It’s always exciting to watch the gardens, groves, and allées throughout my farm continue to evolve, mature, and expand.
Over the past couple of weeks, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew have been busy adding new trees to the landscape. Most recently, the team planted nine crabapple trees, varieties of Malus ‘Adams’ and Malus ‘Royal Raindrops,’ from our friends at Select Horticulture, Inc. in nearby Pound Ridge, New York. The trees were planted in a grassy area just off one of my carriage roads, not far from what I call my “Christmas Tree Field,” where I’ve planted hundreds of evergreens, including Fraser firs, Canaan firs, Norway spruces, blue spruces, and several other varieties. This open location will give the new crabapples plenty of room to establish themselves, grow, and flourish.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here are three of the nine crabapple trees placed near the locations where they will be planted. I select the locations for all my trees. It is important to take into consideration the mature size of the tree to ensure it has enough room to develop and thrive.
The trees are from Select Horticulture, Inc. – a great source for large, interesting, and beautifully maintained specimen trees and shrubs.
This crabapple, Malus ‘Royal Rainbow,’ will grow up to about 20 feet tall and 12 to 20 feet wide.
Crabapples typically produce fruit in late summer to early fall. The red berries attract many birds. These trees are filled with berries.
The red berries of Malus ‘Royal Rainbow’ are small, round crabapple fruits, typically under an inch in diameter, with a bright red to scarlet color.
The leaves are deep purple to reddish‑purple and are about three inches long.
The rule of thumb when planting is to dig the hole two times as wide as the root ball and no deeper than the bottom of the root ball. Each hole is manually smoothed out and prepared to ensure it is sized appropriately. Digging a wide planting hole helps to provide the best opportunity for roots to expand into its new growing environment.
The protective wrapping and any wire or rope are removed from the root ball. If left untouched, these wrapping materials could reduce the ability of a tree’s roots to grow out into the surrounding soil. Some gardeners leave them in the ground, but I prefer to remove everything, so there is nothing blocking the root growth.
The wire cage is removed before the tree is placed into the hole. Some of the top materials are left on until the tree is lowered, so the root ball remains intact.
Pasang and Alex slowly roll the root ball into position. Only hold it by the root ball and the base of the trunk – never by its branches, which could easily break.
Pasang removes any remaining wrapping materials from the root ball once the tree is in the designated hole.
As it is removed, all the protective cages and coverings are placed by each tree, so we are sure it was taken off.
All the trees look great, but I always ask the crew to position plantings with the best side facing the walking path or area where guests see them most. Alex uses a piece of wood to maneuver the tree into place.
The entire area is sprinkled with fertilizer. The crew uses an organic all purpose plant food from Miracle-Gro.
Once in place, the rest of the hole is backfilled.
The crew also adds nutrient rich compost made right here at my farm.
A crucial step in growing healthy trees is to plant them at the proper depth. Planting a tree too deep can kill it. Plant it only at its flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk.
Then the area is raked neat and tidy.
Crabapple trees thrive in full sun, with at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. These trees will flourish in this space.
Here are six of the nine planted on one side – another three are planted across the carriage road. And they were all planted just in time. We are expecting to get lots of rain over the weekend – everything at the farm will get a good watering.
Here at my farm, we’re in the midst of a very busy fall planting season, making the most of the mild weather before the ground becomes too cold.
I make a point of planting many trees every year - the more, the better - for the environment and for my developing landscape. A recent project involved planting a variety of evergreens near my pond. In addition to adding year-round color, texture, and interest to the area, these trees will eventually create a lush, green privacy screen.
Enjoy these photos.
Among the evergreens already planted here are these arborvitae, Thuja plicata ‘Green Giant’ – fast growing evergreen conifers with pyramidal growth habits.
The foliage is dense, rich green, scale‑like, and arranged in flattened sprays, often turning a slight bronze color in winter.
In the most ideal conditions, these trees grow about three to five feet a year, topping at a mature size of up to 60-feet tall and 20-feet wide.
These trees are now established and doing very well in this area not far from my small pond.
They are planted about six to seven feet apart to provide ample room and good privacy screening when mature.
Planting continues with an assortment of spruce, white pines, red pines, firs, and others. First the hole is dug at least twice the size of the plant.
Fertilizer is sprinkled in the hole and in the surrounding soil.
I use Miracle-Gro Organic All Purpose Plant Food. It’s good for both outdoor container and in-ground plants and feeds for up to three-months.
This young tree is removed from its pot and the root ball and its roots are scarified. Scarifying helps promote healthy growth and nutrient absorption by loosening the roots and allowing them to expand into the new soil.
It is then placed into the hole and checked for proper depth. Planting a tree too deep can kill it. Plant it only at its flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk.
Next, the hole is back filled and the top soil is groomed neatly. In time, this tree will fill out nicely in the space.
This white pine tree was also just planted. In most managed landscapes, these trees typically reach heights of 50 to 80 feet, but can grow much taller in undisturbed forests.
Pine leaves are long, needle-shaped and typically grow in bundles.
In contrast, blue spruces are cone‑shaped evergreens with stiff, silvery‑blue needles arranged radially around the branches, giving the tree its dense appearance.
I also have viburnums in this space. And while many viburnums are deciduous and lose their leaves in winter, they show off spectacular displays of fragrant flowers that bloom in early to mid‑spring.
Trees planted in varying sizes creates visual interest and depth in the landscape.
Larger trees provide partial shade and some windbreak for the trees below.
I’ve planted most of the trees here at my farm – thousands and thousands of trees. This time of year, the evergreens stay green while nearby deciduous trees turn yellow, orange, or red – all creating seasonal contrast and beauty.
It’s been a wonderful apple season here at my farm! This year’s harvest has yielded more than 60 quarts of fresh cider, and now I'm putting more delicious apples to good use by making homemade applesauce.
I have many apple trees throughout my property, including some original to the farm that continue to produce flavorful fruit, espaliered trees I planted shortly after moving here, and, of course, the many varieties growing in my orchard. Yesterday, my housekeeper Enma began preparing batches of fresh, naturally sweet applesauce.
Enjoy these photos and the easy process for making your own.
Once fall arrives, it’s time to harvest the crisp, juicy apples from the hundreds of trees throughout my farm. We pick many off the ground along with those hanging from the branches.
Enma starts picking the apples for the applesauce. A mix of tart and sweet varieties will do nicely.
The apples used don’t have to look pristine, but they should be free from spoilage, moderately firm — not too hard and not too soft or mealy — so they break down smoothly.
Enma washes the selected apples thoroughly with cold water.
She cuts each apple in half.
Next, she cuts them in quarters.
Here she removes any seeds she sees. This is important because seeds are tannic and cooking with them will impart a bitter taste. Enma leaves the skins on them. Cooking the apples with their skins saves time and provides a nice color to the sauce.
All the discarded pieces will go straight to my chickens – they love pecking at the sweet fruits.
Enma places the apple pieces directly into a heavy-bottomed pot. Apples, Malus domestica, are low in calories, rich in dietary fiber and full of antioxidants.
She adds the juice of half a lemon for every dozen or so apples. Lemon juice helps keep the apples from browning, because it is full of ascorbic acid and has a low pH level. It also helps bring out the color from the skins.
Next, Enma also adds about a cup of water before cooking.
And look who’s watching – Luna Muna and her daughter, Half Moon. Good girls.
She sets the pot over medium to high heat just until they start to cook. And, guess what? That is all you need – no sugar at all. The apples will start to cook right away.
Within minutes, they start to soften.
Occasionally, Enma stirs the apples with a wooden spoon to prevent burning.
Here’s another pot that has been cooking for a bit longer. The process doesn’t take long – the skins fall off after about half an hour to 45-minutes.
The apples in this pot are all cooked down.
The apples are scooped in small batches into this stainless steel multi purpose food mill ricer with strainer over a bowl.
Enma places a couple of ladles full of apples into the hopper and turns the handle that presses them through small holes to create a light, lump‑free sauce, leaving the skins.
And, what you end up with is pure, naturally sweet and delicious applesauce.
Enma scrapes any bits off the bottom of the mill.
And look how much sauce is made. And there are still so many more apples to go!
Once done, the sauce is left to cool on the counter before going into the refrigerator. Applesauce is a versatile ingredient that works in baking, breakfasts, savory dishes, and even as a healthy substitute for oil, butter, or eggs, making it useful far beyond snacking.
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