Its been a crazy month and in addition to a number of other omissions, I forgot to post the April newsletter that went out on April 30.
Blue Gate Farm News – Volume XVII, Number 3 – April 2012
Weather notes:
Precipitation to date this
month: Rain 3.9”
Hail: golf ball-sized
What’s up on the farm?
For one of us at least, the theme for the season may be “Tuck in your flappables, Mabel, storms a-commin’!”
We were lulled into a
relative sense of complacency this spring. The weather was warm and mild. We were able to get into the gardens earlier
than ever to start prepping the beds and sowing early seeds. The fruit trees bloomed with crazy abandon and
even though they were about three weeks early, the weather continued to be so
agreeable that we almost thought we were going to escape a freeze. Almost. Then the weather returned to a more seasonable
normal. The immature fruit on most of
the trees was lost. No apricots, plums,
nectarines, mulberries or pears this year. The peaches, oddly enough seem to be holding
on. The jury is still out on the apples.
Even the asparagus froze to the ground,
although it recovered days later as new spears broke through.
We were making exciting
progress on the barn, too. The new main
floor has been poured, complete with drains and plumbing connections and the
electrical work was moving out into the lean-to, where the new walk-in cooler
is to be built. Ah, the electrical,
which tends to be run high on the wall and require ladders for
installation. Sean was working on the
electrical project late on April 11th when he fell about five feet
off a ladder. He broke his left humorous
and fractured the left side of his pelvis in a couple of places. Jill got him quickly to the Knoxville ER who
did x-rays and started IV pain medication (they also had to cut away his
Carhartt jacket and heavy hooded sweatshirt – oh well). Transported by ambulance to DM Mercy Hospital
for more intense care and an MRI. Fortunately no surgery needed, able to travel
home Friday afternoon, and expect full mending within eight weeks – then PT. Sean can slowly move about the house with the
aid of a cane. New routines around the
house with Jill as chief nurse and on the farm with Jill and her dad picking up
much of the slack.
On Saturday night, April 14th,
it was windy and raining on and off until shortly after Sean’s brother pulled
into BGF from Chicago. Suddenly the
north wind increased, the rain fell harder and golf-ball sized hail pounded the
farm. We thought our northern windows
would break given the weight and velocity of the hail but alas no window damage
– several friends in the area did suffer multiple broken windows. Our damage was hail pitting on automobiles
and hundreds of punctures on both layers of the two high tunnels roof plastic
(thankfully all insured).
So we are now trying to find
our new balance. The regular chores of
the farm continue on, as do the escalating duties of spring. The large high tunnel is in full production,
in preparation for farmers market. The
onions, leeks and shallots have all been transplanted into the garden, as have
200 pounds of seed potatoes. This week
we start on the cabbage and broccoli transplants. The garden peas, head lettuce, radishes,
spinach, mustard, beets, turnips, arugula and kale were all seeded in the past
weeks and are up and growing nicely. Nearly every flat surface in the sunroom is
filled with tomato, eggplant, okra, peppers, cucumber, squash and herb
transplants. Everything is growing like
crazy, including the weeds and the grass! Jill’s dad and Sean’s brother have tended to
all the hives on the farm and most of the colonies are growing big and
strong. Honey supers will go on soon! Our target is to keep about 28 hives this
summer.
The DM Farmers’ Market opens
it 26 week season on Saturday, May 5th. Hours from 7:00 am to 12 noon. Look
for us at our new location on the NW corner of Court & 2nd. Once market opens, weekday egg sales at
Ritual Café will cease for the summer.
Last minute update: This newsletter was supposed to go out yesterday, but there were
complications with Sean’s recovery and he was shuttled from his doctor’s office
to the local ER then via ambulance to a Des Moines hospital. He was in a great deal of pain and they
were anxious to deal with some blood imbalances to alleviate the problem. So
we’ve had a bit of a hitch, but expect to work through this one as well. Our
attendance at the opening market on Saturday is a bit up in the air as of
today, we will try to keep folks updated as we are able. Please don’t be
dismayed or alarmed if we are a little delayed in responding to any
correspondence for a few days.
2012 CSA Season
Statements to all members
were e-mailed out over the weekend.
Please let us know if you did not receive a statement. The
full balance for all CSA members is due May 1st unless other
arrangements are made with us. We
anticipate the first delivery of the 2012 season to be the first week of June,
weather-depending. Prior to the first
delivery we will hold orientation meetings for our new members – more info
later.
That’s about it
this month, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and Blue & Luci)
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