organic clementines
La Cueva
Outside of the adoption period
The project
Adopt a clementine tree from the farm "La Cueva" in Fortuna (Spain) and receive your harvest in the form of organic clementines at home. The Farmer Francisco will take care of your adoption and take its picture. Also, you will be able to download the adoption certificate and, if you wish, plan your visit to the farm. You do not enter into any long-term commitment: once you receive your harvest and you enjoyed the experience, you may decide to renew and extend the adoption.
What do you adopt?
Adopt a clementine tree that we cultivate under the Organic Farming regulations of the European Union since 2017.
During the process of adoption you can choose a name that we will engrave on a plaque and hang on your tree.
You adopt an organic clementine tree of the Orogrande variety from our Finca La Cueva. These clementines were planted in 2000 and since 2013 they have been grown under the organic production regulations. We also have the Bio Suisse certification which is one of the strictest and we are preparing to start with biodynamic agriculture.
The Orogrande variety is a clementine very similar to the clemenules with some days of difference in the ripening. Both are very traditional clementines and very rooted in the Mediterranean climate. We believe that there is no better clementine as it has a good taste and is easy to peel. What more could you ask for? Each tree produces an average of 60 kg.
Clementines are very similar to other citrus fruits but if you look closer you will notice that their leaves are smaller and narrower; and in general, they have a darker color than the leaves of orange trees. If you visit us, you will become a citrus expert.
We harvest the clementines when they reach 10-12 degrees brix. At the beginning, they will have a higher acidity but slowly the sweetness will gain ground. Similarly, at the beginning of the season, some clementines will still have greenish tones, but they will already be good to eat. We are not in favor of using ripening chambers or changing the color of the fruit.
The productive life of a clementine tree is around 35 years. For as long as you want to keep it and we can continue taking care of it, you can renew your adoption year after year. If your clementine tree dies, we will replace it with no additional cost and assuring the delivery of your harvest from other trees.
A clementine tree from our farm produces an average of 60 kg each season. You do not have to commit to the consumption of the whole harvest. Each season you may decide what quantity to reserve and pay the maintenance in accordance with the amount you reserve. This way you will only pay for what you consume and we can plan and sell the remaining harvest amount from you tree to others.
What will you receive?
During harvest season you can progressively receive the quantity of harvest that you reserve on the moment of adoption.
Shipping format: __Box of 5 kg of clementines__
* Orogrande (November and December): Sweet taste with a hint of sourness, at the beginning of the campaign, the skin may show some green tones but inside they are ripe, acidity decreases as the season progresses
* Organic farming since 2017, Bio Suisse certificate and transition to Demeter
* Harvest on request, shipped without wax or preservative treatments in a cardboard box without plastics
* We do not store the fruit in cold chambers, from the tree directly to your doorstep
* One kilo contains between 6 and 8 fruits (the box contains 35 fruits approximately, depending on the size)
* If you keep them in a fresh and airy place, they can last 15 days in good condition (if you want them to last longer, you can keep them in the fridge)
When will you receive it?
Please, check the deadline for participating in this project (deadline for adoption) below. As of this date shipments begin.
You can plan all the deliveries once you completed the adoption process.
Clementines start to ripen from the end of October, but we don't send them to you until mid-November because we wait for their sugar level to improve. We can send you clementines until mid-December approximately.
Every year the dates vary slightly, and we depend on the rain which can make the season end earlier. Rain is perfect for the field except when the fruit is ready because it reduces its shelf life and facilitates the development of diseases.
Why should you adopt?
* Learn who produces your food, how and where. Receive your food in a conscious manner
* Buy directly from the farmer. Help to generate wealth and better jobs in the rural areas
* Plan ahead and enable the Farmer to produce on demand. This way we can avoid overproduction and fight food waste
* Reward Farmers who make an effort to use environmentally-friendly packaging and cultivation techniques
Plastic-free
Organic
Fresh and in season
How does it work?
Meet the Farmers
Adopt and plan your harvest
Let the Farmer and nature work
Receive your harvest at home
Environmentalist
Experienced Farmer
Conversion to biodynamics
Harvest analysis
Plastic-free
Organic
Visitors welcome
Francisco Torralba
With more than 80 years of experience, I can say that my relationship with agriculture is pure passion. When I was 14 years old I went to France to work in the grape harvest. I repeated several years and managed to extend my stay beyond the harvest period by working in construction. My younger brothers were harvesting with me and when they returned to Spain I sewed the money they had earned into their underwear so they wouldn't lose it. From France, I went to Germany in 1954 to work on the rebuilding of post-war Germany. I worked on the construction of highways between Hanover and Switzerland. I returned to Spain to do my military service and at the age of 20, I started working as a truck driver. First with my brother and then on my own. I transported a lot of mining equipment and learned how to work in this sector until I was able to buy land for mining operations myself. As soon as I could, I bought my first piece of land, but this time not for mining but for farming. I have always liked agriculture and little by little I have been fulfilling my dream of having my own farm. At this point in my life, I love to be able to say that I am a farmer.
From my years in Germany I brought many things with me but above all, I learned that we had to respect nature so that it would respect us. I have tried to transfer my agricultural and environmental passion for my mining activity. Whenever we recover a mining area we try to leave it not only the same but better if possible to how we found it. To do this we make seedlings and multiplication of the important species and then we use them to restore the area.
Within my team, I have Carlos who is the person in charge of managing the day-to-day running of La Cueva and other properties we have in the area. He knows the plots inside out and knows how to quickly identify what is happening in the field in order to act as soon as possible. He is so passionate about organic farming that he is now in charge of convincing other farmers when they ask him if it is worthwhile. I also count on José María, who is in charge of the technical part of all the farms, and Jacinto who is in charge of La Cueva along with three other people to do the agricultural work.
In order to defend the fruit of my own work, I partnered up with Maria Luisa (who appears with me in the photos). Maria Luisa is pure vitality, in the fields as with the office tasks. She is part of a new generation of farmers who complemented their agricultural experience with university studies. They keep an open mind and understand how we can sell our fruit directly to the end consumer through the internet. This would have been unthinkable for me. At over 80 years old, life keeps surprising me.
Francisco Torralba
"From my years in Germany, I brought many lessons learned home. Most importantly, I learned that we have to respect nature so that it would respect us. In 2010 we started the conversion to organic but were about to give up - because it was hard! Being very stubborn we succeeded in the end, and even reached that point that we couldn't even imagine to work in a different way."
La Cueva
La Cueva
Our property La Cueva is located in Fortuna, very close to Murcia. It has a cultivation area of 55 hectares. This area has a great tradition in the cultivation of citrus fruits, mainly lemons. We have always liked to do things a little differently and that's why we bet on clementines and oranges.
La Cueva is named after a very typical construction of this Mediterranean region: a cave-house. In the past, it was common for some houses to have part of their structure carved into the rock. In this way, they managed to maintain a very pleasant temperature throughout the year.
We have been cultivating the farm since 2000. Previously there were almond and olive trees in dry land and it was used for the mining of gravel and zahorras. We have always used organic fertilizers and biological control on our farms. Since 2010 we decided to learn to work with herbs to enhance the presence of beneficial animals and therefore in 2013 we decided to be certified organic. We have gone one step further and are certified with Bio Suisse which requires us to have specific conservation areas and maintain forest areas within the farm. Finally, we are trying to learn how to work with biodynamic agriculture. Since we cultivate in harmony with the environment, life has exploded on the farm and it is very easy to observe all kinds of insects, as well as birds and rabbits living at La Cueva.
We grow Orogrande clementines and oranges of the Navel and Lane variety. The clementines are grafted on macrophylla rootstock as it is the one that best adapts to the high levels of active limestone that are generally found in these soils.
The water is obtained from an irrigation community in the nearby town of Jumilla, where they have wells that supply several farmers in this region. To optimize the use of the water we use drip irrigation and moisture sensors that tell us when it is necessary to irrigate.
The remains of pruning are shredded between the rows of trees so that they remain as organic cover and improve the structure of the soil. We also use manure from nearby goat farms which we mix with gypsum from our industry to provide ecological calcium.
Technical information
Address
La Cueva, Fortuna, ES
Altitude
160m
Team
1 woman and 6 men
Cultivation technique
Organic farming
Irrigation
Drip irrigation
Location