Late summer continues to be very busy. My outdoor grounds crew and gardeners are all working very hard to keep everything looking its best.
I love boxwood, Buxus, and have hundreds of these bold green shrubs growing all over my farm. I take very special care of these specimens. In winter, they are covered in a layer of protective burlap, and this time of year, they are carefully pruned and groomed. Maintaining these plantings requires extra maintenance from time to time, but I think it’s well worth the effort.
Enjoy these photos.
Boxwood can be used in borders, as hedges, and planted in layers to create depth and texture. These boxwood shrubs surround my herbaceous peony garden bed.
This is my sunken Summer House Garden – a more formal garden with both English and American boxwood.
In 2017, I decided to line both sides of my clematis pergola with boxwood. There are more than 300-shrubs planted here, and they continue to thrive.
Last spring I planted this boxwood border along the carriage road across from the pergola on one side of my Stewartia garden.
Many of the shrubs start off in this “nursery” located next to my chicken coops. The soil is rich with nutrients, so they grew well and quickly.
Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The leaves on boxwood branches are arranged opposite from each other, making pairs.
Phurba Sherpa is my resident boxwood pruning expert. He has been with me for many years – in fact, he helped plant a lot of the boxwood shrubs around the property.
Twice a year, we groom and prune the boxwood. This is always done with hand shears to give them a more clean and manicured appearance.
I prefer this method of trimming because the cuts are very clean and smooth.
Everyone on my crew uses Japanese Okatsune shears specially made for trimming hedges and borders. These shears are user friendly and come in a range of sizes.
To groom the tops and sides, Phurba keeps the shears close with his hands spread along the base of the handles if the shears are short and midway down the handles if they are longer. This allows the best control.
Here is the back of the herbaceous peony garden – the boxwood here has grown so well in part because of all the meticulous pruning and grooming.
Here’s Phurba pruning the great Boxwood Allée. Here, one can see the newest growth that is being cut. Boxwoods are slow growing compared to many other shrubs, with growth rate depending on the variety. Typically, the growth rate for most varieties is three to six inches per year.
Here is another angle with one side of a shrub pruned and the other side still to do.
Phurba also grooms the tops of the tall boxwood. He uses an orchard ladder designed for these kinds of tasks. It is portable and self-supporting, with a flared base and a tripod pole that provides support on soft, uneven ground.
Occasionally, Phurba stops to sharpen his shears. I always impress upon the crew to take good care of the equipment and tools.
He uses a simple blade sharpener that removes dirt and restores the cutting edge. It is important to sharpen both blades especially if the shears have two cutting edges.
Any pruned debris is gathered and brought to the compost pile later.
It can take weeks to get this summer project done, but Phurba does an excellent job trimming and shaping each and every boxwood.
From one end, this 450-foot Boxwood Allée looks great. It runs from my stable all the way to the carriage road that leads to my hayfields and woodlands. The next project, the boxwood on my Winter House Terrace Parterre. Good job, Phurba!
My garden continues to produce bounties of beautiful fresh vegetables. Our latest harvest - potatoes!
Not long ago, just before a thunderous rainstorm, my gardeners harvested the season's potatoes. Potatoes are from the perennial nightshade, Solanum tuberosum. As the world's fourth-largest food crop, following maize, wheat, and rice, potatoes are grown from “seed potatoes," which are certified disease-free and specially grown in nurseries for planting purposes. I always look forward to sharing the bounty with family and friends.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here at my farm, I plant potatoes every year – they’re great for baking and enjoying with my favorite caviar, and for making my mother’s famous mashed potatoes.
In spring, cut seed potatoes are planted in long trenches that run the entire length of each bed and are about five to six inches deep.
The trenches should also be at least one to two feet apart to give the potato plants ample room to develop. Potatoes perform best in soil with pH levels 4.8 to 5.5. Potatoes are easy to grow as long as they have access to full sun and moderate temperatures.
They are pushed into the soil with eyes faced up and cut sides down. When selecting seed potatoes, avoid planting those from supermarkets in case they were treated by sprout inhibitors. After planting, little maintenance is needed – just watering.
This was one of the potato beds in June, when the potato plants flowered. This happens when they are mature and have enough resources to reproduce. The flowers can be white, pink, lavender, or purple, and they attract pollinators to help the plant make more seeds. Flowering is also a sign that tubers are starting to grow underground.
This is definitely a less attractive sight in the garden, but it is a well-anticipated one because it means the potatoes are ready.
The potatoes are ready to pick once the vines have died back – when the tubers are done growing, and the potato plants have begun to turn yellow and withered.
To harvest potatoes, Ryan uses a gardening fork. It has four tines that can pierce the ground more easily than would a shovel or a spade.
Ryan drives the fork into the soil at the outside edges of the plant and then carefully lifts the plant.
It is important to do this at some distance from the plants to make sure the potatoes are not accidentally pierced.
Ryan digs deep into the ground and feels around for potatoes – potatoes will be slightly cool to the touch.
All these are from one plant.
There are more than 200 varieties of potatoes sold throughout the United States. Each fit into one of seven potato type categories: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling, and petite.
The skins of mature potatoes are thick and firmly attached to the flesh. If the skins appear thin and rub off easily, the potatoes are still too ‘new’ and should be left in the ground for a few more days.
It’s easy to see how the potatoes are connected to the plant at the root area. They’re very easy to pull off, and often come loose by themselves. Leave any green potatoes alone. When potatoes are exposed to light, they turn green, a sign the toxic substance called solanine is developing, which may cause illness if eaten in large quantities.
Always be careful not to scrape, bruise or cut the tubers. Damaged tubers will rot during storage.
In another area of the bed – red potatoes. An entire potato plant grows from just one potato eye, although when planting, always plant a piece of potato with at least two eyes to ensure germination.
These potatoes are not too deep. Most will be within the first 12-inches of soil.
After the potatoes are picked, they’re placed into crates, separated by variety and color. They can be stored in bins, boxes, or even paper bags – just nothing airtight to prevent rotting. Another tip – never wash potatoes until right before using – washing them shortens the potato’s storage life.
Don’t leave harvested potatoes in the sun as excessive heat could cause them to cook. Just brush off as much soil as possible and place them in a cool, dry place until ready to use.
This was a good harvest. I will have lots of potatoes to eat and share with my family.
Here's a post from January 30, 2021 - and a good weekend meal idea.
Why not have a delicious steamed egg for breakfast?
So many of my readers and viewers ask me how to make the perfect steamed egg - when the white of the egg is firm, and the yolk is silky, creamy, and liquid gold. Steamed eggs, soft-boiled eggs, and hard-boiled eggs are all great with toast, or as an addition to salads, or even alone as a quick snack. My eggs are as fresh as can be - they come straight from my chicken coops every day. Eggs are also very nutritious. A large egg contains about six-grams of protein, plus other nutrients, including vitamin D and choline. And, best of all, making the perfect egg is so easy.
Here are some photos and my step-by-step method for steamed eggs, enjoy.
As many of you know, I’ve long enjoyed raising chickens. I began raising chickens many years ago, primarily for their delicious fresh eggs. And I use a lot of them. Aside from enjoying one or two myself on any given day, I share them with my daughter and grandchildren, I cook flavorful dishes such as frittatas for guests and my crew at the farm, and I use many eggs for various cooking shoots. Here is a bowl of fresh eggs on my kitchen counter. When hens lay eggs, they have a natural coating called the “bloom” that helps keep out bacteria. Washing eggs can drive some bacteria in through the pores of the shell, so I don’t wash them before cooking. I always just wipe them with a warm damp cloth to get rid of any dirt and place them in this giant bowl.
I have about 200-chickens down in my poultry yard. They’re all beautiful birds. I I’ve grown fond of caring for them, and learning about their many different breeds and varieties.
Here’s a hen sitting in her nesting box – I wonder if she’s sitting on an egg? In general, hens become mature enough to lay eggs around six months of age, though this varies slightly by breed. Healthy hens are able to lay an egg about once a day.
To steam the perfect egg, one needs a saucepan with a lid and a steamer.
These stainless steel expandable steamer baskets are easy to find.
Just fill the pot to the bottom of the steamer basket – about an inch-and-a-half.
Then place the saucepan on the stove and turn it on high to boil.
While waiting, select your eggs. I chose six large eggs. I do not refrigerate my eggs. Freshly laid eggs can be left at room temperature for at least a month.
The water is just about boiling. A covered pot boils faster than an uncovered one because the cooling presence of the room’s atmosphere is greatly diminished. And notice, the lid is askew on top of the pot – just so it doesn’t boil-over.
I’m using a large spoon to carefully move the eggs into the pot.
I keep a crock near my stove filled with tasting spoons – large spoons intended to lift out about a 1/2 tablespoon of liquid from a pan or pot for sampling. I also keep some tasting forks close at hand.
Place the eggs carefully into the steamer – six is enough for one layer of eggs in this pot. Try not to stack the eggs if possible.
Set the timer to four-and-a-half minutes.
Place the lid properly on the pot and wait.
Remove the eggs as soon as the timer goes off. Remember, these are large eggs, but depending on the size of the eggs and how one likes them, this time may need some adjusting.
To serve eggs in their shells, I use the edge of a serrated knife to cut off the top.
Look at that beautiful gold color – it’s perfect. Egg yolks range in color from pale yellow to deep orange. The color of an egg’s yolk depends upon the hen’s diet. The darker color of a yolk indicates the hen is fed foods high in carotenoids or antioxidants, which are natural pigments found in greens. My chickens are fed the best scraps including organic vegetables from my gardens.
Add a little salt and pepper and it’s ready to eat.
To serve out of the shell, hold the egg over a small bowl, tap around center with a knife, gently pull the shell apart, and then scoop out the egg with a small spoon.
Here’s another egg with its creamy egg yolk pouring out into the bowl – made to perfection. Minutes really make a difference, but after doing this a few times, one will find their perfectly cooked egg.
Here are the two eggs in the bowl. Again, I added just a little salt and pepper to taste.
Steamed eggs for breakfast – so easy to make and so flavorful and healthy too. Don’t you just one one now? Enjoy.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
