Open Day a Great Success

Visitors and volunteers enjoyed our wonderful Open Day on June 14th 2015.

International Liquors and Tobacco provided organic wines and iced tea for Open Day visitors to sample and enjoy.

More than 100 people took tours of the 3 aquaponics systems, entered the Summer Raffle and purchased produce, seeds and plants.

All proceeds from the Open Day help to keep the Lowlands Community Garden growing.

All the produce, seeds and plants on sale were non-GMO and grown without chemicals.

The 3 aquaponics systems at the Lowlands Community Garden are now complete and will soon be fully stocked with more than 5,000 non-GMO plants ranging from tomatoes to strawberries.

Open Day June 14th 2014

On June 14th the Lowlands Community Garden will open it’s gates to the public between 10am and 4pm. 

Visitors will have the opportunity to take a tour of our custom designed aquaponics systems that enable us to grow without chemical fertilizers or pesticides in more than 5,000 planting spaces and to raise tilapia in our 9,000 gallons of fish tank capacity.  There will be non-GMO, chemical-FREE seeds, plants and produce for sale.  You can also find out about CSA membership and enter our Summer Raffle for a chance to win 12 weeks of locally grown, non-GMO, chemical-FREE produce delivered to a collection point near you.

Contact us for directions or ask us on our Facebook Page.

Come to our Open Day on June 14th between 10am and 4pm.

 

 

Organic Strawberries on SXM

Earlier this year we began a trial of a variety of organic strawberries in the first aquaponics system at the Lowlands Community Garden.  The trial was successful with the plants all settling well into their new environment and flowering within 10 days of arrival.  There then followed a small crop of wonderfully sweet fruits.  As a result of this success, we then ordered a further shipment of strawberry plants of the same variety and we now have them growing in the second aquaponics system in the new strawberry frames.

 

 

 

Each of the 6 strawberry frames holds 96 plants and we expect our next crop in June.  The first plants are flowering for a 2nd time and the new plants should begin to flower within the next week.

You can ONLY enjoy your share of our fresh, non-GMO, chemical-free strawberries by becoming a CSA member.

JOIN HERE

Plants almost growing before your eyes

You won’t believe how fast plants grow in aquaponics until you see it for yourself.

The first of 3 AP systems at the Lowlands Community Garden is now fully operational and doing great.

It consists of 3 x 1000 gallon tanks linked with syphons with 1100 tilapia fingerlings in the nursery tank.  There are 6 media beds: 4 x flood and drain with vulcanized rock media (72 cubic ft), 1 x wicking in netpots with coconut coir (18 cubic ft) and 1 x flood and drain with netpots and coconut coir (18 cubic ft) in addition to 288ft of troughs with 552 plants in 1″ plugs, 140ft of 3″ pipes with 168 plants in wicking bags and 168ft of 3″ troughs for the baby leaf greens.

In total we have more than 1,250 plants plus the baby leaf greens.

Systems 2 and 3 will be complete by the end of the month, ready to take all those fish as they grow and ready to take another 2,500 plants!

The system is of our own design but based on those used at Growing Power.

This is so much fun.

Pencil Cactus III – Judgement Day

The Pencil Cactus is no more.  It has ceased to be.  It’s expired and gone to meet his maker.  It’s a stiff.  Bereft of life, it rests in peace.  It’s kicked the bucket.  It’s shuffled off it’s mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible.

Gone, gone, gone…………….

THIS IS AN EX-PENCIL CACTUS!!

It’s quite hard to believe that a bit of gardening can turn into a fight to the death with a giant succulent, full of concentrated acid for blood, but it did.

After my first blinding encounter, using a blunt machete and harsh language, I decided to send in the ultimate Pencil Cactus nemesis: my mate Dave and a chainsaw!

The Remington – Sword of Vengeance

The once mighty cacti, towering over 20 feet into the air (remembering that most Pencil Cactus grows to a measly 3 feet in a pot), was brought to its knees by a determined ‘Scouser’ (a chap from Liverpool) with funny goggles and a hat.

At the end, I kind of felt sorry for my worthy adversary.  There it was; lovin’ life and growing out of control in the Caribbean sun, when all of a sudden we decide to make a community garden out of its verdant home for the last ten years.

A bit mean, really.

Still, there’s a few smaller ones dotted around outside the greenhouse, so who’s to say that in a decade from now, another poor sap (pun intended), won’t be writing the next chapter of this epic encounter; ‘Pencil Wars – Return of the Killer Cactus’!

Dave – Cactus Warrior

Plants of Doom – Part II

Following on from my exciting yet painful exploits with the Pencil Cactus, here in our aquaponics garden in the Caribbean, I though that I would take a closer look at some of the other ‘killer flora’ happily growing in gardens around the world.

Technically, these are mostly wild flowers (downright furious, in some cases) but it’s good to know say, what Jimson Weed will do to you if you put it in a salad.

Here we go:

1. Deadly Nightshade

Belladonna, which means “beautiful woman” in Italian, received its name because the plant’s berry juice was used to enlarge the pupils of women, giving them a “striking appearance,” according to the National Institutes of Health. But little did the Italians know the plant can also be poisonous.

2. Castor Oil Plant

The prickly fruits of the castor oil plant contain ricin, a highly poisonous substance that has been used in biological and chemical weaponry, according to the National Defence Research Institute. Although all parts of the plant contain the toxin ricin, the seed, or beans as they are sometimes called, contain the highest level of the poison and are most harmful when swallowed or chewed.

3. Jimson Weed

This white-flower producing weed single-handedly caused the mass poisoning of soldiers in Jamestown, Va., in 1676 after the plant was boiled and put in a salad, according to the Cornell University Department of Animal Science. The soldiers experienced the hallucinogenic properties of the plant for 11 days, according to the university.

4. Oleander

Oleander is commonly grown as a decorative plant in subtropical regions because it can withstand harsh, drought-ridden soil. But the resilient plant is also highly poisonous. Although you are unlikely to suck the nectar or chew on the plant’s leaves, poisoning can also occur when consuming honey made by bees that used the plant for nectar

5. Water Hemlock

Water hemlock is thought to be one of the most poisonous plants in North America, according to WebMD. Lurking in swampy areas, the plant is often mistaken for a wild parsnip or celery and accidentally consumed, killing in as fast as 15 minutes. It’s also deadly to the touch, unlike most other poisonous plants on this list.

Well, there you have it, the top five most poisonous plants in the world (nearly).

I was a little disappointed that the Pencil Cactus wasn’t on the list but there’s always next year’s top five to look forward to and I’m sure that my favourite killer plant won’t disappoint.

And remember, if you see a beautiful Italian woman in the garden with big pupils – dial 911.

Listing and descriptions courtesy of: http://www.weather.com