Semkow Farms Needs Greenhouses
Donation protected
(REVISED and EDITED from first go-fund-me!)
My name is Robia Semkow and I own Semkow Farms. We've been established here in Colchester for over 100 years. Steeped in many community traditions, the farm, like so many other small businesses right now, is suffering.
SEMKOW FARMS NEEDS YOUR HELP
**Please help to rebuild the greenhouses, and reconnect the electric and irrigation systems so Robia can properly grow her own product from seed, as the farm has very successfully done for decades.**
This farm has been in the Semkow family for many generations. It flourished for over 40 years as a nursery business growing annuals, perennials and vegetable plants for retail sale. This year, 2020, was supposed to be a year of recovery for the farm. Instead, 2020 is now amounting to the proverbial 'straw that broke the camel's back.' Ultimately, Robia needs our help raising funds to rebuild the greenhouses and workshop buildings that were destroyed in the winter storms of 2013 and recovering from a building contractor taking $42,000 to replace those buildings.
Greenhouses and workshops are the crux of the success to a nursery. Beginning winter-time of each year, all the seeds are started in a growhouse. That space is typically smaller, due to the amount of heat it takes to grow flowers and vegetables. Once these plants have matured enough, they move along into one of the greenhouses. At the beginning of the selling season, all those plants are then moved into a retail greenhouse where they are then purchased by customers during the spring and early summer.
Without a space to properly cultivate the flower and vegetable plants, then there is no product to sell!
It's no lie...times are tough for everyone right now! Please read my story; any help at all is sincerely appreciated and every little bit adds up. If you are unable to donate, please click SHARE and let's get the word out.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
(Originally posted by Betsy Allard on 07/25/20. I asked Betsy if I could re-post this go-fund-me page.)
Thank you!
Following is a gallery of some of the issues and triumphs the farm has been through since 2013.
Broken down greenhouses
Me
The full Retail Greenhouse in the distance
Article in the Glastonbury Citizen, May, 2014
The area where the new greenhouses will go
Exciting day! The steel buildings arrived!
After clearing out the workshop damaged from snow and water and then fire prep
The fire
Fire crew
Trenches everywhere, per Bob
Please, just take down the rest of the skeletons. I can't look at them anymore.
Bob's credentials
Cleared checks paid to Bob
Text messages from Bob
Proud mini-garden workshop gardener!
Getting ready for 2019 Fall festival
2019 Fall vendor fair all set up
Happy Haunted Hayride, 2019
Our own seedlings started for 2020 season!
Bubble wrapped sections
Bubble wrap everywhere!
Covid veggies
With Robia's permission, I shared some of the obstacles and setbacks she overcame since moving to the farm. The purpose of this is to understand her perserverance and passion in striving for the success of the farm. If you would like to read the whole story, click on the link below. (If you read the first GFM version, this one is much edited, but still a long read.) However, it will give you a better idea of why she is asking for your help. The story also adds more explanation to the pictures. Thank you so much for your time and support!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u-MmajxM-IMpHhoOcdRMfR5jtw2BDXhSzitC1qt_-f4/edit?usp=drivesdk
My name is Robia Semkow and I own Semkow Farms. We've been established here in Colchester for over 100 years. Steeped in many community traditions, the farm, like so many other small businesses right now, is suffering.
SEMKOW FARMS NEEDS YOUR HELP
**Please help to rebuild the greenhouses, and reconnect the electric and irrigation systems so Robia can properly grow her own product from seed, as the farm has very successfully done for decades.**
This farm has been in the Semkow family for many generations. It flourished for over 40 years as a nursery business growing annuals, perennials and vegetable plants for retail sale. This year, 2020, was supposed to be a year of recovery for the farm. Instead, 2020 is now amounting to the proverbial 'straw that broke the camel's back.' Ultimately, Robia needs our help raising funds to rebuild the greenhouses and workshop buildings that were destroyed in the winter storms of 2013 and recovering from a building contractor taking $42,000 to replace those buildings.
Greenhouses and workshops are the crux of the success to a nursery. Beginning winter-time of each year, all the seeds are started in a growhouse. That space is typically smaller, due to the amount of heat it takes to grow flowers and vegetables. Once these plants have matured enough, they move along into one of the greenhouses. At the beginning of the selling season, all those plants are then moved into a retail greenhouse where they are then purchased by customers during the spring and early summer.
Without a space to properly cultivate the flower and vegetable plants, then there is no product to sell!
It's no lie...times are tough for everyone right now! Please read my story; any help at all is sincerely appreciated and every little bit adds up. If you are unable to donate, please click SHARE and let's get the word out.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
(Originally posted by Betsy Allard on 07/25/20. I asked Betsy if I could re-post this go-fund-me page.)
Thank you!
Following is a gallery of some of the issues and triumphs the farm has been through since 2013.
Broken down greenhouses
Me
The full Retail Greenhouse in the distance
Article in the Glastonbury Citizen, May, 2014
The area where the new greenhouses will go
Exciting day! The steel buildings arrived!
After clearing out the workshop damaged from snow and water and then fire prep
The fire
Fire crew
Trenches everywhere, per Bob
Please, just take down the rest of the skeletons. I can't look at them anymore.
Bob's credentials
Cleared checks paid to Bob
Text messages from Bob
Proud mini-garden workshop gardener!
Getting ready for 2019 Fall festival
2019 Fall vendor fair all set up
Happy Haunted Hayride, 2019
Our own seedlings started for 2020 season!
Bubble wrapped sections
Bubble wrap everywhere!Covid veggies
With Robia's permission, I shared some of the obstacles and setbacks she overcame since moving to the farm. The purpose of this is to understand her perserverance and passion in striving for the success of the farm. If you would like to read the whole story, click on the link below. (If you read the first GFM version, this one is much edited, but still a long read.) However, it will give you a better idea of why she is asking for your help. The story also adds more explanation to the pictures. Thank you so much for your time and support!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u-MmajxM-IMpHhoOcdRMfR5jtw2BDXhSzitC1qt_-f4/edit?usp=drivesdk
Organizer
Robia Kruse
Organizer
Colchester, CT