Fresh Fruit from Florida: Indian River Citrus
I can remember driving down Florida’s Highways in my younger days and seeing billboards and wacky signs everywhere advertising Fresh Fruit from Indian River Citrus. Some signs had crazy movements to get the attention of our northern seasonal friends to take home a box of oranges or grapefruit. The colorful signs advertised bags of fruit at $1 a bag and invited tourists to sample some freshly squeezed orange juice.
Oranges
Oranges are one of the world’s most popular fruits. Originally from the Far East, orange trees do well in Florida’s subtropical climate. Moderate temperatures, abundant rainfall, plenty of sunshine, and unique sandy soil help grow the sweetest and juiciest citrus in the world.
Grapefruit
Plump, Juicy, Thin-skinned, and the sweetest in the world. Indian River County in Florida benefits from the best climate, soil, and geological conditions to produce the perfect balance of sweetness and acid in its grapefruit.
Citrus Museum
Enjoy the rich history of Vero Beach and its citrus industry at the Indian River Citrus Museum.
Discover how citrus seeds made their way to Florida and the story of how area pioneers established the most distinguished citrus fruit in the world. They have plenty of artifacts, photographs, memorabilia, and wooden crate labels. Volunteers are glad to show you around and tell the stories of the citrus industry past and present.
2140 14th Avenue
Vero Beach, FL
Countryside Citrus
Countryside Family Farms is a citrus gift fruit shipper and retail shop in Vero Beach. The spirit of “Old Florida” is still alive as this little fruit farm thrives to continue a great family tradition that spans four generations. This historic citrus packing house is one of the oldest in the county.
In addition to the citrus, they have a U-pick strawberry patch that was ripe with berries. When we arrived, the girls were making cinnamon-roasted pecans which were still warm. I also had to try the creamsicle shake made with fresh orange juice and ice cream.
Countryside Family Farms
6325 81st Street
Vero Beach, FL
Peterson Groves
A visit to Peterson Groves is a step back in time. In fact, the Peterson family has owned this property since 1913. The gift shop is full of not only citrus, but gourmet dressings, dips, sauces, local honey, farm-fresh eggs, produce, souvenirs, and sweet delicious Florida taffy.
I headed straight to the delicious juicy Honeybell oranges. I can’t think of many other pleasures I would recommend than peeling open a chilled, juicy Honeybell orange and slurping up that delicious soft citrus. The season which peaks in January was starting to decline when I visited in late February but I was able to snag a bag.
Peterson’s Groves
3375 66th Ave.
Vero Beach, FL
Schacht Groves
When we visited Schacht Groves, we discovered the cleanest, best-organized Farm Store of all that we visited in the Vero Beach area. The store features local produce, eggs, and meat. They also offer unique gifts and locally handcrafted items. Additional items offer up Florida flavor, from an assortment of pecan log rolls to orange blossom honey.
You can come to the farm for a memorable outing with an added perk: You can purchase and bring home fresh citrus that you picked straight from the groves! With U-Pick, you’ll get to pick the fruit that you want right off the trees. You can’t find that in a grocery store and the fruit tastes so much sweeter.
On the way out, Brenda had to launch an orange from the life-sized slingshot into Schacht’s picturesque pond. Hope she saw the sign!
6100 12th Street
Vero Beach, FL
Disney’s Vero Beach Resort
As you travel around Vero Beach and Indian River County, you might have decided to stick around for a while. One place I can recommend is the Disney Vero Beach Resort.
In addition to all the fun that Disney offers here, the resort theme is a citrus packing company with a lodge feel. Decorations include old citrus labels from the Indian River County area.
A Vanishing Citrus Industry
Not only are roadside citrus shops closing but abandoned citrus packing houses scattered across the county are a stark reminder of an industry that had seen its glory days. Out of several dozen, only a handful remain in Indian River and St. Lucie Counties. Al’s Family Farms in Fort Pierce strives to grow, harvest, pack, and ship only the highest quality, local, Florida fruit. It is one of many places to visit when you visit Fort Pierce, Florida.
Florida-based companies that have been farming, packing, and marketing Indian River Citrus for over 100 years are selling their groves for residential developments. In addition, bad freezes, fruit flies, and greening diseases have damaged the citrus industry in Florida.
Local retail interest has also been in decline. Indian River Fruit Stands such as Boudrias Groves were hanging tight amongst construction and declining sales but now are closed and chalked up as “Old Florida” history.
And lastly, another problem is that the generation that once preferred to shop directly from the farmers is aging. The new generation prefers a one-stop shop and relies on the grocery store.
Hale Groves and Poinsettia Groves were a couple of the largest retail outlets for citrus in the area, but have closed their stores and are just down to shipping premium citrus gifts, fresh fruit baskets, gourmet gift baskets, and more.
The Orange Shop
Shops once scattered all over Florida have been seeing a slow decline every year. As a result, more and more are shuttering their doors. The Orange Shop in Citra, Florida is one of the last true roadside citrus fruit stands in Florida. It is located between Ocala and Hawthorne along Highway 301. Before the days of Interstate travel, billboards, and signs directed travelers to the shop which has been in this location since 1936.
Despite the problems and challenges that citrus growers face, they remain committed to providing high-quality and great-tasting Florida citrus and orange juice. Driving through Florida would not be the same in winter without the intoxicating scent of those sweet orange blossoms and the sight of orange trees lining the road as far as the eye can see.
