Tag: Mediterranean figs

ARTfarm Wednesday 3-6: Fire Report

We are open 3–6 p.m.! Today we have sweet salad mix, spicy salad mix, a few cucumbers, Bodhi beans, onions, beets, Italian basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and a few more fresh figs.

Beautiful ARTfarm salad greens for the sweet mix!
Beautiful ARTfarm salad greens for the sweet mix!

Farming is certainly a round-the-clock exercise. Last night around 9 PM we smelled smoke and saw flames shooting up into the sky on the east end of the farm. Luckily we had fair warning as Luca was out watering late and noticed it quickly, shortly after hearing the sound of voices along the east roadside. Neighbors in the area also alerted us to the brushfire and offered help via text, calls and Facebook. We quickly moved our child to grandma’s, suited up in protective clothing, grabbed our fire flappers and other firefighting equipment and went to move sheep and equipment out of harm’s way and help the neighbors wherever possible.

A view of the brush fire last night from the top of Spring Gut Road via a neighbor. The large yellow lights along the center of the photo below the fire are streetlights on South Shore Road. The red light on the right side is a VIFD truck. The small squarish light near the center right of the photo is us in our truck in roughly the center of ARTfarm. From our angle in the pasture it appeared that the fire was advancing rapidly toward us.
A view of the brush fire last night from the top of Spring Gut Road looking south, via a neighbor. The fire moved across the pasture from east to west. The large yellow lights along the center of the photo below the fire are streetlights on South Shore Road. The red light on the right side is a VIFS truck. The small squarish light near the center right of the photo is us in our truck in roughly the center of ARTfarm. From our angle in the pasture it appeared that the fire was advancing rapidly toward us and a small group of young cattle.

Luckily there was not a strong wind last night, and conditions coupled with a rigorous effort by the VI Fire Service on all sides contained the fire and prevented it from destroying hundreds of acres of pasture in use, as well as cattle and sheep, wildlife, farm infrastructure and the homes of farmers including us!

Another shot of the fire as it continued to spread and head south. Our truck is the tiny pinpoint of light close to the west end (right) of the fire line. Above us and closer to the fire is a VIFD truck.
Another shot of the fire as it continued to spread and head south. Our truck is the tiny pinpoint of light close to the west end (right) of the fire line. Above us and closer to the fire is a VIFS truck.

As I stated to a friend, “this is what amounts to a ‘romantic date night’ for a farmer and his wife. A fireside chat and home by midnight.”

We spoke with Captain Charles Gilbert, Fire Service officer out of Richmond/Christiansted’s C shift, who was in charge of the operation last night. They had a total of six VIFS trucks on the scene, but it felt like a lot more to us, as they continued to contain the fire from 9pm to 1am. These included trucks from the East End, Richmond, and Grove stations. The only casualty of the evening was a young calf that got onto the road (due to gates left open to allow emergency access) and was struck by a passing vehicle. Some fencing was damaged and will need to be replaced.

Fence damage. This wood post will have to be replaced. The steel t-posts, woven wire and barbed wire materials have a much shorter life and rust much faster after being burned in a brush fire as it tends to remove their protective coatings of paint or zinc.
Fence damage. This wood post will have to be replaced. The steel t-posts, woven wire and barbed wire materials have a much shorter life and rust much faster after being burned in a brush fire as it tends to remove their protective coatings of paint or zinc and weaken the metal.

VI Fire Service Chief Larry Johnson noted that the burning of trash, the use of campfires and the disposal of lit cigarettes out of car windows should be curtailed during these dry conditions. “Most brush fires that start after dark are lit deliberately,” he said during our conversation. “It is a felony.”

We are extremely grateful for the prompt and thorough response from the VI Fire Service last night. We plan to drop off some tomatoes to Captain Gilbert and his C company team, and we’d love it if you’d thank them on our behalf, too!

Looking south along the fence near the east end of the farm. Evening brush fires are most likely deliberately set, according to officials at the VIFS.
Looking south along the fence near the east end of the farm. Evening brush fires are most likely deliberately set, according to officials at the VIFS.
The fire started near the roadside, then jumped across a ten-foot swath of grass and headed west southwest through the pastures.
The fire started near the roadside, then jumped across a ten-foot swath of grass and headed west southwest through the pastures. Left unchecked, this could have been disastrous for us!
Looking south near the east end of the farm. The VI Fire Service was able to contain and control this brushfire, in part because winds were not strong.
Looking south near the east end of the farm. The VI Fire Service was able to contain and control this brushfire, in part because winds were not strong.

ARTfarm Wednesday: 3–6 p.m. So Many Salads To Choose From!

We grew it here, tender, crispy and moist, on the dry and arid south shore of the island, just for you! All organic growing methods and just sweet stored rain water for irrigation. You can taste it in the food! Sweet, baby, regular spicy, and baby spicy salad mixes; baby arugula, arugula, a few cucumbers, onions, beets, radishes, purple yard long beans, cilantro, dill, parsley, garlic chives, Italian basil, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, sweet tree-ripened Mediterranean figs, and from our partner I-Sha we have all-homemade coconut-based vegan local fruit ice cream in a handful of fantastic flavors. We have spoons, or you can bring your own.

A single ivory-colored egg rests in a patch of dry grass in a pasture.
A mysterious lone guinea hen egg rests in dry grass in a pasture at ARTfarm. Guinea hens lay social nests with 40 or more eggs, so this is either the start of a nest, or a discarded mongoose snack!

Top O’ The Morning To Ya! ARTfarm 10 AM – 12 noon

Despite the temptations of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Christiansted today, the little leprechauns of ARTfarm are hard at work this morning on the south side of the island, harvesting greens to decorate your table. Please come as early as possible for this morning’s stand (10am-12 noon) and buy all your greens, tomatoes, fresh herbs and other treats, so that we can release the cute little fellows to run over the hills and join in the festivities in town.

A heart-shaped green heirloom tomato for St. Patty's Day! Enjoy the parade!
A heart-shaped green heirloom tomato for St. Patty’s Day! Enjoy the parade!

If you’re too busy staking out your parade spot or painting yourself and the kids green to make it this morning, we’ll be open Monday 3-6pm! Today’s haul: sweet salad mix, teen arugula, spicy salad mix, a few cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, heirlooms, loads of beets, escarole, collard greens, sweet potato greens, carrots, Italian basil, lemon basil, mint, Thai basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, garlic chives, onions, scallions, French breakfast radishes, lots of Mediterranean figs, and passionfruit. From our co-agrarians, we’ve got beautiful raw local honey from Errol Chichester.

Farmer Matthew this morning reminded us that today is a perfect day to bake a pie: today’s date, for those of you who didn’t get the joke (like yours truly) is 3.14… pi (the symbol used by mathematicians to represent the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, the lowercase Greek letter π).

Enjoy!

ARTfarm Q&A Wednesday 3-6pm: Hold My Tomatoes!

Today’s farmstand, 3-6pm: Sweet salad mix, baby spicy and regular spicy salad mixes, baby and regular arugula, microgreens, loads of cherry tomatoes, loads of tomatoes, onions, scallions, beets, Italian basil, Thai basil, dill, cilantro, parsley, purple Bodhi beans, assorted chili peppers, a couple cucumbers, baby carrots, escarole, a few bunches of kale, delicious Mediterranean figs and passionfruit. From our partner Errol Chichester’s beekeeping efforts we have local raw honey!

Radishes! Carrots! and Beets! Oh My!
Radishes! Carrots! and Beets! Oh My!
It's the scarecrow, the cowardly lion and the tin man. At the end of the yellow brick road, there was... freshly harvested MICRO!
It’s the scarecrow, the cowardly lion and the tin man. At the end of the yellow brick road, there was… freshly harvested MICRO!
Fresh oakleaf lettuces destined for ARTfarm's sweet mix!
Fresh oakleaf lettuces destined for ARTfarm’s sweet mix!

Q: Can you hold a couple of pounds of tomatoes/some dill/a few cucumbers/a bag of salad for me? I can’t make it to the farmstand on time today.

A: We hate to say no to good people. We love all our customers and supporters. We appreciate and applaud how important fresh, organically produced food is in your lives! This is one of our most common questions – we field several requests per week from customers to hold items from the farmstand.

Our policy for retail sales has always been that we are a first-come, first-served farmstand. We may have good intentions and want to say yes to you, but we do not have the manpower, the infrastructure, the time or the space to set aside produce on request. If you start to consider the logistics, we simply can’t accommodate custom retail pre-orders. We lose money on them. And they’d reduce the early-bird limited-supply offerings we want to have available for customers who came on time or even waited in line.

We are a family farm – mom, pop, and grandpa – with a couple of part time employees and loyal volunteers. Maybe someday we’ll be bigger with more staff, but for now we are tiny. We work literally from pre-dawn until after dusk, six to seven days per week year round, to care for the gardens and livestock and accomplish what you see at the farmstand and appearing on the menus of local restaurants. Our profit margins are narrow because of all the labor costs and handwork that goes into our harvesting and processing work and our organic gardening and resource conservation techniques. We love what we do and are dedicated to it, but it leaves us with very little downtime. Additional tasks and projects pull Luca and Christina away from the art studio. We have to limit the services the farm can offer.

We ARE open three farmstands per week in winter and spring, and at least once a week through most of the summer/fall months. We live in a modern world that values efficiency over all else, but coming to the farmstand is, we hope, a qualitative experience and not just another errand to rush through. If you can’t make it, there is always the next farmstand… we, and our family and friends, thank you for understanding and appreciate your support!