St. Croix couple Mark Gelband and Courtney Loveman, who have owned and operated the historic Frederiksted property, Estate Mt. Washington, for almost four years, may hold the record for the largest avocado in the world, breaking the current record holder from Hawaii’s weight by half an ounce.
Gelband and Loveman’s avocado weighs 5 pounds and 6.5 ounces, and they currently have an even bigger one on the same tree.
Unsure of the process and timing, the couple applied online with the Guinness Book of World Records officials. Loveman said they would like to promote the island’s agriculture, culture, adventure and ecotourism opportunities.
When the couple initially took ownership of Mt. Washington, the trees were at various stages of damage from the 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria. “We put a lot of effort into pruning those trees and cleaning up that whole area. There were a couple of years where we didn’t get great crops at all, but we put in a lot of effort into taking care of those trees and learning more on how to make them productive again,” said Gelband.
Other factors that affected the growth of crops and their trees were the severe drought that the U.S. Virgin Islands experienced in previous years, plus a septic system conveniently positioned near the tree by previous owners. “Lately, we’ve had an abundance of rain and an abundance of sunshine,” said Gelband.
The perk of growing a large avocado, Gelband said, is 16 weeks of incorporating it into his diet. “I eat avocado with every meal,” he said. The couple has several different types of avocados in their orchard. “I joke that one avocado is enough for an entire Super Bowl party,” Gelband said.
He discovered the possible world record-breaking avocado when he noticed the trees were producing large avocados and started to weigh them. Then, out of curiosity, he went onto the internet and looked up a young boy who won the Guinness World Record in Hawaii for the largest avocado.
One morning, Gelband looked outside and saw an avocado that fell out of the tree. He grabbed it and noticed there was a little crack. He brought it inside and used his wife’s baking scale and weighed it. To his surprise, it was heavy, and he said, “Oh my gosh, this is a world-record avocado.”
Gelband stated that there is a larger narrative behind the avocado story. “We just feel like this is amazing. People talk about wanting to promote St. Croix, and there are so many abundant resources here. There are so many high-value resources, and when people walk into, say, Whole Foods in the States, they are amazed by it, and we have so many abundant resources that are highly treasured, and I kept thinking if we had a way to promote that,” Gelband said.
“This would be a great way to do that. Not just to promote that there’s this one big avocado because someone else’s tree will grow one maybe bigger or there could be somewhere in the world that are just growing bigger. This is to bring positive attention to all these amazing agricultural resources we have on the island,” he continued.
Gelband said that farmers need better support. “Our natural and cultural resources are world treasures. Imagine if we had a central location where any local could easily bring their avocado for export and get paid by the pound on the spot. Imagine if we extended this to soursop/soursop leaf, chew stick, kakanga root, neem, mangoes, and so many other highly treasured resources.”
Gelband and his wife plan to maintain the historic ruins and grounds and are working to create more opportunities for people to enjoy the beautiful space.
“This will help to fuel people that will respect the cultural and historical history and values. The kind of tourist who treasures natural resources and stories like this I think are the ones we need to bring. This gives an opportunity to highlight the delicious fruits and vegetables, the medicinal and roots that grow on the island in abundance,” he said.
“We have all these amazing farmers and growing food for people is hard work. Let’s rely on our own food systems here that creates better food, better nutrition and hopefully some element of giving back to the community so that we have less food insecurity on the island,” Gelband said.
