Clare’s Fare Garden

At Clare's Fare Garden, volunteers grow organic fruits and vegetables for organizations that provide food to residents who need food assistance. Two main organizations that receive food from Clare's Garden. Culinary Angels makes organic nutrient-rich meals for cancer patients. La Familia provides high-quality mental health, community support, and advocacy services in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

How to Participate in this Group

Clare’s Fare work parties occur twice a week, Wednesday mornings and Saturday mornings throughout the year. Each month’s newsletter and the Calendar contain information about the upcoming work parties. You do not need to sign up ahead but we recommend that you sign up for this group’s email distribution list so that you get the latest details about the work parties and any cancelation notices.

Lead - Jennifer Whitehouse

Location

Clare's Fare Garden is located on the side of St Clare's Episcopal Church, 3350 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588. Access to the garden is from National Park Road, off North or South Valley Trails Road, which intersects Hopyard Road.

Clare’s Fare Garden History

During a walk in October 2020, LAVGC members Anne Vincent and Jennifer Whitehouse came across a half-acre plot of land, full of weeds, next to St. Clare's Episcopal Church. Anne remarked that this plot would make a productive community garden. Jenny, a member of the church, approached the senior warden with this idea. The proposal to use the land for a community garden was agreed upon at the vestry meeting and a partnership between St. Clare's Episcopal Church and LAVGC began. The initial inspiration for Clare’s Garden came from the Eden Garden (another LAVGC garden outreach group) where Anne Vincent and Bruce Daggy were active volunteers.  Bruce and Anne were huge advocates of urban agriculture and wanted to see the creation of more gardens, based on the Eden model.  

Anne created the design of the initial garden--four 50 feet by 4-foot beds and a crescent-shaped pollinator bed. A crew of dedicated volunteers worked while masked due to COVID. Bill Tallon lightly rototilled four beds to break up dense clay and crabgrass. The remaining area was covered with wet cardboard and mulch. Bruce Daggy and David Gates made borders for the beds, then used more recycled fence panels to build three compost bins based on This Old House design. These are kept filled with browns, greens, air and water to produce compost, which helps build healthy, productive soil. Karen Abruscato planted asparagus and helped to excavate irrigation piping. The old lawn-style irrigation system was adapted, capping off pipes to save water. St. Clare's generously provides the water for the garden.

Alden Lane Nursery donated 18 young fruit trees. On an ongoing basis, seedlings for the garden are donated by Eden Garden, Fertile Groundworks and Jim O'Laughlin. And Judy Matthew propagates seeds and brings cuttings from fellow master gardeners.

Over the years ten additional beds have been added including beds for collard greens, herbs, vegetables, edible flowers, and pollinators. Unique to Clare’s Fare Garden is a Hügelkultur bed, which generates heat (83 degrees F) as the woody materials start to decompose. This special bed is an area that has been producing very nice vegetable crops including sweet potatoes, garlic, onions and squash.

A small shed and a greenhouse were purchased thanks to generous discounts from Home Depot. Additional purchases for the garden have been funded by a garden account that Anne Vincent and Bruce Daggy started and continues to be supported by parishioners and friends of the garden. A barn owl nest box was installed in the garden to keep rodents at bay. 

In 2023 the garden received an Episcopalian Relief Grant and also a donation from LAVGC from Maudie’s fund. These donations paid for a new irrigation system. This system runs separately from the church's landscaping system. This system is programmable for four stations, thus enabling customized watering according to the needs of the orchard, vegetable beds, and pollinator beds. 

Website

Clare’s Fare Garden accepts volunteers from both the Garden Club and the community. Work party days for most of the year are Saturdays and Wednesdays. For up-to-date scheduling information and who to contact check the LAVGC calendar or the Clare’s Fare website at https://clares.garden/.

Unique Features in Clare’s Fare Garden

Building a Hügelkultur Bed

By Judy Matthew

Unique to Clare’s Fare Garden is a Hügelkultur bed, which generates heat (83 degrees F) as the woody materials start to decompose. This special bed is an area that is producing very nice vegetable crops including sweet potatoes, garlic, onions and squash.

Hügelkultur (German for hill/mound cultivation) is an old technique that involves planting on top of buried decaying material such as tree trunks and branches. There are many instructional videos available online. The benefits of hügelkultur are said to include:

  1. Water retention;(the wood acts as a sponge, holding and releasing moisture, so good for dryland agriculture and the water shortages we are likely to face)

  2. Provides slow release of nutrients

  3. Warms the root zone via decomposition

  4. Returns carbon to the soil

  5. Good way to solve a wood disposal problem

  6. Cheaper-than-dirt way to fill a raised bed or depression

  7. Self-tilling because it settles over time

Three Sisters Planting 

By Judy Matthew

We are using several garden areas to grow corn, string beans, and squash, which are known as the “Three Sisters.” The Iroquois and the Cherokee called corn, bean, and squash the “three sisters” because they nurture each other like family when planted together. For centuries these Native Americans placed corn in small hills, planting beans around them and interspersing squash throughout of the field. These three crops help each other—the corn provides tall stalks for the beans to climb. The beans provide nitrogen to fertilize the soil, while also helping the tall corn stay up in windy days. The large leaves of squash plants shade the ground which helps retain soil moisture and prevent weeds. Together, the three sisters provide both sustainable soil fertility as well as a heathy diet. As we grow the “3 Sisters” plants, we will talk to the church’s pre-school students to tell them about this unique Native American historical planting method and to show them the plants and how we harvest ears of corn, squash, and string beans.