Holden Limes

One of our freshest, newest grower families, Caroline and Andrew Holden are just beginning to spread their wings in citrus growing on their Patutahi orchard.

“We’ve been First Fresh growers since March 1st…2022!” says Caroline.

But despite their greenness (pun intended) as orchardists, they’ve certainly seen their fair share of success in farming: these one-time Farmers of the Year have spent 30-odd years working hard on their farms in Gisborne and Wairoa.

“But at a certain point, Andrew was keen to do something different,” says former schoolteacher Caroline. “We came to Gisborne, walked into this place and we just fell in love with it. We sold our farm on the Monday and bought our orchard on the Friday,” she says.

“We’re loving it. I love the smell of the produce. We were picking limes recently, and I said: ‘These smell so much better than sheep!’ The only thing is… I’d much rather eat roast lamb than roast lime!” laughs Caroline.

“We didn’t know anything, absolutely nothing, about being orchardists. And the support from First Fresh has just been phenomenal,” says Caroline. “And it was very challenging at the start when we first came in, just the physical fitness side,” says Caroline. “But it’s amazing how fast you get used to carrying those weighty bags of fruit. You just grow with it.”

“I enjoy the satisfaction of seeing the bins all stacking up and knowing our fabulous, fresh limes are going to be picked and packed with care and sent out into the world,” says Caroline. “From our sunny Patutahi orchard, direct to your kitchen.”