ARTfarm Saturday: Smoke Flavor!

We’re open today, 10am – 12 noon with salad and lots of tomatoes! Here’s this morning’s list of fresh: Sweet salad mix, teen spicy salad mix, teen arugula, heirloom/slicer/cherry tomatoes, beets, red and white bulb onions with green tops, purple Bodhi beans, a few cucumbers, radishes with delicious green tops, dandelion greens for cooking or juicing, fresh ginger root, scallions, Italian basil, Thai basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, and zinnia flowers. We also have a fresh batch of vegan ice cream from I-Sha in a rainbow of flavors including jojo, mango, papaya/ginger, passionfruit, beet ginger, banana…

Big beautiful beets at ARTfarm. The tops are great in your green juice, as a cooked green, wilted over eggs... chopped into your salad... don't neglect the beet greens!
Big beautiful beets at ARTfarm. The tops are great in your green juice, as a cooked green, wilted over eggs… chopped into your salad… don’t neglect the beet greens!

Our thanks go out again to the VI Fire Service shifts C and D out of Richmond/Christiansted, with trucks from Grove and East End, and VIPD for coming back to Longford a third time this week. Tuesday evening’s fire flared up again on Wednesday afternoon, sending out a new fire crew headed by Captain Henry Joseph; it continued on its previous trajectory toward the beach and burned over a hundred acres of pasture and fencing belonging to our neighbors and killed another cow on Wednesday. A second blaze was set in ARTfarm pastures about 3/4 of a mile away from the initial fires just before 8pm Wednesday night at a curve in the road where the streetlight is out. We had a number of people offer help again and had a crew of employees, customers and fellow farmers on hand to move sheep, manage gates and direct the fire trucks. It was dark and smoky, and we were too busy to take pictures, but it was an incredible scene. After the Captain Joseph and his VIFS team departed for a second time with the trucks, Luca and a neighbor we’ll call “Water Mike” were out containing and extinguishing smaller fires until 2am Thursday morning.

Our neighbor who took these pictures acted as our fire tower during the fires and helped us locate problem areas from a higher vantage point. Wednesday afternoon.
Our neighbor who took these pictures acted as our fire tower during the fires and helped us locate problem areas from a higher vantage point. Wednesday afternoon.
This image captures Wednesday night's situation; the rekindled original fire headed south to the beach, and in the foreground the second fire started a mile away up on South Shore Road on ARTfarm pasture.
This image captures Wednesday night’s situation; the rekindled original fire headed south to the beach, and in the foreground the second fire started a mile away up on South Shore Road on ARTfarm pasture.
By Wednesday afternoon, the original fire had rekindled and burned south throughout the day across the pastures toward the beach, killing one cow. It burned eastward along the beach through Thursday morning, when the Fire Service came back and extinguished the spread.
By Wednesday afternoon, the original fire had rekindled and burned south throughout the day across the pastures toward the beach, killing one cow. It burned eastward along the beach through Thursday morning, when the Fire Service came back and extinguished the spread.
VIFS pumper trucks from Richmond C shift, East End and Grove Fire Stations helped us out Wednesday afternoon, and came back Wednesday night to assist with the new roadside fire.
VIFS pumper trucks from Richmond C shift, East End and Grove Fire Stations helped us out Wednesday afternoon, and came back Wednesday night to assist with the new roadside fire.

We’d appreciate brushfire awareness from all of our customers. Please never throw cigarettes or other burning material from a vehicle; do not allow chains on trailers to drag on the ground; and keep a neighborhood watch. If you see someone stopped on the side of the road, slow down and offer assistance; if suspicious, snap a picture of the vehicle and license plate. And share this information with others in the dry season. We thank you!

ARTfarm Saturday, 10 AM – 12 noon! It’s Spring!

Pray for rain, folks! The South Shore is extremely dry and we could seriously use some of those rain showers the forecaster spoke about on Friday afternoon.

Madre de Cacao trees are blooming and the honeybees are enjoying the pungent flavors of the dry season.
Madre de Cacao trees are blooming and the honeybees are enjoying the pungent flavors of the dry season.

Join us starting at 10am for sweet salad mix, microgreens, baby arugula, teen and regular spicy, a few cucumbers, onions, beets, radishes, carrots, kale, dandelion greens, cherry tomatoes, heirloom and slicing tomatoes, fresh harvested ginger root, thyme, lemon balm, sage, celery, Italian basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, holy (Tulsi) basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, garlic chives, zinnia flowers, and a few Mediterranean figs and passionfruits.

From our fellow growers and crafters: farm fresh eggs by the dozen from the Gotts family, Wanda will be on hand with her honey meads, we’ll have Nonna’s fresh-baked focaccia and panini breads and we have a few coconut-based vegan ice creams from I-Sha. Looking forward to seeing you all!

ARTfarm Holiday Happiness Saturday 10am-12 noon!

The Christmas winds have brought rainbows, dramatic skies, sweet night time rains and excellent growing conditions to the farm.

For Christmas Third Day, we have freshly harvested for you: Sweet salad mix, spicy salad mix, cherry tomatoes, a few slicer tomatoes, a few early ears of sweet corn, cucumbers, radishes, escarole, spicy ginger root, purple yard long beans, lettuce heads, cilantro, recao, lemongrass, mint, garlic chives, dill, Italian basil, holy (Tulsi) basil, lemon basil, Thai basil, green chili peppers, and fresh-cut zinnia flowers. For your garden we have a few basil plants, tomato plants, and pineapple slips on offer.

From our partners we have avocados from a friend, local vegan fruit flavored ice cream from I-Sha, and local dark honey of complex notes from master beekeeper Errol Chichester.

Cooking greens such as collards, Chinese cabbage and kale, normally a big staple for us, have been struggling with pest problems this season. Check out the alternatives: the radish greens that come attached to our radish bunches are a delicious cooking green. Our escarole is doing well. It is a flat-growing lettuce-head-like crispy green that is commonly used in Italian wedding soup but makes a great addition to any cooking recipe involving vegetables. It can be sautéed or added to a pot. It has a strong and slightly bitter flavor when eaten raw. Bitter greens are a very healthy addition to the diet in moderate quantities.

The New Year is nearly upon us! We will be open regular hours on Monday: 3–6 p.m. On New Year’s Eve day, we will be open for our holiday (morning) hours: Wednesday from 10 AM – 12 noon.

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ARTfarm Pre-Holiday Joy! Saturday 10am – 12 noon

Start stocking up for Thursday! Fresh for you, Saturday morning at ARTfarm: Microgreens, baby arugula, sweet salad mix, sweet potato greens, French breakfast radishes, Japanese radishes, cucumbers, fresh mint, Italian basil, lemongrass, recao, garlic chives, thyme, rosemary, passionfruit, a few dragonfruit, zinnia flowers, vegetable starts, pineapple slips, native trees and some young thin-skinned ginger root!

From our partners: we have fresh Mahi from Ryan & Kim, vegan ice cream from I-Sha, honey from Errol, ridiculously amazing Nam Doc Mai mangoes and mamey sapote from Tropical Exotics, and avocados from Smithen the Cane Juice Man!!

Ripe, green skinned mangoes are piled in a tub for market.
5am mangoes harvested and ready for the farmstand!