CELEBRATE EVERYTHING, dammit!
Blue Gate Farm's May Newsletter. Fresh from our farm to you!
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past month- Rain: 2.40”
Just before the start of the season, our farm manager, Danielle, and I decided that our theme for this year would be “Celebrate everything!” We thought it might be a good tactic for keeping crew morale up and it’s rather a cheery way to approach life in general and farming in particular. On recent days when we were pushing harder than usual to get plants in the ground or to cultivate extra long beds, it was rewarding (if a bit silly) to get to the end and holler “WOOHOO, end of the bed! CELEBRATE EVERYTHING! The phrase is used liberally and it’s amazing what a lift it can provide.
The sentiment has taken an unexpected turn in connection to some of our less pleasant moments. The past two weeks there has been an explosion of black flies in our area. In the past we’ve occasionally been annoyed by them for a week or so, but this year it’s on a whole different magnitude. Imagine a cartoon bear surrounded by clouds of honeybees…it’s like that except our heads are enveloped by swarms of tiny biting flies. They seem particularly attracted to ears, noses and mouths, which just adds to the unpleasantness. The high point of our recent extra windy days was that it kept the black fly annoyance to a minimum. So as we’re battling the wind someone would call out, “WOOHOO, no flies, CELEBRATE EVERYTHING, dammit!”
LOL! So that’s our updated theme…celebrate everything, dammit!
Yesterday’s biggest celebration was specifically in regards to the weather. After nearly a month with a total of 0.10” of rain, in the past 24 hours, we’ve gotten 2.3”. The bonus is that it came with LOTS of severe weather warnings including “hail is approaching your location and is expected to impact your area in 15 minutes.” To my knowledge, nary a hailstone fell here on the farm, though neighbors not far to the north and south had pretty substantial hail. There are few things that strike fear in the heart of a vegetable and flower farmer (and all crop farmers, really) more than “HAIL.” So this was dually festive with much needed rain and no damaging weather. The crops and the farmer are absolutely celebrating everything!
We have been running pretty hard on the farm since the first of the month. The farm crew is all on board and we are prepping, planting, irrigating and cultivating fields as fast as we can. We have arrived at the time of the year we call “WHOMP it in!” As in, get those transplants in the ground as fast as you responsibly can, while still planting them securely, in a straight line and in the correct location (picky, picky, picky!) Then water them in, move to the next bed and repeat. The extended dry period gave us ample time to be caught up on cultivating all the sown and planted crops and we even got a full round of cover crops planted right before the big rain…you know the drill now…WOOHOO, celebrate everything! (the dammit is optional here).
VegEmail has returned to it’s summer schedule of weekly Saturday deliveries, so we are polishing up our harvesting game as the season moves into high gear.
The current VegEmail order form closes Thurs at noon for pick up in DM, Knoxville or on farm on Saturday from 10am-noon. Details and order here.
Do you want...
High quality, chemical-free produce, harvested fresh for you?
Year-round farmers market products without the fuss, crowds and uncertainty?
Custom ordering the farm-fresh products you want most in amounts you choose?
Then our VegEmail program is for you! Saturday pick-up for VegEmail is available in Des Moines, Knoxville and on farm. If you aren't receiving the VegEmail order form and you would like to, or you want more information about it, you can find it at our website.
Blue Gate BLOOMS
Danielle (our farm manager/bouquet designer) gave me permission to open up a couple more bouquet subscription spots so you have another chance if you missed signing up earlier. Our BLOOMS subscription provides you with 3 months of glorious bouquets. You can find all the details here. BLOOMS season starts the first week of June, so it is just around the corner! Current BLOOMS members should have received an email from us this week. If you didn’t, please check your spam folder or reach out to us.
BGF Bounty Boxes
Our 2025 Bounty Box (CSA) season is SOLD OUT!
Thank you to all our 2025 members! Everyone is paid up and ready for the season to begin! We are planning for the first delivery to be Tuesday, June 3. Bounty Box members should receive an email from us later this week. If you don’t be sure to check your spam folder or let us know you didn’t get it.
If you want to get on our waiting list in case a spot opens up click here: 2025 Bounty Box Sign Up . You can also get more details on our website here: www.bluegatefarmfresh.com
Thank you for being a valued member of the Blue Gate Farm community. Your support sustains our commitment to providing fresh, local, chemical-free products and our passion for stewardship of the land.
Is a monthly newsletter not enough for you? Follow us:
Website: www.bluegatefarmfresh.com
Facebook: Blue Gate Farm
Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh.
Bounty Box members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.
That's about it for now. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)
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And yet again … I wish I was closer!