Now that the days are getting colder, everyone at the farm is busy with outdoor autumn chores.
To stay organized during seasonal transitions, we follow a schedule of important tasks from one year to the next. I create very detailed lists of all that needs to be done and go over them with the grounds crew every morning. This week, we put up all the storm doors, covered the air-conditioner pits, and wrapped the exterior shutters around my vegetable greenhouse. And, just in time. We're expecting a lot of cold rain over the next couple days - maybe even a bit of snow.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I love this greenhouse. Its construction in 2008 was inspired by Eliot Coleman, an expert in four-season farming. It uses minimal artificial heat – in fact, most of its energy comes directly from the sun, and it successfully grows a variety of cold-hardy crops all winter long.
The greenhouse is equipped with heavy-duty aluminum vent systems – dampers and shutters – that automatically open and close when needed.
Around this time every year, both the inside and the outside of these units are covered to help insulate the greenhouse.
Here, Pete unscrews and removes the exterior shutter.
Next, he cuts a piece of weather proofing plastic just a bit larger than the shutter’s dimensions.
Then he cuts a pice of burlap the same size as the plastic sheeting.
Pete and Fernando wrap the shutter, so the entire front is enveloped in both plastic and burlap.
Using jute twine, Pete secures the burlap on the back side of the shutter. Using twine is better than tape, which could mar the shutter and be more difficult to remove come spring.
Here is the back of the shutter after the twine is tied tightly securing all the corners and sides of the burlap.
Lastly, Pete screws the shutter back onto the damper box.
These vents are now insulated from both sides, keeping the cold air out, so the delicious organic vegetables thrive in their temperature and humidity controlled enclosure all winter long.
Meanwhile, the crew also winterizes my AC pits. I keep all my air conditioners in large pits, where they are well hidden behind each house. In fall, these pits are cleaned out and covered for the season.
They are covered with industrial strength plastic and plywood to protect them from the winter elements.
Here is one pit already covered with plastic and plywood. To make the plywood look less unsightly, we then cover the entire surface with burlap.
Chhiring unrolls a piece of burlap and cuts it to size, leaving just enough on all four sides to fold over like a hem.
Using a staple gun, he folds the edge and staples it to the side of the plywood.
Then, strips of wood are used to secure the burlap. The strips are painted my signature “Bedford gray.”
This air conditioner pit is now all set for the winter. Covering these pits also makes it easier to maintain. Any snow or debris that falls can be brushed to the side before accessing the units below.
And here’s Carlos installing all the storm doors around the farm. Storm doors are framed with wood (like mine) fiberglass or aluminum, and have interchangeable glass and screen panels.
Carlos carefully removes the screen door at the entrance to my gym building. With countless doors here at the farm, this chore takes several hours to complete.
Here, Carlos secures the glass insert into the door frame. All the screen and storm doors are stored in my basement and are specifically labeled to indicate which door insert belongs in what house and what doorway it fits. When changing inserts, it is also a good idea to clean the frames by wiping them down with a moist towel or rag.
Here is the door to my Tenant House – now ready for the cold season ahead. Here in the Northeast, we’re expecting some rain, sleet and possibly even snow before the end of the week. I am glad the farm is ready.
I'm so fortunate to be able to grow fresh, organic vegetables all year round - soon, I will have a new crop of produce growing in my cold frame.
A cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground that utilizes solar energy and insulation to create a microclimate suitable for growing or overwintering plants. Yesterday, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, planted seeds in my large cold frame located just outside the main greenhouse - cilantro, parsley, chervil, spinach, and kale.
Enjoy these photos.
This long cold frame is located between the main greenhouse and my perennial flower garden, where it can be closely monitored during the season. Historically, cold frames were built as greenhouse extensions tucked against the outer walls with southern exposure outside Victorian glasshouses. Here, it is being given a fresh layer of compost.
This year, I decided to use compost-based potting soil mix from the Vermont Compost Company in Montpelier, Vermont. This soil is specifically developed for organic gardening. It is called Fort Vee potting mix.
The mix is very dark and fine. It is a blend of composted manure and plant materials.
Phurba uses a soft lawn rake to spread the blocking soil evenly across the bed. It’s not a thick layer – just a couple inches to provide the bed’s existing soil with more nutrients.
Inside the head house, Ryan labels wooden markers for the different crops. We try to reuse whenever possible. These markers are still in good shape after the last planting and will be fine for use in the cold frame.
Ryan uses a bed preparation rake from Johnny’s Selected Seeds to create furrows in the soil of the cold frame. Hard plastic red tubes slide onto selected teeth of the rake to mark the rows.
It’s a cleverly designed tool for making multiple straight rows in one pass. The depth of the furrows depends on the amount of pressure placed on the rake as it moves through the soil.
Seeds are available online and at garden centers. Many of my seeds come from Johnny’s Selected Seeds – I’ve been using them for years.
The markers are placed along one side of the frame, so they can be seen from the footpath. Ryan and I always work together to decide where everything will be planted. We also plant in succession, meaning we stagger the plantings, so there is always something growing and something to harvest.
Ryan sprinkles the seeds in the furrows. The frame was designed for easy reach from all sides.
Here, one can see how the preparation rake creates the furrows – all evenly spaced a few inches apart.
In cooking, cilantro seeds are called coriander. The “seeds” are actually two cilantro seeds encased in a husk. The husk is hard, round and is light brown or grey in color.
Here are some cilantro seeds in the furrow. Hard to see, but they’re there.
These are chervil seeds. Chervil is a winter-type herb with dark green leaves. It has a mild, sweet anise flavor and is popular for salads, micro-greens, and garnishing. When planting, cover the seeds very lightly with soil as chervil needs some light to germinate.
Parsley is one of the most widely enjoyed culinary herbs. As a medicinal herb, parsley is used as a bitter, aromatic herb that stimulates the digestive process. With its sweet, clean flavor and aroma, parsley is packed with vitamins and minerals, including calcium, vitamin C, and potassium.
Working in an assembly line process, Ryan fills the bed seeds before backfilling the area with soil mix.
Spinach contains vitamins A, E, K, and C plus calcium, iron magnesium and potassium. Spinach grows best in the cool weather of spring and fall. Mature spinach plants can tolerate temperatures as low as 10 to 20-degrees Fahrenheit. Planted about an inch apart, these seeds will mature in 35 to 50 days depending on the variety.
These are kale seeds. Kale is an exceptionally cold-tolerant crop with a sweet flavor enhanced by frost and cold weather. The open-pollinated varieties are excellent for harvesting at either full size or baby-leaf stage, while the frilly hybrids are best for full-size production.
Here, Ryan uses broadcast sowing to spread the kale seeds. Broadcast sowing is a traditional way of planting many types of crops. It’s simpler, faster, and easier than traditional row sowing and works best for plants that do not require singular spacing or that are more easily thinned later.
Here, one can see how close these seeds are compared to those done with the row sowing method.
Once all the seeds are down, Ryan uses a soft rake to carefully backfill all the furrows.
In several weeks, we’ll have gorgeous, nutritious vegetables to eat, share and enjoy – I can’t wait. Do you keep in your cold frame? Share your comments below – I love hearing from you.
Fall is a great time to take care of some of those lawn maintenance chores.
Not long ago, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, took on the task of seeding a piece of land adjacent to my field of Christmas trees. The area had long been used to access the growing trees, various compost piles and my large storage building. Over time, sections became messy, mucky, and unleveled, so Chhiring cleared and cleaned the space, went over it with a chain harrow, dropped the grass seed, and raked - the work has made quite a difference.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
11 years ago, I planted a field of small Christmas trees in a far corner of the farm near my enormous compost piles. 640 Christmas trees to be exact. Over time, the trees have done exceptionally well, but the land next to them needed some care.
One one end are my compost piles. I will share more about them in an upcoming blog. And on the other end of the space is my storage area where I keep various building and repair materials – wooden stakes and boards, metal framing for our protective burlap structures, plastic planters for potting up seedlings, etc.
First, the land was cleared of rocks and debris and then leveled.
Chhiring attached this chain harrow to our Kubota model M7060HD12 tractor – a vehicle that is used at the farm every day for pulling agricultural machinery, plowing, tilling, transporting and so much more. Chain harrowing can be used to break up dead material such as thatch in the sward.
The harrow has a rigid frame that holds metal chain links.
The harrow is supported at the front by a rigid towing-bar.
It works by going over the ground in one pass to prepare soil for seeding.
Here, one can see the difference made after the harrow passes. And see all the dead material it picked up along the way?
Chhiring pulls the chain harrow around and around the field, picking up thatch as he goes. In lawn care, thatch is a layer of organic matter that accumulates on a lawn around the base of the grass plants. Thatch is a combination of living and dead plant matter including crowns, stolons, rhizomes, and roots.
On the right – smooth, harrowed soil. On the left – the area still left to do.
Next, Chhiring prepares the seed. We chose a good quality seed from Lesco Inc., a company that specializes in turf seed for large areas such as lawns, golf courses and sports fields to roadsides and sod farms.
This seed mix is a double eagle perennial ryegrass blend. Be sure to use a seed that is best for the designated region and climate. Chhiring pours the seed into our spreader. We use this spreader for dropping grass seed and fertilizer whenever needed.
Look closely and you can see the seed coming out through the bottom of the spreader. A spreader is used for evenly broadcasting seed.
This process is all done on foot to ensure all the areas are well-covered.
If you follow this blog regularly, you may recognize this tool. It is our own invention – a four-rake contraption that we use primarily to “drag the roads.”
Here is Fernando “dragging the carriage roads” last December before my holiday party. This means, raking the gravel along the roads to level and tidy them. The soft rakes are attached to pieces of wood and hooked up to the back of our Polaris ATV. An additional piece of wood is placed on top for added weight. The crew gets all four miles of carriage road raked pretty quickly using our own handmade and “right tool for the right job.”
Here, Chhiring hooks up the rakes to the back of the tractor and goes over the land to mix up the seed with the soil.
Raking is necessary in order for the seeds to come in contact with the soil so they can germinate properly.
That night, we were lucky to get a bit of rain, so the entire space was well-watered. Now, it’s time to “watch the grass grow.”
And soon we started seeing the sprouts come through the soil. Perennial ryegrass is a popular grass for lawns that get a lot of foot traffic. It grows fast and only needs five to seven days to germinate.
Every day, it grows more and more. I will share additional photos of this area and the compost piles in an upcoming blog. Are you reseeding any lawn spaces in your yard this season? Share your comments with me below.
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