blessed to be living with them.
Thank you for all your lovely pictures I so enjoy them.
Kind Regards,
Carol Bradley Australia.
Posted by: Carol Bradley | August 30th, 2010 at 2:32 am
Good morning Martha,
We have lots of vegetables but very few flowers now (except the roses are doing very well - I used every tip you had in your Gardening book - thank you). Now I can't wait to sort out the garden and then start on the house ready to cosy in for the winter!
All of the photos were beautiful as always.
Are you off to Flushing Meadows today? If so, have a great time.
Posted by: Pru | August 30th, 2010 at 3:25 am
Martha even with the crazy weather your property looks great. Looking forward to the new season of Martha
Posted by: ann | August 30th, 2010 at 6:40 am
Your farm is heaven...
Posted by: miss holly | August 30th, 2010 at 7:31 am
I lost my cucumber plants from the heat in the Philadelphia suburbs. The tomato and pepper yield is productive and my perimeter marigolds are really flourishing in this hot hot, rainless summer. I so appreciate your sharing of your farm!
Posted by: Teresa Touey | August 30th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Very nice vegetables!! Even if you give some of the vegetables/fruits to your farm animals you must have quite an abundancy leftover. Do you give some to your grounds crew and other staff? You are very lucky to have a great grounds crew...I sure wish I didn't have to do all my own gardening!!!
Posted by: Sharon Hines | August 30th, 2010 at 9:34 am
Hi Martha,
I really love peppers but believe it or not, I have never eaten eggplant. Maybe I’ll give it a try on Parmigiana Sunday at our local Italian restaurant. I wish I could grow just half the vegetables that you have! That is the one thing I miss about not living up north. Vegetables grown in planters are not the same thing not to mention, I never have much luck with them.
~
I had to laugh at your comment about the empty ladders in picture #15. You said ‘time for lunch’ and I was thinking ‘time for vacation’! Talk about tall hedges and I remember when Shaun wanted to trim them the European way, he wanted to use hand held shears for accuracy instead of electric hedge trimmers. It’s a beautiful hedge and I do like the European fashion.
~
So if you happen to have any surplus veggies or apples, I’m sure you can find my address in your files somewhere! Hehe Trish
Posted by: Trish | August 30th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Martha, I loved seeing all the wonderful veg & fruits of your farm. The grounds look awesome, yes lots, lots of work to maintain. I am curious as to what camera your photographer uses for these pictures. I love photography and enjoyed these pictures as with all your pictures on your blog. I look forward to many more wonderful postings & pictures on your blog.
Posted by: Kathleen | August 30th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Hello Martha, Lovely to see your farm. Wish I could get my place to look as wonderful! I live only 4 miles from you. My time however is taken up looking after my elderly mom, who had a stroke and working. So, for now I will enjoy your delightful pictures!
Posted by: Lorraine Roberts | August 30th, 2010 at 11:13 am
I just love the visits to your farm. How funny we both posted farm posts to wrap up August, although yours is much more beautiful!
Posted by: Jennifer | August 30th, 2010 at 11:36 am
And that is the sad thing about large gardens and productive farms, it takes a crew.
Posted by: Margie | August 30th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Oh the farm!!! I am delighted to view more pics. What do you do with all the apples? Let me guess. Apple sauce, pies, crisps, mmmmm I love the apple season. So many trees! Here in Vancouver, B.C. we are all excited about our salmon season. We have the best salmon run in a century!!!! It been salmon in the headlines all last week. 25 million already and another 8 million on the way! Anyways, I really do love your farm Martha!!!!
Posted by: Frances | August 30th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Hello Martha,
Your farm is so prolific! Do you donate the surplus produce to area families or a food bank?
Would love to start a co-op of backyard farmers to donate their surplus. Everyone always has too many zucchini!! I need to be a dreamer into doer. Thanks for the daily inspiration.
Ellie
Posted by: Ellie | August 30th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Hi Martha, Thanks for sharing a wonderful photo gallery of your beautiful farm in late August. All of your vegetables look so delicious and the apple trees look great, also. The Turkeys look like they are having a great time in their new area. My vegetables did pretty well this year, except the tomatoes are very slow ripening. My beans look alot like yours and taste great. Hope you are having a great day. Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | August 30th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
@Anette, I second a Martha flagship store... great idea
All I have left is celosia, cosmos, lilies, and phlox too... you need some Helenium Martha... I know I'll be popping some more late summer/fall perennials in the ground this fall.
Keep us posted on your fall plantings please
Posted by: R. | August 30th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Hi M!
Listen...I'm exhausted.
Comcast moved your show time til 2:32AM!!!
Isnt that ridiculous?
So I've been waking up at 2am getting a cup of tea and settling in.
(My family thinks I've really lost my mind)
But your show represents comfort and order to me.
Need my daily fix.
Cant wait till you start airing at 10am.
yay : )
d.
Posted by: Debra Van Dyke | August 30th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Your garden vegetables look great!! Can I borrow your workers for my garden for just one day? Looking at your Halloween things for the show is getting me excited about the new season. I am ready for your new shows to come on.
Posted by: Beth | August 30th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Hi Martha Just love your farm. Looking forward to your new show on Hallmark.
Posted by: pam wagner | August 30th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Gorgeous! So productive! Photo 18 - the flower is phlox, yes? Not flox.
Posted by: Jayne | August 31st, 2010 at 7:28 am
I hope you will post pics of the upcoming wedding on your beautiful farm. I'd love to see the centerpieces and other decor. And I look forward to your Halloween pics this year! I just purchased your Halloween book and you look marvelous on the cover!!
Posted by: Gloria Brown, Winterport, ME | August 31st, 2010 at 8:09 am
Your farm is beautiful....thanks for sharing the photos.
Posted by: Vivian Price | August 31st, 2010 at 10:35 am
Martha, I just loved the pictures of your farm. I loved the picture of the striped eggplant. The kale was enormous. You got plenty of kale this year. Tons of apples for the animals too. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Linda
Phila, PA
Posted by: Linda | August 31st, 2010 at 12:17 pm
The red berries on the mature asparagus...may these be eaten? Thanks Martha.
Posted by: http://twitter.com/Geotravel | August 31st, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Gorgeous. Just Gorgeous!
Posted by: Wendy | August 31st, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Martha, thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | August 31st, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Hello Martha!
Your farm is amazingly beautiful, you'll get to eat fresh, organic, and it's from Your garden. These pictures awekened nostalgic feeling in me about the style of life( I meant farm)you're having. Now I live in Florida, but I grew up in Ukraine and we had the same kind of farm and garden, and I kind of miss all of that. And yeah the United States were first who introduced me to "non-organic" food.
Posted by: Inna | September 3rd, 2010 at 9:38 am