LimeTree Farm

New additions to the Lime Tree Farm Family.

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:02:33 +0000

Last week at daybreak, The inhabitants & guests of Lime Tree Farm were woken early by Alex my son – great excitement after months of discussing with his friends Scilia’s pregnancy(our goat) the time had finally come for her to give birth, after waking the whole community including our guests the Pangos & their 2 children Katherine & Antoine, everybody witnessed the births of 2 tiny ram goats promptly named Smoko & Joshy after Alex’s godfather & cousin!

Apparently it’s extremely lucky for 2 rams to be born together, so they say in LIme Tree Village. Mother & kids are doing fine & our head of security JET LI(Dog) has gone completely mad!!

For more countryside experiences contact me at charlie@limetreefarm.com

BLOG by CHARLIE

Scilia, Smoko & Joshy

CORAL RELOCATION – Please excuse me from Lime Tree Farm, I’m busy!!

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:01:25 +0000

Well it’s 2010, we had a BLUE MOON on new years eve, first time in donkeys years, pity is I wasn’t at Lime Tree Farm to enjoy it.
I’m in Falmouth – no not Cornwall but Jamaica trying desperately to move 25 acres of living coral before a huge cutter dredger arrives in Feb. to cut out a channel through one of Jamaica’s richest coral reefs for Royal Caribbean’s new state of the art cruise ship terminal on Jamaica’s north coast.
Environmentally this doesn’t sound to sound an idea but economically Jamaica cannot afford to turn this project away, even so NEPA – Jamaica’s National Environmental Protection Agency have demanded, quite rightly that the reef be moved rather destroyed & the Jamaican Government through the Port Authority of Jamaica have undertaken the biggest Coral Relocation in history – by far – who said developing nations don’t look after their environment

This is where I come in:- I work as a sub-contractor for a commercial diving company based in Kingston, Seaport Equipment Ltd, normally 1 or 2 days a week, we landed the contract & now I find myself as Project Manager for the Relocation works, with a team of 92 divers & boats crews – 11 boats & a huge amount of equipment.
In a nutshell we cut the the corals from the dead substrate/reef using hydraulic saws & chisels, load them into baskets & tow them underwater to the relocation site away from the dredge footprint & stick them back down again using cement & epoxy. Sounds simple? Trust me it’s not but we’ve now moved in the region of 60,000 corals over a 3 month period & we’re getting good at it.
The results are impressive, the almost dead reef we’re relocating to is a myriad of different coloured coral species & fish that are attracted by our work & turn the site into an open water aquarium of underwater life, octopus, turtles, dolphins, manatee & even a couple of sharks have passed by drawn by the commotion.
All of this is monitored by NEPA who work closely with us to resolve the various problems we encounter.
Our normal team of about 12 commercial divers has been suplimented by divers from all over Jamaica, now is not a good time to go diving from an all-inclusive hotel on the north coast, most of their staff have joined this effort to save the reef- 7 days a week from 5AM till 5PM these divers have become an organized underwater army, even surprising the big multi-national companies working on the project with their dedication & discipline.

If you planning a trip to Lime Tree Farm early this year don’t worry Suzie my wife & Rodger my business partner will take good care of you, please excuse me for not being there, I’m on a mission & I soon come, I hope!

Blog by Charlie

Diver at work

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The Ratcut Coffee Co

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:14:35 +0000

When you purchase a pound of grade A Blue Mountain Coffee you’d be excused in thinking that this is the best coffee in the world. How could there be anything better?
The hidden truth is that the Blue Mountain RATS, yes RATS have taken the best, let me explain!
When the coffee is riping Cherry Red on the Coffee Trees in the Blue Mountain sun, the rats move in selecting only the sweetest, fatest, most succulant berries, these are piled at the base of the tree & as darkness falls over Blue Mountain Peak the feast begins – the rats eat only the cherry ripe sweet tasting skin & leave the biggest & best beans of the crop neatly stacked for whoever might want them.
Traditionally Blue Mountain coffee farmers collected this coffee for their own consumption & kept it a closely guarded secret.
Lime Tree Farm recently acquired all the machinery needed to process our own coffee.
Now guests at Lime Tree will be able amongst a select few worldwide to be able to take part in the processing of our own Estate Coffee as well as been able to purchase a “few” pounds of what is truly the” best coffee in the world” – just ask the RATS they’ll tell you.

Blog by Charlie

Ratcut Coffee Co

Drought at Lime Tree Farm – A good Sign?

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:41:14 +0000

After 6 weeks of Blue skies, temperatures in the 90s & no rain, we can safely say we are in a drought!
That might not be as bad as it sounds – we used to have hot summers like this before the hurricanes began 5 years ago, since then our summers have been spent watching the various weather systems coming across the Atlantic from Africa & wondering which one might “mash” us up!

No sign of one yet(touch wood) so we welcome the drought & our road is really good too.

Kingston & the coast is unbearable so the only option is to head for the hills & Lime Tree Farm with our cool evening breeze.

Nuff said!

Blog by Charlie

Lime Tree road - on a bad day!

Lime Tree Farm Closing for September.

admin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:36:20 +0000

Due to hurricane season, the need for some paintwork & a break we’ve decided to close for the month of September.
I would like to apologise to anybody who was thinking of coming in September & ask you to re-consider your itinery!

CINCHONA BOTANICAL GARDENS – TAINTED!

admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:16:49 +0000

I was recently forwarded an article in the Financial Times written by Ian Thompson. The former guest of LIME TREE FARM who forwarded the article & I agreed that the article did not do justice to one of the worlds more magical places.

Thompson tries to paint a picture of Cinchona as an oasis surrounded by theives & devestation – yes the Blue Mountains have suffered terribly from 5 hurricannes in 5 years but their beauty has been untarnished & is there for anybody who can be bothered to make the journey to see.

As for thieves – I know the odd Orchid Bloom is taken by a visitor but theft is NOT a big problem. Thomson also paints the”RASTA” picture – another favourite for journalists looking for an “angle” – Stamp the manager is not a Rasta & although one of the workers there is the others are not & do not spend their time lying about smoking “weed” – the beauty of the gardens is testament to their loving care, just talk with Albert or “Broke-up”, 2 of the gardeners & you can’t help but feel their enthusiasm for the place.

The Observatory House is not a victim of vandalism rather it has suffered from years of neglect by various Jamaican governments notorious for ignoring Jamaica’s rich heritage not to mention the hurricanes.

WHY is it that when journalists write about jamaica they can’t help but sensationalize the crime problem here – yes we have a social/crime problem here but then so do parts of any country in the world – London, New Orleans etc etc.

Cinchona Botanical Gardens are so far removed from this problem they might as well be in the North Pole & I’m afraid that the FT article has tainted the pure magic of Cinchona which can easily sustain an article in it’s own write without resorting to the normal sensationalism associated with Jamaican Press.

If you would like to see what I’m ranting about & feel the pure magic of Cinchona Botanical Gardens check out our website – www.limetreefarm.com – I’d be more than happy to take you there & show you how far removed from Thomson’s article it really is!

Blog by Charlie

BLUE MOUNTAIN PEAK RE-CONQUERED BY ANGLO FRENCH JAMAICAN TEAM on an excursion from LIME TREE FARM

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:51:06 +0000

Blue Mountain Peak was RE-conquered recently on an excursion from LIME TREE FARM. May is not the best time for Blue Mountain Peak due to heavy rainfall & this year was no different.
Undettered by the weather some French guests were more than ready to take on the challenge, Pierre Roux, his partner Catherine, his son Arnoud & partner Victoria(our first Lithuanian guest) are seasoned hikers having done the Inca trail in Peru in 3 days instead of the normal 4 Blue Mountain Peak was a walk in the Park! Last but not least our neighbor Patty who had never done the hike before completed the multi-national team.

We set off from Lime Tree Farm at 430am after a cup of the worlds finest Blue Mountain Coffee & after an eventfull 4 wheel drive arrived at the trailhead at dawn – no rain yet but the clouds loomed ominously from the north side of the mountain.
The hike took a respectable time of 3 hours to the Peak where we were greeted by a light shower & heavy cloud cover. Sandwiches prepared by Suzie, Lime Tree Farm’s chef were eagerly desposed of before the return hike down the mountain trail.

The expedition was completed with another cup of the world’s best at Jah B’s guest house at the foot of the mountain.

Blue Mountain Peak

JET LI signs up as Head of Security for LIME TREE FARM

admin — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:30:33 +0000

All of us here at Lime Tree Farm are delighted to welcome JET LI as our new head of security. After many months of interviews we finally decided to take on Jet li due to his expertise in this field(black & tan belt etc etc) he will take over Zulu's duties forthwith.

Contrary to public belief Jet Li is not chinese at all but has a German father & a Jamaican mother of German descent, he has signed up for a 10 year contract which has not pleased Alex & Tyrone the cats at all!

Welcome JET LI to Lime Tree Farm……

Six Jamaican Blackbirds & 2 Crested Quail Doves Spotted on a Birding Excursion from Lime Tree Farm!

admin — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:03:00 +0000

Last week 3 keen birders from Canada, Simon Gawn, Paul & Ian Jones visited Lime Tree Farm for an intensive 3 days of Birding, on the first day we visited Cinchona where 17 of Jamaica's endemic bird species were sighted along with a a few other rare birds to Jamaica such as a LIncoln Sparrow & a Rufus Throated Solitair, a Multi Island Endemic whose haunting whistle is considered the sound of the Blue Mountains. Our guests were very keen to see the elusive Jamaican Blackbird & Crested Quail Dove otherwise called the Mountain Witch, both birds are endemic to Jamaica hard to find & live in the mid to higher level forests of the Blue Mountains. The Jamaican Blackbird feeds on insects living in Bromiliads which grow on tree branches in the forest. Departing from Lime Tree Farm at 430AM we drove high up to the trail head of Blue Mountain itself from there we walked into the clouds seaching the trail for the doves which are known to feed on the forest floor amongst the fallen leaves – no Mountain Witches yet but soon a Blackbird called, not one but two! Feeding amongst the bromilads at head height right in front of us pictures galore for in Ian & Paul & even a couple of bad ones for my point & shoot digital. Moving on to the Ranger Station at Portland Gap – still no sign of the Doves so we continued towards Blue Mountain Peak searching the path ahead for them, the rain came down & still we searched unbelievably another Jamaican Blackbird displayed itself for us. Ryan Love our guide was considering turning back as we were reaching elevations not considered favourable for the Crested Quail Doves suddenly he saw them, not one but two , in a tree of all places. The vibe was good amongst us as we turned back down the trail, miaculously we saw another pair & a single Jamaican Blackbird on our way down. Just to let you know how rare this is – try & find a photo of one – very difficult – Ian & Paul have plenty & promised to send me some so look for it posted on my blog, in the meantime you'll have to make do with my poor picture!

Blog By Charlie

GREEN CASTLE ESTATE & LIME TREE FARM LINK-UP!

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:59:39 +0000

The management teams of 2 properties with like minded values in sustainable tourism got together for a couple of enjoyable days last weekend at Lime Tree Farm. Apart from a very enjoyable trip to Cinchona & a hike along Governor's Bench Trail a future collaboration was discussed.

Green Castle is a beautiful 1600acre estate in the Parish of St Mary – one of the last unspoilt areas of Jamaica's north Coast, it seems a million miles away from the all inclusive hotels of Montego Bay & Ocho Rios. THe Estate is run by Angie Dickson & Joe Loer with a little help from their children Salina & Reed, their attitudes on sustainable tourism are very similar to our own – Angie who runs the Estate House as a Rental Villa is dedicated to providing her guests with a "real" Jamaican experence very much like ourselves at Lime Tree Farm. Joe is responsible for the developement of the Estate & has plenty of community based ideas for the future.

Keep an eye on this blog for details of a 2 center package between the 2 properties, soon to be published! Check this link for more info on Green Castle www.gcjamaica.com