Tag: creole spinach

Cuba Agroecology: Patio Pelegrin organoponico in Pinar del Rio, Cuba

Patio Pelegrin organoponico garden beds.
Photo Pam Dawling

Visit to Pelegrin Courtyard (Patio Pelegrin) artist family Community Agricultural Project (organoponico) in Pinar del Rio, close to Viñales, Cuba

Day 6 – Sunday January 12 (journey back to Havana)

This is the continuing story of my Agroecology Tour of Cuba with Organic Growers School in January 2020. Search the Cuban Agriculture Category for more posts about other farms we visited.

Our air-conditioned bus left at 8.30 am to visit Pelegrin Courtyard (Patio Pelegrin) artist family Community Agricultural Project (organoponico).

Pelegrin Patio artist community dolls, Cuba.
Photo Pam Dawling

We were greeted by a group of children singing and performing a short sketch. Then we were given a tour, including a caged crocodile, guinea pigs (food?) a catfish pond (catfish are invasive aliens, which Cubans are trying to eliminate by eating them. [I wonder why they don’t feed them to tourists?]

Pelegrin Courtyard pond with turtles and catfish.
Photo Pam Dawling

We saw their vegetables in beds edged with roof tiles. We saw field crops including sweet potatoes and coffee.

Pelegrin Courtyard sweet potatoes (bonato).
Photo Pam Dawling

Again I saw cilantro and creole spinach. I’m still seeking other names for creole spinach.

Creole Spinach at Pelegrin Courtyard, Cuba. The blue fabric is for organic pest control.
Photo Pam Dawling
Close up of creole spinach in Cuba.
Photo Pam Dawling

Creole Spinach is different from Egyptian spinach (Corchorus olitorius), Lalo, Molokheya, Saluyot, Ewedu, West African Sorrel, Krin Krin, Etinyung, Jute leaves. Also see more about Jute Leaves at this link. Note pointed leaves.

Jute leaves. iStock photo

It is none of these tropical “spinaches” either:

Read about those in the Love of Dirt blog by Nicki McKay. Before you click to buy seeds, know that she is in Australia.

Click here to read what Tom Carey has to say about some of these:

  • Nor is it Callaloo (amaranthus spp), bayam, Chinese spinach.
  •           Nor Okinawa spinach (Gynura crepioides, Hong Tsoi, Longevity Spinach);
  •           Nor Malabar spinach (Basella alba, Basella rubra),
  •           Nor water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica), Kangkong). Watch out, that can be invasive.
  •       Maybe Suriname spinach (Talinum fruticosum, (Talinum triangulare) Talinum Spinach, Philippine spinach, Waterleaf, Ceylon spinach, Surinam purslane, Florida spinach)? Florida is geographically very close to Cuba. Similar pink flowers.
Talinum Spinach
(Talinum triangulare).
Photo Grow a Gardener Inc, Vegetable Gardening in SW Florida

Learning about these hot weather greens may be useful as our summers get hotter.

I have a bit more information about the Cuban oregano, Plectranthus amboinicus, I saw at several farms, including Alamar Urban Organic Farm . Cuban oregano is a member of the mint or deadnettle family. It has characteristic thick, fuzzy leaves with a strong pleasant odor. The flavor of Cuban oregano is said to be much stronger than Greek oregano.

Pelegrin Courtyard meprobromato treats anxiety.
Photo Pam Dawling

I also saw meprobromato, a herb drunk as a tea or cold drink to treat anxiety. Meprobromate  was manufactured and marketed in the US as Miltown and Equanil. They were best-selling sedatives/minor tranquilizers for a time, until replaced by benzodiazepines. Nowadays, meprobromate is known to be addictive at doses not much higher than the medication dosages.

Mosaic steps at Pelegrin Courtyard farm.
Photo Pam Dawling

We saw many outdoor mosaics, including walkways, steps and pieces embedded in the walls.

Mosaic bench at Pelegrin Courtyard, Cuba.
Photo Pam Dawling

Inside the galleries we saw pottery, dolls and paintings. I bought a painting of an old man for $25.

Pelegrin Courtyard pottery.
Photo Pam Dawling

There was a big porch with a mural and greetings from groups  who had visited from all over the world.

Porch on the artists’ gallery at Pelegrin Courtyard, Cuba.
Photo Pam Dawling

They have received international support for some of their farming (irrigation) and their farm buildings.

Pelegrin Courtyard, Cuba. Outdoor classroom.
Photo Pam Dawling

Cuban Agroecology Tour: Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales

Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales. View from the restaurant
Photo Pam Dawling

Cuban Agroecology Tour: Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales

Here’s another post from my January 2020 group agroecology trip with Organic Growers’ School to Cuba. I’m posting about this sporadically as I organize my photos and journal.

Day 5 – Saturday January 11 lunch and afternoon

After visiting La Palma, a farm in Pinar del Rio province primarily growing tobacco, and Manolo Tobacco Farm to see cigars made, we went to a farm restaurant called La Finca Agroecologica el Paraiso. Wilfredo is the main farmer and his daughters are the main chefs.

Tidy raised beds and mountain view, Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales, Cuba.  Photo Pam Dawling

The farm has 8.9 hectares, with 200 vegetable beds and 80% of the produce is sold through their restaurant, and 20% to hospitals etc (I think that is a legal requirement in Cuba). The restaurant is at the top of the hill, affording beautiful views of the farm.

Part of the vegetable gardens at Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales, Cuba. Photo Pam Dawling

We had an exceptionally delicious lunch starting with an anti-stress herbal cocktail. Following that we had squash soup, sweet potatoes, taro, squash, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, pickled beans, pickled cucumbers, pork, beef, fish, rice and beans. The most vegetables I ate all week! (Food for tourists tend to be meat focused, although the places we visited could cater for vegetarians and vegans.) We enjoyed flan for dessert.

Outdoor classroom and banana tree at Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales, Cuba
Photo Pam Dawling

After lunch we were given a guided tour of Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso. The boxed beds were very tidy, and they are all hand watered with water pumped from the river.

Creole spinach – does anyone recognize this plant? Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales, Cuba.  Photo Pam Dawling

Creole spinach – see photo above. I do not know the Latin name for this vegetable, and in my research of hot weather cooking greens, particularly alternatives to spinach, I had not come across this crop before. Leave a comment if you know what it is.

Star garden at Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales, Cuba
Photo Pam Dawling

Their “summer lettuce” is Tokyo bekana or maruba santoh. This use of the fast-growing chartreuse tender-leaved Asian green for a salad leaf was one I saw several times in Cuba. I thought I’d invented it! Haha! One summer when our lettuce did not grow according to plan, we served some Tokyo bekana as lettuce, and many people did not notice a difference! (Enough salad dressing will mask any vegetable flavor!) Some farms and restaurants simply call it “lettuce” or “summer lettuce”, some say it is a kind of pak choy, and a few can provide the actual name.

Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso , Viñales, Cuba. Tokyo bekana used as “summer lettuce”. Photo Pam Dawling
Herbs and flowers growing at Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales, Cuba.
Photo Pam Dawling

The farm grows aromatic herbs to deter bugs. They use tobacco stem solution to kill pests. Nicotine is a strong generalist poison, which used to be part of the toolkit of organic growers here in the US and in the UK. It has the advantage of being short-lived, so produce can be eaten the day after spraying.

Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales, Cuba. Lettuce bed. Photo Pam Dawling

See this video from Franny’s Farmacy. Made by two of my fellow travelers on the OGS Tour.

Finca Agroecológica El Paraiso, Viñales, Cuba – Learning about Sustainability and Organic Farming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egnKXHyu8_k

To see more, visit https://vimeo.com/146862523