Oranges & warm feet

(Page 3 of 3)

September/October 1974
By Bill and Judy Beall 
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The grove itself was a joy in which to live and work. It's a real stoner to wake up in the morning with the sun sparkling on the dew which drips from the smiling oranges a few feet from your head. We planted a bountiful garden without any need to consider canning and storing for the future. Our caretaking labors consisted of mowing, hoeing, manuring, watering, pruning, picking and selling the citrus from 1,540 grapefruit, orange and tangelo trees. It was a never-ending job—one that really requires a year-round caretaker—but we did the best we could with the horrendous equipment available . . . and still had ample opportunity to visit beaches, friends, relatives and various metropolitan distractions.

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We feel that we left the grove in much healthier condition than we found it, and look forward to renewing our friendship with the trees next fall if the opportunity presents itself. Our only hassle was finding a market for organic citrus. The Florida Citrus Commission has strict laws that make it difficult for small or organic growers to ship more than 12 bushels out of the state at one time . . . and small-volume shipping prices are high. Although we didn't earn much from the sale of fruit, we ended up no worse off than we were when we arrived six months earlier. And we had warm feet and all the oranges we could eat the whole time.

Does life among the fruit trees sound attractive? There are many rundown, neglected groves throughout Florida, waiting for the developers to bulldoze them into condominiums and trailer parks. In the meantime, the owners would probably be happy to have folks give their land some love and attention in exchange for living and gardening space.

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