A Saturday of plenty at ARTfarm… Is it February? All the beautiful rain from last week has really caused some plant productivity. Microgreens, sweet salad mix, spicy salad mix, arugula, teen arugula, lots of beautiful crispy kale, collards, super tender greens, carrots, all four types of basil, chives, thyme, mint, onions, beets, sweet corn, scallions, figs, papaya, ginger, zinnias, passionfruit, pineapple, long beans, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, bread from Tess, eggs from Marti Gotts, fresh caught fish from Ryan and Kim!!
ARTfarm Q & A Monday with Farmer Luca
Q: Why have you planted so many trees around your farm?
A: To attract bird watchers.
More on that in a moment: today’s Monday 3-6pm farmstand includes: sweet salad mix, teen spicy mix, teen arugula, baby arugula, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, slicer tomatoes, recao, garlic chives, lemongrass, onions and carrots.
On January 27, we heard a strange noise in a densely shaded area of the farm. It sounded like this: We also heard tell-tale hammering on a tree trunk.
Christina called local birdwatcher Carol Burke of SEA, and biologist Claudia Lombard of US Fish and Wildlife, to try to identify the bird, who clearly was indicating to us that he or she was some kind of woodpecker — not something you typically encounter in the Virgin Islands. Soon, the farm started looking like this: 
And then this: 
The bird was indeed a woodpecker! It has been identified as a young female yellow bellied sap sucker. Female yellow bellied sap suckers spend summers in the northern regions of North America, and do venture south to Central America and parts of the Caribbean for the winter, but not often in the USVI. According to ebird.org, this is the first recorded sighting of one in the territory since 1999. Here’s a couple of Lisa Yntema’s shots! 
Our little red headed lady has peppered the neem tree with tiny holes, which drip sap that she likes to drink. The sweet, sticky sap also attracts bugs, which attract lizards. It’s pretty interesting how one little bird can shift an entire ecosystem around herself. She’s so industrious, we might have to call her “Martha”.
Get Fresh on Valentine’s Day!
Tell your love you want them to live a long, long time: buy them some healthy organically grown delicious fresh sweet fruits and veggies! (Love yourself, too!) Pick up some fresh farm flowers, some valentine-red tomatoes, some sweet magenta-red beets, deeply purple mustard greens, red passionfruits, and other love treats at ARTfarm this afternoon to make your Valentine’s dinner an expression of true love!
If you’re heading out to dinner tomorrow night, ARTfarm has you covered! You can enjoy our sweet fresh produce lovingly prepared by our favorite chefs at Savant, Salud! Bistro, Tavern 1844, Dashi, Tutto Bene, Kendrick’s, Cultured Pelican, Duggan’s Reef, and the Terrace at the Buccaneer.
For today’s pre-Valentine farmstand, 3-6pm, ARTfarm is offering unconditionally: Fresh cut flowers, beautiful red tomatoes, cheerful cherry tomatoes, romantic Mediterranean figs, adorable hot pink radishes, tender teen arugula, sweet salad mix, spicy salad mix, beautiful fresh beets with their greens, crunchy cucumbers, purple long beans, onions, garlic chives, mustard greens, basil, sage, cilantro (frilly and flat leaf), dill, local honey, vegan ice cream!
Saturday Parade of Organic Goodness on South Shore Road
Costume your table in a tiny Caribbean festival of flavor and let the juicy sweetness march into your mouth! ARTfarm is open today 10am-12 noon with beautiful sweet salad mix, spicy salad mix, lettuce heads, escarole, lots of kale, collard greens, broccoli greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, beets, onions, limes, passionfruit, cucumbers, radishes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, garlic chives, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage, Italian basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, lemon balm, fresh Mediterranean figs, honey, and vegan coconut-based ice cream. All a di gal dem. Whine up, whine up!
ARTfarm on St. Croix, USVI 