Early Spring Chores
We’re expecting a mix of sun and clouds in Bedford, New York today with temperatures in the upper 30s - a little chilly, but still good weather for continuing our outdoor work and early spring chores.
The crew is busy with many projects, including mulching the garden beds, removing the old bales that insulate my hoop houses during winter, preparing the hoses and sprinklers, blowing all the dead grass and leftover leaves, and of course, beginning the task of pulling off all the burlap that has covered my boxwood since last December.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- We had a pretty mild winter here in the Northeast, so my outdoor grounds crew has been able to get a strong start to all our early spring chores around the farm. Among them – blowing and removing all the leaves that were not blown last fall.
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- Pete and Fernando rake old leaves and other debris off the carriage roads.
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- Bigger branches pruned from the elm trees outside my Summer House are piled nicely, so they can be picked up later and chipped for top dressing.
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- Over in my small pond, dead, fallen trees and branches are pulled out carefully.
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- Here, Fernando rakes and levels the carriage roads. Potholes are formed when precipitation seeps into the pavement causing it to expand and contract, and ultimately crack with freezing and thawing. This is a high traffic intersection at the farm, so tending the roads is done a couple times a year.
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- In my old vegetable garden, Pete tills the soil, adds a new layer of composted soil, and then tills it again.
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- We planted two rows of herbaceous peonies here last year, but I also decided to plant other flowers here for a new cutting garden.
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- I am fortunate to be able to make my own hay right here at the farm. Most of it is fed to my horses, but during the cold season, uneaten or old bales are positioned around the perimeter of each hoop house to prevent drafts. Two-stringed bales can weigh between 40 and 75 pounds, and much more when wet. Jimmy takes the heavy bales to the edge of the carriage road for pick-up.
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- And here’s the crew after loading the hay onto our trusted Kubota tractor – Cesar, Pete, Juan, and Jimmy.
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- Pasang is in the woodland blowing old leaves leftover from last fall. He’s using one of our very dependable STIHL backpack blowers.
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- Just like clockwork, once the weather starts to change, the hoses, which were neatly stored in our stable barn, are all taken out for distribution.
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- A hose and two sprinklers are neatly placed near every bib. We use hoses and many stand up sprinklers from Gilmour, a Madison, Wisconsin-based company that’s been manufacturing watering equipment and solutions for more than 65-years.
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- The Equipment Barn floor is blown and washed clean also – making for such a refreshing start to the season.
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- In the stable office, Carlos cleans all the windows and doors. This is an interior glass door connecting one of the offices to the front vestibule.
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- The Equipment Barn lunchroom is also given a thorough cleaning.
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- The window frames and windowsills and all wiped down.
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- And remember all the burlap? It has held on very well this winter, protecting all my boxwood from the heavy snow and winds. It’s time to take it all off. Here’s Chhiring folding the burlap removed from the boxwood at the pergola.
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- The burlap is rolled neatly, labeled and then stored until next year.
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- I love seeing all the greenery revealed in spring.
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- And mulching also continues. The mulch is carried by wheelbarrow to the beds and then spread out into a thin layer over the bulbs.
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- Overseeing all the action – my beautiful Chow Chows Empress Qin and Emperor Han. I hope you’re able to get a good head start on your spring tasks wherever you are.
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