Many gardening chores are best done in winter when the plants are dormant. Among them - pruning.
My blueberry bushes produce an abundance of fruit every summer, but they do need some maintenance to keep them productive. Pruning produces larger berries in greater volumes, ensures good air circulation and light throughout the plants, and helps to control diseases that may otherwise spread through the patch.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Blueberries are among the most popular berries for eating. Here in the United States, they are second only to strawberries.
Blueberries produce from early summer through fall. I pick cartons and cartons of blueberries each year. What is not eaten fresh is frozen and used throughout the seasons.
Blueberries are plump, juicy, sweet fruits that are low in fat, yet packed with vitamin-C and antioxidants. Everyone at the farm loves to pick these delicious fruits.
Blueberries are ready when they are completely blue. One may want to pick them as soon as they turn, but it’s actually best a few days later, when there are absolutely no hints of pink or green on the fruits.
Now the blueberries are bare of foliage and any fruit. It’s the best time to do some pruning and grooming.
Pruning blueberries is an essential chore for several reasons. Proper pruning maintains an open growth habit, opens the center of the plant to sunlight, and reduces disease. Annual pruning also maintains productivity by encouraging the growth of new fruit-producing stems.
In winter, flower buds are easily visible on one-year-old wood and their numbers can be adjusted by pruning to regulate the crop load for the coming year. New growth shows visible swelling of the flower buds. It also indicates good healthy plants. This stage can tolerate cold temperatures.
When pruning, it’s the four Ds that are removed – dead, diseased, damaged, or deranged branches. The stems are cut off all the way to where they join a thicker branch.
Most of the job can be done with garden pruners. Everyone on my crew has a pair. Here, Ryan cuts a dying branch.
The crew also makes sure all the tools are extremely sharp, so they make clean cuts.
At the base, blueberry bushes have multiple canes growing directly out of the soil in clumps. The canes or branches are smooth and thornless. When pruning, cut about one-third of the branches all the way down to the ground to stimulate new stems to emerge from the roots.
Adan occasionally stops to look at the work he has done and assess where else the bush needs trimming. The goal of good blueberry pruning is to remove enough old growth to encourage the production of new.
I instructed the crew to leave those branches that protrude from the sides – I wanted the bushes to remain full.
The posts are the same 18th-century Chinese granite uprights I use for the clematis pergola, my apple espaliers, and my raspberry bushes.
Here’s just one load of pruned branches ready to be taken to our chipping pile.
Phurba rakes up any debris in between the rows.
And then the patch is ready for a good layer of composted mulch.
The middle of the rows look so much better – no more overcrowding. And they look so tidy top dressed with nutritious composted mulch. Blueberry shrubs are actually extremely hardy. Some varieties survive down to minus-35 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, blueberries need a set number of hours below 45-degrees in order for their flower buds to open and produce berries. Without ample cold weather, blueberries do not produce fruit.
Pruning and grooming takes some time, but the benefits are great. With good, regular maintenance, my bushes are sure to produce bounties of fruits year after year.
The next time you're looking for something interesting and inspiring to do, consider attending an art show. It's a great way to appreciate and support the creativity and hard work of the artists involved.
Last week, my operations manager, Matt Krack, attended the second annual Nameless Art + Design Show in New York City. This show focuses on the works of unknown American makers between the years 1600 and 1970. Two dozen dealers from around the country participated in this year's event. Many of the pieces exhibited were utilitarian such as furniture and business supplies. There were also paintings, sculptures, textiles, and children's toys - all made by unknown, little-known, and possibly forgotten crafts people.
Enjoy these photos.
The show was held in Chelsea, a downtown neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan. While it is largely residential, it is also a center for art and includes more than 200 different galleries.
This booth was presented by Warren Battle based in Hudson, New York.
Among Warren’s pieces was a carved and painted owl decoy with shotgun shell eyes. It was made in the early 20th century.
This is a 19th century folk art wooden horse toy made with a real horse hair tail.
Another toy on display was this wooden elephant with movable legs surrounded by other wooden animal friends.
Matt picked up this piece – a charming berry box. Also made by hand by someone unknown.
Other works were by little known craftsmen. This antique miniature cut-paper silhouette is signed by TB Gray, circa 1866. This fine work was presented by Portmanteau Antiques. Paper cutting art was referred to as a “scherenschbitte,” which is German for ‘scissor snips.’ The practice began in the United States with German immigrants in Pennsylvania.
This piece caught Matt’s eye. It was shown by dealer Cathy McLaurin and John Osorio Buck of Labor and Glean who noted that it was purchased in Alabama, but nothing was known about the artist who made it. The entire piece is painted and decorated – even the undersides.
This piece was shown by Adam Irish, Antiques & Americana. The designer is unknown and shows a half man – half lighthouse wooden sculpture.
Scott Filar and Joy O’Shell had this fun object – a business promotional sign for Family Protein Centers. It was built using scraps – dowels, a toy, individual glass letters, and wood. It focuses on the nutrition pyramid of the 1950s which included eggs, meat and milk.
This was from the Evan Grant booth – a steamship etching on coal, circa 1920. Perhaps the artist was a sailor who carved it during his service on the ship.
On the wall, Evan displayed handmade, and well-used game boards.
Aarne Anton displayed this handmade cabinet on the left clearly marked with “keep out” and “medicine” with drawings of a horse and skeleton, possibly used for veterinary and other large animal remedies. On the right, handmade invention drawings and sketches from 1936 through 1956 done by Stephen Gecik Gessig.
This piece is a handmade clam basket from Maine, offered by South Road.
On this handmade wooden table – a blue ceramic sculpture of a woman on cardboard.
This piece is from South Road Antiques. It is a concrete woman decorated with glitter from the late 19th century. It was found in Connecticut – maker unknown.
Also from South Road Antiques – a group of whimsies in the style of Wilhelm Schimmel. The carver is noted to be from Pennsylvania.
Other objects included these small figurines – wooden and articulated, possibly toys, but very detailed.
This toy truck was created with very detailed axels and wooden sides. Notice the seats – they’re even “upholstered” with scraps of carpet.
And this was salvaged from an Odd Fellows Lodge, an international fraternity. Visitors to this establishment would write on small tags and hang them from this handmade stand.
And this bird was made by Joseph Bernier, a French-Canadian lumberjack who was crippled by a fallen tree accident and started carving to support himself and his family. He wasn’t a well-known artist, but some of his pieces have been shown in museums and other antiques shops.
The weather has been very erratic this winter. Today we're expecting a mix of sun and clouds with gusty winds developing in the afternoon. Yesterday, we had almost no wind, temperatures in the high 40s, and a fresh three-inch coating of light, fluffy snow.
After this latest snowfall, I was out early, before 6am, to plow the four miles of carriage road that meander through my property. The snow stuck to everything - the tree branches, the fences, and all the burlap-covered urns and boxwood shrubs. By afternoon, some of it had melted as temperatures climbed into the high 40s. We're expecting more precipitation in a couple of days and cold, freezing temperatures next week - winter is not going anywhere just yet.
Here are some of the latest snow shots, enjoy.
It was cloudy most of the day, but the sun was there peeking through the clouds.
This snow was quite light and fluffy. This type of snow is caused by colder temperatures leading to less moisture in the air.
Here’s the front of my stable before equine hooves walked through the courtyard.
The snow outlined the drainage grates perfectly.
Here is one of three Blue Atlas Cedars sent by a devotee this summer. It is planted in the north end of my living maze.
And look at this mature azalea. In spring, it is filled with bright pink blooms – now, its branch tips are white with snow.
Azaleas go dormant during winter, allowing them to tolerate the colder temperatures more easily.
Here is the sunken garden behind my Summer House – it looks so different in winter. This snow system covered the burlap almost completely. I’m thankful the snow was light and did not weigh anything down on my precious boxwood underneath.
These apple trees are original to the farm. I call them my “ancient” apples. They still produce an abundance of fruit in the fall.
And here is my half-acre vegetable garden now in slumber.
The privets are holding strong this winter. They do not need any added protection. In fact, they serve as a strong windbreak for other more sensitive evergreens in my maze.
All the evergreens in this maze are doing well. I am looking forward to planting more rows come spring.
Watching all the activity – my handsome peacock. This is one of my “blue boys” perched on the fence top – he has quite a view.
After it snows, my crew sweeps the snow off the burlap that covers most of the boxwood here at the farm. This time of year, I am very relieved the hedges and shrubs are protected. Heavy snow could splay the branches.
Tracks in the snow – I wonder what kind of feathered friend made these.
This corn crib has been here since I purchased the farm. Located near my Winter House and long pergola, it’s become a favorite photo for guests. The allée of lindens runs perpendicular to the Boxwood Allée that leads to my stable. The snow also piled on the 100-year old white spruce fencing I purchased in Canada.
My donkeys, Truman “TJ” Junior and Jude “JJ” Junior don’t seem to mind the winter weather at all. Here they are snacking on hay at the manger.
And here are my big gorgeous Friesians, Hylke and Geert. They would always choose time in the great outdoors regardless of the season.
This is my snow-covered stone yard, a place where extra inventory of the many types of stones used at the farm are kept – slate shingles, marble flooring, granite posts, etc.
The snow clearly marks the rooftops of all my chicken coops.
Nearby are the young boxwood shrubs in what I call the “nursery.” These small shrubs were planted as bare root cuttings. Now they are about a foot tall and just as wide. I will nurture them for several years before transplanting them to their more permanent locations.
Hard to miss the stand of eastern white pine trees, Pinus strobus. They can be seen from many vantage points at the farm. A lot of snow had melted by afternoon. Let’s see what the next storm brings.