Outdoor Spring Chores Around the Farm
We’re expecting more warm weather in the Northeast today. Yesterday, temperatures soared into the high 80s at my Bedford, New York farm, and everyone scrambled to complete our long list of outdoor chores.
There's always so much to do this time of year. Among some of the spring tasks on our list - changing all those heavy glass storm doors for the lighter, cooler framed screen inserts, preparing the hoses and sprinklers, taking out all the summer furniture, removing the straw bales that insulate my hoop houses during winter, and planting all the flowers in the cutting garden.
Here are some photos - enjoy. What are your outdoor spring chores? Share your list with me in the comments section below.
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- As soon as it gets warm here at the farm, the crew removes the bales of straw that surround my hoop houses. Here’s Chhiring on our John Deere tractor hauling bales to the maple woodland where the straw will be spread as mulch – nothing goes to waste here at my farm.
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- During the cold season, bales are positioned around the perimeter of each hoop house to prevent drafts.
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- Rectangular bales of straw and hay are either classified as two-stringed or three-stringed. Two-stringed bales can weigh between 40 and 75 pounds, and much more when wet. Here are Chhewang and Dawa carrying one of the many bales to the tractor.
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- My flower cutting garden is coming to life. This week, my gardeners started planting some of the many seedlings we started in the greenhouse. We start planting our seeds indoors as early as January and nurture them in our temperature controlled greenhouse until they are planted outdoors.
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- I wanted the plants placed in small groups around the garden. Here’s Ryan planting some foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. This biennial plant is often grown as an ornamental due to its colorful flowers.
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- Carlos follows closely behind to feed these young plantings.
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- Meanwhile, Fernando and Carlos “dos” carry one of several chaises longues to the pool area.
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- Here is Carlos “dos” with the comfy cushions for that chaise longue. We stored all the pool furniture in the garage underneath my gym.
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- Next, Fernando placed all the small side tables under the pergola by the pool and spa tub.
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- Once it gets warm, I always make sure the hoses and sprinklers are ready for use. We use many stand up sprinklers from Gilmour, a Madison, Wisconsin-based company that’s been manufacturing watering equipment and solutions for more than 65-years.
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- For watering ground covers and grassy areas, we use my new Martha Stewart indestructible oscillating sprinkler, complete with sliders to customize and control the spray width and range.
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- This sprinkler is on the back side of my Equipment Barn. 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.
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- This hose and sprinkler are by my Stewartia garden, across the carriage road from my long clematis pergola.
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- We also placed sprinklers near our newest trees down behind my stable. These seedlings will remain here where they can be maintained properly until they are planted in the ground.
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- Here’s Chhiring placing weed disk around our young potted trees. Weed disks prevent any surface weeds from growing, while also letting in water and lots of air circulation. These will definitely save time on manual weeding this summer.
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- And here’s Carlos “dos” removing a glass storm door and replacing it with a screened insert. Most storm doors are made of wood (like mine), fiberglass or aluminum, and have interchangeable glass and screen panels. Some doors use screws and brackets to hold inserts in place, while others use spring loaded clips.
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- Once the insert is placed into the door frame, all the screws and brackets are checked to make sure the screen insert is secure. When changing inserts, it is also a good idea to clean the frames by wiping them down with a moist towel or rag.
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- Fernando carries a storm door to the Tenant House. All the screens and storm doors are stored in my basement and are specifically labeled to indicate which door insert belongs in what house and what door it fits.
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- In the afternoon, my stable manager, Sarah, walks my dear Friesians to their paddock.
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- Back in my flower cutting garden, all the newly planted specimens got a thorough drink. The tripods are angled to spray just above the tallest plantings. For flowers, one to two watering sessions per week are usually sufficient. I can’t wait to see this garden bursting with color.
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