Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart has fallen in love with farming

Detroit Pistons power forward Isaiah Stewart’s sweat-soaked shirt glistens in the thick humidity and clings to his frame as he toils for hours — tilling, clearing and nurturing the brown dirt on his farm tucked among the rolling hills of Temecula, California.

It’s a far cry from the polished hardwood floors of an NBA arena. Yet there’s nowhere the 6-foot-8 Stewart would rather be.

As a child growing up in Rochester, New York, Stewart never pictured himself owning farm land, much less cultivating it. But curiosity has a way of rewriting the script.

“Obviously, growing up where I grew up, no one in a hundred years would think I’d become a farmer,” Stewart, 24, said. “But through the years, I’d do research on crops and climate, and it started to take an effect on me.”

That curiosity didn’t appear out of nowhere. Those seeds were likely planted early on by his father, Dela, whose work ethic and gardening skills left an impression on Stewart.

“My father instilled hard work in me from a very young age,” Stewart said. “There were those early morning, late nights of construction, and he’d come home and still take care of me and my brother.”

Dela immigrated to the United States from Jamaica in the late 1970s. He cut sugar cane and picked fruit before finding steadier work in construction, but he never let go of his connection to the soil. Behind their home in Rochester, he kept a garden bursting with cucumbers, tomatoes, and callaloo, a leafy green vegetable from Jamaica.

“My father always had a garden, and he cherished it and always took great care of it,” Stewart said. “It always reaped delicious vegetables and greens every year. I didn’t understand until now the reward behind the work of taking care of your crops.”

Now, between grueling NBA seasons and long road trips, Stewart trades basketballs for backhoes, and hoop dreams for harvests. In the process, he’s found something that gives him peace.

“I felt like farming called me,” he said. “I continue to fall in love with it. I’m constantly researching all the information I can about different crops and climates. This has taken up my time in a good way. I enjoy it.”

For several years, Stewart and his wife, Kiley, searched for the best stretch of land in Southern California. After spending an entire day viewing various properties, Stewart finally discovered his gem in August 2024 — 18 acres nestled in Temecula’s scenic farmland, which was later expanded to 28.

He named it “Paraiso De La Luz,” meaning “Paradise of Light.“

“It was perfect,” Stewart said. “A fresh clean slate to do something special. All it needed was some tender love and caring. It felt like we were walking into a kingdom. It felt so surreal.”

The property is surrounded by other farms that grow citrus and avocados, and Stewart followed suit by planting rows of citrus and avocado trees, along with finger limes, chirimoyas and pomegranates. Visitors arriving at the property first pass through a wall of about 150 cypress trees before the view opens to neat, green rows of fruit trees stretching toward the horizon.

Stewart doesn’t just supervise from afar; he works the land himself. Whether it’s mulching the trees, clearing weeds, or grading the hillside, he’s often behind the wheel of his Mecalac 6MCR, a compact excavator and forklift hybrid.

“I taught myself how to use it,” Stewart said with a grin. “The more you use it, the better you get at it.”

That same persistence defines him on the court. Stewart carries the same methodical patience he’s learned on the farm into his role with the Pistons, a team trying to cultivate growth of its own.

“Nobody worked like us during this offseason and training camp,” said Stewart, who’s averaging 9.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the Pistons’ first six games. “We did some real ‘chop wood, carry water’ type of work to the point where games feel so easy because practices are so hard. We’re young, we’re spirited, and we’re just hungry.”

During the NBA season, most of the daily operations fall to Robert Banuelos, the farm’s project manager, who sends Stewart updates while he’s on the road. But it’s in the offseason that Stewart feels most alive when he can put his hands deep into the dirt. 

“I’m constantly doing things when I’m there in the offseason,” Stewart said. “I’m working 24/7. My wife often says she never sees me until the end of the day because I’m so busy.”

When he’s not working the fields, Stewart is learning from Sam Cobb, who has become a mentor and friend. Cobb, considered the only Black date farmer in the United States by the Black Farmers Index, cultivates more than 2,000 date palm trees on his farm in Desert Hot Springs, about 90 minutes northeast of Stewart’s property.

Dates — a staple in Muslim communities, especially during Ramadan (a month of fasting, prayer and reflection) — take years to mature, making them one of the most challenging crops in agriculture. After long conversations with Cobb, Stewart decided to plant his own date palms, eager to learn the process.

“What impressed me about Isaiah is that he wants to get into this stuff,” Cobb said. “I told him this is the toughest crop to grow — it takes years for a date palm to mature. And he said, ‘Well, I’m young, I have time.’ My mouth fell open. I couldn’t argue with that.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of Black farmers in America has fallen from nearly 1 million in 1920 to 46,738 in 2022. For Cobb, Stewart’s interest isn’t just about planting trees, it’s about legacy.

“I keep testing Isaiah to see if he’s sincere, and he keeps giving me the right answers,” Cobb said. “I’m going to guide him and help him be successful.”

Successful farming for Stewart comes in many ways: from establishing one of the best farms in the country, from helping supply the world with food, and from creating a space for him to fill his time once his NBA career is over.

“When I’m out there, I’m surrounded by all of these green hills and farmland,” Stewart said. “I’m just enjoying the moment so much. I’m just very grateful and thankful of earth. I never thought I’d appreciate and see earth from another perspective.”

The post Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart has fallen in love with farming appeared first on Andscape.