Touring a Florida Strawberry and Citrus Farm

That's fresh Florida right there Welcome to Wishwell Farms Hey everyone I'm Jason and in this video I'm visiting Bellamy Grove in Innesse Florida just about an hour and a half north of Tampa Let's take a look Okay Guys I'm here with the owner Chuck Bellamy at Bellamy Grove Chuck it's a pleasure to meet you Thank you for inviting me to your farm This is truly impressive He is a fourth-generation farmer here in Innesse Florida and today he'll give us a brief tour of his farm How long have you been in this business and running Apupik Apupik is my fourth season This is my twentieth year growing strawberries Back then I essentially had a roadside stand We picked everything and carried it across the street to sell it But about four years ago I decided to change my business model and open the shop Upik which has worked out extremely well Good And I see here that you currently have floating row covers over your strawberry harvest Why don’t you explain to everyone what those are You can protect the strawberries with frost cloth if the wind isn't too strong It's quite cold here in Florida right now We've had many nights with temperatures below 32 degrees Celsius Just in the past seven or eight days there were definitely five or six Wow The frost protection net truly makes a difference for the strawberries Sometimes I still water them as is customary for Cro to protect against frost But as you can see the lovely white flowers are fine Um yes If this one had been damaged by frost either the yellow flower inside or the small flower inside would have turned black Point exactly yes Yes they look very healthy The scrim we used before may have weighed half an ounce per square yard or you can also get one ounce per square yard About that thick I think that's how the thickness was specified Yes this one is thicker than what I used before You see this one's a bit thinner Yes you can see through it That's the one I used before and it still works great Hmm But I bought this thicker one and the only drawback is that it's much harder to work with when it's even slightly damp It's a bit tricky to rewind it again to pull it out of the field So you have an acre of strawberries here correct Exactly I have exactly one hectare of strawberries I also have Brussels sprouts that will be ready in two or three weeks The large sweet onions I have some bell peppers I've also grown other vegetables such as broccoli and squash I also have eggplants cabbage mustard and kale They're available And I've already been open for ten weekends Yes when he told me that I was simply overwhelmed I thought the strawberry season in Florida starts in December But you've already been harvesting since sometime in November right No on the 15th of November I've been open Last season I was open for 18 weekends That's how I refer to them—weekends Uh and last weekend at the time of these recordings I'd already been open for ten weekends So I still have two months ahead of me Alright good Yes a longer harvest season down here in Florida compared to Ohio Strawberry harvest Depending on whether you cultivate mat rows or the plastic culture system which is referred to as the plastic culture system there The berries are planted on raised beds with one or two rows of drip irrigation in each row Drip irrigation Okay a series And do you grow your plastic -culture strawberries according to the annual system You pull them out and replant them every year Or do you keep them for more than a year Every year Okay Yeah Tschak Uh how many strawberry varieties are you growing here right now Only one on this single hectare I grew two varieties thinking I might be able to harvest them early enough to beat the others It doesn't really work for me so I only grow one variety This is a new variety used in the state of Florida Her name is Amber Amber is significantly more resistant to pesticides Okay I'm not familiar with that Is it a disease or an insect Diseases Okay And most people get them at some point As far as I can tell But I used to grow the type of Brilliance I really like But a friend of mine is a commercial farmer and he grew them for the first time last year And she really took well to him she seemed to be handling the pesticide illness better Okay Do you think this variety is commonly grown in Plant City Yes Okay I'd say next year Plant City will likely be at least 40 to 50 percent larger Yes Wow The first thing that comes to mind is a possible shortage of seedlings I assume they're propagating cuttings rather than rootless plants I work with cuttings So do you really expect a shortage of available plants for these thousands of acres of strawberries in Florida ever I haven't heard anything about that yet Usually plants remain after all their berries have been harvested There are a few places down there where you can get them They're bringing them here and likely bringing too many Or some people just don't want certain varieties anymore I want this one not that one But that's just how it is Done But no sir I've heard nothing of any shortage No sir The first time I came out here to see it and start filming were walking across sand It feels almost like I'm on the beach and I can hardly believe that farmers are actually growing vegetables and fruit successfully on this sand Perhaps I should briefly mention how crucial it is to have the right fertilizers and recipes to harvest these plants for optimal growth That's not so easy you know You have to know what you're doing right Well of course I get a bit of help from my fertilizer guy Like most people I'd see a transitional fruit once things were done Typically I grow hemp during the summer mow it down around mid-July and then start soil preparation to incorporate organic matter I've also started using humic and fulvic acids And I spray it early in the season not when fruit is present but to encourage growth That's what I did to improve the sand: I added humic and fulvic acid Okay yes I've heard it's good for vegetables and fruit Definitely It's made a big difference this season I made the most of it this season Last season I tested it briefly in an experiment with a company and it made a significant difference in their leaf tests root tests and everything else I just treated all the vegetables and everything else with it Okay Tim when were these strawberry plants planted I should have started with that September 27 2025 Yes September 27 Wow So less than eight weeks They're harvesting We started on November 15 Yes Sounds about six to seven weeks I didn't have many In my second week of opening I had a lot of strawberries Okay For picking Some of you watching might be curious to learn a bit more about this frost protection cover as he calls it We always just call it floating row cover It's the same thing M It's a type of woven material I'm not sure what it's made of but it's extremely durable It's very thick and now it's moist You know it probably got frost this morning I assume that's what happened Yes you might think you could just poke through with your finger but you can't That means it can be torn if you really try but it's a very durable material and quite porous The GoPro probably won't capture it but it looks porous enough for rain to seep through That's not the case As I said this one is thicker than the one over there Um water can flow through it much more easily than here Those of you who follow my channel know that I've been growing strawberries for 20 years I submitted my first harvest in 1999 and we discontinued it around 2019 And I'm not joking Probably 50 to 70 percent of the time I lost my first harvest-ready fruit to frost as the berries and blossoms were in full bloom and looked absolutely beautiful And I always thought I’d harvest a beautiful record crop allowing me to start around Memorial Day in Ohio Then we got a late frost around early to midday because our frost-free day in Ohio usually doesn’t arrive until midday and it would have destroyed our entire harvest When it got properly cold we could save the harvest if it was just light frost by keeping my irrigation sprinklers running You can also use water or row covers or both but if temperatures drop to 20 25 or 26 degrees Celsius and a hard frost occurs at the wrong time you could lose much of your harvest I just noticed he has these sturdy rainbow sprinklers right here coming straight out of the bed— I've never seen anything like it He then explained to me that there's a PVC pipe down there Yes buried at about 60 centimeters deep Okay Uh it's that deep Uh yeah Okay Then he places the bed over it and puts a small flag on top I've put up a flag Yes so you know where the hole is then you place it there afterward That's right And you do this for all eight rows So there's a drip irrigation line beneath each row just as I would do it But every eight rows he has a permanent irrigation channel running across the entire field Correct To water them and give them a home Do you call it that Yes We call it a home I have a sprinkler every twelve meters along this row if you want to call it that Okay And then over here I have another one every twelve meters Okay That way they reach each other when irrigated These beds are 1.5 meters apart So every eighth bed gets an additional sprinkler Okay That makes sense Pimm Interesting Also strawberries from over there And then we have Brussels sprouts Let's just walk across the field here and see what we've got Um What kind of onions do you have This variety is called Tenje It's a Vidalia variety Okay Sweet onions Pimm I'm just selling these right now You can see I have a few planted in the beds And you just let customers come out here and dig up their own bulbs No You just need to pick the greens and strawberries from me Everything else—citrus fruits bell peppers onions—I got at the stall We harvest it and I bring it to market to sell Recently you explained to me—perhaps only in an email—that you're running a one-person operation here You do pretty much everything yourself You have very little help I think I have very little help too I only get some help with planting Pimm Whenever it comes to that And I've recently had someone helping me at the stand in the mornings Period Okay They help me set everything up and get started But no I do nearly everything on my own about 90 to 95 percent of it And that's all they've ever done or known Right Living on this property here Yes Managing it The stall as you might call it that I used to run I opened in 1992 Okay And That's how I earn my living Commercial orange farming Pimm And I do all of this myself about 90 to 95 percent of the time Lots of work We'll head over there shortly to take a look at the plot here On the other side of the onions they've planted some broccoli Looks like he'll be used up soon Pimm And kale Kale Cabbage The peppers have likely seen their final hour Yes The frost got them It's simply unbelievable how cold it's been down here over the past few days and last night Um I mean this doesn't happen every year Or It might only get that cold once or twice per decade A bit more often Okay We know it often drops to 30 degrees Celsius in this part of the state That’s not unusual But letting the water run daily or my antifreeze approach is rare during the week Okay Next week it's going to get even colder Wow Yes I saw that temperatures in Ohio are expected to drop to five degrees below zero But luckily I'm in Florida now In Ohio we deal with snails and other insects Cicadas and other pests that damage strawberries Which insects should you be concerned about down here I don't have a big problem with too many insects Mushrooms Yes Everyone in Florida has to deal with that since the growing season is so long Did you know For four months Maybe even a bit longer The only pest I ever had trouble with was Friss Okay And I had a serious problem about three years ago That's why I'm now observing it much more closely as it has seriously disrupted my production Oh yes Exactly I bet Oh yes This afternoon once this frost protection cover is dry we'll remove it And I'll water it and fertilize it and get it going again I don't think I'll have many strawberries to pick this weekend because it's been so cold here And you already know the growth has truly slowed down Looks like there are plenty of berries out there but not many will be ripe enough for this weekend Cold weather likely does affect ripening Exactly So here the drip line goes straight into the ground Now explain to me where does this lead to I've buried a 2.5-centimeter-thick polytube here Okay You can drive tractors over it of course but you don’t want people tripping over it So I place it as close as possible Yes this is nice and tidy here As close as possible so no one trips over it or anything But I've buried a 2.5-centimeter-thick polytube down here And just like on your farm you simply plug in the connections I like this It looks nice and tidy And if many people are gathered here it definitely eliminates the tripping hazard Exactly And that's your magic formula for supplying it all It's a 728 with a large and a small package inside Okay As you can imagine you'd need that on this sand Yes What helped me the most though was using fulvic acid and humic acid treatments Okay This is the small checkout area for people bringing their berries and other items here Exactly I have a scale As you can see I'm not open today But these are the things I have ready I've got the scissors ready in case anyone wants to pick up the greenery and everything else I'll keep the scissors in the bags and just weigh it all out And over here there's nothing in the containers But this is where I store my citrus fruits and oranges once they'ready Are there any objections to accepting only cash or does that work well for you Rarely Weekly When I open it I'll update it on Facebook Okay And I only set up cash payments there and I’d guess hardly anyone has read seen or experienced enough to know it’s cash-only Have you considered switching to a different payment method than cash Is there anything you think might work that you could try or do you ever consider it Not at the moment Okay It's just one more thing you need to figure out right away I'm a low-tech kind of person and I'm running this show solo but I can drive change faster than I can do all of this myself Alright we're now at the citrus plantation Just tell us a bit about it—how many hectares do you have of each variety how do you harvest and sell them and where do they go Typically there are only three varieties I have Hemmlin juice oranges Narvel oranges and honeybell oranges I harvest the honey bells a bit later around January so right now Ah the Hamlins—those are the juice oranges that go to the juice factory Okay And the Narveloranges are you know fresh oranges I sell at my stand What I'm asking you to do is simply chop down a few trees I want to keep when they'ready to be picked It's 15 hectares Okay And uh they bring the barrels and the trucks and everything here then haul them away A company in Hain City has full support and all the necessary equipment And they bring here and you sign your contract stating how much you get per pound And uh they take them to the juice factory in Auburnale Florida press them and then you're paid per pound of dry solids which measures the sugar content in the juice Ha okay Your citrus harvest is pretty much over except for a few of these Exactly I mean they've already arrived and cleaned you up thoroughly They've already emptied me out when it comes to juice fruits I'll keep a little bit back to sell at my booth Probably another three weeks Okay And then they'll be gone All clear So you have a That's a shirt Right Orange juice Yes Okay Oh I'd like you to try this I haven't had any fresh fruit in a few days I'm looking forward to it Here you go buddy Oh man that's good Yeah it tastes like fresh orange juice Fresh orange juice from Florida I recently saw a few things about Florida citrus fruits on the news Just a decade ago around 300 million boxes were shipped annually—or perhaps not even that many Now there are only 20 million left but it's recovering slowly A very slow comeback The issue we've had with citrus fruits is the problem of greening also known by other names such as HLB which affects everyone This grove is no different in that regard Ah it was spread by an insect and is endemic It is found wherever citrus fruits are grown throughout Florida and it has truly devastating effects And how do the producers respond to that Well when they come over here I'll show them how we get them to sprout That sounds good He'll explain what these things are that you see out here I was just in Florida last week I actually flew home last week I was on an 8-day backpacking trip along the Florida Trail I walked 240 kilometers and passed several lemon groves with these white crowns atop their trees some of which were smaller Some of them were barely 0.90 meters above the ground and the tree within was almost invisible Chuck will explain what they are since I've seen them every day and have always known what they are What we're doing now to give their young tree a strong start is buying these sacks and slip it over the tree I use 2.5 cm PVC But you can really use anything And you push it down These were planted in September 2020 25 And I just lift it up like this Marine Orange That's a Marine Orange Yes And how big was it when you bought the tree for planting It was a bit smaller It doesn’t grow much after September Okay so far probably about 15 centimeters He likely came from the nursery where he was pruned Yeah Hand-pollinated and then the bloom appeared Okay And I haven't even fertilized them yet—I'll just leave them in these sacks over winter Point It was 27 degrees Celsius Pimm And I think it helps a bit even with a little protection against the cold And M this tree will fill up the entire sack in about two and a half years Wow So this is going to stay there for two years Two years Maybe two and a half Okay I haven't noticed any slowdown in growth You can see he gets plenty of sunlight but that only keeps the Asian citrus fruits away from the tree which could otherwise infect it That tree over there on the right is green—just 7.5 meters away It's green So you have an insect that jumps onto new growth You can target that new growth right through spring But won't you still be attacking these trees in two and a half years once you remove this covering They hope you'll give this tree a strong beginning And perhaps continue with some treatments and get him established The issue is that before we planted him we only used a small amount of systemic insecticide That's right But this will truly make a difference In fact I can show you a few more trees over there that have been in place for two and a half years And I used larger bags for them Hmm And you've grown so much in just one and a half years Wow Yes If you're serious about growing trees you essentially need to use this Okay that explains what I saw Very interesting Yes And hopefully it works just as well for your next young harvest Alright So you have a few examples here somewhere illustrating the issue of greening Yes Uh that's a honeybell tree ripe now in January Usually And I'm not sure if you can make it out with your camera but you can see several orangutan calls here You can tell it See how that is Okay Has it turned green Yes See It feels like it Oh There's a lot of green visible on this side Now I've picked this one here I know—it's small But feel how firm it is Oh Yeah It's as hard as a rock Okay Is this one now having the green problem despite looking orange No The tree has turned green Oh It's the tree not the fruit And so inconsistent can it be that fruits hanging just 60 centimeters apart on the same tree can differ completely Hmm Okay I'd like you to try this fruit Look at how dark orange this is Yes it looks very pretty It seems like it would taste fantastic And it has a slightly stronger mandarin flavor Right It looks like Clementine compared to the juicy orange I just had But that's fantastic See She's hanging on the same tree Looking at this ugly fruit you'd never think it could be a good orange Oh Yeah That's damn fantastic There are so many juicy oranges of different colors growing on the same tree Yes we'll need to come back later That's one of the issues especially with the small fresh fruit stands I run We'll first inspect the bright orange fruits and collect them in two weeks or a month They'll get better Okay And even those who have trouble with the greening Yes They'll come anyway Does that mean they have to harvest twice instead of just once Yes we might need to come back in one or two weeks and then cut these off Then I can sell them Alright Chuck just picked one that isn't quite ripe yet or has the issue with greening Or is it both It's both The tree is green once more yet the uneven hue is still visible Yes That's a huge difference Almost like a lemon isn't it I know You can see it And it is real I picked it right here myself You can see it's about 45 centimeters away and you can clearly see the difference Now I will That's not bad at all It just keeps flowing out so much juice There it is There's plenty of juice Hmm But look at these black seeds Yeah Wow Try that one It won’t taste anywhere near as good Can these still be used in the juice industry Are they mixed together and still turned into juice or is that rejected No Not bought Probably rejected But this is fresh fruit Yes And you can tell it's not that good Oh yes That’s a world of difference I mean it's still pretty good but it's nowhere near as sweet and lacks the full orange flavor you'd expect And that's even farther away on the same tree It's incredible That's crazy We're heading deeper into the orchard now where some of his older trees are located You won't believe how old this tree is I'll give you a moment to ponder that while I walk around it How old do you estimate this tree to be I'd have guessed around 20 years Tim not even close 95 years old And who planted this tree I was told that my grandfather and his brother were the ones who established the original grove in 1930 Man there aren't many trees left But I've got about five or six that are around ninety-five years old That's incredible Yes and this one is the more beautiful Is it green Yes it is green Alright You've all got it to some extent right Every tree Wow Varying degrees of severity Definitely You can tell it from the tree right behind you you can see just how terrible this young tree is Yes You can see that this tree truly has it Yes And he said it's visible in the tissue It looks almost like a nitrogen deficiency Is this it Like this chlorosis which is one of the signs of yellowing That's exactly the pattern in the leaf Okay When it was first discovered farmers thought it was a zinc deficiency Yes It looks like a fertilizer deficiency But that's Man it's turning green This tree's got it M This tree has it It keeps going Yes It's sad In the same episode I watched I mentioned that orange yields in Florida have simply declined over the past ten years or so Some producers build something akin to high tunnels Enclosures They completely surround their plantations to keep insects out Yes That's called a beaker Beaker Okay Citrus fruits under protective netting Yes And they said they're still making money even though it's a huge investment to install these structures across so many hectares Yes I don't even want to think about how much it costs Chuck lets me pick a few oranges to take with me on my Florida vacation which starts today And what variety am I picking right now Hemlin These are the Hamlins Okay And they're pretty much all good to pick right All of them are good Alright son take a look at these big fellows down here Yes That'll be enough for me Are you sure I' ll get two more Once my wife tries them she'll really enjoy how good they taste Alright Here they are—fresh citrus fruits from Florida Alright while I'm here in Florida I'll pick up a few navel oranges for fresh eating Those guys are huge—almost like little digging machines That's probably all we need That's good Wonderful So we drove by and I asked him what it was This is his irrigation well which allows him to water the entire farm That's right Yes Uh I can't protect my strawberries and the hedge from the cold at the same time so I've put up the frost protection netting After all if I need to protect the grove from frost I can do it here Alright Looks like a 10-inch well pipe Hmm Goodness And how many gallons per minute 700 gallons per minute—700 gallons per minute from just a single three-cylinder Deutz engine Incredible Yes I asked him why he didn't just pump the water out of the lake And what did you tell me Yes people think I'm pumping seawater but I'm not In 2000 although the lake had dried up in 1999 it had been extremely low The lowest water level I've ever seen So I had to make a business decision If I want to keep the business going I’ll have to drill a well And that one was drilled in the year 2000 In the year 2000 That's what I've been driving for about 25 years now Impressive Yes Right over there is the platform I used to pump water out of the lake Oh Okay Yes you can position your pumps right there Everything was right there And that canal was dug in the 1950s And we pulled water out from there But the exposed water out there that spot was the shoreline of the lake 25 years ago Is that right Yes We experienced a drought a severe drought And that's why I had to do it—this very important investment here Yes Yes Sir that's all Please tell me what this device is You rub your fruit here Yes this is how I wash my oranges for retail Okay Place these containers here As you can see from the front edge the lower half is equipped with a gate Oh Yeah This one's a bit loose I'll lift it up and hold it over here Alright I'll just take this piece of PV pipe and push the gate open And it flows in here I turn the machine on And I just open it manually Hmm And pour some in—about that much Okay He'll be rinsing it here Hein Inge Hmm And then they just keep getting fed by gravity And it rolls in here And here I grow them Oh You grow them too Yes That's the little wax machine Okay And then I've placed a container right where you're standing Hmm And we just roll it straight into the container Uh well that's not calibration That's just washing and waxing Right Okay Done We'll just place it here like this Alright I'm placing a container right here Roll it in Take it across the street Good No way thanks so much for inviting me to your farm and showing me around—I truly appreciate it You've got a great operation going here and I know how busy you are But thank you for giving me some of your time today to show me everything I wish you nothing but success for the rest of the season I truly appreciate that I always enjoy staying in touch with you I always tell Jason that he explains things on his farm and in his business just as I would do on mine He's doing an excellent job and I truly appreciate it That's it for our visit to Bellamy Grove Farm Thanks for watching I'm really glad you liked it Don't forget to like this video if you enjoyed it