The Clare Gardens summer harvest marks one of the busiest—and most rewarding—times of the year. From tending crops to harvesting fresh produce, our team is making the most of the warm temperatures and long summer days.
Cultivating a Healthy Harvest
The recent hot weather has created ideal conditions for cultivating weeds throughout the farm. Cultivating is the process of lightly disturbing the soil around crops to remove young weeds before they compete with vegetables for water, sunlight, and nutrients. It’s an important part of maintaining healthy, productive fields throughout the growing season.
We’re now about 75% planted for the year, with just our fall crops—including beets, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, and resident-favorite rutabagas—still to be planted. As the planting season winds down, our focus shifts to maintaining healthy crops and harvesting the abundance summer has to offer.
Farm crew hard at work tending to the crops
Fresh Picks Heading to Our Kitchens
The harvest continues to grow each week! Right now, fresh peas, zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, and salad greens are making their way from Clare Gardens into the kitchens at Trinity Woods and Milwaukee Catholic Home, where they’re transformed into delicious, nutritious meals for residents.
Meanwhile, our tomatoes are thriving in both the field and greenhouse and are looking fantastic. If all continues to go well, we expect the first tomatoes to be ready for harvest in just a few weeks.
Sneak peak of our greenhouse
Inspiring the Next Generation
We were also excited to welcome campers from the Catholic Ecology Center for Farm Camp this summer. Campers spent time learning about composting, exploring farm equipment, and even helping our crew harvest fresh produce.
Experiences like these help inspire the next generation of farmers, gardeners, and environmental stewards by teaching children about sustainability, where food comes from, and how we can all care for the world around us.
Campers exploring our grounds
Flowers in Full Bloom
It’s not just vegetables flourishing at Clare Gardens! Our flower patch is bursting with color, and beginning next week, fresh-cut bouquets will be delivered to the dining rooms to create beautiful seasonal centerpieces for residents to enjoy.
Our crew assembling farm-fresh bouquets
Visit Clare Gardens This Fall
Interested in experiencing Clare Gardens for yourself—and even picking your own bouquet?
Join us for our next farm outing on September 23rd! Explore the gardens, learn more about our sustainable farming practices, and enjoy the beauty of the season.
