Farmer Luca is staying optimistic! This week he planted watermelons, pumpkins, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, more salad greens and a mango tree. Fisherman Ryan is back on island and has some beautiful mahi today at 3pm!
Our good friend, fellow foodie and fabulous photographer Marjo Aho created some delicious goat cheese combinations and shared them with us on Facebook. Here are some great ideas to try with Fiddlewood Farm’s local fresh goat cheese:
Fresh Fiddlewood Farms goat cheese with ARTfarm heirloom tomato and basil! Is that Nidulari sourdough bread? Photo (c)2016 Marjo AhoFiddlewood Farms goat cheese with Errol’s Virgin Fresh raw local honey and cinnamon! Photo (c)2016 Marjo AhoFiddlewood Farms fresh local goat cheese with fresh passionfruit! A sweet and tart experience! Photo (c)2016 Marjo Aho
Wednesday’s selection: Sweet salad mix, spicy salad mix, arugula, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, kale, yellow summer squash, assorted pumpkins, red, yellow and white onions, red serrano peppers, red Indian chilies, yellow seasoning peppers, Italian basil, lemon basil, holy basil, Thai basil, garlic chives, dill, cilantro, radishes, zinnia flowers…
From our partners: Fresh goat cheese by Fiddlewood Farm, vegan local fruit ice cream from I-Sha, raw local honey from Errol, and fresh caught local mahi from Ryan & Kim!
See you on this beautiful sunny afternoon! We’re located on South Shore Road, east of Ha’Penny Beach and west of the Boy Scout Camp.
We will be open at our usual location on the farm this morning. But, we strongly urge you to also visit the Ag Fair this weekend! Happy President’s Day, and Happy Valentine’s Day, folks!
These flowers are YUGE. Some orange like The Donald! Wage a campaign of love this weekend!We grew it for you, stop by and pick up: Sweet salad mix, loads of cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, lettuce heads, a few yellow and green squash, carrots, radishes, a few bunches of kale, loads of pumpkin, beautiful onions, scallions, a few leeks, a few cucumbers, beautiful green and red bell peppers;
ARTfarm pumpkin…at the peak of flavor right now, these are crazy sweet steamed or roasted, or even sliced thin raw! Trinidad seasoning peppers are incredibly pungent and smoky like a hot pepper, but with none of the heat. We like to chop them coarsely into all kinds of dishes to give them a specific ‘Caribbean’ aromatic profile. They must be tasted to be believed, and once you’re hooked you’ll always look for these little gems! If you’re not a big fan of spicy food, these are a great way to get a pungent peppery flavor without the pain!Red serranos and Indian chilies, Trinidad Perfume seasoning peppers, baby ginger root, cilantro, dill, Italian basil, lemon basil, holy basil, loads of fresh cut zinnia flowers, yellow marigolds, and a few bags of figs.
From our partners we have locally made treats: vegan ice cream, raw honey, and goat cheese!
11:09AM update: Still have loads of stuff left! Lots of tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, cooking greens, herbs, peppers, honey, ice creams, pumpkin… Come on by!
Don’t miss the 45th annual St. Croix AgriFest this weekend, on the grounds of the Department of Agriculture on Queen Mary Highway just west of UVI’s campus. Open 9-6 Saturday, Sunday and Monday. $6 adults, $4 seniors, $3 children. A good portion of the island shuts down for several weeks to prepare for this major public event: Tons of exhibitors, from farmers competing for best display with great piles of fruits and vegetables, value-added goods and fruit trees; to great local cooks selling plates of food, hot sauces, drinks and spices from this and other islands; Armstrong’s ice cream truck with special local flavors made just for the fair; to vendors of art, jewelry, clothing and local crafts with great bargains; to elementary student science projects, alternative energy providers and University scientists showing a glimpse of the future; to animal judging exhibits and petting zoos with chicks and puppies and baby animals for sale; to carnival and pony rides for the kids and live music and dance performances! The old time history house is a wonderful favorite. People watching as you ride the tractor-pulled trolley tour, stroll through the throngs or sit at a picnic table with your plate of local food, quelbe music wafting through the air, is a must! This is a local annual event that uniquely expresses our island culture that is not to be missed!
Happy President’s Day Weekend!Although ARTfarm will not have a booth this year, we will have lettuce heads, onions and serrano peppers on display at Sejah Farm’s booth inside the large tractor barn on the west end of the fairgrounds.
The drought conditions drastically reduced our beneficial insect population; we planted wildflower mixes in the gardens to try and boost their numbers. A side effect of this farming technique is the beautiful flowers.
We are a small, highly diversified family farm. We grow smallish amounts of many things, of the highest possible quality. This is an intensive and time consuming way to farm but it is also highly biodiverse and, we feel, sustainable.
Because we often have limited quantities of certain items, we encourage customers looking for specific items to try and come near the beginning of our farmstand hours. Additionally, due to reduced rainfall over the last year and reduced growing capacity, we are only open two instead of three days a week this year. This often results in a line of customers at the entrance prior to opening. We appreciate your dedication to good food.
Let’s all try to maintain a sense of abundance as we go through our day. There is enough good food for everyone. We are all more fulfilled when we can share what we have with our neighbors around us. Let’s all take a breath and appreciate all the blessings we can be grateful for.
Cherry tomatoes, sturdy slicing and delicate please-handle-gently heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, pumpkins in all different shapes and types, green bell peppers, kale, scallions, onions, carrots, radishes, a handful of wild cucumbers;
The Seminole and other small pumpkins are finally ready! The plump seeds are delicious roasted with olive oil and a generous pinch of sea salt, don’t forget them!
Red and green serrano peppers, red and green Indian chilies, cilantro, dill, garlic chives, parsley, Italian basil, lemon basil, holy basil, rosemary, ginger root, a few passionfruit, loads of zinnia flowers, loads of edible marigold flowers, wildflowers, and a few bags of figs.
The drought has pushed us to do a lot of experimentation on the farm this year. Our rain catchment ponds are suffering from algae overgrowth and increased evaporation. We are trialing different floating aquatic plants to serve as an eco-friendly and economic pond cover. This fuzzy friend is called Salvinia.
For this Saturday, December 19th we will have, freshly harvested and ready at 10am:
December lettuces are tender and sweet!
Loads of sweet salad mix, baby arugula, teen arugula, baby and teen spicy salad mixes, and royal oak leaf lettuce heads;
These round yellow summer squash are tender and can be roasted, stewed, fried, stuffed…yum!!We love seeing what you do with our produce! Here is a stuffed zucchini with a side salad! Thanks Isabel Cerni & family!
Zucchini, round summer squash, lots of generously sized Ethiopian kale (it’s similar to a mild mustard green, super dark and tender), Tuscan kale and red edged kale, dandelion greens;
Fresh Mediterranean figs are beyond tender and sweet when ripe!
Wild cucumber gherkins, a few half pints of cherry tomatoes, our first slicing tomatoes of the season, and amazing fresh Mediterranean figs.
Open 10am – 12 noon but of course come early for the best selection! We will be open Wednesday, December 23rd, 3-6pm with a similar lineup.
Hot new work from the ARTbarn: Luca recently delivered the original art for the 2016 Taste Of St. Croix poster. The subject this year is one of our fellow farmers, Grantley Samuel, who is known as the Corn Man but is also renowned for his watermelon. Thought you all might enjoy this! Prints will be available at the Taste Of St. Croix in April!
ARTfarm on St. Croix, USVI 