We started a small farm on one of the back quartéis of the property earlier this Spring. Since we use only local ingredients in our gourmet minuvida dinners we want to grow as much organic and local food as we can. From a plot of dirt to a blossoming garden, we are looking good to have delicious local fruits and veggies for our opening later this summer/early fall! We also discovered a wild strawberry patch where we've been able to forage for half-a-dozen evenings of strawberry-yogurt-mint bowl desserts! Yum:-)

We've planted taro (inhame), which is a delicious root vegetable similar to a potato but far richer in nutrients. We also have piri-piri and malaguetachilly peppers to make our own hot sauce; sweet potato, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, different types of tomatoes, husk cherries, tomatillo, surinam cherries, fig tree, mango tree, and passion fruit plants! 

And finally, our herb garden with 12 different types of herbs (so far!) We have lavender, chocolate mint, oregano, pineapple sage, rosemary, fine mint basil, cinnamon basil, lemongrass, rue, cilantro, parsley and regular basil. Fresh herbs anyone?!

Have a suggestion on something else we should be growing? Leave us a comment! And make sure you're on our newsletter to get exciting updates and promotions on our upcoming GRAND OPENING!

When we moved here just over a year ago, it was a wild jungle. It took a long time to uncover, identify and learn to properly care for this endless bounty of fruit trees, flowers and trees. And our efforts are paying off. After learning to prune and care for our fruit trees we have blossoms on the citrus trees. We have bitter, navel, mandarin and tangerine orange varieties, lemon trees and even the Azorean "limãogalego" or mandarin-lime.

As for flowers, our quinta is bursting with color and variety. The majority of the blooms started in late February but we've found there's always something in bloom any time of the year. Pictured below are some of the many flowers in bloom now: camelia, bird-of-paradise, amaryllis, magnolia, calla lily, azalea and more!   

We have also started our vegetable garden in one of the nine quarteis (plots) on the property. We currently have inhame (taro root), sweet potato, kale, leeks, lettuce, beets, broccoli rabe, brussel sprouts, pipi-piri peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, husk cherries, melon pear and a whole host of herbs. We recently planted a mango tree, passion fruit vines and Brazillian cherries. And we're just getting started.

We hope to have a work-exchange in the low season for guests who'd like to trade some farm work for a discount on their stay, and we are looking forward to working with local farmers to maintain and cultivate the land while we're busy hosting guests and leading experiences. For now, it's amazing to be starting this all on our own. We're a long way from our urban community garden in Somerville, MA!