Here at my farm, I always try to impress upon my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew to "use the right tool for the right job" - for efficiency and for safety. Among our favorites are the durable, easy-to-use items from STIHL.
I've been using STIHL products for a long time. STIHL is recognized as a worldwide leader in outdoor power equipment and offers an extensive lineup of different pieces including professional-grade chainsaws, blowers, trimmers, pressure washers, brush cutters, and so much more. STIHL's pieces also come powered by gas or portable battery. These dependable tools allow the crew to successfully complete the many, many tasks around my working farm.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I keep all the STIHL tools in my large Equipment Barn where they can be kept organized and ready-to-use.
Not long ago, my friends from STIHL delivered a selection of new products for different tasks – some battery operated, some gas-powered, and some manual. Plus, new charging equipment to help keep all our battery-operated units ready-to-use.
It is used to cut through heavy growth with its durable 9.84-inch circular saw blade.
Adan Morales, who works on my outdoor grounds crew and handles all the lawn and brush cutting equipment sets it up to test and cut some of the unwanted growth in my hayfield.
Having easy access to all the controls makes it very efficient and safe. This brush cutter also has a powerful low exhaust emission engine that saves on fuel.
STIHL also offers mowing equipment. I have this STIHL RMA 756 V push mower. A push mower is a walk behind unit that an operator pushes forward or backward to mow the lawn. This machine has a cutting height range from one to four inches to accommodate a variety of different grass types, terrains, seasons, and weather conditions.
This 22-inch deck, long-lasting, powerful battery push mower makes accurate cuts and easy running wheels for maneuvering and line holding during operation.
Adan knows exactly which mowers are best for every area of the farm. Here he is mowing the narrow areas in between my pin oaks in the allée. Another benefit of this mower is that it is equipped with a mono-comfort handlebar, which is sturdy and secure.
I’ve been using STIHL’s backpack blowers for years here at my farm. Both the gas and battery powered units are powerful and efficient. This is the STIHL BRA 600 which features an exceptional power-to-weight ratio for heavy-duty work and optimal comfort. The radial fan motor with noise reduction also keeps noise at a minimum.
These blowers are used all year round. Fernando secures the three-point harness which makes it easy to carry and operate.
Here’s the battery-powered blower that’s used every day to blow leaves and other debris off the terraces and footpaths around my home.
The HSA 140 T hedge trimmer provides high blade speed, small tooth spacing, and low tooth height for precision hedge trimming and sculpting. Phurba uses it to groom the tops of my lilac trees by my home.
When it comes to smaller touch-ups, the HSA 26 Battery-Powered Garden Shears work great. The HSA 26 is lightweight with a rubberized handle for user comfort and a secure grip. It comes with its own roll-up case to store all its accessories. I use this tool all the time too.
STIHL’s most well-known tool is the chainsaw. STIHL designed and built its first electric chain saw in 1926 and 94 years later, it is still one of its best pieces of equipment. The chainsaw has soft grips for comfortability and secure maneuverability. STIHL offers gas-powered chainsaws as well as battery-powered chainsaws.
My crew makes sure to maintain all the chainsaws and sharp tools regularly. The STIHL blade tools are sharpened often to keep them in the best working condition.
For charging batteries, STIHL offers this AL 301-4 Port Multi Charger. It can sequentially charge up to four AP batteries, making it ideal for large set-ups like mine.
And STIHL also offers manual tools. Pasang uses STIHL loppers to prune the hawthorn trees behind my chicken coops. STIHL loppers come in 28-inch and 24-inch sizes.
And don’t forget safety equipment whenever working with sharp tools. All my STIHL tools and supplies keep my team ready to take on any task at any time. Thanks, STIHL.
Summer weather here at my farm is expected to be very hot and humid today - possibly climbing to 90-degrees Fahrenheit.
By this time every year many plants have already reached their flowering peak for the season, but the trees, most of which I've planted through the years, are still so beautiful and lush with foliage.
Enjoy these photos.
Every single day I am home, I tour the farm to see how all the gardens, trees, and plants are doing. Every specimen is special. These trees line the main carriage road to and from my woodland.
I’ve planted thousands and thousands of trees here on my 153-acre farm – in and around the gardens, along the carriage roads, and throughout the woods. I love how they look in the landscape and how they change through the seasons. Most importantly, we need trees for the environment – they help combat climate change, provide habitat and food for birds and other animals, and release oxygen for us to live. This is my allée of pin oaks, Quercus palustris, which I planted soon after moving to my farm. At that time, they were just about six feet tall.
Down behind the chicken coops is a grove of dawn redwoods. Dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, grow faster than most trees and need an area under full sun that is large enough to accommodate the trees which can grow to more than 160-feet tall. One of their distinguishable characteristics is the deeply fissured bark on mature trees.
I have many Japanese maples just in this woodland near my chickens. I always look forward to their gorgeous displays of color, especially in autumn.
The Atlas Cedar has a bold, pyramidal form with sparkling silvery blue foliage. It is among the most popular evergreen conifers.
In the same area, I have several scholar trees, also known as Japanese pagoda trees, Styphnolobium japonicum. These are deciduous trees grown for the white flowers borne in late summer after most other flowering trees have long finished flowering.
From a distance, everyone notices the weeping willows. These are in a grove at the edge of my pinetum. Weeping willows are wide and tall with graceful curtains of drooping branches that sweep the ground.
This is a mature hickory tree. Hickory trees are one of the most important hardwood trees in North America. They are robust, durable and valued for their nut production. The hickory is a variety of species within the Carya genus. There are about 12 species of hickory native to North America.
This is a ginkgo. Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back 270-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history.
The leaves are unusually fan-shaped, up to three inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze.
On one side of a carriage road in my back hayfield are these red maples. The red maple, Acer rubrum, is a fast-growing tree native to North America. It is a member of the Sapindaceae family and can grow up to 70 feet tall at a rate of 18 inches per year.
On both sides of the carriage road in another hayfield, I planted an allée of London plane trees and about 100 royal purple smoke bushes, Cotinus coggygria.
The London plane trees are loved for the large three-lobed, toothed, dark green leaves that turn yellow, orange, and red with the fall season.
They are also known for the exfoliating bark, which is a natural process that helps the tree shed old bark to make way for new growth.
From this side of my long and winding pergola, one can see the towering bald cypress, Taxodium distichum – a deciduous conifer. Though it’s native to swampy areas, the bald cypress is also able to withstand dry, sunny weather and is hardy in USDA climate zones 5 through 10. I also planted these when I took over my farm.
Outside my Winter House is this weeping katsura, one of my favorite trees. Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. pendulum has pendulous branches that fan out from the crown and sweep the ground. Caramel-scented foliage emerges bronze or purple-red, turns blue-green, then fades to gold or apricot in autumn.
Nearby, off my terrace is this beautiful Nyssa sylvatica, or black tupelo – a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and eastern Texas, as well as Mexico. Its summer leaves are a bold dark green.
But look closely and see the changing color. This Nyssa tree is showing a few of its autumn leaves – shades of yellow, orange, bright red, and scarlet, which can all appear on the same branch. It’s a sign that autumn is not farm away.
From my driveway one can see this catalpa tree with its large heart-shaped green leaves. In late summer, early fall, it starts growing long, slender bean like seed pods.
I am very proud of my orchard. Look at this peach tree laden with fruits. I’m having a great peach season. There are more than 200-fruit trees planted in this orchard – apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, pear, medlar, apricot, quince, and peach trees. There are so many more interesting trees at my farm, but i hope this helps you to appreciate some of the beautiful specimens where you live – perhaps even inspire you to plant one.
Rain or shine, chores have to be done each and every day.
Here at my farm, my gardeners, housekeepers, stable team and outdoor grounds crew are constantly working off a running list of important tasks. During the summer season, these include pruning and grooming the trees and shrubs, watering all the garden beds, maintaining equipment, tending the vegetable garden and harvesting what is ready, and of course caring for all the animals.
Here are some photos.
The boxwood shrubs around my farm are pruned and groomed regularly every year. This boxwood surrounds my herbaceous peony bed. Boxwood is slow growing compared to other shrubs. Typically, the growth rate for most varieties is three to six inches annually. It’s important to prune them regularly to maintain shape and encourage new growth.
Phurba Sherpa is my resident boxwood pruner – he does a great job trimming all the shrubs carefully by hand.
Here he sharpens his Japanese Okatsune shears. The shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes.
Ryan and I keep a very close eye on plant feeding schedules. Here he is feeding the roses and boxwood outside my main greenhouse. I just redesigned this garden bed which now includes my newly released Martha Stewart hybrid tea rose and a selection of young boxwood shrubs I nurtured from bare root cuttings.
Chhiring is also working in this garden – mulching the area with material made right here at my farm.
One side is completely done – it looks so beautiful and manicured.
In the vegetable garden, Cesar continues to maintain the growing tomatoes. He checks them every day to make sure the fruits and vines on which they grow are off the ground.
Here’s Elvira helping with the latest harvest. I’ve had such a productive artichoke season.
Outside the stable, Carlos “Dos” washes and grooms the dogs. My handsome Chow Chow Emperor Han seems to enjoy all the attention.
The donkeys are very happy in their new shaded enclosure under the pines. The fly masks keep the pesky summer bugs from biting.
Not far, Helen gets Geert ready for an afternoon in his pasture. Geert is one of my four striking Friesians. I think he’s pretty excited about the milder weather. This day was in the mid-80s.
Bond waits patiently in his stall for his turnout in the paddock.
Don’t forget to water, water, water. Here’s Phurba adjusting a Gilmour telescoping sprinkler to water the beds outside my flower cutting garden. All the watering around my farm is done by hand, so sprinklers are moved every hour.
I also use soaker hoses where applicable. Here’s Fernando positioning a soaker hose under the boxwood around my peonies.
Pete carefully positions soakers underneath the pergola boxwood. These Gilmour soaker hoses deliver low-pressure water directly to plant roots through tiny pores, reducing evaporation, runoff, and water waste.
During this time of year, one can often find Ryan in the vegetable garden checking on what is ready for picking.
Here’s just a portion of one day’s harvest – so many carrots and beets.
Cesar works in the flower room to wipe the newly harvested potatoes.
And who is this looking for love? It’s Mayo, also known affectionately as “May-May.” She is very friendly and curious.
And here’s Mayo’s sister, Cinco – also in line for a good scratch or rub. This week is expected to be another hot one here in the Northeast with temperatures soaring once again into the 90s. My farm crew works hard rain or shine to ensure everything functions at its best.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
