So much is growing around my Bedford, New York farm - this week, the tulips are in full bloom.
Every year, I always plant a variety of tulips in my garden. For this season, I planted a small selection in rows specifically for cutting. Tulips, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes, are perennial plants that open up each spring. They're grown for their graceful leaves and bright, cheery blooms. Some are traditional and cup-shaped, some have fringed petals, others have pointed ones, and some are full of fanciful ruffles. Yesterday, we cut trays of gorgeous tulip flowers to display in my home.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Tulips normally begin emerging from the ground in late winter or early spring. If mild winter weather causes premature growth, the danger is not as great as it may seem. Tulips are quite tolerant. I have some tulips growing in my flower cutting garden, in one section of a garden behind my main greenhouse, and on the side of my greenhouse where I previously grew some strawberries.
Tulip bulbs are planted in the autumn before the ground freezes. And always plant them in a sunny area with well-drained soil.
These are ‘Silver Parrot’ tulips with silver-white and flamboyant fuchsia-pink petal edges and highlights. Parrot tulips have showy, fringed, and scalloped plumage.
Early in the morning, Enma and Elvira cut the tulip flowers and carefully placed them on sheet pans. Tulips have a fascinating history. Although closely associated with Holland, tulips were first cultivated in Turkey. The name tulip is believed to be derived from the Turkish word for turbans, “tulbend,” because of their resemblance. They gained popularity in Europe in the 17th century, peaking in 1636 to 1637.
Look at all the gorgeous cut flowers. Most tulip plants range between six to 24 inches tall.
All the full trays are then placed in the back of my Polaris Ranger ready to be taken up to my Winter House.
Right away, the cut flowers are brought into the servery where they can be trimmed and placed into vases. There are currently more than 3,000 registered varieties of tulips – separated in about 15 divisions based on shape, form, origin, and bloom time.
Tulips have been hybridized in just about every color except blue. Most tulips have one flower per stem, but there are some multi-flowered varieties.
Enma and Elvira cut the stems at a 45-degree angles so they don’t sit flat in the vase. They also remove any leaves under the water line to prevent any rotting.
To remove the leaves, gently pull them back and peel them away from the stem. The broad, strappy leaves of tulips have a waxy coating that gives them a blue-green color. There are usually two to six leaves per plant.
I like to keep like colors and same varieties together, but tulips can be mixed depending on preference.
Here, Enma places all the ‘Silver Parrots’ in a vase. When cutting, select those that are just about to open fully, when they have about 75-percent of their full color.
This vase of ‘Silver Parrot’ tulips were cut this weekend by my granddaughter Jude. They opened perfectly.
Here’s an all white arrangement – gorgeous pure white tulips, one cannot even see the vessel in which they are displayed.
Inside, a touch of soft yellow.
Once the flowers are in a vase, Elvira carefully pours the water. Tulips last longer in shallow water, so no need to fill to the very top.
These yellow tulips with bright red streaks are striking for cut arrangements.
They are now displayed in my sitting room on a table. They stand out beautifully in this room. Keep cut flowers in a cool area as heat reduces the bloom time.
These tulips are in my entrance hall. And do you know… tulips follow the sun even when they’re in a vase? Watch them. Tulips also continue to grow even after they’ve been cut.
These tulips are on the counter in my servery, where I can see them every morning on my way to my kitchen. What tulips are in your garden? What colors are your favorites? Share with me in the comments section below.
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.
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