EASTON — Severe thunderstorms Friday night damaged a dozen greenhouses at a Fairfield County herb farm and toppled a huge tree that predates the century-old business.No one was injured, and the damage could have been much worse, said Cathy Gilbertie Knipper, communications coordinator of Gilbertie’s Organics in Easton.“We’re very, very fortunate. Very blessed,” Gilbertie Knipper said Tuesday. “Weirdly, we never lost power. All of our damage was the greenhouses, with the exception of the oak t...
EASTON — Severe thunderstorms Friday night damaged a dozen greenhouses at a Fairfield County herb farm and toppled a huge tree that predates the century-old business.
No one was injured, and the damage could have been much worse, said Cathy Gilbertie Knipper, communications coordinator of Gilbertie’s Organics in Easton.
“We’re very, very fortunate. Very blessed,” Gilbertie Knipper said Tuesday. “Weirdly, we never lost power. All of our damage was the greenhouses, with the exception of the oak tree at the corner of the property.” The "enormous" tree, which stood at the edge of a parking lot, happened to fall in an area where there is no active growing going on, she said.
Strong winds damaged 40 percent — 12 of 30 — greenhouses, Gilbertie Knipper said.
The worst damage was to a narrow structure called the “west tunnel,” she said, which is not an underground tunnel but rather a ground-level, enclosed path to all of the greenhouses on the west side of a glass greenhouse in the middle. The east and west tunnels are essential in cold weather, when farmers need to access the greenhouses without exposing plants to the cold air.
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A building where soil is mixed, known as the “soil barn,” also was damaged, Gilbertie Knipper said. Two of three garage doors detached and “literally got pushed in,” she said.
“It’s going to take a long time to put everything back together,” Gilbertie Knipper said. She said insurance adjusters are assessing the damage, and she didn’t want to estimate how much it may cost to make repairs and clean up the 37-acre farm.
Gilbertie Knipper said the farm, which has a store in Westport, is lucky the storm happened at a time when there was not much growing going on.
“Our plant inventory loss was very low with the exception of the glass greenhouse,” and that structure wasn’t damaged, she said Tuesday. “Because we lost so little inventory, we were back in production by yesterday afternoon.”
Asked what people can do to help, Gilbertie Knipper said, “Support your local farmer,” adding that it’s National Farmers Market Week.
She said Gilbertie’s Organics appreciates the loyal support it has had in its 104 years.
“We want to continue serving the community as we work to rebuild,” Gilbertie Knipper said.