LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. -- It's harvest time in Lincoln County and there are plenty of oranges to go around.

  • Marin Keener found a way to grow the citrus fruits in the Foothills
  • Last year, one tree had nearly 300 pieces of fruit on it
  • He doesn't sell his fruit, instead he just hands it out

79-year-old Marvin Keener figured out how to grow Florida oranges in North Carolina.

“Every winter, I put water bags on the ground, fill them up with hot water, and put an electric blanket on them, and wrapped it with Saran wrap and put a special top on it,” Keener said.

If it's extra chilly, he says he puts an electric heater on the ground. He says he started out with one tree given to him by a man in Panama City.

“’Would you like to have one in your backyard?’ I said sure,” he said.

 

 

After a successful harvest he got more, even added a lemon tree, but they grew up to 8 feet which meant he had to make a change. In 2009 he says he bought a greenhouse which he wraps in bubble wrap. This year, the harvest came early and strong.

“Well that one had 300 last year, it wasn't nearly as full as it is now,” he said.

Keener doesn't sell his oranges, and it costs him about $100 a month to run the green house, not bad for the amount of fruit he produces.

“My wife don't think so. She thinks it’s terrible. She said you need to get $100 an orange, I said, get out of here,” he said.

Instead, he hands them out here and there.

 

 

 

 

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