Author: artfarmllc

Wednesday 3-6pm, Fresh Fish, Chef of the Week, Spring Planting, Q&A

As is typical for this time of year, the tomato season at ARTfarm is beginning to show signs of slowing down (as are the farmers!). While we still have plenty of beautiful ripe tomatoes, you may notice a reduction in the average size of the bigger slicing varieties.

Today, 3-6pm: Sweet salad mix, plenty of baby arugula, baby spicy salad mix, onions, all the (cherry, heirloom, slicer, plum) tomatoes, lemon basil, holy basil, Italian basil, parsley, garlic chives, pumpkin, sweet bell peppers, hot peppers, seasoning peppers. Earlybird specials (small quantities): cucumbers and passionfruit.

From our partners we have fresh Mahi and tuna from fisherman Ryan DiPasquale, Fiddlewood Farms fresh locally made goat cheese​, and local coconut vegan ice cream in various local fruit flavors from I-Sha.

Spring is rapidly making way for summer! Dragonfruit are blooming, watermelon trials are going well. Pineapple plants are setting fruit. Luca is excited about planting more sweet potato to keep Pete happy. (Are you reading this, Pete?)

Also figs are bursting with new buds. Hopefully we’ll have loads of fruit in a few weeks.

 Q&A Wednesday: many questions were asked and answered when Farmer Luca appeared with Farmer Grantley of GLG Plants & Produce on the “It’s Your Perspective” YouTube live streaming talk show with hosts Ras Kimba (David Christian, CHS ’83) and Ras Soup (Campbell Carter) last night. They talked for about an hour about farming, the state of agriculture today, and the Taste of St. Croix. Their 4/12/2016 interview is archived on YouTube.

We look forward to seeing friends at the Taste tomorrow night! Stop by our table and say hello! If you are not attending, we urge you to make a reservation at Chef Ken Bigg’s kitchen over at Galangal for a lovely night out! Chef Ken wins the ARTfarm Chef of the Week award for personally delivering seven boxes of fresh frozen fish carcasses he saved for our composting system. Nothing says “I love you” to this farmer like a tower of fresh fish parts on your doorstep!

Sweet Saturday Papayas!

 

We get a lot of joy out of the little things on a farm.
 Lots of nice greens, plenty of ripe tomatoes available, more of our sweet potatoes, and ginger and turmeric for you this weekend! And delicious papaya! Here’s the full list, open 10am – 12 noon Saturday:

Sweet salad mix, micro spicy greens, baby arugula, a few cucumbers, all tomatoes, all peppers, all basil bunches, a few bunches of kale, small amounts of radishes, small amount of carrots, onions, garlic chives, parsley, recao, rosemary, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, ginger, turmeric, passionfruit, papaya and cut flowers. 

This is a great time of year to plant ginger and turmeric. Pick up a few extra pieces and pop them in your garden bed!

ARTfarm Wednesday, 3–6 p.m.: Tomatoes Galore

Tomato picking on a sun-flooded afternoon. The heavy rains in February and March gave our tomato plants a boost.

 

We planted lots of wildflower mixes around the farm this season to attract more pollinators.

Sweet salad mix, arugula, spicy salad mix, lettuce heads, green bell peppers, two hot peppers and the yellow mild-but-pungent pepper, all the basils, recao, onions, all the tomatoes, zinnia flowers and sunflowers, parsley, garlic chives, rosemary, a few bunches of cooking greens, papaya and passionfruit. And from our partners we have I-Sha’s vegan ice cream! Goat cheese will be back next week.

Congratulations to Patrick Kralik and Digby Stridiron, balter is officially opening on Saturday! We are grateful for balter’s support of our and other local producers’ locally-grown food.

Saturday Stock Up! 10am – 12 noon

Chef Digby Stridiron is excited for the impending opening of his new restaurant, balter! We are big fans of his enthusiasm for all things locally grown and made.
Chef Digby proudly displays ARTfarm’s seasoning peppers that he has sliced thin and pickled.
Farmer Luca is learning the secrets of growing beautiful sweet potatoes. Here he is with the latest harvest of these bright purple and orange tubers.

Sometimes the strange juxtaposition of giant mystical ginger root ball and Southeast Asian dragon carving needs no caption.

We got a sneak peek inside the new restaurant balter in Christiansted this week and it is a work of art in itself, and filled with the work of local artists and artisans.

Congratulations on the opening of this amazing creative space!

Come by the stand on Saturday morning and stock up on your favorites: Sweet mix, baby spicy, baby arugula, loads of all types of tomatoes (come towards the end of the farmstand and get a few extra for free), green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers, all three of our small hot/seasoning peppers, ginger root, sweet potato, pumpkin, recao, all four types of basil we grow, carrots, kale, lettuce heads, radishes, onions, garlic chives, parsley, and papaya and passionfruit. 

From our local partners we have I-Sha’s vegan ice cream and Fiddlewood Farm local goat cheese. We urge our customers to stock up on goat cheese this week, as there will not be any available next week. (According to numerous sources in cookbooks and on the Internet, fresh soft goat cheese can easily be frozen, and will not lose any of its taste, texture or moisture content so long as it is wrapped well before freezing and thawed slowly in the refrigerator for approximately 24 hours.)

Be sure to check out ARTfarm produce regularly sourced and reinterpreted by the following chefs’ kitchens: 

  • Duggan’s Reef
  • Zion Modern Kitchen
  • Café Christine
  • Bon Bagay Sunset Sail
  • Savant
  • Galangal
  • The Cultured Pelican
  • Un Amore
  • Umami Catering
  • Kendrick’s at the Buccaneer
  • Rum Runners
  • Café Fresco
  • balter (any minute!)

The widest selection of items and very freshest harvest is exclusively reserved for our farmstand customers. If you are unable to join us during our limited farmstand hours, you may also find a limited quantity and selection of ARTfarm staples like tomatoes and lettuce heads several times a year when we have a bumper crop, at the following retail outlets: 

  • Sejah Farm
  • Seaside Market (formerly Schooner Bay Market)
  • Quality Foods
  • Plaza West

We received a humongous amount of rain over the last 48 hours and we feel very blessed, both for this pleasant turn of the weather and for the ongoing support of so many customers, chefs and well wishers. Thank you!