Cayman Farms Agrotourism - Agritourism - Agri-tourism in the Cayman Islands
A brief history of a featured member - Plantation House Eco site.
In early 1987 my father Japheth L. Walton, Cert., began farming the
land on which Plantation House Eco Site is now located. Prior to this
the site was a maiden plum forest with 4 mango trees (2 Cayman Long and
2 Cayman Round). There was also a massive bee-hive in one of the Cayman
Round mango trees. This hive was burnt by the back-hoe driver and my
school mate, Leonard Yates, because each time he started the machine to
dig a cistern hole the bees would swarm him. Luckily the bees moved to
another of the mango trees and remain there until this day.
They have
become a vital part of the success of many of my fruit crops, most
notably passion fruit, as they help with pollination. Daddy tended traditional ground provisions including cassava, yam,
sweet potatoes, pumpkin (calabaza), and banana suckers. He also planted
the very first fruit trees on the property, including the “Grandpa
Nell” Naseberry (sapodilla) and “Cayman Brac Soursop” which both remain
productive to this day. My father suffered many setbacks including the
destruction of his crops by roaming cattle, wild parrots and drought as
there was no irrigation system on the site during the earlier years and
he had to hand-water all of his crops.
The main house was completed in 1992 and my family moved in during June
of that year, Daddy and Mummy having moved back to Cayman Brac a couple
years earlier. After more than 2 years of de-stumping the land and
trucking in top soil I started to develop a fruit, nut and spice
collection in 1995 and some of the trees still standing here are from
those earlier years. Several hurricanes inflicted damage but Hurricane
Ivan in September 2004 devastated most of the trees from my early
collection, some which are not replaceable due to the heightened
restrictions on legal plant importation for the Cayman Islands.
During the re-development of the house and orchard after Ivan I added a
plant nursery to hold the excess trees left over from re-planting the
site. This also gave me another opportunity to re-plan the site and to
move and re-plant trees in natural groupings based on their families
and geographic origins.
Vegetable production began in earnest in August 2007 with the opening
of the weekly farmers/artisans market at “The Market at The Grounds”
and with heightened interest from restaurants in locally-grown produce.
The shade-house area was once a Futsal field and the various stonewalls
were built over a 2 year period 2007-2009 by Lloyd Beckford. My
grandfather Linell Walton (Grandpa Nell) was a stonemason and I
developed a love for his dry-packed walls from a very young age. The
ponds, reflection pool, waterfall and stream were also developed during
the 2007-2009 period to help create a diverse environment to attract
wildlife, to rear tilapia, and provide a platform to support a planned
hydro-phonics project. The second floor porches on the main house, the
back terraces, gazebo, decks and outdoor kitchen were added during
2008-09 to provide additional seating and entertaining areas. The
Garden and Coffee Shop and outdoor restrooms are both slated for
completion by December 2010.
Caymanian Farmer Q&A: Joel Walton of Plantation House
January 22, 2010 · 1 Comment
Caymanian Farmer Q&A: Joel Walton of Plantation House
January 22, 2010 · reprinted from www.thegenuinekitchen.com
Sunday Morning's Island Style Organic Demo (left to right): Fisherman King Flowers, Chef Dean Max, Chef Brad Phillips, Chef Sara Mair, Chef Paula Desilva, Chef Michael Schwartz, Chef Cindy Hutson, and Farmer Joel Walton of Plantation House
Before we left for Cayman, we posted a poll asking readers what they were most curious to find out about on the island. Guess what? The most votes went to learning more about local products and producers. As we say in the back of the house: “Heard dat!”
We finally had a chance to catch up with farmer Joel Walton, a Cayman Brac native (one of the smaller islands,) whom we met at Sunday’s “Island Style Organic” demo poolside at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. He gave a great presentation, while the chefs pictured above prepared dishes using ingredients from his farm, Plantation House. Not to worry if you couldn’t be there, because below he offers many interesting details about Cayman farming and cooking cultures, and also gives a peek into the unique things he is doing in his operation.
If you would like to stay in touch with Joel and what he’s planting and eating in the future, check out his Plantation House Eco Site blog. And big thanks to Chef Dean Max of The Brasserie for spilling the beans on his sources for our benefit!
How long have you been farming?
From childhood but really I ‘m just a hobby gardener (:
Has a movement toward eating locally-grown products taken root yet in the Cayman Islands?
It was the tradition prior to the 1970’s and now slowly but steadily taking root again.
Where is your farm located?
My farm (gardens) are at my house at #35 Doubloon Drive, South Cayman Palms, Bodden Town District. I have integrated my vegetable gardens, fruit, nut and spice trees in amongst my ornamentals and medicinals.
How big is it and how many people do you have working for you?
Just under 2 acres and 4 persons working for me.
What are you currently growing?
Tomatoes (many types, sizes and shapes, mostly heirlooms), sweet pepper, malabar spinach, regular eggplant, Japanese eggplant, Thai eggplant, pumpkin/calabaza, rosemary, sweet basil, lemon grass, parsley, dill, cilantro, culantro, sage, green onions, pak choi, Chinese cabbage, carrots, beetroot, radish, kohlrabi, Florence fennel, sugarcane, sweet potato, bananas/plantains, and 200+ types of fruit, nuts and spices.
Some of the fruits of Joel's labor of love. The peppers in the foreground aren't hot, believe it or not!
Of those products, what are favorites of the Caymanians and why?
starches such as sweet potato, breadfruit, plantains/bananas and pumpkin because the Caymanian diet was historically based primarily on locally grown foods traditionally found here (ie, prior to the massive economic development, commencing in the 1970’s.)
Your growing season is like it is in Miami, right? All year round? Describe it, please.
Very similar to Miami – starts in earnest in the late summer/early autumn and runs until late spring. Caymanians have historically tended year-round “grounds” filled with the traditional starchy crops including cassava, yam, sweet potato, pumpkin, and banana/bottler/plantain suckers. Other crops including seasoning pepper, hot pepper, papaya, watermelon and coco-yam were also grown side-by-side. Not-so-traditional crops such as tomatoes, cucumber, peanuts and corn were often times grown at the “best times” by the more adventurous farmer. Vegetable gardening of the more “non-traditional” crops such as beetroot, turnip and leek in raised beds in backyards or on allotments (starting every spring) was not popular for Caymanians but for some of our new residents who hail from temperate climates, this has been their tradition. Many of these new persons to our Islands are from strong gardening cultures but are used to far different conditions than that found at 20 degrees north. We can successfully grow many of the same vegetables here as are grown farther North with some notable exceptions being asparagus, globe artichoke and rhubarb. In exchange, we have many more growing options such as okra, aubergine, watermelon, true sweet potato plus the usual suspects including tomato, cucumber, sweet pepper, cabbage, carrot, radish, and beetroot. This is a benefit of Cayman being located smack in between the Tropics and Subtropics – our growing palate is seemingly endless. I enjoy growing peach and strawberry and leek and mizuna as much as I do mango and naseberry and okra and tropical spinach. All are possible here at 20 degrees north.
Dean plays emcee. And does a mighty fine job of it!
Do you sell only to restaurants or to consumers directly, like at a farmer’s market?
To restaurants, at the farmers’ market and directly from my gardens.
How often are you harvesting and doing deliveries?
Harvest every 2 days and deliveries 3 times per week.
What are traditional island favorites that can be made with what you’re growing now?
Fried plantains (maduros), mashed sweet potatoes, fried breadfruit, boiled breadfruit, roasted breadfruit, breadfruit salad, pumpkin soup, boiled pumpkin, pumpkin dumplings, mashed pumpkin, to name a few.
More of Joel's bounty...
What is best just eaten raw, without any cooking or seasonings added?
For me, fruit or vegetables are best enjoyed raw or slightly steamed in the case of vegetables – for breakfast I love freshly picked, uncooked young okra and raw spinach leaves.
Do you cook at home and if so what is your favorite dish to make?
My favourite dish is vine riped tomatoes, fresh basil, sea salt, balsamic vinegar and E-V Olive oil. Sometimes I add fresh oregano, goat cheese, or whatever is at hand – if cook, I love fresh fish rolled in pimento (allspice) leaves, based in butter and stuffed with thyme, onion and a family heirloom hot pepper and seasoning pepper steamed on a grill for 5-7 minutes. oooooh, I forgot – with pumpkin/calabaza soup, my recipe!!
When you eat out at a restaurant you sell to, what is it like to see the products you grow end up on the plate?
If I tell you that I would blush endlessly (:
What’s the most unexpected preparation by a chef that you’ve seen with one of your products?
Pumpkin/calabaza ravioli.
What is your favorite ethnic or world cuisine?
Hard to say, torn between many really.
Are there new fruits and vegetables you’d like to grow which you currently aren’t?
I try to push the limits of growing here in Cayman – got peaches this year for the first time and Florence fennel last year for the first time – enjoy them both.
Anything else you’d like to share?
My perfect day – awake to watch the sun rise, work the day in my gardens, show visitors around, spend evenings cooking and enjoying the produce from the gardens with family and friends – maybe with a cigar and some aged rum in there somewhere (:
Cayman Islands Farmers Market
Market at the Grounds - Every Saturday from 7am to 1pm - Stacy Watler Agricultural Pavilion
(Lower Valley)
Joel Walton - Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and fresh expresso coffee
Caribo's Specialty Sausages made fresh in the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands Orchids and Ornamental Horticulture Attractions
Brown's Majestic Farms