We have started covering ARTfarm’s dragonfruit vine plants with dried palm fronds to protect them from the sun during these extra hot days. Thanks to our awesome volunteers who helped Farmer Luca with this project. Summer, climate change, 2024.
Pop-up summer ARTfarmstand on Saturday – with over a hundred pounds of DRAGONFRUIT and plenty of SWEET SALAD MIX – how is it even possible in this heat?! DUDE! Come out Saturday at elevenses and get your crunchy sweet salad groove on!
No reservations; first come, first served. We really appreciate your support.
Bucket of pineapples…these have sweet tender cores you can eat!
Plenty
Dragonfruit: varieties include red, pink and white inside! Pineapple Lemongrass Turmeric Sweet salad mix Longan fruit
Stay cool, drink your lemongrass tea, and see you Saturday 11am to noon!
Below is our pineapple salsa recipe and a cute photo of Farmer Luca in case you missed it last week.
ARTfarm Pineapple Salsa
1 cup chopped ripe pineapple .5 cup chopped less ripe pineapple 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 2 jalapeños finely chopped 2-3 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons black pepper
Chop, toss, let it sit a bit, and enjoy it in unexpected dishes! It is the refreshing summer addition you’ll want to use on everything!
Winter squash (pumpkins) grown at ARTfarm on St. Croix. They have a deliciously rich, dry flesh.
Pop-up farmstand on Wednesday – and celebrating Emancipation Day in the USVI!
How well do you understand the meaning of Emancipation Day in the USVI?
“General Buddhoe was born on St. Croix [in] 1820… he was 28 years old at the time of the emancipation. …When Buddhoe was about 20 years old, he got arrested. In 1840, he was charged with “theft” and received 30 lashes. Then in 1841, he was arrested again for “theft and maronloben,” which means to become a maroon. Buddhoe stole food from his master’s kitchen to help an elderly man who was unable to get food for himself. With this act of kindness, it is clear what kind of a man Buddhoe was: A natural leader who cared for his people and who was incredibly brave to emancipate his people 176 years ago.”
Olasee Davis in the St. Croix Source, discussing a new book ‘A Closer Look’, based on new Danish translations, by Kathleen D. Dowling
Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying this holiday week, and basking in the many freedoms we currently enjoy; with the knowledge of historic times when freedoms were not secured; and rejuvenating ourselves in order to join the current movements to create parity and freedom for all people. We’re looking at some epic times ahead, so fuel up with healthy stuff.
Windy Wednesday’s PoPuP brought to you by the letter P: Pineapple and Pumpkin, jalaPeño. We’ve got some herbs too. Make your pineapple salsa for your July 4th partying and to slather on those burgers – recipe below. It’s easy – just bring a knife and cutting board, you can make it at the beach.
No reservations; first come, first served.
Bucket of pineapples…these have sweet tender cores you can eat!
“Today as we celebrate Juneteenth, together we are reminded of the promise of America. A promise of freedom, liberty and opportunity, not for some but for all. In many ways the story of Juneteenth and of our nation is a story of our ongoing fight to realize that promise.”
Vice President Kamala Harris
We’ve had some awesome summer home-from-college volunteers this month; AND a few year-round residents helping out in the gardens!
To cope with extreme heat waves, we are trying to be proactive to conserve our stores of rainwater and protect plants from intense sun: We are putting palm fronds on the dragonfruit vines, and using lots of hay mulch around our fruit trees and on top of our ginger, turmeric and yam plantings.
For Saturday’s popup we’ll have summer tropical fruits and pumpkin, early bird salad greens, some herbs and some hot peppers. No reservations; first come, first served.
Beautiful late summer dragonfruits. These drought-tolerant pithayas are sweet and refreshing in the hot days of August and September!
Pumpkin slices Scallions Lemongrass Oregano Hot peppers: red jalapeños and red cayennes
Stay cool, and see you Saturday morning! Namaste!
Harvesting the ginger we planted in the off-season! These are fifth generation roots from Hawaiian stock. So tender, juicy and tasty! Toss an inch right into the blender with your favorite fruits!
We named this mango the ‘Viequen Butterball’ for its size, sweet mellowness and lack of fiber. Tita would bring us these mangoes.
Pop-up farmstand on Saturday!! is fruity again with pineapple, mango, dragonfruit, strawberry fruit, soursop and more! Plus cooling cucumbers (delicious added to smoothies!), pumpkin, cooking greens, plenty of fresh herbs and fresh turmeric. No reservations; first come, first served.
Dragonfruit on the vine at ARTfarm. These fruits are a drought-resistant sweet delight!
ARTfarm on St. Croix, USVI 