On May 9, 2026, we celebrated the completion of the Immokalee Pioneer Museum’s Garden & Grove restoration project, which includes the planting of 140 citrus trees, avocados, and mulberries, as well as a recreation of Mrs. Sara Jane Roberts’ vegetable garden. This project was financed in part by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under Federal Award Number 1505-0271 and by the Collier County Community and Human Services Division.
The Roberts family maintained a half-acre garden where they grew a variety of root and cruciferous vegetables to help feed their family of eleven, as well as other ranch workers. They also operated a citrus grove on the property, continuing a tradition that dates back to the 1870s. In 2021, the Museum Division received an American Rescue Plan Act grant to re-create the half-acre vegetable garden and restore 1.25 acres of the historic citrus grove. Together, the revitalized Garen & Grove will enhance interpretation of pioneer life at the Roberts Ranch while also serving as a community food forest for Immokalee.
The project was completed in March 2026 and features a recreation of Mrs. Roberts’ historic garden, seven large, raised beds for growing vegetables that will be donated to local food pantries, and more than 140 citrus trees. The grove now includes Meyer and Ponderosa lemons, Australian limes, Sugarbelle tangelos, Hamlin sweet oranges, as well as four varieties of avocado and three varieties of mulberry. Two chickee huts have been added for guests to enjoy and for Museum staff to host educational workshops and lectures. A newly constructed raised gravel path now extends visitor access to the back half of the ranch. We will be opening up opportunities to volunteer and participate in gardening workshops and look forward to welcoming everyone from the community and beyond.