It’s always important to keep up with lawn maintenance chores, especially during this time of year when everything is growing so quickly.
Here at my farm, my outdoor grounds crew is busy edging the carriage roads, so they look crisp and clean. Edging roads, lawns, and around garden beds can be done manually with a variety of spades, but depending on the size of the space, it can become very time-consuming. Rotary edgers, powered by gasoline, electricity, or portable battery reduce the time it takes to complete this job. These machines feature a spinning blade that cuts through the turf as the edger is pushed along the road where it meets the grass border. For this chore, we used our Troy-Bilt TBE550 Lawn Edger. It works really well for creating that beautiful, smooth edge.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I have four miles of gravel-covered carriage road at my farm. Every spring, we all notice how much the grass has grown into the gravel making it difficult to see the exact edge where the carriage road meets the lawn.
Our Troy-Bilt TBE550 Lawn and Driveway Edger is a single purpose machine used for making good, crisp lines along the edges of garden beds, driveways, and lawns.
The covered nine-inch triple edge blade is self-sharpening and has three different bevel options for trimming. The machine is also very easy to maneuver and guide.
Pete and Fernando use bright colored twine and long nails to mark the straight edge of the lawn where the edger will go. The twine is saved and used over and over for making straight lines for a variety of projects.
Once taut, it is easy to see the guiding string for the edger.
It’s always important to wear long pants and closed shoes to avoid injury from any flying debris. Edgers can cause small stones to fly up to nearly 10-feet. Pete also wheres eye protection while using this machine. As it is running, Pete listens to the edger to guide the speed. The machine works harder when cutting through the turf and is generally quieter when it finishes.
In this section, one can see where the edger has passed and made a clean line through the turf.
Once a section has been edged, Pete pulls away the unwanted vegetation between the cut edging line and the lawn using a paddle hoe. The hoe has a six-inch blade on a 52-inch wooden handle attached with a goose-neck for good alignment.
Look how much is pulled away. Pete stops often to check his work. The carriage roads are all about 12-feet wide, which is what it should be after any overgrowth is removed.
This area is alongside my pergola. It looks so different after it is edged.
Fernando follows behind ad uses a soft rake to gather all the debris into one place.
Here’s a finished edge – it looks so straight and clean.
Next, Fernando brings a small load of gravel to the site.
I like to use native washed stone in a blend of gray tones. This gravel is used all over the farm.
The gravel is dropped in small sections along the road for easy spreading. Pete uses a a landscape rake to spread and level the gravel.
This razor-back aluminum landscape rake has a wide head and teeth to level gravel quickly and smoothly. These landscape rakes are easy to find at home improvement shops and some gardening centers.
Gravel roads are attractive, easy to maintain, and accumulate less pollutants over time. It’s important to edge and shape the roads regularly, so they drain properly and look tidy.
This day was cool with little wind, so flying dust from the gravel was minimal.
After a few hours, this section of carriage road looks completely different with its new edge and surface layer of gravel. There’s a lot more road to edge – keep up the good work, Pete and Fernando!
It's always fun to share updates on my pets - the dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, pony, chickens, geese, and peafowl. They bring such joy to me and everyone here at the farm.
I currently have five dogs. I have two Chow Chows, Empress Qin and Emperor Han. And I have three French Bulldogs, Crème Brûlée, Bête Noire, and my puppy, Luna Moona. Have you seen her on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48? All the dogs love being in the kitchen with me, especially when I'm cooking and baking - they're always ready for whatever "falls their way." They love joining me on tours of the farm when I visit the other animals and check on all the gardens. One of their favorite stops is the enclosed pool area where they can run and play on the soft grass.
Here are some of the latest photos of the Cantitoe Corners Canines, enjoy.
If you haven’t seen her yet on my social media, this is the newest member of my family, Luna Moona. She is a 21-week old black brindle French Bulldog. The French Bulldog is an affectionate and playful breed known for its wrinkly, smushy face and bat-like ears.
The French Bulldog is a small, active and muscular dog with heavy bone and smooth coat.
These are my Chow Chows. The big boy is Emperor Han. His sister is Champion Empress Qin (pronounced chin). They are half siblings and both grand-dogs of my late Champion G.K.
One of the dogs’ favorite play areas is the lawn surrounding the pool. Because this area is completely fenced, I often take them here to run and play…
And wrestle… and roll. Frenchies, as they are affectionately called, are the result of a 19th century cross between English bulldog ancestors and ratters from France. The breed is now categorized in the American Kennel Club’s Non-Sporting Group. Here is Luna Moona with Crème Brûlée and Bête Noire.
Luna loves to play. Frenchies are very playful – in fact, they have been referred to as “clown dogs” for their fun loving and vivacious personalities. Here, Luna Moona is exhibiting a “play bow” – front legs out in front and chest low to the ground, with rear end up. It’s a dog’s way of inviting friendly play.
… And here is Bête Noire accepting the invitation.
And here’s Crème Brûlée. The Frenchie should have soft, loose skin especially around the head and shoulders. The head should be large, square and with the distinctive groove between their eyes.
Luna Moona loves to explore. Frenchies have broad and deep chests with the front being wider than the back.
Does Luna Moona also love hide-and-seek?
Loona Moona also likes to play with the grass. Generally, a French Bulldog is about 11 to 12 inches tall. Males weigh 20 to 28 pounds, while females 16 to 24 pounds when full grown.
Crème Brûlée loves to pull herself along the cool grass.
Here’s Qin in her favorite “splooting” position. Splooting is lying in a spread-eagled, prone posture. It’s done when dogs wish to relax or cool down. It’s also sometimes known as frogging.
My dogs are all accustomed to the many sounds on a working farm, but like all dogs, have a very sharp sense of hearing – I wonder what caught Qin’s attention.
The Chow should have a large head with a broad, flat skull, a short, deep muzzle, and very expressive eyes.
The Chow also has a lovely thick mane, with small rounded ears, giving it the appearance of a lion.
It is so important to provide dogs with ample exercise to keep them physically and mentally fit. I make sure my dogs get good long walks, and lots of time to play with each other outdoors. Here they are walking back to my house with their Uncle Carlos “dos.”
Back home, the dogs are let out in their yard, the courtyard behind my kitchen. Luna is still full of energy.
Like most other dogs breeds, French Bulldogs don’t like to be left alone for long periods of time. This court yard is right outside my kitchen, so there is always someone nearby to keep an eye on the inquisitive canines.
Empress Qin is ready to go indoors. Chows should be sturdy and squarely built. Its body should be compact, and heavy boned.
Bête Noire is thinking about a nap.
And Crème Brûlée is already dreaming. These dogs play hard and rest hard.
Despite a sad expression, the French Bulldog is comical, entertaining, and very amiable. Luna Moona and all my dogs are so loved here at the farm. Enjoy the weekend with your furred friends.
Maintaining a productive orchard is a lot of work.
The large orchard surrounding my pool includes more than 200-fruit trees. There are apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, peach, pear, medlar, and quince trees. Since it was first planted in 2017, these trees have provided so many wonderful fruits. To keep them healthy and looking their best, we prune and feed them regularly. And yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew started the task of manicuring the pits under every tree, adding nutrient-rich mulch made right here at my farm.
Enjoy these photos.
This is my orchard in summer when all the trees are filled with sweet, juicy fruits.
I grow lots of peaches. Peach trees thrive in an area where they can soak up the sunshine throughout the day. Growing peach trees are self-fruiting, which means the pollen from the same flower or variety can pollinate the tree and produce fruit.
In another row are the Asian pears – we had so many pears last year. I planted many types of Asian pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, which is native to East Asia. These trees include Hosui, Niitaka, Shinko, and Shinseiko.
Some of the other pears in the orchard are Bartlett, Columbia, D’Amalis, Ginnybrook, McLaughlin, Nova, Patten, Seckel, Stacyville, and Washington State.
These are the fruits of the medlar, Mespilus germanica – a small deciduous tree and member of the rose family.
And of course, I have a section of delicious apples. I already grow hundreds of apple trees here at the farm – some that were here when I acquired the property and others I planted soon after moving here. These orchard apple trees include Baldwin, Black Oxford, Cortland, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Esopus Spitzenburg, Fuji, Golden Russet, Grimes Golden, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Redfield, Roxbury Russet, Windham Russet, and more.
We almost always have a good amount of apples during apple season which is late-August to November. My granddaughter, Jude, loves to come up to the farm to make apple cider in the fall.
But in order for an orchard to be productive, it must get regular and good care. Orchards need proper fertilizing, irrigating, pruning, and mulching. This was my orchard yesterday after the pits were cleaned and the edges redefined.
My compost and mulch is made right here at the farm. Do you know the difference between the two? Mulch is mostly cut down wood chips. It serves as a good insulator to keep in moisture. Compost is the biologically active material that results from decomposition of organic matter – it feeds the soil. This mulch is a combination of chips, horse manure, and leaf mold double processed through the tub grinder.
Wheelbarrows full of mulch are transported to each tree pit, or area directly beneath each tree.
This is done in a production line process. Mulch is dropped at a number of tree pits first, so there is no waiting later.
Compost heat is produced as a by-product of the microbial breakdown of organic material. Here, one can see a little bit of the steam as it cools.
Phurba makes sure each pit is evenly covered. The edge helps to keep the mulch inside the pit when it rains. And notice, there is also a bare circle around the tree trunk to make sure the mulch does not keep the tree from aerating properly.
He uses a hard rake to make it tidy and creates a slight mound for good drainage away from the tree. Keep in mind, these tree pits do not need a lot of mulch – just about two or three inches deep. Too much mulch will suffocate and kill the tree. And always remember, “bare to the flare”, which means nothing should ever be above the tree’s flare – the point where the tree stops widening at the bottom.
It’s a good idea to mulch around trees in spring as soon as the ground is workable. Mulch reduces weeds, conserves moisture, and improves the soil, which helps the trees stay healthy.
Tree pits can be any shape. I decided to make each of these four-feet square. In a few years, after the trees have matured, we may enlarge the pits, but this size is perfect for now.
I love the geometric design of all the square pits.
Many of the trees are already flowering. Depending on variety, peach tree blooms range in color from pale pink to bold pink, with deep magenta or pink blushing near the center.
Apple blossoms range from white to dark pink. And In late spring, after the blossoms are pollinated, the petals drop off and small apples begin to form.
And here are the flowers of a pear tree. Pear blossoms first appear as small, tightly closed green buds that open to broad, slightly wavy white petals. I am looking forward to a bountiful fruiting season.
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