With 2024 almost a distant memory, we consider all of the changes that took place…and continue to take place on the farm.
2024 started off with Duke and I away from the farm, taking care of my mother, who had been diagnosed with ALS. Thanks to my ability to work pretty much anywhere, I was able to spend her last 7 month with her. It was a challenging time to say the least, but resulted in significant personal growth. I was able to make a couple of trips back to check on everything – and everything seemed to take my absence just fine. Mom passed away in late May and Duke and I returned to the farm in mid-July. While that meant we missed spring, the annual plant sale, and the opportunity to plant sunflowers for our summer bouquet customers, the slower pace allowed me to reassess my current physical and financial status. Both were in dire need of improvement! Suffice it to say, there won’t be any more annual plant sales. Although Chica and I enjoyed the opportunity to connect with fellow gardeners, the amount of time that was required to tend to the seedlings, move plants outside and then back inside while hardening them off, advertise, and then run the plant sale was never really economical. We will also be downsizing the flower production this year, to allow our focus to shift for the time being. Last summer, we saw bumper crops of delphinium and campanula. We had successfully overwintered sweet William, feverfew, and rudbeckia, as well – right through the -43F/-41C mid-winter low. That gave us hope for not having to plant everything in the spring, like we have in years past. Elsewhere on the farm, alder and willow are taking over. There will be much time spent on mowing this next summer to reclaim productive land.
2024 was also a year of major change in financial planning. Mom and I spent time talking about concerns, and one thing that bothered me in her final days was that we couldn’t fulfill her last wishes, because of time and financial limitations. On that final day in May, I made a promise to change all that as quickly as possible. Significant changes took place at the end of 2024 that promise great things to come in 2025. Stay tuned.
No blog entry would be complete without at least a word on the vineyard. The vineyard presented a very different picture in 2024 than ever before. The summer was cool and rainy (a good thing, since we weren’t here to melt snow for water storage). Many varieties and wild selections that had done well in warmer years really struggled in 2024. We still had a few standouts, though! Baltica was not among them, unfortunately. We will try manipulating its physical environment some in 2025, but it may turn out that the earliest grape in the world is not fond of life at 65N. To our surprise, one of the best performing vines was Gewürztraminer – I know, right? It was the most vigorous and it even survived the cold of mid-winter (at least the part that was near the ground). We won’t know how well it or the other 7 well-performing vines did until buds start appearing in May. Fingers crossed.
2025 promises to be a challenging year in many respects – including a new career. We are hopeful that there will be enough time in the day (even here where summer days never end) to run the farm and build the career. We will be documenting through social media, so keep an eye out. Aaron Stierle on FB. @aaronstierle on IG, Solitude Springs Farm & Vineyard on FB and YT, and a new (well not new, but never really used in the past) YT channel focusing more on personal development.
