The outdoor gardens at my farm are still pretty bare, but there’s lots of work getting done in the greenhouses to prepare for the growing season ahead. And my Skylands gardener, Wendy Norling, is here to lend a helping hand.
While here, Wendy is helping to groom all the indoor plants in my main greenhouse. She is also tending all the young seedlings that were started over the last few weeks. She is going through each tray, thinning out those that are weak, pricking out those that are growing too big, and then transplanting them into larger pots.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here at my farm, many of the seedlings start off on heated pads in the greenhouse, where they can be monitored carefully and maintained.
Some of the newly started seeds are also placed in our commercial-sized Urban Cultivator, an automated system that provides a self-contained growing environment with everything the plants need to thrive.
And still more seedlings are here on shelves under proper growing lights. We start so many flowers and vegetables from seed – every possible bit of space is used to nurture them before they are planted outdoors.
Every winter my Skylands gardener, Wendy Norling, comes down to help at the farm. She comes just in time to transplant hundreds of growing flower seedlings. It’s a great way to learn about my farm and how its growing season differs from the one up in Maine.
Wendy fills slightly larger pots that fit in trays for the growing seedlings to be transplanted. Experiment with pots to see which ones work best for what plants. And always choose containers or trays that have proper drainage holes at the bottom.
I use Miracle-Gro Potting Mix. A good quality organic mix designed for seedlings will be fast draining and light. These mixes are formulated to encourage strong, healthy growth in new plants.
Wendy fills the pots with mix and then levels off the soil to the rim.
It’s important not to overfill, so soil does not spill out when watering.
These tools are great for transplanting seedlings. The tool on the left is an extra large tweezer. The one on the right is from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It’s called a widger, a great multipurpose tool for seed starting. It has a convex stainless steel blade that delicately separates the tiny plants and helps to lift up the root balls.
The tiny seeds we planted just a few weeks ago are already sprouting and ready to move. These seedlings are Stock, Matthiola incana. Stock flowers grow with either single or double blooms in clusters on tall, spiky stems. The colorful flowers are great for attracting pollinators to the garden, such as bees and butterflies.
When the seedlings are a couple inches tall and have reached their “true leaf” stage, which is when each seedling has sprouted a second set of leaves, it’s time for a process called selective thinning. Selective thinning prevents overcrowding, so seedlings don’t have competition for soil nutrients or room to grow. Wendy carefully loosens the soil around the seedling with the widger so it can be lifted.
In this cell, Wendy is removing a weaker seedling. She carefully inspects the seedlings and determines the strongest ones. She looks for fleshy leaves, upright stems, and center positioning in the space. The smaller, weaker, more spindly looking seedlings are removed, leaving only the stronger ones to mature. The stronger specimens will be transplanted into larger cells or pots.
Using the widger, Wendy carefully moves the seedling from the tray to its new and larger pot. The widger also helps to avoid damage to the plant’s leaves or roots.
The seedling is planted as deep as it was in its previous tray cell. Wendy gently firms up the surrounding soil, so the seedling is supported and standing straight in the center of the pot.
Wendy avoids handling the seedling by its tender stems, which can bruise easily. The stronger plant now has more room to grow before getting transplanted into the ground.
The purpose of transplanting is to provide enough room – overcrowding can stress the sprouts.
Wendy fills out the appropriate identifying plant markers, also from Johnny’s Selected Seeds – a source I have used a long time for seeds and gardening supplies.
The seedlings are then brought into the main greenhouse for a drink.
These tender young seedlings should be watered lightly ensuring the roots have access to moisture. And don’t water too frequently – only when the top inch or so of soil is dry.
Wendy places the markers identifying the seedlings in the containers – seedlings must be labeled throughout the growing process until they are planted outdoors. This allows us to know what they are, how various varieties grow, and which ones we should plant again next season.
Next, these growing seedlings will return to one of our seedling areas where they can continue to develop. It’s so nice to be able to grow vegetables and flowers from seed during these winter months. It won’t be long before they are all ready to move outdoors and get planted in the gardens.
It's often said that on St. Patrick's Day, everybody has a touch of the Irish!
Yesterday, I celebrated the occasion by making my rendition of Irish soda bread - a rich, dense, lightly sweet loaf baked with golden raisins, caraway seeds, and butter. I shared it with my staff at the farm during a performance from young bagpiper Will McCormack, a charming 16-year old musician who has been playing with the Police Officer Stephen Driscoll Pipe Band since 2024.
Enjoy these photos.
Fresh out of the oven – two beautiful Irish Soda bread loaves. I made them earlier in the day.
I used my recipe for Rich Irish Soda Bread. It’s a tender raisin-filled loaf that’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any day the craving hits.
Before baking anything I always prepare all my ingredients. This bread is easy to make and because it requires no rising time, it can also be done pretty quickly. Here are some of my dry ingredients.
Here I am buttering the top of this loaf before it goes into the oven. I used a serrated knife to make the “x” about an inch deep into the top of each loaf. Legend has it that, in some areas of Ireland, a cross was cut on the top of the Irish soda bread with a knife to ward off the devil and protect the household.
I also like to sprinkle a little flour on top, so it gets that dusted look when it’s done.
And then the loaves go into the oven preheated to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.
After a little more than an hour, the loaves are all done. This looks perfect.
I served it later in the afternoon with Vermont Creamery butter. I also served delicious warm tea – it was a cold and windy day.
This is a member of my security team, Bill McCormack, along with his wife, Diana, and his son, Will.
Here’s Will setting up his bagpipes. Traditionally, bagpipes were made from the skin of animals. The hide would be turned inside out to create the bag, while the pipes were made from hollow reeds or wood. Today, many bagpipes are constructed using synthetic materials.
Will also selected three different songs to play for me and my staff.
Adan, Pete, and Fernando enjoyed the bread and the warm tea.
My dear friend Muffin Dowdle also stopped by to celebrate with us.
I asked Will to play on my terrace parterre. While spring officially begins in less than a week, it’s been chilly, so my boxwood hedges and shrubs are still covered in protected burlap.
Will has been a bagpiper with the Police Officer Stephen Driscoll Pipe Band since 2024. The band was named in honor of New York City Emergency Police Officer Stephen P. Driscoll, who was killed on September 11, 2001. The band proudly wears the New York City Tartan, which was designed by Lochcarron of Scotland, and presented to New York City in April, 2002. The colors of the tartan represent New York with gray for the streets and buildings of the City, green for Central Park, and blue for the Hudson and East Rivers which surround Manhattan. The two black lines which are designed in a cross offer a sign of condolence in memory of those who died in the Twin Towers tragedy.
Here’s Will playing his bagpipes – the wild birds loved all the music and began chirping along with him.
He hasn’t been playing long, but Will did a fantastic job.
Thanks so much for sharing your bagpiping talents with us, Will. It was great to have you at the farm.
I can't wait to hear what you think about The Bedford by Martha Stewart, my east-coast restaurant located at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. It's open and already we're getting so many excellent responses to our menu and our food!
The 204-seat dining destination is inspired by my 1925 country farmhouse in Westchester, New York. The menu features a selection of my own favorite recipes - all with the freshest, locally sourced ingredients. Last week, we celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony, various media interviews and photos, and a party attended by friends, colleagues, business partners, and other celebrities including Christie Brinkley, former Olympic figure skater, Johnny Weir, rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and Sex and the City creator Candace Bushnell. Guests sampled many of the menu offerings and enjoyed my signature cocktails. It was a wonderful and successful event. And now the next time you're in Southeastern Connecticut and are looking for elegance, warmth, charm, and the most flavorful meals, be sure to go to The Bedford by Martha Stewart.
Enjoy these photos.
It was such an exciting day to see this restaurant come to fruition. Here I am with Foxwoods President and CEO, Jason Guyot. (Photo by Yvonne Tnt/BFA)
The Green Room is modeled after my own Green Parlor – complete with the paint colors and decorative accents. This room is set apart from the main dining area and can be reserved for private events.
In the main dining area, we set up stations for guests. This is the seafood display and ice carving.
This station includes chilled seafood and a raw bar. One of the most popular stations of the evening.
The shrimp, lobster, and half shells are all locally sourced and was so fresh.
On the back kitchen counter, a bread bar including the house made garden flatbreads, with sour cherry-rosemary focaccia, and warm Parker House rolls.
There was also Caesar Salad with lots of parmesan cheese and homemade croutons.
My Short Rib Blended Mini Sliders were passed around – trays emptied in seconds.
Ramekins of my Pasta Limone were also a big hit.
And here’s one of three caviar cart stations, where one could eat caviar atop mini blinis or on the bump – a refined, direct-to-skin tasting on the hand to get the full, pure flavors of the fish roe.
We also had a pierogi making demo station.
Desserts include Classic Crème Brulée.
There were also samples of my chocolate cake.
And one of my own favorites, mini Upside Down Lemon Meringues.
Here I am with Christie Brinkley in front of the “step-and-repeat” backdrop. It was great to Christie at the event. (Photo by Yvonne Tnt/BFA)
Here I am with Johnny Weir. It was nice to see him again after the winter Olympics in Milan. (Photo by Yvonne Tnt/BFA)
Here I am with Jason and members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation’s Tribal Council – Chairman Rodney Butler, Councilor Daniel Menihan Jr., Councilor Rahiem Eleazar, and Secretary Matthew Pearson. (Photo by Yvonne Tnt/BFA)
I was happy to see some of my own Bedford staff at the party as well. Here are Adan Morales, Fernando Ferrari, and my driver Andres Velastegui.
Christina Lombardi, Sophie Roche, and John Rice were instrumental in organizing and planning the event. (Photo by Yvonne Tnt/BFA)
Longtime friends Jim Klinko and Layton Thomas never miss my events.
And look who else stopped by to celebrate the grand opening of The Bedford by Martha Stewart at Foxwoods – rapper 50 Cent. (Photo by Yvonne Tnt/BFA)
We all had such a fantastic time at the opening celebration of my new restaurant. I hope you visit soon. The Bedford by Martha Stewart at Foxwoods serves breakfast and dinner seven days a week with lunch on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
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