Hello Lora,

St. Thomas and St. John have very little flat land. St. Croix has more flat land but still is mountainous. The islands are small and land is expensive. In terms of soil, its rocky in many areas. Lots of sunshine and not so much rainfall makes water an issue for some crops. Terracing, irrigation and soil preparation are all possibilities but they add costs to production so economics comes into play. Also I'd say lack of motivation to farm; perhaps with education this could be turned around. There is an agriculture department in the VI, incentives for farming, the University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix campus has an agriculture research department and there are a few small farms. On St. Thomas they are mostly in a valley and on sloping hillsides on the west end of the island. On St. John I know of one nursery that grows some seasonings and veggies; small area. On St. Croix there is a greater focus on agriculture, there are a few farms and cattle. These farms don't produce enough to supply the general population. I think the small farm on St. John mostly sells its items to restaurants, on St. Thomas you can sometimes find locally grown produce at small grocery stores and at road side stands and on St. Croix at least one of the farms has a booth area on site for selling goods and on the island there are road side stands and two open air markets.

In the past people with land around their homes grew various things for personal consumption like pumpkin, pigeon peas, potatoes and other ground provisions, limes, peppers, okra, lettuce, tomatoes, seasonings and had local fruit trees like soursop, coconut, hog plums, mango, sugar apple, guava, papaya, avocado. Within maybe the last 3 generations this practice has become much less common in terms of the peas, pototoes but most folks do still plant fruit trees around their homes here. Better education, better jobs, grocery stores and less need and focus on cultivating the land with items for personal use. In the past and still today people that grow on a small scale like this will often sell their extra produce at road side stands or to small grocery stores.

Scroll to the top of this page and click on About USVI, then choose Flora and Fauna and from there visit the Fruits section; there are photos and descriptions of some fruits you will find here. Fruits like strawberries, oranges, watermelons etc. are brought in. Fruits associated with the Caribbean are also brought in and some is grown locally.

--Islander

On STX there is at least 2 farmers market. One is at La Reine and operates on Saturdays. The other is Southgate Farms and is open 3-4 days a week. You can purchase many of the things mentioned by Islander. We also have many roadside vendors selling whatever is in season, mangos and bananas right now.

Does STT still operate the fruit and vegetable stands at "Market Square", where the old slave auction block is? Or, had that been replaced by supermaket produce?

Interesting info.

Bluie: The bungalow at Market Square was knocked down by a truck in April, 2003. They are just now rebuilding it. In fact, there was an article in the Virgin Islands Daily News just this morning.

Thanks so much for the info! yeah, I never really considered the terrain and periodic lack of rainfall being a factor. And I suppose those with higher incomes are going to buy rather than raise their own produce. I'm sure the restaraunts buy up alot of the available produce. Thanks for taking the time to explain it!