Plantation House Ecotourism Site – A Brief History and March 2010 Update

In early 1987, my father Japheth L. Walton, Cert. Hons., began farming the land on which the Plantation House Ecotourism 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 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 site, 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 most notably, 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 3 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 on the site are from those earlier years. Over the years several hurricanes inflicted some damage on the vegetation but Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 devastated most of the trees from my early collection, some of which are not replaceable due to the current heightened restrictions on legal plant importation into 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 the re-planting of 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 during 2008-2009 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 developed during 2007-2009 to help create a diverse environment to attract wildlife, to rear tilapia, and to provide a platform to support a planned hydro-phonics project. 

The second floor porches on the main house (previously unused rooftops), the back terraces, gazebo, decks and outdoor kitchen (in addition to a Caboose built in 1995) were added during 2008-09 to provide additional seating and new entertaining areas.  The Garden and Coffee Shop and additional restrooms will be completed by November 2010 by converting a part of the house.  These will form part of the opening of Phase 2 in November 2011 along with the completed waterfall, stream and pond and its attached hydro-phonics planting area.

Plantation House Phase 1 Soft Opening - Finally!!

Approximately 60 persons attended our Phase 1 soft opening on March 20, 2010. We had enormous help from my friends at The Brasserie in Cayman, 3030 Ocean in Fort Lauderdale, Simsek Pala and Miss Susan, Miss Anne, Gaston Maloney, Mackie Powell, Kirkland Nixon, Miss Marva and Dr. Jackman, and from Alan Markoff and the Slow Foods group whose questions have stimulated my curiosity to try news ideas in the Gardens during the spring/summer growing season. A big thanks to all. Phase 2 next!!

Mangoes 2010

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Mangoes are in full bloom on most parts of Grand Cayman and some trees (like Edwards and Nam Doc Mai) are already holding 30-day old fruit. The mango ripening season will therefore start earlier this year than is normal and some persons have asked why?

Generally, in temperate climates it is stress through chilling temperatures that stimulate fruit tree flowering. In tropical climates, it is often drought that creates that stress, albeit similar conditions may be simulated through pruning and ferlisation regimes.

Well, the past 3 months in Cayman have been a bit unusual as we have had a "wetter than normal" December 2009 followed by a long "cool snap" in January. It is these conditions, when combined, that have likely forced early mango blooms.

The typical mango fruiting cycle is that blooming will follow after about 45-60 days of drought. For those of you that have Bougainvillea in your lawns with automatic sprinklers in place you will understand better why you often envy those beautiful blooms in the drier parts of the Islands where the natural "rainy-drought-bloom cycle" is not interrupted by watering. Bougainvillea are similar to mango in this regard...

Caymanian Farmer Q&A: Joel Walton of Plantation House

Caymanian Farmer Q&A:  Joel Walton of Plantation House
January 22, 2010 · Reprinted from www.thegenuinekitchen.com


Taste of Cayman 2010 Sunday Morning's Island Style Organic Demo participants: 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.

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.

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.

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 (:

Vegetable Gardening at Latitude 20 Degrees North: Thinking Upside Down

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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.

But there is one simple challenge and often times I get asked the question: why is it that my tomatoes do not bear fruit? In response to this question I will often ask: when do you plant them? Not surprisingly, 9 times out of 10 the response is “I planted them in the spring and summer”.

Thinking upside-down, Rule 1 of 2: Our main vegetable growing season for “non-traditional” crop starts in the autumn and not in the spring or summer. Please note that there are many more reasons for this other than cooler days and nights but that discussion is for another article.

Now on to Rule #2.

Our soils are in the main, very alkaline, shallow, salty (in many cases) and devoid of organic content: classic conditions for composting? Sure, and this is strongly encouraged, particularly in raised bed systems where soils can be modified and developed over a period of 2-4 years to almost perfect growing conditions. Hurricanes also provide an endless supply of green materials which can be readily mulched and used as soil amendments as well.

Compost (either purchased or homemade) and mulch are both natural ways to lower your soil’s ph (most vegetables prefer a ph of around 6.8), increase its organic content; water holding capacity, aeration and its depth. Another naturally occurring mineral, gypsum (which incidentally was the primary basis for the development of the Little Cayman Railroad) will reduce soil saltiness whilst simultaneously reducing soil compaction and providing additional calcium for the soil.

Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and soil amendments and you can use it instead of commercially manufactured fertilisers. Compost also loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Adding compost improves soil fertility and stimulates healthy root developments in plants. The organic matter provided in compost provides food for micro-organisms, which keeps the soil in a healthy balanced condition. The 3 main plants nutrients: nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus will be produced naturally by the feeding of micro-organisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added once a healthy balance has been achieved.

Gardening at 20 degrees north, Rule 2 of 2: Spend more time at the beginning feeding the soil and less time treating the plant disease symptoms afterwards.
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October/November 2009 Plantings

The October/November rains are here and our vegetable plantings for the "cooler growing season" are now in. This year, we planted our usual beds of carrot, radish, beetroot, turnip, leeks, parsnip, spinach, kohlrabi, Florence fennel, chinese cabbage and pak choi. Cucumber, eggplant, spring onion/scallion, watermelon, pumpkin, sweet basil, rosemary, lemon grass and okra continue to be harvested from our summer plantings. All of our tomato (many varieties), sweet pepper (3 varieties), watermelon and various salad leaves have been planted out. Some fruits and vegetables continue to also be harvested including cucumber, eggplant, spring onion, breadfruit, watermelon, pumpkin, papaya, june plum (golden apple, pomme cythere), bilimbi, chella mella, and ju plum.

Green Sapote 2009

I planted a Green Sapote (Pouteria viridis) in 2005. The tree did blossom during late-2008 (along with a Yellow Sapote tree which is nearby) but no fruit held as the tree was infested with ants. Earlier this year many new blossoms appeared and now several fruit have held. The Sapote-named "family" is quite varied and includes un-related fruit like the Black Sapote (more of a tropical persimmon) and the White Sapote (a citrus relative) plus more related ones such as the Mamey Sapote, Yellow Sapote (eggfruit, canistel) and the Naseberry (Sapodilla).

New Australians 2009 (Macademia and Burdekin)

Burdekin Plums and Macademia Nuts have finally arrived at Plantation House. Both trees were planted in the early 1990s as part of my first wave of developing my garden. Until April 2009 we got no fruit but both trees are now bearing and the Plum (Australian "bush tukka")is heavily laden. For many years, Macademia nuts were promoted as Hawaiian but they really originated in Australia, please welcome the 2 new Australians at Plantation House.

White Sapote 2009

I planted a White Sapoote Tree in 1995 in my east yard and nothing happened until this April. The tree grew prolifically over the years but I kept pruning to check its growth as it is located between Keitt Mango and Nam Doc Mango trees, and acts as shade for some young coffee trees. The tree (now about 20 foot tall, after major Hurrican Ivan damage in 2004) is now filled with fruit (possibly over 200) and all are doing extremely well. Never really expected success with this one (more of a sub-tropical/temperate fruit) although I have succesfully fruited Black Sapote (more of a tropical persimmon) for several years in my front yard. Peaches first and now White Sapote, it is truly been an exciting year so far.

Peaches 2009

I planted a Peach Tree in my front yard in early-2006 to replace a Red Ceylon Peach which I had planted since the early-1990's but lost during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Earlier this year, with the prolonged cooling we had I did some hard pruning, withdrew irrigation and the result was many pink/lilac blossoms during February/March/April. We now have about 30 fruit, approximaely the size of a cherry tomato holding on the tree. Looking forward to tasting in a couple of months.

New Cooler Season Plantings - Dec 2008

We took advantage of the very un-usual and heavy December rains and planted additional beds of carrot (red, white, purple, orange and black), chive, spring onion, radish (various colours and shapes), beetroot, pak choi, cucumber, watermelon, and cabbage. We also stuck in some lovely Madagascar Jasmine Vines in the East Fragrant Garden, currently being developed. Fingers crossed!!

First Vegetables - Cooler Season 2008

Radish "Burro Gigante" and Aubergines "Enorma", "Thai Green", and "Long Purple" are all coming into season about now at Plantation House. Carrots "Danvers", "Chantenay Red Cored", Beetroot "Bolthardy", and several Squash/Zucchini and Tomato varieties are about 4-6 weeks away. Papaya, Pumpkin, spring onions/scallions continue to be available along with limited amounts of Okra. As normal, the Market at The Grounds at the Stacey Watler Agricultural Pavilion off Agricola Drive in Lower Valley continues every Saturday 7am to 1pm.