Today we’d like to introduce you to Martha Roe Burke.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Please see our website for our story. (camelliagroves.com)
There you will see that our roots go back 100 years in citrus, when my grandfather, W.G. Roe first moved to Winter Haven and bought his first grove. He had been selling citrus on the terminal market in NYC and in 1926, he decided to invest in groves and grow his own oranges and tangerines. He founded W. G. Roe and Company, which became the largest packer of fresh tangerines in the world in the late 1970s and 1980s. His sons, Willard E Roe (my father) and Frederick Roe (my uncle) grew the business to 5000 acres before their heirs split up the business.
Some factoids about us:
Both my husband Joe and I have been active in the family business for over 20 years. I have also been a Florida Citrus Commissioner (Florida Department of Citrus) for two terms and served as Vice Chairman, with a focus on fresh fruit marketing.
Joe and I live on 35 acres right on Eagle Lake and have planted seedless lemons on our property. Lemons have never been grown this far north before the global warming of the 2000s. Lemons cannot handle freezing temperatures, so this was a big gamble for us. We are also the first in our family to grow citrus organically. Lemons were chosen because they handle citrus greening best, a devastating disease on citrus that has wiped out thousands of acres of Florida citrus. We believe that the customer would rather not have a perfect piece of fruit, if they could know that their lemons are pesticide-free. Turns out, superficial blemish is less important than chemical-free fruit. Customers also love that our fruit is seedless. Seediness also affects juice flavor, when they are juiced, so our lemons taste superior to other lemon juice. Finally, Florida lemons have approximately 40% more juice than western lemons, which delights customers who are used to thick peel lemons from California with minimal juice content.
Today, approximately 80% of our harvest is sold internationally. The remainder is sold to local juicers and through our Local Harvest U-Pick monthly retail events. The public is invited to the farm to pick their own lemons and we invite neighborhood friends to bring their fruits, honey, art and share it at our events. We have a newsletter that we send out to remind our customers when the next event will be held. We do not have a retail storefront, but customers can also go to our website where products can be purchased and either picked up at the farm or shipped. Every Sunday, customers can come to the farm and pick up their order.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My husband of 44 years suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in March of 2024 while traveling in Switzerland.
He is unable to assist with the management of the grove anymore but we have a great team that makes things work nonetheless and Joe enjoys being part of the action.
It is hard to manage the grove operations, sales efforts, manage the homestead and also care for Joe. But we have been blessed with a caregiver team and close friends who help us pull things together. It has been very gratifying to have such special friends who keep things going. And we love growing lemons.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Our Local Harvest UPick was first ideated to provide a place for locals to come buy our lemons.
What came next really surprised and gratified us.
We have attracted the nicest following of locals who appreciate being on a farm and the opportunity to pick their own fruit.
Many come from 2 hours away and are health-minded. Everyone who comes for lemons are lovely, friendly people who love lemons and come back every month to stock up on lemons. They make us feel like we are breaking down barriers in our community.
We love building a following of lovely people we can now call friends and who remind us that we are all part of the same beautiful neighborhood, city, state, and country. We are more alike that we realize. We are proud to bring our community together for lovely days on the farm where we can enjoy one another and celebrate life.
How do you think about luck?
Luck is always a plus.
We started the lemon farm because the crop we chose was seedless and because it tolerated citrus greening. We had no idea at the time that lemons would become such a a trend, both for wellness and in marketing. We are experiencing this great wave of lemon enthusiasm and wellness and people are just so glad to find us. Furthermore, we had not planned to grow the lemons organically, but when our major buyer approached us and asked us to grow them pesticide free, we not only gained that customer but a following of health minded people who appreciate the effort and enjoy our fruit.
We love that lemons have become so trendy, but it was absolutely serendipity…..or luck.
We also have chosen to support the Moffitt Cancer Center Hope Lodge with our Limoncello offering in December of every year. We do not sell the limoncello. Instead, we give the public the opportunity to donate the proceeds of the limoncello to Moffitt in exchange for a free bottle of limoncello. This will be our third year’s donation and it has grown rapidly with the enthusiasm for a delicious product with a great cause.
Finally, we have found that our gift box of lemons makes the most wonderful and healthy gift for anyone looking to send a special gift to a friend. Our premium gourmet lemons are huge and gorgeous and full of juice. They are the ultimate gift of love for anyone. We also have diversified into making lemon products such as fresh lemon curd, preserved lemon, preserved lemon aioli, limony simple syrup and of course, by special order, limoncello. We invite the public to follow us on our website by signing up for our newsletter which announces our next Local Harvest Open Farm and U-Pick. We hope to see you here! camelliagroves.com
Pricing:
- UPick 30 pounds for $25
- Pre-picked 7 lb bags for $10
- Lemon curd $25/16 ounces
- Limony Simple Syrup $10/16 oz
- Preserved Lemon Aioli $12/8 oz
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.camelliagroves.com
- Instagram: @lemonsandsuch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569163417091
