Update: DeKalb County Community Gardens’ Walnut Grove farm workers begin cleanup efforts

KIRKLAND – Gene Heinsohn was working in his shed around 3:45 p.m. Monday when a severe derecho thunderstorm approached his farm in Kirkland.

“It happened all of a sudden, like a black wall of debris went right past the house,” Heinsohn said. “It was over in a matter of seconds. It was scary.”

Heinsohn’s wife, Kathy, and son Scott were inside the house and quickly ran down into the basement.

“Strong winds came and blew the air conditioning unit in the window in,” Kathy Heinsohn said. “I worried about wiping the water up from the floor when heard tree branches cracking and a loud bang of a tree hitting the house. It was so dark and debris was flying all over the place.”

The Heinsohns are the owners of DeKalb County Community Gardens (DCCG)’s Walnut Grove Vocational Farm. The farm, along with its prairie restoration project in Kirkland, were hit by the strong thunderstorm, which ripped through DeKalb County Monday afternoon.

The farm suffered approximately $50,000 in property damage due to the thunderstorm, a possible tornado and winds of up to 90 mph.

As part of DeKalb County Community Gardens, Walnut Grove Vocational Farm hosts regular vocational training for young adults with developmental disabilities and grows fresh produce for free distribution to food insecure families and neighborhoods in DeKalb County. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, DCCG has seen a 500% increase in food need throughout the county, and the farm is one of the ways the gardens’ Grow Mobile, a mobile food pantry, provides fresh produce to those in need.

Programming has been canceled and scheduled agriculture and horticulture orders will be altered. The extent of the farm’s crop damage is unknown, but the wind uprooted plants and snatched unripened tomatoes from their vines. The farm’s seed shed received wind damage and its east wall was pulled away from the foundation.

The farm’ two greenhouses received the heaviest amount of damage from the storm and will need to be rebuilt. Kathy Heinsohn said that the greenhouse that received the most damage, Greenhouse 1, looked “like a giant stepped on it and squished it.”

“The sheer amount of force it took to bend the hoops to a 90-degree angle is unbelievable,” said Heather Edwards, associate director of DCCG. “I can’t imagine the force of wind necessary to cause that damage.”

Edwards, the Heinsonhns and others were at the farm Tuesday morning beginning cleanup efforts.

In April 2018, hail punctured the greenhouses’ plastic and disrupted the farm’s spring growing season. Replacement plastic was purchased after that storm, but the new plastic was left tattered and ripped after Monday’s storm.

“Luckily, since it is summer, our greenhouses are mostly empty, but there were still some wholesale plants inside that probably will be scrapped,” said Jackie DiNatale, communications director of DCCG. “We have to get the heaters out of the greenhouses and hopefully we can salvage our metal benches.”

As of Tuesday, electrical power is out at the farm with no estimate of when power will be restored. Commonwealth Edison has said its hundreds of thousands of customers still without power Tuesday could remain that way through Saturday, as crews work to restore power to much of northern Illinois.

A beekeeper will remove a bumblebee hive from the farm’s well house, which will allow access to the well. After using an extension cord to power a generator, the farm will have running water.

“Water is very important on the farm because our plants are watered daily,” DiNatale said. “Even though it rained heavily yesterday, the sun is out, it’s hot and our plants need to be watered.”

DiNatale said that there is “still a lot of unknown” regarding what is needed for cleanup efforts because insurance claims have yet to be filed.

“We’re just thankful nobody was hurt,” she said. “So much damage was done in such a short amount of time. It’s amazing what Mother Nature can do.”

For more information about Walnut Grove Vocational Farm and DeKalb County Community Gardens, visit www.dekalbgardens.org. Donations to DCCG or the farm can be made online or by mailing a check to 2280 Bethany Road, DeKalb, Illinois 60115.