Lime Grove, Narromine

Aptly labelled ‘Heaven in a Bottle’ Susie has now perfected over 10 products in the Lime Grove product range since she started the grove in 1985. She explains that it is a continuing process of hard work and innovation but it is very satisfying that people truly love her products. And love them they do! Lime Grove is one of our best selling lines.

It’s a little unfair of me to ask (as I wouldn’t be able to choose) but when pushed to name her favourite product she claims that the lime cordial is still her number one. Of course the marinade, then the dressing, the oil and her newest product - lime pickles - very closely follow it!

L to R: Susie’s ‘pet’ goat loves lime leaves. Lime Grove’s ‘Lime Cordial’ in store at A Slice of Orange. Crates stacked ready for picking season.

Tree change

Previously the Mayor of Woohlara in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs, Susie has completed a surprising tree change in her quest to bring fresh limes to Australian households. As recently as 1984 it was near impossible to find limes locally. Susie recalls that her grocer stared at her blankly when she asked if it was possible for him to source them after she’d experienced key limes in Europe (sourced from the West Indies). Given her unsuccessful search, and an obvious gap in the market, Susie’s entrepreneurial spirit soon shone through and investigations were quickly underway as to how to grow these exotic fruits here in Australia.

Initial research into the establishment of a lime grove was conducted via phone and fax with UCLA in America as the Australian Department of Agriculture had little to no information about the trees. Susie discovered that the perfect climate for her dream crop could be found in Narromine where, by complete coincidence, her husband owned a suitable property as a result of his career in rural investment. Once the decision to proceed was made, Lime Grove’s original cuttings came to Australia from the USA and were grafted by a local nursery in 1984.

L to R: Welcome to Narromine Shire. A reminder of the citrus growing heritage in the Narromine area. Lime Grove Café’s entrance.

A holistic approach

Lime Grove now consists of a very impressive 10,000 trees that are grown completely pesticide free with no chemicals at all ever touching the trees or fruit. Susie explains that the climate in Narromine is fantastic for the trees as the air is very clean and dry, hence there are fewer pests to combat and what pests do exist are often taken care of by wasps and birds.

Interestingly though, Susie’s holistic approach to the management of her farm has come about via initial trial and error. In the earlier years she explains that the local fertilizer and pest control businesses were very enthusiastic to assist in the management of this new and exciting crop. Needless to say, the trees started to look worse for wear and the decision was made to remove all pesticides completely as it appeared to Susie that time and money was being spent on a problem that didn’t actually exist. In 1985 this was quite a new way of approaching farming within Australia but Lime Grove is now clearly better for it - the trees are thriving in their environment and the farm is back in sync.

L to R: Susie’s pesticide-free approach means that her trees absolutely thrive. The lime tree leaves smell amazing. Susie’s geese keep guard at the café entrance

To market, to market

Since her very first crop Susie has been selling fresh limes directly into Woolworths supermarkets and she now also successfully retails her lime cordial to them as well. I was surprised to hear that she has a direct relationship with the fruit and veg buyer at Woolworths as I thought all produce would go through a broker, market or agent when selling to these larger chains. Susie explained that it is an ideal relationship that allows her more freedom to set her own price while also avoiding the fees of middlemen.

The trees in Susie’s grove flower in October and the first harvest of fresh limes is in February. Interestingly, the picking season for the lime trees lasts approximately 5-6 months with 3 additional pickings for the fresh lime market taking place from March until June. This is due to the fact that, unlike other crops, the limes reach optimal size over a period of time so at each picking only the largest on each tree are selected by hand. It is therefore likely that the limes you see at your local Woolworths between Feb and June and extremely fresh, given the longevity of the harvest period.

During the flowering month of October, Susie introduces local bees and their hives into the grove for pollination and honey production. This ingenious full-circle approach to her farm results in Susie having enough honey for her popular Lime Flower Honey - a gorgeous light honey that features a sprinkling of lime zest.

The 5th and final picking of the trees occurs in June and these are the limes that are a little past optimal in regards to being able to sell them fresh, but are perfect for use in all the value-added products. These limes are quite yellow in colour and are very juicy.

A direct benefit of a long picking season is that Susie can provide employment for people in the local community for a large part of the year, unlike some other crops that are often picked within weeks.

L to R: ‘Lime Flower Honey’ tastings at Lime Grove’s café. Susie is very hands-on in the grove. Here she discusses irrigation with farm manager.

From little things, big things grow

With a market for her fresh limes secured, and further to her holistic and sustainable approach, Susie set about fulfilling her ultimate principle of using absolutely every part of the lime, and the lime tree, wherever possible.

All limes that aren’t 100% optimal as fresh limes (the 5th picking in the season) go into Susie’s range of value-added delights while her on-site café also sells food made from the limes and products. Susie says that she feels this is “almost the only way of running a farm. The more you add value to the product yourself, the better the returns and overall sustainability”.

L to R: Susie also grows the green olives that are used in her lime infused ‘Large Olives’. Her on site café features the delectable Lime Grove range.

As with anything pioneering, the Lime Grove product range and on site café wasn’t created overnight. The first product developed was the ever-popular Lime Grove ‘Lime Cordial’ (available in 750ml and 375ml). Susie states that the cordial took a couple of years to perfect with the sugar component proving to be the trickiest part. She explains that she tried fruit concentrate sugars such as Plum but they didn’t work so she then tested making the product with artificial sugars, which also proved to be not ideal. She then painstakingly imported various sugars to trial them but they either killed the lime flavour and zest or made the product too complicated for the palate. Pure Australian liquid cane sugar is now used and it works a treat with the 12 fresh limes that are squeezed into every 750ml bottle.

L to R: The Italian lime juicer - 12 whole limes are juiced into every 750ml bottle of ‘Lime Juice Cordial’. ‘Lime Infused Oil’ ready to be labelled. Lime juice and liquid cane sugar are mixed together in this vat to create Susie’s best seller – the ‘Lime Cordial’.

The ‘Lime Infused Oil’ was the next product to be added to the range while Susie’s latest addition to the Lime Grove family – the ‘Lime and Chilli Pickle’ – also took months and months to perfect. The secret to her pickles is the whole lime that is hand minced into every jar, hence the lovely fresh lime flavour.

Today Susie’s entire range is created in a small factory on a neighbouring property that coincidentally has its heritage as a juicing and bottling factory because the region has always grown citrus fruits. From here she now retails to providores like us throughout NSW, the ACT, VIC and Southern QLD and she regularly attends Farmers Markets. Both outlets Susie claims are very important for differing reasons: Providores contribute significantly to awareness of the brand, while Farmers Markets are a vital source of feedback and recipe inspiration.

L to R: Lime Grove ‘Lime Cordial’ boxes waiting to be packed. Labels ready for the jars of ‘Lime Juice Dressing’. Each bottle of Lime Grove’s ‘Lime Juice Dressing’ is proportioned, mixed and bottled by hand.

Upon leaving for the day, Susie presented me with a whole lime tart to take home that was baked in her café. I was going to slice it, plate it up and photograph it for you all to see but, needless to say, it was eaten before I had the chance! Oops :-)