Today we’d like to introduce you to Chuck Crisafulli.
Hi Chuck, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Crisafulli Groves has been in existence since the early 1900s when my Grandfather, Carmelo Crisafulli, settled in Merritt Island, Florida and began to plant what would become some of the premier citrus fruit in the world! Grandpa and Grandma were known to us as Nona and Noni, as we are Italian. All of Nona and Noni’s children continued in the citrus business and our Dad, Ben Crisafulli, along with his cousin and brother propagated the Crisafulli Navel, an amazing orange that was just recently recognized by the Florida Department of Agriculture. Dad and Mom’s (Mary Crisafulli), hard work and their faith in God has left us a legacy of awesome oranges, grapefruit and specialty fruit that we offer for sale at our U-Pick farm as well as other fruit, vegetables and berries.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Farming is an often-perilous enterprise and ours is no exception. Anyone who knows about the citrus industry in Florida is aware that the “greening” disease has devastated groves from Jacksonville to Miami and honestly has been the impetus for me to take on this new phase of our business. I believe that by following the latest recommendations from researchers and by implementing some very old techniques of fruit production, we can revive the citrus industry in Florida. My methods are not normal and are quite unorthodox; briefly, I have found that interplanting my citrus with certain vegetable, herbs and trees that are “aromatic” will deter the bugs, specifically the Asian Citrus Psyllid that infects the trees. Many areas of the world grow eucalyptus tress near their crops to achieve this effect. Hyper-nutrition is also quite effective in mitigating disease and pests in the orange grove and this happens to work perfectly with planting certain vegetables in and around one’s trees. I feel that there are many more ways to protect our crops and believe that with hard work and good practices we are well on the way to bringing citrus back to it’s prime in Central Florida.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Crisafulli Groves?
The Farm at Crisafulli Groves will be a one-of-a-kind U-Pick farm and market! Our goal is to offer a family-friendly experience that will fit hand in hand with our desire to produce the finest fruit, vegetables and juice and to offer them directly to our customers and local restaurants as well. My family has been growing citrus in central Florida for one hundred years and our customers have been asking us to “branch” out and offer other fruit and veggies from our location here in Merritt Island, Florida, just outside the Kennedy Space Center. The “Farm” experience will include touring the farm and facility, picking fresh fruit and veggies and the opportunity to purchase all kinds of tasty treats, such as local honey (the hives are right on the property), jellies, ice cold fresh orange juice, IMO the finest in the world, no brag, just fact!
Of major importance is that we want you to know that our children and grandchildren as well as you and yours to can be confident that we use no chemicals that are harmful to them or the environment. Besides possibly brushing off a little dirt, you can be confident that you can safely pick and eat an orange, blueberry, blackberry, peach or a head of lettuce, carrot or whatever from this farm without fear of pesticides or anything that isn’t directly from nature being in your mouth or on your hands!
One of the advantages of being located here in central Florida is that our moderate climate allows many tropical fruit trees and plants to thrive and our goal is to offer many items that may not be available in grocery stores or other farmer’s markets. So many diverse cultures are represented in our area and many of these folks are looking for fruit and vegetables that were familiar to them in their youth or the countries they came from and we want to make them available.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
My family came to Florida over one hundred years ago; with a solid belief in God and a strong work ethic, they transformed a couple hundred acres of palmettos, sand and mosquitos into some of the finest citrus groves in all the world; it is very important to me to continue that legacy so that my children, grandchildren and future generations can always know where we started! One more thing that you should know that is very near and dear to our hearts is this; we have founded Life Recaptured Inc., a sex-trafficking rescue organization that is housing and recapturing life for women who have been victims of human sex trafficking. We are funding this venture from our farm and share our retail location with Life Recaptured and are actually planting fruit and vegetables at the home sites, where our ladies will be growing their own food along with the therapeutic benefits of being outdoors and in the garden.
So, of course, I want this business to be profitable financially, but there is much that we strive to accomplish that we feel is a greater goal.
Contact Info:
- Email: crisafullic@bellsouth.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crisafulligroves
