Sweet harvest in south Georgia

It is satsuma-picking season at the family-run Vacuna Farms, which is owned and operated by Ben and Sherry Nevill Casey. Established in 2007, Vacuna Farms LLC is a verified pesticide-free, U-pick farm and landscape nursery located at 403 and 434 Vacuna Rd. in Kingsland, Georgia.

For the last several Saturdays, visitors to the farm have enjoyed selecting their own fresh fruit, right off the trees. This Saturday, I visited the farm with a friend, along with many other excited people, to collect satsuma mandarins for $2 a pound. Satsuma citrus is known for being sweet, generally seedless, low in acidity, and having relatively thick, loose skin that makes it easy to peel.

The origin of the satsuma is credited to both China and Japan. In China, it is believed that the satsuma arose through natural hybridization among Chinese mandarin lineages. Japan is credited with fundamentally diversifying the satsuma lineage starting more than 700 years ago. In Japan, the general term for satsuma is “Mikan.”

The Chinese have a few different names for this fruit, including wúhé jú, which means “seedless mandarin,” and Wenzhou migan, which means “honey citrus.” Some consider the satsuma a separate species from the mandarin. But in other places, however, it is considered a mandarin, as are clementines and tangerines.

Satsuma is a name given to this citrus fruit by the English, who named it for the Satsuma province in Japan where the fruit was originally imported to the West. The first recorded introduction of satsumas to Florida was by George R. Hall. Satsumas were also brought from Asia to New Orleans and the lower Mississippi Valley by Jesuit priests in the late 1800s. There are currently communities named Satsuma in Alabama, Florida, Texas and Louisiana, all places that grew this citrus tree commercially at one time.

There is an unincorporated community called Satsuma in Putnam County, Florida which is specifically named after the extensive groves of satsuma trees that once blanketed the region. The Putnam County citrus boom occurred in the late 1800s and early 1900s. These fruit trees were grown along the St. Johns River and were prized for being cold-hardy, perfect for North Florida. During this time, boxcars full of satsuma mandarins were routinely shipped by train to big cities in the North, such as New York. Unfortunately, the satsuma trees could not withstand the Great Freeze of 1894-1895, which ended Putnam County’s dominance in the citrus market. Most major commercial citrus operations were then concentrated farther south in Florida. Local residents of the community of Satsuma, Florida, still cultivate the sweet, easy-to-peel mandarins in backyards and on hobby farms.

I follow Vacuna Farms on Facebook and am always excited to see invitations to pick their different crops that are in season. In addition to satsumas, Vacuna Farms grows blueberries, muscadine or scuppernong grapes, pears, pomegranates, lemons, blood oranges and blackberries. The farm has different blueberry varieties, some that ripen as early as late April, and some that can be picked as late as July. Fruit and nut trees are available for sale but must be ordered in advance. It is important to note that citrus trees are strictly regulated and are not allowed to be brought from Georgia to Florida. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has strict quarantine policies due to several citrus diseases that threaten the state’s remaining citrus industry.

The satsuma U-pick invitation continues on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon until the satsumas are gone. This Saturday, the trees were still full of fruit, so if you are interested, go this weekend. There is nothing better than picking fresh, pesticide-free fruit on a beautiful property in South Georgia! The owners recommend visitors bring their own bags and clippers to harvest the fruit.

Patrick D. Smith’s bestselling historical novel, “A Land Remembered,” details a family’s migration from Georgia to Florida in the 1800s and the devastating loss of their original citrus groves during the Great Freeze of 1894-1895. The book is an interesting and wonderfully portrayed story of the struggles the family faced during its early migration to Florida. This novel is currently being made into a dramatic television series, which should premiere in 2027. “A Land Remembered” is one of my all-time favorite books.