It's very busy and very noisy up at my compost yard - one of the most important areas on my Bedford, New York farm.
If you saw my last blog, you know my outdoor grounds crew has been gathering lots of organic debris - logs, stumps, bark and brush, and piling it all up so it can be taken to the compost yard in preparation for the tub grinder. I like to call in the massive machine once a year or once every two years, to reduce the size of our debris pile into much finer, nutrient-rich mulch. The crew and the tub grinder from Material Processors Inc. in Warwick, New York have made so much progress over the last couple of weeks.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Our piles of debris get larger and larger every year. This is just a small fraction of what will go through the tub grinder.
All along the carriage roads around my farm are piles of organic material ready to be transported to the compost yard. It is a massive project. This pile includes large trees which had to be taken down because they were damaged or diseased.
There are also large piles of smaller branches and limbs taken off the trees before they are felled or picked up from the woodland floor after breaking and falling during storms.
For years, I’ve used a team from Material Processors, Inc. – a 30-year old company that focuses on recycling green waste, and clearing and preparing land spaces for development.
Here, they are using their own grapple and truck to help haul the bulky waste to the compost yard.
Tub grinders are extremely large and heavy, so the team delivers the tub grinder and excavator to the farm the day before to set it up and prepare it for work.
Tub grinders are named for the distinctive in-feed hopper – the large round tub, normally 10 to 14-feet in diameter and roughly six-feet deep. It is moved into position close to the wood pile. Before any equipment is used, all the controls are checked to make sure everything is in good working order.
Tub grinders have a variety of screens for the output. The screen selection for each job is usually based on the type of material being processed and the desired end-product.
A conveyor belt transports the finished product away from the mill and then drops it in a nearby location.
Here’s the tub grinder at work on the first day. The excavator is used to pick up the material using its large “jaws grab” bucket attachment to drop debris into the tub grinder.
Notice the small pile of ground up wood – it is very small at the start.
Every time I call in the tub grinder, the crew works for nearly a month grinding up all the material from around the farm. The jaws on the excavator are huge and can pick up, move and sort several large logs or pieces of debris at a time.
Tub grinders are loaded from the top. Here, one can see a load as it is delivered to the grinder just before it is dropped.
Tub grinders rely primarily on gravity to feed the material into the hammermill at the bottom of the tub. As the tub revolves, the hammermill below, shatters the wood into smaller fragments. Here, one can see the wood in the turning machine.
Here is the continuous discharge conveyor carrying the material away from the machine and onto a mound. It is always sad to see the trees go, but I am glad they can be repurposed into usable rich materials for the gardens. When the pile gets too large, a front loader comes to manage and move the output. This is the second week – the pile of output is much larger.
This output is from a first grind – only the wood. It will go through a second grind and get mixed with horse manure and organic chicken waste to create a nutrient rich mulch.
On the left is a pile of the horse and chicken waste.
After the second grind, the mound looks like this – beautiful, dark usable mulch which we use during the rest of the year to top dress the garden beds.
The machines do this over and over, one load at a time. There is a lot of dust and occasional debris flying around – it is very important to stay several feet away whenever visiting an excavator and tub grinder at work. The team prefers to work on rainy days, which helps to cut down on all the dust. The past few days have been perfect – on and off showers from morning to afternoon. We have a lot more work to do. I’ll be sure to share photos of the finished product.
The cold, snowy, icy days do not have to be spent indoors. In fact, here at my Bedford, New York farm, we get a good portion of outdoor work done this time of year. My outdoor grounds crew is very busy with woodland maintenance - we call it "cleaning the woods."
These tasks are best done during winter when the trees are bare. The team is able to cut dead or broken trees, knock down weeds, brambles, and thorny barberry bushes, and pick up the many fallen branches. Everything is gathered and placed into neat piles along the carriage roads, so at the end all the organic debris can be chipped and spread right back into the woods. Any desirable tree trunks are set aside and cut up for lumbering, and rotten or irregular trunks are reserved for the tub grinder - everything is always put to good use.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
When I moved to my farm, I created carriage roads through the entire property, so I could drive or ride around on horseback and see the gorgeous landscape. This carriage road takes one through the woodland under tall, majestic trees.
The roads also pass over streams like this one – full of clean, running water for all the woodland creatures that visit.
This part of the woodland is in the back field. The trees on the left are dawn redwoods, Metasequoia – fast growing deciduous conifers I planted years ago. This photo was taken in the fall before the fine feathery needles dropped for the season.
But none of the views would be possible without regularly scheduled general maintenance work. Every winter, my outdoor grounds crew spends several weeks “cleaning” the woods. “Cleaning” the woods allows us to reuse and repurpose a lot of natural materials – and it makes the area much prettier. This is a pile of branches brought out from the woodland and piled neatly – many of these fell during various storms.
These are larger trees taken down because they were dead, damaged, or diseased. Many trees are ash trees infested and killed by the dangerous emerald ash borer.
This is a section of the woodland where the trees are dense. At some point, some will be taken down to make room for younger specimens.
Before the tree trunks are felled, smaller limbs and branches are removed first, so the tree is easier to take down with less of a chance to damage other plantings in the process.
Here is a tree getting pulled out and placed into a pile by the carriage road.
My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, carefully maneuvers the trusted Hi-Lo and oversees all the work making sure everyone takes all the necessary safety precautions.
Phurba is securing another line to this huge stump, so it can be removed from the stream. Fortunately the weather has been very mild these last few days. All the snow and ice from the most recent storm has melted allowing the crew to work more safely and efficiently.
For this oak tree and various other light trees, the crew is able to use a strong rope to help direct where the tree will fall once it is cut.
Meanwhile, Pasang, who is our resident tree expert, carefully makes his felling cuts at the base of the tree.
And in just a few minutes, the tree is safely brought down.
The tree may have looked nice from afar, but its base was actually rotting. This tree could have eventually fallen and caused damage to nearby fences or other healthy trees. It was the right decision to bring it down.
Here, Pasang starts picking up the more manageable branches and adds them to the pile.
In another area of carriage road, stacks of trees sit ready to be hauled to the compost yard and the tub grinder.
But nearby, this is a vew of “cleaned woods.” It is so nice to be able to see through the woods to the field beyond.
One can really see the beauty of the landscape. Clearing out dead or overgrown vegetation will also allow remaining plants to receive better access to water, sunlight, and other nutrients necessary to thrive.
And then young, strong seedlings are planted again. Trees are so important – they provide habitat and food for birds and other animals, they absorb carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gasses, and they release oxygen.
Keeping the woodland “clean” is one way I can give back to the Earth and help create a more sustainable planet for my grandchildren, and for everyone. What outdoor chores are you doing this weekend?
Wintertime pruning continues at my Bedford, New York farm - this week, the orchard trees.
If you grow fruit trees, the best time to prune them is now - in winter - or in very early spring before any new growth begins. Pruning not only helps to develop proper shape and form, but also encourages new growth, promotes high fruit yield, and maintains good tree health. My gardener, Brian O'Kelly, has been busy pruning many of the apple trees, so they continue to produce bounties of delicious, juicy fruits.
Enjoy these photos.
Fresh fruit is one of nature’s most delicious products. I have an orchard around my pool filled with more than 200 different fruit trees.
While I have many fruit trees around the farm, this orchard contains an organized selection of apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, peach, pear, medlar, and quince trees. Many were bare-root cuttings when they arrived and now they’re beautiful mature specimens.
These last few years have brought an abundance of fruit. We’ve had bounties of peaches – everyone here at the farm gets so excited for the peaches.
This past season, we also had plenty of pears. I planted many types of Asian pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, which is native to East Asia.
And of course, so many apples.
I already grow hundreds of apple trees here at the farm – some that were here when I acquired the property and others I planted soon after moving here. These orchard apple trees include Baldwin, Black Oxford, Cortland, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Esopus Spitzenburg, Fuji, Golden Russet, Grimes Golden, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Redfield, Roxbury Russet, Windham Russet, and more. This photo was taken in summer.
And this is the orchard now. The fruit trees are extremely healthy, in part because of all the care and maintenance that is done to keep them doing well. Here is a section of apple trees that need to be pruned.
One can see all the growth that has occurred in the last year.
The proper tools for this job include these trusted pruners. If you follow my blog regularly, you may have read my tool sharpening post yesterday. These Okatsune bypass pruners are very sharp and ready for work.
For slightly larger branches up to two-inches in diameter, Brian uses his STIHL bypass loppers.
Brian also brought out his pruning saw. A bow saw, or pruning saw, cuts on both the fore stroke and back stroke and is designed for cutting thicker branches.
I prefer much of the work be done by hand. Cutting by hand gives my trees a more natural appearance and shape.
Brian removes the water sprouts. Water sprouts are thin branches which normally grow straight up from lateral branches and do not bear fruit.
Dead branches, or those without any signs of new growth, are also cut, so the energy is directed to the branches with fruiting buds.
Tree fruit have two types of buds, terminal and lateral buds. Apples flower and fruit on terminal buds. A terminal, or apical bud, is located at the tip of a shoot. A lateral bud develops along the developing shoot at the base of the leaf blade.
Pruning cuts should be made fairly flush to the branch from which it grew. The idea is to leave slight stubs. By removing any more, the remaining branch has too much of an opening for disease to enter. Here, one can see where a cut was made.
Brian cuts branches that are rubbing or crisscrossing each other, preventing any healthy new growth. Basically, the goal is to create a tree with well spaced lateral branches. Any branches which interfere with the tree’s shape or create a dense framework should be removed.
And every so often he steps back to assess his work. A well pruned tree should have a balanced shape. I instruct the crew to cut about a third of the new growth.
One tip – prune with a tarp nearby for cut branches. After the branches are cut, they are gathered, neatly piled, and then either saved for kindling or processed through a wood chipper to make mulch.
Here, Brian removes crowded branches to help let in light and promote good air circulation. Brian is also mindful of the leader. A leader is the dominant trunk of a tree. He defines which one it is and creates a good shape around it.
And cuts should be clean – something that can only be done with good, sharp tools.
By late afternoon, many of the trees are done. This apple tree looks great after pruning. I am looking forward to many lustrous green trees heavy with fruits come summer. There are still a few more to go – keep up the good pruning, Brian.
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