Our busy vegetable gardening schedule continues with the planting of four long rows of asparagus.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, I already have several asparagus beds located in the back of my flower cutting garden. Every year, we harvest bunches of delicious spears. I decided to plant more asparagus in my new garden. We won't be harvesting these for at least three years as asparagus needs all that time to develop, but after that they will produce an abundant crop of spears spring after spring.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Asparagus are edible shoots, commonly called spears that rise early in the spring from underground stems called crowns. This asparagus is growing in my flower cutting garden now, where the plants are already about 10-years old and well established.
Every spring, we pick lots of beautiful and delicious asparagus. Asparagus is a long-lived perennial plant that has been cultivated for centuries. Asparagus, or garden asparagus, is also known by the folk name sparrow grass. Its scientific name is Asparagus officinalis.
Here is a trug bucket filled with asparagus from the garden. These plants can produce for 15 to 20-years and more.
Here are the young crowns ready to be planted. Each of these is about a year old. These are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, one of my favorite sources for seeds, vegetable plants, tools, and supplies – I’ve been using Johnny’s for years.
Asparagus has modified adventitious roots that swell to store food and to support the plants.
Before planting, Brian prepares the rows in the bed. Using stakes and garden twine, Brian measures where the four long rows will be planted.
Ryan secures the twine at the other end. Asparagus prefers a sunny location in well-amended soil with a pH of 7. This soil has already been fed with lime, and good, nutrient-rich fertilizers.
Here, Brian begins digging the trenches for the asparagus plants. Depth of planting is critical. If too shallow, the plants will produce a large number of small spears. If planted too deep, the spears will be large, but few in number. Brian digs furrows that are at least eight-inches deep and a foot wide.
Brian digs each furrow and carefully piles the soil in berms, which will later be backfilled over the plants.
There are four long rows dug in this bed – at least 18 inches apart. Next, it’s time to plant.
These are the long asparagus roots. Asparagus roots grow very deep because they can survive very long in the soil.
Ryan drops the plants into the trench one by one. We have two varieties to plant – ‘Purple Passion’, which produces attractive purple spears with a mild, nutty flavor and are reputedly sweeter than most other asparagus varieties. The other is ‘Millennium’ – a productive plant that produces high-quality spears that are tender, green, and delicious.
The crowns are placed about a foot apart. The root systems need lots of room to grow. The crown and root system can develop to an enormous size – about five to six feet in diameter and 10 to 15 feet deep.
Here they are lined up in the trench.
Next, Brian positions each plant. With the bud upright, he splays the roots as best he can.
Here is a closer look. Brian spreads the roots out and lightly presses them down so they stay in place.
Once all the crowns are positioned, Brian covers the row with several inches of soil. As the weeks progress and growth appears, the rows will be backfilled a bit more making sure the tips of the shoots are all but completely covered.
Each row is marked with the variety name.
Brian is careful to backfill, so the splayed asparagus roots are not disturbed.
Finally, a good drink. Asparagus beds require consistent soil moisture during the first growing season. Once established, these plants will be relatively low-maintenance. I am looking forward to watching these young tender asparagus crowns develop and thrive.
'Tis the planting season, and the beds in my vegetable garden are filling up quickly. We already planted a variety of crops including a selection of brassicas, artichokes, rhubarb, lettuce, and herbs.
We also planted two large beds of potatoes. Potatoes are grown from “seed potatoes”, which are certified disease-free and specially grown in nurseries for planting purposes. This season’s “seed potatoes” came from High Mowing Organic Seeds, an independently-owned, farm-based seed company in Wolcott, Vermont.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
Every year, we order a selection of potatoes to plant in my vegetable garden. This year, some of the varieties we are planting include Burbank russet potatoes, dark red Norland potatoes, Elba potatoes, German butterball potatoes, red Chieftain potatoes, Satina potatoes, Yukon gem potatoes, and Yukon Gold potatoes.
When preparing the seed potatoes for planting, some of the bigger varieties – bigger than the average-sized chicken egg – are cut into pieces. Each piece should have at least two eyes – those growing points on potato tubers.
Each cut side of potato is then coated with Douglas fir bark dust.
This dust helps to heal the sliced area, so it doesn’t shrink or curl. The slightly acidic bark is also a natural fungicide and moisture buildup barrier.
Ryan carefully dips each piece into the dust until it is completely coated. Potatoes contain 18-percent starch, two-percent protein, and small amounts of vitamin-B6, iron, niacin, magnesium, thiamin, folic acid, and potassium. They are also a good source of vitamin-C, low in sodium and easy to digest.
And here’s Blackie, everyone’s favorite black greenhouse cat. He loves watching Ryan work in the head house.
All these potatoes are Yukon gold, known for its outstanding flavor and texture. It’s a popular variety and is good for baking, boiling, and frying.
This potato, with its coppery reddish skin, is called red Chieftain. It is a mid-season variety that produces round to oval-shaped tubers.
Red Chieftain has white inner firm, moist flesh. These spuds are great for boiling, baking, and for making French fries.
Some potato varieties are small enough and don’t have to be cut. These are Satina potatoes – oval round tubers with smooth texture, yellow flesh, and yellow toned thin, smooth skin. The eyes on Satina potatoes are also shallow.
Each variety is kept in a separate tray with its identifying tag. Ryan goes through each bag and assesses which potatoes need cutting and coating.
The next day, all the potatoes are brought out to the garden. If you follow me on Instagram @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen some photos of my giant new vegetable garden. Wait until you see the entire building process on an upcoming episode of “Martha Gardens” exclusively on the Roku Channel.
Here, Ryan lines up the trays next to where each potato variety will be planted. The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum.
The first step is to create the trenches. Ryan decides how many trenches he needs in each bed and lines up bright colored garden twine where the trench will be dug. Here, he starts to dig shallow trenches under the twine using a garden hoe.
There are four long trenches that run the entire length of each bed and are about five to six inches deep. Potatoes can be planted in cooler soils at least 40-degrees Fahrenheit.
Ryan starts at one end and places the potatoes into the trenches – one variety to each trench.
Ryan makes sure there is equal spacing between each one. Potatoes perform best in soil with pH levels 4.8 to 5.5. Potatoes are easy to grow as long as they have access to full sun and moderate temperatures.
Then he pushes each one into the soil with eyes faced up and cut sides down. When selecting seed potatoes, avoid planting those from supermarkets in case they were treated by sprout inhibitors.
Ryan stopped for a quick photo. Trenches should also be at least one to two feet apart to give the potato plants ample room to develop.
A marker is placed at the end of each trench to identify the variety planted.
Once all the potatoes are in the ground, Ryan backfills the trenches with the nutrient-rich soil, fully covering the potatoes at least four-inches. Potatoes do best in well-drained, loose soil, and consistent moisture.
Finally, the bed is watered. Potatoes need at least one-inch of water per week. Potatoes require less water to grow compared to other staple foods such as wheat, rice and corn. I cannot wait until harvest time from this new garden. A first modest harvest of potatoes should be ready about 65-days after planting.
Our annual tree potting and planting project continues at my Bedford, New York farm.
Every year, I try to plant as many trees as I can. I feel strongly about reforestation and giving back to the earth, so the more trees planted, the better. Many of them come to me as bare-root cuttings that are then potted in individual containers where they can develop strong root systems for two to three years before being transplanted to more permanent locations - in allées, in groves, and in large groups in the woodland. It's a big undertaking every spring, but it's so satisfying to see these trees grow and flourish.
Enjoy these photos.
I have tens of thousands of trees here at my farm. In fact, I made this old and beautiful sycamore the symbol of Cantitoe Corners. It stands tall and majestic in the back hayfield where I can see it every time I tour the property.
The bigger and older trees are original to the farm, but I have thoughtfully chosen, planted, and maintained thousands since I moved here.
These trees line one of the carriage roads – the layering of colors from afar is so beautiful. These trees were just feet tall when we planted them.
This allée of lindens is one I designed and planted. It runs from the carriage road next to my pergola all the way down to the chicken coops.
Because we plant trees every year, they are all in different stages of growth.
Here is the area we once used to grow our pumpkins. I decided it was better suited to store our young potted trees. We lined it with industrial strength weed cloth and carefully placed our potted specimens in organized, rows by tree type.
We recently received our order of trees from JLPN, a three-generation family owned tree company in Salem, Oregon that focuses on growing deciduous seedlings and softwood rooted cuttings. These bare-root cuttings are all American Sweetgum.
The sweetgum’s roots are shallow, particularly in its native, moist habitat, but these trees can also develop deep vertical roots directly beneath the trunk in well-drained soils.
Each bare-root cutting is placed into an appropriately sized pot. The root section should fit into the pot without bing crowded at the bottom. Healthy bare-root trees get off to a more vigorous start because their abundant, roots have already had a chance to develop unrestricted.
Pasang plants each specimen carefully, so it is straight and centered in the container. Then Pasang tamps down lightly after the pot is backfilled so there is good contact between the tree roots and the surrounding soil.
Each tree is placed into the soil where the roots start and the top shoots begin.
Here is a mature American Sweetgum in autumn. The American sweetgum, with its star-shaped leaves, neatly compact crown, interesting fruit and twigs with unique corky growths called wings, is an attractive shade tree. It has become a prized specimen in parks, campuses and large yards across the country.
Here, Phurba places a group of sweetgums into the wagon. It is important to keep the trees organized in their groups for identification. They are difficult to identify without the leaves.
The trees are then lined up in the enclosure with narrow aisles in between labeled sections.
These are bald cypress trees. Still bare of any foliage, these cuttings are just twigs in pots…
… That grow up to look like these mature specimens I planted when I moved here. This stand of bald cypress line one side of the carriage road across from my winding pergola. Nestled beneath the bald cypress on one side is my Basket House, where I store all my rare, antique, vintage, and contemporary baskets.
The leaves are compound and feathery, made up of many small leaflets that are thin and lance-shaped. Each leaflet is less than two inches long, alternating along either side of a central stem. They are a medium green in summer and turn russet brown in fall. Like trees with leaves, bald cypress trees drop their needles in autumn leaving the tree – well, bald.
Here’s Chhiring giving all the trees in the “nursery” a good drink. Also in this collection – dawn redwoods, Metasequoia.
The Metasequoia is a deciduous, coniferous tree that grows in a conical shape to 100-feet tall. This tree is just starting to leaf out. As the tree matures, the trunk broadens at the base and develops attractive and elaborate fluting with deeply fissured bark.
These are parrotia trees in late summer – also first nurtured in individual pots before being transplanted to this area outside my Equipment Barn in 2019. Parrotia persica ‘Persian Spire’ is in the family Hamamelidaceae, closely related to the witch-hazel genus Hamamelis. It is native to northern Iran and southern Azerbaijan and it is endemic in the Alborz mountains.
And of course, the beautiful smoke bush, Cotinus coggygria, seen here during summer. These small trees and shrubs are thriving here in this middle field allée backed by London Planes.
I am a firm believer that caring for bare-root cuttings in pots before they go to more permanent locations gives these trees a stronger start. Tomorrow, April 22, we celebrate Earth Day – an annual event supporting environmental protection. I hope this inspires you to plant a tree this weekend – or two, or three…
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