Two dogs (Rosie and Barley), a cat (Auggie) and two people (Ralph and Patti) make up the year-round staff at Cheshire Garden.  The four-legged critters confine their labor to chasing rabbits, chipmunks, mice and voles, and barking (the dogs!) to scare off the deer who come to browse on the berries and plums.

Ralph, a former chef, is the man responsible for creating Cheshire Garden's exquisite specialty foods.  He learned about good food from his Italian grandmother, a wonderful cook who knew the importance of good, fresh ingredients, so that even as a young boy, he appreciated the flavor of fresh herbs and garlic. Now, food is his passion - both growing it and cooking it.

I was lucky that my mother grew beautiful gardens, and put up vegetables, such as tomatoes and relishes, in glass jars. The best of all, though, were the raspberries, whether freshly picked in the summer sun, or preserved to be spread on popovers and scones in the winter.

Together, we farm this hill and turn our harvest into our very special foods.  Ralph carved long beds into the hillside and filled them with compost to richen the soil.  I start the seeds in the greenhouse and plant out the seedlings.  Since we grow everything organically, we manage all of our plantings very carefully. Raspberries are pruned, thinned, and cut back every year. Strawberries are mulched, covered, and uncovered as the season dictates.  We carefully scout for insects and hand-pick them or provide barriers or traps as needed. With our raised beds and meticulous, tender care, plants flourish here.

We pick every fruit, vegetable and berry at its sun-ripened peak.  Since we don't rely on markets for our fruit, they don't need to be shipped and we can wait until they are perfectly ripe and most full of flavor for picking.  Herbs, too, are harvested at peak flavor on bright, sunny days.

We put the same care growing our food as we do in preserving it.  We slowly simmer our preserves and sauces in kettles on the stove, in small batches of just a dozen jars or so.  Mustards are mixed just eight jars at a time.  Vinegars, of course, are made just one bottle at a time.

For all these reasons, you'll never find our food in your supermarket, or even in big natural food stores.  We are found in some of the finest hotels, specialty shops, bakeries and farm stores in New England.  We try to offer something special - food made by hand, with love - for all our wonderful customers and friends.

P.S. We love Farmers' Markets, where people get a chance to taste our wonderful foods, then become life-long customers. Here's a listing of or markets and shows.  Send us e-mail or call if you'd like more information on these.

A Small Circle of Friends

As much as we try to grow everything for our products here on the farm, some things (like onions) just don't do well here, and in some years weather (like drought or hail) can cause calamity. We get our organic onions for our JazzBerry from dear friends who also have certified organic farms. Farmers' market customers know Tom Ashley of Dancing Bear Farm - he's the guy with the heirloom tomatoes and the beautiful produce. Tom grows peaches and onions for us, and also grows peppers and berries so I have an emergency back-up supply.

And as long as we're thanking friends, we just have to put in our great big thank you and bear hug to Azure, who not only helped us harvest everything, but also helped keep my spirits up during the rainy season, and to Rich for his tireless work on the new fence and constant good humor. You both are treasures!

Cheshire Garden was profiled in the Boston Globe on October 13, 1999.