ARTfarm on St. Croix, USVI

Nam. Doc. Mai.

Alex at Tropical Exotics has carefully managed his water supply and fruit orchard through the long drought, and he is now harvesting beautiful Thai Nam doc Mai mangoes for us! These are one or two days away from pure ripeness, but right now they are tangy, firm and delicious grated or chopped in mango salsa (recipe included below)!

Also on the plate:  Sweet salad mix, baby arugula, bell peppers, radishes, chives, recao, Italian basil, lemon basil, lemongrass, pumpkin, all three hot/seasoning peppers, loads of papaya, passionfruit, a few pineapples, a few watermelons, Mediterranean figs, and fresh cut zinnia flowers. 

We are proud to partner with other small producers on St. Croix who have unique offerings and whose production practices we have personally inspected. From Alex at Tropical Exotics, we have the aforementioned beautiful Thai mangoes and small bags of longan fruit (dragon eyes). And, fresh local goat cheese from Dr. Bradford’s Fiddlewood Farm out west! 

ARTfarm is open 3–6 p.m. on Wednesday afternoons and 10 AM – 12 noon on Saturday mornings, on the South Shore Road at the East side of the stone cattle pens, between Ha’Penny Beach and the Boy Scout camp.

Pineapple Mango Salsa

One slightly unripe nam doc mai mango, peeled, pitted and chopped

1/4 fresh local pineapple, chopped

One medium sized local onion with fresh green tops, chopped fine

2 Thai chili peppers, minced

2 Trini seasoning peppers, minced

One bunch recao (culantro), finely chopped

Half a fresh lime, squeezed

Pinch sea salt

Combine all ingredients and toss. Enjoy with salads, over rice and beans, on fish or poultry, with chips as an appetizer, or just eat it right out of the bowl with a spoon when no one is looking!

Come on down and celebrate good food on the South Shore road on this hazy lazy morning! Our congratulations to the dedicated dancers at Caribbean Dance on their 39th year annual show, and to the many diligent students who are graduating this year!

Today’s offerings: Sweet salad mix, baby spicy salad mix, baby arugula, sweet bell peppers, red serrano peppers, Italian basil, rosemary, garlic chives, fresh pungent ginger root, pumpkin, loads of papaya, passion fruit and a few figs, Thai melons and a smattering of tomatoes. Farmer Luca will slice up an 18 pound yellow fleshed watermelon!

Loads of zinnia flowers available. If you need some for a special event, contact us and we can pick you a bouquet or two the day of your event!

We have plenty of fresh, locally milked and made Fiddlewood Farm goat cheese. Fresh goat cheese stores beautifully in the freezer, if you purchase extra and want to save some. 

Slight lull in the fruit fest today – a few early bird dragonfruits and pineapples will be available…lots of fruit ripening in the fields but not ready to pick yet. 

Who’s missing tomatoes when we’ve got all this fruit? Sweet pineapples, plentiful papaya, Thai melons, passionfruit, big sweet jumbo dragonfruits, the last of our first set of watermelons, and dreamy Mediterranean figs!!

And the fresh green lineup: Sweet salad mix, baby spicy salad mix, baby arugula, a few tomatoes, radishes, fresh ginger root, Italian basil, garlic chives, parsley, lemon basil, Thai basil, yellow Trini seasoning peppers, red serrano peppers, bell peppers, and loads of cut flowers. We’ve also got lots of fresh, delicate goat cheese from Fiddlewood Farm!

Come out and see us! The ground is starting to dry up a bit and the grass is getting crunchy again as we head into summer. 

Mango season is not even in full swing yet, but it’s already time for fruit. As the memory of tomato season fades, feast on these sweet treats: Loads of crazy good papayas, assorted watermelon slices and whole watermelons with pink or yellow flesh, Thai melons, pineapples, dragonfruit, passionfruit, and one or two bags of Mediterranean figs.

You can enjoy these fruits out of hand, but we really also like what Gregory at Galangal is doing with our Thai melon:  a highly refreshing, sophisticated virgin cocktail with fresh mint, cucumber, and a few secret ingredients like seasoned rice wine vinegar to give it a kick! For reservations, call (340) 773-0076. 

Also fresh today: Sweet salad mix, baby spicy salad mix, baby arugula, bunched arugula, radishes, bell peppers, a few lingering pints of fresh cherry tomatoes, seasoning peppers, serrano peppers, Indian chilies, fresh ginger root with edible green shoots, garlic chives, recao, lemongrass, rosemary, and loads of fresh cut zinnia flowers.

From our partners we have Fiddlewood fresh local goat cheese (early bird/limited supply), and from a neighbor we have parsley, dandelion greens, eggplant, padrone, and jalapeño peppers and fresh eggs. Open 10am – 12 noon Saturdays (and 3–6 p.m. Wednesdays) on South Shore Road! As always, thank you for supporting local family farms like ours!