In order to keep my working farm and all its gardens, allées, and groves as beautiful as possible, I pay lots of attention to the maintenance and care of all my trees. This time of year, my outdoor grounds crew is busy pruning many of the trees, including my allée of lindens.
Lindens, Tilia, are medium to large sized shade trees that are easy to maintain and attractive in any landscape. I have two linden tree allées - one that runs from the old corn crib all the way down to the chicken coops and the other slightly older allée near my stable. These trees, with their pyramidal shape and slow growth, are excellent specimens for the type of pruning called pollarding, a very severe method that involves cutting the branches back either to the trunk, or even all the way down to the top of the trunk to promote the growth of club-headed stems and dense new foliage and branches. Pollarding should be done annually. We started pollarding these lindens in 2021, and we've noticed good development in the years since.
Enjoy these photos.
This allée of linden trees is in its third year of pollarding. Pollarding is started when a tree or shrub reaches a certain desired height. The technique helps to shape them so that the trees stay healthy and safe.
These lindens have grown beautifully here at the farm over the years. This photo was taken in fall when the trees were full of leaves and just starting to turn a golden hue before dropping. Lindens have a loose canopy that produces dappled shade on the ground below, allowing in just enough sunlight for shade grasses and flowers.
The bark of the linden tree is gray-brown and on mature trees it is also ridged or plated.
The branches are light brown to gray and the growing twigs are mostly red-tinged. Here, Pasang starts the process of pruning and pollarding this linden. The best time to prune and pollard trees is when the trees are dormant, during the cold winter months. It’s best to complete all pruning before early spring when the buds begin to form. Dormancy pruning reduces the amount of stress placed on the tree. And, the reduced flow of fluids in the tree during the time helps the pruning wounds heal quicker.
Pasang cuts off suckers and low dead, damaged, diseased, or crisscrossing branches. He uses a good pair of Okatsune bypass pruners. Each crew member always carries a pair of sharp snips. Remember, a sharp tool always cuts clean, and helps the plant to recover better. Dull cutting tools rip and shred the plant tissue.
For those branches that are higher or farther away, Pasang uses our STIHL extended-reach pole pruner. It has a cutting capacity of up to 3/4-inch making it perfect for suckers and new growth. The blades are crafted from hard chrome that resists rust and corrosion – it’s a great tool for this job.
It also features an ergonomic, 250-degree rotating arm for precise cutting.
Here, one can see the unpruned branches on the left and the pruned branches on the right. Notice the tops are starting to develop the “nubs” or “knuckles” – these will look even better in a couple more years. More thought and planning goes into pollarding than regular topping, and lopping. Pollarding is similar to coppicing but when a tree is coppiced, it is regularly cut back to ground level to stimulate the growth of vigorous, new stems.
By the next day, an entire side was complete. This day was much more sunny. This entire process takes a few days to do properly by hand, but it is all worth the efforts to have well-manicured, healthy trees. In pollarding, each year the long slender shoots that grow below the cuts are removed, and a set of new shoots develops creating this gnarled appearance.
Down below, the crew spreads out a large tarp to catch all the fallen branches. This makes cleanup a lot easier and a lot faster.
Once the tarp is full, the branches are loaded onto a truck and taken to a designated pile for the wood chipper. Moises just pulls the tarp onto the back of the truck. Traditionally, the cut branches were either burned as fuel or used for building. Pollarding was a way of using wood over time, rather than cutting it down and having only one-time access to its wood.
My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, manages all the work from below and controls our trusted Hi-Lo – lifting Phurba and Pasang from tree to tree. It’s important to have someone on the ground watching out for the safety of the crew.
When cutting, Phurba is essentially forming a “knuckle” or “bole” by removing growth back to the main stem.
At the base of every branch is a distinct bulge where it connects to the trunk of the tree or an older branch, known as the branch collar. Phurba makes the cut just beyond the branch collar. On longer, heavier branches, it is wise to make a couple separate shallow cuts before the final to prevent any bark tears if the branch falls while being removed.
Here is a closer look at one branch completely pruned for the season. The small branches are cut close to keep their growth compact.
It is good to see the progression from year to year. This photo was taken in April 2021, a couple of months after we first pollarded these trees.
Notice the tips of the branches – the nubs are quite small.
Last year, the nubs are larger and more pronounced.
And this year, the trees are looking even more nubby. And don’t worry, pollarding isn’t harmful to trees at all as long as it is done properly and on a regular basis.
Pollarding can actually help make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and windage of the top part of the tree. By the end of the second day, nearly all the trees are complete. Some of the other types of trees that can benefit from pollarding include beech trees, black locust trees, catalpa trees, hornbeams, horsechestnuts, London planetrees, mulberry trees, redbuds, and willows. There are many ways of pruning and training trees to grow in unusual shapes. I am pleased with how this allée is turning out. Wait until the trees are all full of leaves this spring – they are sure to be beautiful.
Have you signed up for our Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon meal kits yet? Every week, I get a delivery of ingredients for three delicious, nutritious, and time-saving dishes that are just perfect for lunches or dinners here at the farm.
Recently, while I was away traveling for business, my housekeeper, Elvira Rojas, cooked one of the meal kits I selected from the week's menu - my own Classic Lemon Chicken Pasta with Spinach & Parmesan. It's an easy, satisfying, and flavorful meal that is so quick to prepare. The entire dish was cooked in 30-minutes and every bit was devoured. Our Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon delivery meal kit service features so many inspiring recipes and cooking ideas, and you can choose the recipes that best fit your family's busy lifestyle. If you haven’t yet tried Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon, please go to the web site right now and subscribe today and see our flash deals!
Here are some photos.
Every week, when we cook our Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon meal kits, we remove all the ingredients included and place them on the counter. These ingredients are pre-portioned and come in easy to open packaging. All one needs to provide is the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
One of the great things about our meal kits is that we include a large recipe card with the photo of the finished dish on the front with the estimated cooking time listed…
… And images on the back showing each of the main preparation steps. Plus, we include the ingredients list, the tools or supplies needed, and a rundown of the nutrition values. These recipe cards are great to save for future use.
The first step is to zest all the lemon. Elvira uses a microplane and runs the lemon up and down over the surface, scraping off the yellow skin into the bowl. Lemon zest, or the zest of any citrus fruit, refers to the outermost layer of the peel known as the flavedo. This layer contains natural oils that are full of sweet citrus flavor.
She also uses my own citrus press to squeeze two tablespoons of lemon juice into a separate bowl.
Then, Elvira prepares the marinade. This Tuscan Spice Blend is included in the kit with all the other necessary dry ingredients for the dish. A Tuscan spice blend includes ingredients such as dried basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, fennel seeds, and garlic powder.
In he bowl, Elvira combines the spice blend along with three tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of the lemon juice.
We sliced the chicken breasts into strips before cooking, but one can also cut them after the chicken is cooked.
The chicken is cooked through in a skillet with two tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. This takes about four-minutes per side. Afterwards, it is transferred into the bowl with the marinade and set aside.
When ready to cook the pasta, be sure the pot is filled with enough water to cover the pasta. Use about four quarts of water for every one pound of pasta. In general, the more pasta one is cooking, the more water is needed to prevent the pasta from clumping up too much in the pot. Also add some salt to the water and make sure it is boiling before adding the pasta.
Elvira cooks the pasta until al-dente. For this specific pasta, that’s about eight to 10-minutes.
The kit also includes a pre-portioned amount of Parmesan cheese. Elvira grates all the cheese and sets it aside.
The pasta is ready. In cooking, al dente describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm to the bite. The exact translation from Italian is “to the tooth” and is the ideal consistency for pasta. Molto al dente is the culinary term for slightly undercooked pasta.
Then, after one cup of the pasta cooking water is reserved, the pasta is drained over the spinach – also included – which cooks it just enough until it wilts.
The remaining pasta water is poured back into the pot and heated again over medium-high heat until it is simmering.
All the mascarpone is added and stirred until melted. Mascarpone is a soft Italian acid-set cream cheese.
Elvira adds in the lemon zest, remaining lemon juice, and all but four tablespoons of the Parmesan. It is all stirred completely and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.
The pasta and spinach are added to the sauce…
… and then tossed to coat and sprinkled with salt and pepper to taste.
Finally, the chicken is served over the pasta with any remaining marinade spooned over the top along with a sprinkle of the remaining Parmesan. This dish was so easy to prepare and so delicious. The final result looks just like the photo. These meals are so flavorful. Nothing was left over. Please go to the web site and sign up today!
This time of year is breeding season for the peafowl and geese, but I also have some very young residents at my farm that are already thriving - three baby Silkie chickens.
I love raising all kinds of chickens, but among my favorites is the Silkie. The Silkie, also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken, is a breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy, satin-like plumage. This breed is very calm and friendly. I have quite a few in my flock, and last month another three hatched right here in my incubator. They came from the 2023 Northeastern Poultry Congress - a poultry show held every year in Springfield, Massachusetts. Now, several weeks later, they're strong, alert, and will soon be ready to move into their new coop.
Here are some photos - and be sure to watch out for an entire show dedicated to hens and chicks coming up on "Martha Gardens" on the Roku Channel.
Down at the stable, we set up our incubating and hatching equipment from GQF Manufacturing, Inc. in Savannah, Georgia – a company that specializes in game bird and poultry supplies. There are several crucial conditions needed for proper embryo development in all birds. These factors include: proper temperature, controlled humidity, and sufficient air circulation.
The eggs are placed into the incubator where they are safe from other birds and closely monitored until they hatch. Chicken eggs take 21-days. While the eggs incubate, they are automatically turned once a day, 45-degrees each way, back and forth during this period. From days 17 to 21, they’re placed into this hatching cabinet, where it is still warm. Each egg has its own section, where it safe and cannot roll during the hatching process.
After the chicks hatch, they are placed into this cage in the same room. The room is kept very warm and the chicks are checked often.
Soon after, these three adorable chicks are hatched and walking around exploring their new surroundings.
This gray Silkie chick was a bit unstable at first, so we gently tape the legs for a few days until he gets stronger.
Fresh, clean water is always provided. In fact, every chick is personally shown where their food and water sources are, so they know where to find them.
The chicks are fed organic chick starter for the first six to eight weeks.
A heat lamp is placed into the cage to keep it extra warm. Baby chicks need constant monitoring until they are at least a month old. Chicks require an air temperature of 95 degrees during the first week, 90 degrees the second week, and so on – going down by around five degrees per week until they’re ready to transition to the coop.
Within days, they are all up and about and playing and interacting with each other. They also peck at each other playfully.
Wherever one goes, the others follow. There are eight Silkie color varieties accepted by the American Poultry Association. They include black, blue, buff, gray, partridge, splash, and white.
On the left is a stuffed toy we always put in with our chicks. They like to lie beside it and later use it as a perch. The red glow is from the heat lamp.
By the next week, these three are more curious and more vocal.
This one is also very interested in greeting any visitors that come by. Because they are raised here at the farm, they quickly become used to everyone on the crew and all the noises.
All these chicks have clear eyes and are very alert – signs of good health.
Here is a black Silkie chick – notice, Silkies have black eyes.
The chicks are now taller than the stuffed toy.
And look, one is strong enough to use it as a perch.
Meanwhile, Pete prepares the chicks’ next home – a small coop just outside the Stable.
Pete secures a galvanized steel eye bolt and chain from the ceiling of the coop to add another heat lamp.
The chain is adjusted to the proper height needed for the lamp – about a half foot, so the the chicks can safely sit underneath it if needed.
I also have Sweeter Heaters located in the coop. Sweeter Heaters are safe, energy-efficient, and reliable heaters for chicken coops and other animal enclosures. We got ours from My Pet Chicken.
I have two Sweeter Heaters in every coop at the farm during winter.
Here, Pete screws on the red bulb for the hanging heat lamp.
And gives it a test – it works perfectly. Any wiring will be safely secured away from the lamp.
The coop is now ready with sufficient heat sources. The nights are still quite cold here in the Northeast. Once the chicks are moved, they will remain here for another several weeks until they are big enough to move into the chicken yard to live with the others. They will still be monitored often to ensure they are comfortable and safe.
These three will be friends their entire lives. I am looking forward to seeing them grow and enjoy their time here at Cantitoe Corners. If you are interested in raising beautiful and productive chickens, please look out for my Roku show “Martha Gardens.” In an upcoming episode, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about hens, and chicks, and roosters, my favorite breeds, and give you a tour of my coops.
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