Tag: fresh herbs

Saturday ARTfarm : Plenty of TS Bertha Salad Greens, Sweet Corn & More!

Our farm is open 10am – 12 noon Saturday morning: Sweet salad mix, microgreens, baby spicy salad mix, baby arugula, onions, sweet corn, cucumbers, radishes, beets, holy basil, Italian basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, thyme, recao, mint, lemongrass, passionfruit, and papaya. From our partners we have honey from Errol, bread from Tess, and coconut-based vegan ice cream from I-Sha! This morning we are waiting on deliveries of mamey sapote and avocadoes, too.

Please forgive Farmer Luca if he’s terribly sleepy at the farmstand. He’s been up at night pollinating the dragonfruit blooms!

How many of you are old enough to remember the R.E.M. song "Gardening At Night"? Dragonfruit blooms only open after 8pm, and often need to be hand pollinated in order to bear fruit. So forgive us if we're a little sleepy!
How many of you are old enough to remember the R.E.M. song “Gardening At Night”? Dragonfruit blooms only open after 8pm, and often need to be hand pollinated in order to bear fruit. So forgive us if we’re a little sleepy!

ARTfarm Wednesday, 3–6 p.m.: Time for a Rain Dance!

20140730-120152-43312034.jpgOur last Wednesday for the summer! Open 3–6 this afternoon and then only Saturday mornings, 10 AM – 12 noon. Today’s farm treats include: sweet corn, salad mix, baby spicy salad mix, baby arugula, microgreens, baby onions, baby beets, cucumbers, holy basil, thai basil, Italian basil, papaya, passionfruit and bananas. From our partners: mangoes and mamey sapote from Tropical Exotics, raw local honey from Errol, and vegan coconut milk-based ice-cream in tropical fruit flavors from I-Sha!

For those of you who have yet to sample a mamey sapote, it is an unusual Central American fruit that is incredibly sweet, and one of our family’s favorites. It has a sandpapery outside and a reddish-orangey inside with a seed that looks like modern art. Here’s what Wikipedia had to say about it:

The fruit is eaten raw or made into milkshakes, smoothies, ice cream and fruit bars. It can be used to produce marmalade and jelly.[3] Some consider the fruit to be an aphrodisiac.[citation needed] Some beauty products use oil pressed from the seed,[4] otherwise known as sapayul oil.[5]  The fruit is an excellent source of vitamin B6 and vitamin C, and is a good source of riboflavin, niacin, vitamin E, manganese, potassium and dietary fiber. Research has identified several new carotenoids from the ripe fruit.

20140730-111608-40568049.jpgGood news/bad news time, dear readers: Due perhaps to the extremely dry conditions we’ve had over this spring and summer, the Nam doc Mai, Julie and Malika mangoes are ending early. The harvest is finished, but the trees are flowering now, which means that they should have fruit again in a few months. So there will be a strange off-season of mangoes in fall/winter if all goes well and the trees hang onto their fruit through the storm season. We still have several more weeks of cucumbers in the gardens, some dragonfruits ripening on the vines, and we will do our best to continue some lettuce production despite the super dry conditions for a few more weeks. Everybody, please do a rain dance out there and let’s get some precipitation on St. Croix!

Art Wednesday at ARTfarm, 3–6 p.m.!

ARTfarm is open this afternoon on the South Shore with summer sweet treats: Microgreens, cucumbers, beautiful Bodhi purple beans, young onions, beets, Italian basil, holy basil, passionfruit, Julie mangoes, papaya, bananas and Mediterranean figs. From our partners: Thai mangoes and sweet carambola fruit from Tropical Exotics and raw local honey from Errol Chichester.
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Love is in the Air… Dragonfruit in Love

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Here is your Dragonfruit horoscope for today: Sometimes a juicy dragonfruit will split open right on the vine, giving the appearance of a smiling dragon head. This delicious, juicy wonderment elicits a deep passion within many people. If you happen to be a dragonfruit, look out for the affection of others… It can be all-consuming.

We have a huge box of locally grown dragonfruit (pitaya) for your holiday weekend today! Like revenge, they are a dish best served cold, so grab some and put them in the fridge to chill! (Yes, that is Farmer Luca singing in the video, and Christina on human beat box. Sweet!)

Saturday summer farm stand at ARTfarm, 10 AM – 12 noon: salad mix, microgreens, cucumbers; beets, radishes and onions with their beautiful edible green tops; Italian basil, recao, mint, thyme, papaya, passionfruit, pineapple, and Julie and kidney mangoes from ARTfarm. From our partners: Dragonfruit from Solitude Farm, fresh bread from Tess, raw local honey from Errol!