Clare Gardens Corner

This month our Farm Manager, Anna Metscher, highlights the exceptional work being done at Clare Gardens.

Gone are the cool, dewy morning harvests with salad greens and herbs. They’ve been replaced with hot, dry, hazy dog days of summer with juicy classics like zucchini, tomatoes, and alliums galore. The allium family – onions, garlic, leeks, scallions – have been making do with the little moisture and giving us plentiful harvest. They have been a treat on grilled pizza as well as a staple in soup. 

We’re fortunate to have access to irrigation, so the winter squash is looking good as acorns, pumpkins, and other squashes size up. With luck, the passing thunderstorms will hit us and the cantaloupe and watermelon will catch up to them. Our dedicated farm crew has gained a lot of working knowledge of how to repair and use our various irrigation techniques. Always ready with a cheerful attitude when we need to move drip irrigation line every four hours or dash through upright sprinklers to move them another 30 feet to a new set of beds – a wonderful way to cool off on a 90 degree afternoon. These women are tough and their hard work shines through in the bounty we’re harvesting for you.

One thing that is always a cheerful tonic particularly after a long hot day is the cut flower patch – creating a home for pollinators in addition to supplying the chapel and dining room with blooms. It’s good for the garden brining in beneficial insects and pollinators to benefit the ecology of the farm, but it’s good for the soul too. Hearts starve as well as bodies, we need bread, and roses too.