Collier Family Farms Will Offer Variety of Quality Fresh Produce
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 13 December 2012 22:59
Residents of Ave Maria – and anyone else who comes to the town – will soon have a new source for home-grown produce.
At Collier Family Farms, just off Ave Maria Blvd., they're preparing to start picking the first crop of pesticide-free, non GMO vegetables and citrus, which will be offered to the public toward the end of January.
The farm currently practices organic farming methods and is what the manager of farm operations, Elvie Engle, calls a "transitional organic farm." He said he expects to receive official accreditation as an organic operation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture sometime next summer.
Mr. Engle has developed the concept of Collier Family Farms along with a fourth-generation member of the Collier family, Lara Collier, who is the great-granddaughter of Barron Gift Collier.
"Being able to work and harvest the land that my great-grandfather acquired is very fulfilling," Miss Collier said, "but the best part is sharing this experience with the local community."
Pictured, Mr. Engle and Miss Collier at the farm.
When it opens to the public, Collier Family Farms will have a farmstand as well as the ability to pick-your-own. This season, Collier Family Farms expects to sell peppers, leafy greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, onions, strawberries, and locally grown citrus. Some of the offerings, particularly strawberries and leafy green plants, will be grown using alternative growing methods including hydro-stackers, a vertical gardening system which increases fruit and vegetable yield while conserving space and water, Mr. Engle said.
The farmstand will be constructed at the site of the farm on Ave Maria Blvd., in sight of the new Oasis Club at Del Webb. A new curb cut as well as a cut in the median at the location will provide road access.
More information is on the farm's website at here.