Mid-summer on Dartmoor

Mid-summer on Dartmoor

Hello friends,

What a summer it’s been! Endless blue skies, sunshine from dawn till dusk, and those famously long midsummer days — even here on Dartmoor, where we often miss out on the best of the weather. Not this year. It’s been full-on, full-sun, and absolutely glorious.

Of course, such beauty comes with a bit of extra work. There’s hardly been a drop of rain, which means the watering can barely leaves my hand in the garden. On the plus side, the grass has stopped growing, so there’s no lawn mowing — small wins! But the dry spell has meant that there’s very little grass for the ponies, so we’re carefully managing their grazing. The only one who’s not quite coping is dear Mooney, the bull. He’s an enormous beast that can’t live on slim pickings so I’ve already dipped into the winter hay to keep him content. He’s fine though — just a bit grumbly in the heat!


The animals are all doing wonderfully. The big pony herd is roaming freely on the moor, grazing wild and happy. The smaller herd has taken over the down-the-road pasture where the large herd were earlier in the year. Back here at Clare’s Farm, there’s Mooney, the donkeys, sheep, goats, turkeys, dogs, Mojo the parrot, and of course, the two darling starlings. We’re all basking in the sunshine and enjoying these slower, golden days.

The garden is positively bursting. The greenhouse is full of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers — a rainbow of deliciousness. And the real triumph? My apricot tree. I picked it up two years ago in a bargain bin, planted it at the end of the greenhouse — and this year, it has truly outdone itself. The fruit are the size of peaches, honestly! The flavour is like nothing you’ll find in any shop. It’s been the highlight of my summer. Possibly of my gardening career! I’m still slightly in awe of it.

Outside, it’s a harvest festival of its own. I’m harvesting the early potatoes and watering the main crop to try to increase yields for storage over the winter. Onions are in and curing in the kitchen, and the vegetable beds are bursting with salads, peas, beans — especially beans!

And the carrots! I’m so grateful to finally have cracked growing carrots properly because I covered the entire crop with fine mesh netting on hoops, to keep out the dreaded carrot fly. It’s not the prettiest setup — a bit of a patchwork of fleece and mesh — but it’s made such a difference. I’m hopeful I’ll have a really good crop all through autumn and the winter. Carrots are one of my absolute favourites, so to grow good ones at last feels like a real win.

My midsummer garden tip:
If you haven’t yet, now’s the time to thin out the apples on your trees. We had such a good blossom year that many trees have set more fruit than they can sustain — especially with the dry ground. Choose the best fruit on each truss (the ones without blemishes), and gently snip off the others. This gives the remaining apples the best chance to swell and ripen properly.

So here’s to the second half of summer — may it be as golden as the first. Make the most of the warmth, eat well, rest when you can, and water, water, water!

With love from all of us at
Clare’s Farm, Dartmoor