Monday, October 26, 2009

Local Farming: Green-Land Tropical Nursery Interview


Good Day Revolutionaries!  Today we had the great pleasure of visiting Green-Land Tropical Nursery in Miami, Florida.  Maria Perez, the owner of 56 acres of farm land, was nice enough to sit down with us and give us some insight into the business of having a family farm.  Today more than ever people worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than anything in the supermarket and that means it is tastier and more nutritious. It is also good for your local economy. Buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business.  Here is what Maria had to say about her farm:



RG:  How did you get involved in the farming industry?
MP: It was by marriage.  My husband worked in the garment industry for several years.  As a hobby, he loved to plant fruit trees. He decided to buy land in South Florida to continue to expand his hobby.  We found ourselves working on the weekends maintaing the land and the trees.  We then started to sell our fruit to locals and from there it turned into our full-time business. 


RG:What do you enjoy most about having a farm?
MP:The freedom of being outdoors, breathing the fresh air and especially eating all of the delicious fruit.  My favorite is the mangos.


RG:How many different crops do you have?
MP: Well we have Sapodilla, 2 types of Mamey, Lychees, and Longan.  Those are the fruits we sell in large quantities. We also sell several tropical fruit trees and palms of all types available for sale to the locals.  


RG:Who do you sell your fruits to?
MP:  We originally sold directly to local supermarkets and juice stores.  At the beginning we would drop off the orders ourselves.  As we grew, we started selling to distributers that provided our fruits to local stores as well as nationally.  This helped us so we wouldn't be delivering orders all day.


RG:What is an average day like for you on the farm?
MP:As soon as I arrive I check in with my team of 6 people.  We see how the fruit groves are doing, we inspect the fruits, we check what areas need more fertilization/attention, and then get the plants what they need.  During the fruit season most of my day is spent filling the orders of our clients and making sure everything is delivered as expected.  That sums up my average day.


RG: Since our site is dedicated to healthier living we have to ask, How do you keep yourself healthy?
MP: I eat as healthy as I can.  I stay away from red meat and stick to eating chicken and fish.  I do not eat anything fried.  I of course love fruits.  I try and eat as many different kinds as possible.  I also quit smoking in 1999 which was great.


RG: Thanks for sitting down with us today.  We truly appreciated the tour and the knowledge you provided to us.


If your in South Florida and your interested in some truly exotic and one of a kind fruits, look up Green-Land farm and give Maria a call at 305-234-2741. 




1 comment:

  1. Great family run nursery......all their fruits are delicious.

    ReplyDelete