I always enjoy learning about organic farms, stands and specialty markets - it is not only fun to see what others sell, but also very inspiring to learn how these entrepreneurs select their produce and promote sustainable farming practices.
Last week, two from my Bedford, New York farm went to nearby Stamford, Connecticut to visit Mike’s Organic, a small delivery service and warehouse shop that focuses on providing healthy and delicious foods to its clients. Under the direction of founder and owner, Mike Geller, Mike’s Organic Delivery team partners with farmers, fishermen, artisans and producers, personally picks up the products and then delivers them to hundreds of customers each week. Mike’s Organic also runs a retail market, where patrons can shop for items themselves - fresh vegetables and fruits, pastured meats, wild fish, grass fed dairy, and a large variety of organic pantry staples, prepared foods, beverages and more. I've tried many of Mike's Organic offerings, and love them all. I encourage you to visit the web site - just click on any of the highlighted links - to learn more about Mike’s passionate work.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
Tucked away in an old, industrial warehouse building in Stamford is Mike’s Organic – it’s been described as “the underground market for cool kids”. Mike founded Mike’s Organic in 2009, after leaving his corporate advertising job and spending three months in the African bush where he realized his passion for wholesome, fresh foods.
Mike Geller, on the right, and his VP, Mackenzie Judson, welcomed our team and led a brief tour of the shop. Mike’s other VP, Chris Kimball, is responsible for most of the product sourcing, and was out of the office at the time.
Near the entrance to the store – rustic metal vases filled with locally grown flowers were displayed for sale.
Many of the farm fresh organic vegetables, such as these carrots, come from Hepworth Farms in Milton, New York. (Photo courtesy of Mike’s Organic) https://www.hepworthfarms.com/
Here’s a crate full of freshly picked organic broccoli. All the vegetables are picked up on a regular basis by Mike and his team. Mike says “transparency and connection are paramount” and makes it a priority to connect consumers to those that grow, make, raise and sometimes catch the foods they eat by visiting these farmers and artisans himself and speaking with them regularly.
This Romanesco is from Lakeside Organic Gardens in California. Romanesco is an edible flower from the family that includes broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. It tastes very similar to cauliflower, but with a slightly nuttier, earthier flavor. http://www.lakesideorganic.com/
Here is a crate of organic onions – yellow and red. These onions go very quickly. Customers signed up for delivery shop Mike’s online market, order and await delivery during the week – it’s so easy.
Aside from attending lectures and volunteering at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Mike also grows his own vegetables. Here is a sample of some of his homegrown garlic. Mike says he and his colleagues all love to garden, and cook. (Photo courtesy of Mike’s Organic)
The Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op in Pennsylvania provides fresh potatoes, which are picked up or delivered to Mike’s Organic once a week. https://lancasterfarmfresh.com/
And here is a crate of Brussels sprouts and avocados – everything is so very fresh. If items are sourced out of the New York tristate area, they are flown and picked up from the airport within 24-hours.
Here is Mike holding some beautiful Swiss chard from T & D Willey Farms, or Road-20 Farms, in Madera, California. http://tdwilleyfarms.com/
Mike also sliced some Asian pears to sample – so sweet and juicy.
I love citrus, and as you know, I grow many of my own, but these blood oranges look very good.
Signs on all the freezers indicate what is inside. Mike’s Organic market has several large freezers of pastured meats and wild-caught fish.
This freezer is filled with pasture raised beef and pork – everything sourced to reputable, organic farms.
One of Mike’s Organic main sources is The Piggery in Ithaca, New York – Ithaca’s only farm-to-table butcher shop and wholesaler. http://www.thepiggery.net/pigblog/
In the dairy fridge – organic milk from Kimball Brook Farm in North Ferrisburgh, Vermont. http://www.kimballbrookfarm.com/
These pastured eggs come from the Karl Family Farms in Modena, New York. https://www.karlfamilyfarms.com/
Mike’s Organic also sells fresh berries – and a favorite treat among shoppers – cookie dough from Ross Bread + Coffee in nearby Ridgefield, Connecticut. Each cookie dough ball makes two large cookies, but patrons often say sometimes they “don’t make it to the oven”. https://rossbread.com/
Organic turkey and beef broths are stored in this freezer.
And as part of their pantry offerings – blueberry and strawberry jams as well as a variety of butters.
And a variety of vinegars and oils.
This olive oil is from Sicily – a case of it was personally delivered during our visit – made in Italy, flown to the United States and then delivered straight to Mike’s Organic.
They also carry pet treats from WellPup, which contains both prebiotics and probiotics to nourish the dog’s digestive tract and maintain overall intestinal balance. https://www.wellpupkitchen.com/
Mike’s team hosts about four to six events per year, including cooking demos, classes, and other daytime events. (Photo courtesy of Mike’s Organic)
Here is Mike ringing up our groceries. It was so hard to choose – there were so many great items.
Here’s a big bag full of fresh vegetables for my green juice, fruits, a bottle of olive oil and a specialty tin of caviar – I love caviar.
And here it is back home on my Flower Room counter – such a delicious bounty of broccoli, Swill chard, celery, oranges, Romanesco, spinach and more. If you live in the area, I encourage you to look into shopping through Mike’s Organic – you’ll love it. Just go to the web site for more information. https://mikesorganicdelivery.com/
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, patches of snow and ice still cover the ground, but inside my greenhouse there's a flurry of spring activity. I’ve spent many hours watering, trimming and cleaning, while my gardener, Ryan McCallister, has been busy repotting, and starting vegetables from seed in preparation for the coming growing season.
Starting onions from seed isn’t difficult. They can be planted closely together in seed starting trays, and because they are shallow-rooted, they can be pulled apart easily when ready for transplanting outdoors. Many of our seed trays and supplies are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds - we've been using Johnny's for years. Once planted, the onion seeds remain in the greenhouse until they’re moved to my vegetable garden. And by mid-summer, we will have lots and lots of beautiful, fat bulbs to harvest.
Enjoy these photos.
Seed starting trays come in all different sizes and depths. We use trays with shallow compartments for planting onion seeds. These trays are from Johnny’s. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/
Each tray has 200 square cells. Because I use a lot of onions for cooking and for sharing with my family, we plant many trays of onion seeds.
Ryan fills the seed starting tray with mix and pats it down lightly into each compartment.
It’s best to use a pre-made seed starting mix that contains the proper amounts of vermiculite, perlite and peat moss. Seed starting mixes are available at garden supply stores.
Ryan uses a scraper to level off the soil mix in the trays. The soil should be level with the top of the tray.
To create a quarter-inch deep furrow in the middle of each compartment, Ryan places one tray over another and presses down lightly, so the bottom of one tray makes indentations in the soil-filled compartments of the other.
You can see the small indentations in each compartment – this is where the seeds will be planted. This is a great method when planting multiple trays.
Another way to create a quarter-inch deep furrow in the middle of each compartment is to press fingers gently into each cell. This can be done pretty quickly especially if only seeding one or two trays.
Once the trays are all prepared, it is time to drop the seeds.
Our onion seeds are started in February every year, which is about two months before the last frost in this area.
Ryan labels the seed markers and keeps them together with the matching packets.
Once he is ready to drop the seeds, Ryan places a marker into one of the cells, so it is clear what variety is growing in what tray.
Onion seeds are very small, so be sure to take your time dropping them into the tray cells. It’s also a good idea to keep a record of when seeds are sown, when they germinate, and when they are transplanted. These observations will help organize a schedule for the following year.
This is a hand seed sower from Johnny’s Selected Seeds – it is one option to help drop the seeds into the trays.
Just pour a generous amount of seeds into the center dish and then screw the plastic top back onto the hand seed sower and adjust the amount of seeds that will be released at one time.
Here, Ryan begins to drop onion seeds evenly into each compartment.
If preferred, you can also use your hands. These are ‘Cabernet’ onion seeds. ‘Cabernet’ produces medium-large globe-shaped onions with deep red color.
It is good to start larger onions from seed, so they can be harvested the same year. Smaller onions can be planted directly into the ground.
These seeds are ‘Pontiac’. ‘Pontiacs’ have very large sized onions and strong, bronze-colored skins that protect the bulb well in storage.
One to two seeds are dropped into each compartment and will be selectively thinned in a few weeks. This process eliminates the weaker sprout and prevents overcrowding, so seedlings don’t have any competition for soil nutrients or room to mature.
Blackie loves to watch gardening tasks from the table.
We grow several varieties of red, white and yellow onions every year.
Once the seeds are dropped, Ryan adds an additional light layer of soil mix, so the seeds are completely covered. Be sure all the appropriate labels are inserted, so there’s no confusion later. When possible, prepare several trays in an assembly-line fashion, and then drop all the seeds. Doing this saves time and simplifies the process.
Ryan uses the scraper again to level the soil in the trays. He does this carefully, so as not to move any of the seeds in the tray.
Ryan also started some leeks – leeks have a mild, onion-like taste. These ‘Megaton’ leeks have upright plants with beautiful blue-green foliage. Fortunately, my greenhouse is large and can accommodate lots of seed starting.
Once the seed trays are done, Ryan will take them to the temperature controlled greenhouse where they will get ample light and heat. He’ll give them a good drink and then cover them with plastic humidity domes until germination begins. These seedlings will remain in the greenhouse for another four to six weeks until they are ready to be separated and transplanted into the ground. What seeds are you starting? Share your first gardening chores of the season in the section below.
I hope you all have a copy of my newest issue of “Living” - our March 2019 magazine is on newsstands right now!
In this issue, I talk about the completion of a transformation project at my Bedford, New York farm. For quite some time, I've wanted to expand the living space in my Winter House to create a peaceful area for writing, meeting and enjoying the beautiful views of the landscape. I decided that enclosing my large porch was the perfect solution, and worked with my architect, Keith Kroeger, to design the room. We installed sliding doors and sidelight windows by Reilly Architectural, and painted the area my signature Bedford Gray. Once the room was finished, I filled it with some of my favorite pieces and accessories, including: shades by Bruce + Hansen LLC, vintage Lloyd Loom settees with horsehair pad cushions by Luther Quintana Upholstery, an antique English desk, my Apple Macbook in their new gold color I love, desk supplies from my Martha Stewart Office collection at Staples, mirrors I brought down from Skylands, my home in Maine, rare 19th century English papier-mache chairs, and antique sconces. I also brought in my large black canary cage and my flock of Red Factor canaries from Marc Morrone, vintage plant stands and plant stands from my collection on QVC as well as various seasonal houseplants from my greenhouse. You will love the finished result - pick up the issue and take a look at how it all came together. You can also go to marthastewart.com for great ideas on how you can update or transform the rooms in your home.
Here are some photos of the transformation process - enjoy.
The first step was to remove the balusters from the original porch, so double-sided sliding glass doors could be installed. The “before” picture is in the March issue of “Living”.
These balusters are still in great shape, so they will be stored away and repurposed in a future project.
All the original windows into the house are covered and protected.
Exterior clapboard siding is removed to make room for vertical wall boards.
Here are the wooden boards for the new interior wall.
Fernando Ferrari from my crew primes the boards outside on a mild, sunny day.
Once the wall boards are primed and dry, they are put in place ready for painting.
Any adjustments to the stonework were completed and the floors cleaned.
The team from Reilly Architectural installed several double-sided sliding doors on three sides of the room creating unblocked views of the horse paddocks and gardens.
Here, the team makes sure everything is level and secure from inside and outside the new space. The windows will allow fresh breezes all summer long.
All the windows at the farm have matching custom-fitted bronze screens, so we put the same type of screens on all these doors.
These are the new Reilly sidelight windows, which will be positioned perpendicular to the door on both sides.
The frame for the new entrance is completed and the sidelight windows are installed.
Back inside, everything is properly insulated, so the room is completely usable through all the seasons.
Here is my original front door after it’s removed from the old spot and about to go into its new location just feet away.
The doorway leading into my foyer is covered to protect it from any dust and debris – this is where the door used to be. You will see the difference it makes to move a door just several feet forward in the March issue of “Living”.
Here is a view during the painting phase of the project – everything is coming together so nicely.
All the walls are painted my signature Bedford Gray.
Next, Bruce + Hansen LLC, installed beautiful shades on all the doors and windows.
Everything is measured twice, sometimes three times, to ensure everything is lined up perfectly.
After each shade is installed, the chain pulls are tested and cut to the appropriate lengths.
On the west side of this room, I decided to put up a black out shade behind the decorative shade because this window gets all the heat in the summertime – it will provide just the perfect amount of shade protection.
I wanted to move my darling Red Factor canaries to this area, so I could hear them sing while I worked. Here are my strong outdoor grounds crew members, Chhiring, Pete and Phurba, carrying the cage into the space.
The birds will love this new location and all the outdoor views and activity.
I needed a desk for this space, so I chose this antique English desk I already had. It was the perfect size for my laptop, a phone and all my needed desktop accessories.
We brought it in and experimented with how it was positioned. If you’re trying to place furniture in a room, don’t be afraid to try different formations or directions in which a piece faces – you can always change it back. Be sure to go to my web site at marthastewart.com for great tips and ideas on redecorating and reorganizing any room in your home.
Here are all the drawers for the desk – we removed them for easier transport. I labeled where each drawer goes, so everything could be put back properly.
I found these decorative medallion curtain holdbacks to place around the room. There are no curtains here, but they add texture and fun to this newly transformed space.
As you know, I love houseplants, so I added some in this room right away – beautiful big-leaf alocasias.
The houseplants will vary depending on the season, but I love keeping them in this sun-filled space. Here are pots of rhipsalis atop my new black Adjustable Metal Plant Stands and Tables from my collection on QVC.
Mirrors with gold leaf trim add a wonderful touch – I just love how the entire room came out. Please see the finished result of our hard work in the March issue of “Living” and learn more about what inspired me to create such a peaceful and inviting space – you will love the story and the photos! This issue is on newsstands now – get yours today!
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