W Rogowski Farm
The Dark Earth News
09-01-2011
Greetings!
As you are aware Hurricane Irene has come and gone bringing over 10 inches of rain and high winds throughout the Hudson River Valley Region. The magnitude of a storm like this has not been felt in this area since 1955. The farmers worked feverishly to harvest as much as we could on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the storm. We pulled all the tomatoes, dug potatoes, pulled onions, harvested peas, and ran out of time before we could get to whatever of the winter squashes and pumpkins were ripe. Any greens were put in the refrigeration units until we were able to deliver them as close to the harvest time as possible.
On Sunday the flood waters rose so rapidly that I was trapped at my home and was unable to get to the farm, our power went out and wasn't restored until sometime Tuesday afternoon. Our internet service was knocked out and has not yet been restored and we are running things on cell phones. The flood waters are still receding. There are over 20 roads closed in our town. Whatever vegetables may have been in the fields above ground and have since been under water are no longer desirable to consume. I am still unable to enter the furthermost reaches of the farm as the water is still too deep. Once these fields are accessible the damage will be fully assessed to see what crops in the back forty may have survived. Potatoes and the Jerusalem artichokes can still be harvested. It is not yet known if we can salvage any of the winter squashes.
On a more positive note thanks to the weather conditions all summer whenever it rained we worked on moving the hitunnels to higher ground. This proved to be a wonderful thing as they are perfectly dry so dry in fact that we need to irrigate them. We began planting arugula, radishes, lettuces, spinach, swiss chard and more greens in the hitunnels yesterday morning. Varieties were chosen that will be ready to harvest in about 30 - 40 days. The farmers are working to finish the remaining tunnels and we are seeking to put up more structures so that we will soon be able to harvest more great fresh vegetables for you.
While we work to bring another harvest to you things will be very lean as you can see by the deliveries going out now. In the true spirit of CSA we will do our best to provide veggies to you as best we are able and hope that you will join with us in celebrating the harvest that we are able to provide.
On behalf of the Rogowski Farm family thank you for your support and assistance in this challenging growing season.
Current Updates: For the most current news and updates regarding the farm, delivery schedules, market attendance check the website www.rogowskifarm.com and our facebook page rogowskifarm. If someone you know should be on our mailing list please forward this email to them. Eyewitness news is broadcasting coverage at 6:00 PM this evening about the impact of Irene on our region.
Thank you for all of your support and kind words as we all go through this together.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Rogowski
W Rogowski Farm
