Our Q1 members have each received 6 boxes of non-GMO, chemical-free produce with a variety of contents including tomatoes, tri-coloured romaine, mixed salad, pak choi, amaranth, spinach, basil, mint, oregano, chives, fennel tops, broad-leaf thyme, microgreens, celery and cucumbers from the Lowlands Community Garden and grapefruit, oranges, bananas, plantain, pumpkin, papaya, tannia, dasheen, breadnuts and cocoa from our partner grower in Dominica. We’ve experienced a few hiccups and some of the early shares were smaller and less varied than we’re aiming for but we continue to work towards meeting our members’ expectations. We appreciate the continued support of our CSA members and dedicated volunteers, without which none of this would be possible.
During Q1 we trialled a small crop of strawberries and now have 600 strawberry plants growing in purpose build frames. Our next crop of strawberries is expected in early June.
We also have endive, arugula, aubergine, fennel, cherry tomatoes, onions, dill, more cucumbers, three varieties of Chinese cabbage (pak choi, tat soi, matsui), kale, peas, rainbow chard, avocados, mangoes, pineapples and much, much more to come in the next few months. Remember that ALL our produce is guaranteed non-GMO and chemical-free.
There are 3 aquaponics systems at the Lowlands Community Garden, each with 3 x 1000 gallon fish tanks and with growing spaces for 5000 plants in total. System 1 was stocked with red tilapia in March and we began planting in system 2 in April. The final system will be coming online within the next few weeks and then our production area at the Lowlands Community Garden will be complete.
In April, one of our founders, Elaine, travelled to St Croix to participate in a 3 day aquaponics workshop at the UVI, where they’ve been studying and perfecting aquaponics since 1980. We’re already applying what Elaine learned about biological pest control and will be incorporating some design modifications to the aquaponics systems to make them even more productive than they are now.
The Lowlands Community Garden is the first local producer to offer CSA shares and the first of the planned network of community gardens on St. Maarten that will produce only non-GMO, chemical-free produce as part of the SXM Community Gardens Network. Our primary aim is to free the people of St. Maarten from dependence on imports of food from unknown origins produced using chemically intensive and environmentally destructive methods. With every community garden we strengthen our ability to sustain ourselves and achieve the ultimate goal of food security for every community on our island. The SXM Community Gardens Network is a joint non-profit project of the Light Workers SXM and the Sint Maarten Community Gardens Foundation.
Cucumbers hang above our heads in our multi-layered growing system.
Lowlands Community Garden 
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