Written by Palmetto Bluff
Jul 08, 2026
Story by Joanny Palsson | Photographs by Summer Pagatpatan
Most mornings at Palmetto Bluff begin at sunrise, before the kitchens light up and dining rooms come alive. Along Old Moreland Road, The Farm is already in motion. Greens are being cut. Herbs snipped. Eggs gathered.
Spread across thirteen acres, The Farm is not decorative or symbolic. It is a working agricultural operation that supplies produce to Club restaurants, hosts events throughout the year, and serves as one of the most tangible connections between land and daily life at Palmetto Bluff. You see its influence in the kitchens, where crates of tomatoes, fresh herbs, and greens arrive daily.
For Executive Chef Beth Cosgrove, this proximity has changed the rhythm of cooking on property. “It’s the first place I’ve ever worked that has an actual farm right here on site,” she says. “Not a garden out back or herbs on a roof, this is a real farm, producing at scale.”
Each week, chefs gather at the farm to walk the rows and talk through what’s coming next, in collaboration with longtime farm manager Shane Rahn. These meetings are practical and forward-looking—what’s nearly ready, what needs another week, what’s abundant enough to build menus around. Tomato season, Cosgrove notes, is the clearest example of how the farm and kitchens move in step. “We fly through tomatoes,” she says. “The restaurants can’t get enough, members can’t get enough, and when they’re coming in strong, everything revolves around them.” Tomato tastings, market sales, simple preparations that let the fruit speak for itself—the season has its own momentum.
Other crops move regularly through Club menus. Collard greens are a favorite, from Sunday fried chicken nights at Cole’s to seasonal sides throughout the community. In summer, herbs are so popular with Club chefs that outside purchases often stop altogether. Interns head into the fields to harvest, then return to the kitchens with armfuls of basil, mint, and parsley—ingredients that will be cooked and served the same day.
That full cycle—from soil to service—is central to how the farm functions within the Club’s culinary program. For Rhy Waddington, Palmetto Bluff Club’s Director of Food & Beverage Operations, the farm is both an operational resource and an educational one. With roughly thirty-five international culinary students working at the Club at any given time, it becomes part of how young cooks learn the craft. “They’re planting, harvesting, and then cooking with the same product,” he says. “It gives them a complete picture of where food begins.”
That connection becomes most visible during the Farm’s seasonal farmers markets. Held several times a year, these markets bring together members, neighbors, and families on busy mornings. Herbs and vegetables from the farm anchor the tables, joined by baked goods from the pastry team and dishes prepared by culinary interns using what’s in season. It’s one of the few moments when the farm’s output is gathered in one place, offered directly to the community.
The Farm also serves as a setting for larger gatherings. Each fall, the Harvest Dinner—part of the Around the Table series—brings members into the fields for an evening meal built around the season’s produce.
Behind the scenes, the farm continues to evolve. The culinary team works closely with Rahn to refine what is grown and in what quantities, favoring greater variety over sheer volume. New raised beds will allow for smaller batches and experimentation with crops better suited to restaurant use. “It gives the chefs more to work with,” Waddington says, “and it helps us use everything more effectively.”
The Farm also supports a number of related efforts across the property. Honey from on-site beehives makes its way into kitchens and markets. Rahn collects oyster shells from the restaurants to return to a reef restoration site established by the South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement Program. A composting program using kitchen trimmings is under consideration, part of an ongoing effort to close loops where possible, cycling materials back into natural systems.
For residents, The Farm is woven into everyday life. Families walk the grounds, kids peeking in at the chickens in their coop. Volunteers help during planting and harvest. It’s a fully integrated part of life at Palmetto Bluff.
In the end, The Farm’s impact is felt less in any single dish or event but rather as an underlying ethos: meals shaped by season, menus that change based on freshness, and an appreciation for where food comes from. It supports the kitchens, provides a gathering ground, and is part of what makes Palmetto Bluff feel so unique and connected to the land.
Shane Rahn is the Farm Manager at Palmetto Bluff, where he oversees the Bluff’s working farm and sustainable growing practices. With a background in crop and soil sciences, he connects seasonal agriculture, community, and stewardship of the Lowcountry landscape.
Palmetto Bluff’s farm-to-table approach begins at The Farm, where vegetables and herbs are grown specifically for the Club’s kitchens. Shane and the chefs work in close coordination, planning plantings around seasonal menus and harvesting to order. Fresh produce is incorporated daily into recipes at Cole’s, May River Grill, Crossroads, Canoe Club, across Club events, and at RT’s Market in Wilson Village.
The Farm hosts the Palmetto Bluff Farmers Markets on select days during harvest season months: May, June, October, November, and December.
The Farm is known for its tomatoes and good times. An open-air pavilion near the pond is a favorite venue for Palmetto Bluff Club private events and harvest dinners. Through his work, Farmer Shane helps supply the essential ingredients that elevate the Bluff’s event menus.
Each summer, The Farm’s popular Tomato Tastings invite members to sample the tomato varieties grown on-site, with two or three new types added to the lineup each year. Club chefs array an assortment of fresh bread, various aiolis, fried bacon, salts, and peppers. Attendees are invited to make as many tomato sandwiches or BLTs as they’d like to try.
