U-Pick Citrus

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Today we went on a wonderful field trip to one of THE last U-Pick Citrus Farms in Southwest Florida!!

It is owned and run by a couple by the name of Johnson. Judy and Bob began planting there 10-acre grove in 1980. Bob planted all 3,000 trees himself, from seed! Unfortunately they lost that initial crop to frost. But that did not stop him. He has had a thriving business for many years that also helps support local needy people.


 Each season they donate 12,000 pounds of fruit to the Harry Chapin Food Bank and they also work with churches in their area to help feed hungry children.

They also sell some local wild flower honey from their nieghbor's bee farm down the road.

Their barn is an eclectic mix of antiques, Bob's sign and license plate collection and the supplies he needs to run the farm.



The grove is open from November to May. The location is:
 18971 Misty Morning Lane, Ft. Myers, FL.
Email address is: upickcitrus@netzero.net
Phone: 239-657-4996

Judy and Bob were a delight and they were so wonderful to our homeschool group. The children had just as much fun playing with their dog and cat as they did picking the oranges and tangerines. The older two children were there as well but I didn't get a good photo of them...bummer!




I bought almost 60 lbs of citrus!!! You can imagine how much fresh juice we will be getting from that! And how wonderful the juice will be in our morning green smoothies.




 And I am happy to say that they do not use any pesticides on their fruit! Grazing in the grove is free and they allow you to taste from the tree before you pick so you can select the fruit that is right for your individual taste. How great is that!!

Thank you Bob and Judy for allowing us to spend the day at your lovely home/grove. It was a splendid day and we had so much fun.

How about a green smoothie recipe with fresh squeezed Honey Tangerine juice:

I juiced several of the Honey Tangerines and added the juice to a blender full of raw sunflower seeds, freshly ground flax, 4 large collard leaves, banana and finally frozen mango and some ice.

U-Pick Green Smoothieby Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

2 C freshly juiced honey tangerine juice
4 T raw sunflower seeds
3 dates, pitted
3 T freshly ground flax seeds
4 large collard leaves, torn
3 small bananas
2 C frozen mango
1/2 C ice
Blend till creamy and smooth. Enjoy the goodness!
Our oldest son enjoyed a large glass of fresh squeezed Valencia juice with his breakfast--yum!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a day in the sunshine picking fresh citrus with friends and family.

Comments

aribelle2624 said…
Yum! I will definitely try this. My children really enjoyed picking their own fruit. Thanks!

~Heather
January 21, 2012 at 4:27 PM
Mr. H. said…
A U-pick citrus farm, what a wonderful adventure. We found a citrus called Yuzu Ichandrin that will survive conditions down to 0°F and in the next year or so hope to try growing it ourselves.

Enjoy all that wonderful juice.:)
February 5, 2012 at 11:33 AM
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