2025
FarmFest
Happenings
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Mango tasting table
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Guest Speakers
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Hands-On learning on Agricultural topics
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Farm tours
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and more
June 22, 2025
3rd Annual Gatherings Grove Mango FarmFest
Gatherings Grove is hosting our FarmFest again this year after our last two events were so well received. We're excited about welcoming everyone back. Our Mango FarmFest is "On-Farm" and it provides a wonderful opportunity to tour our mango grove, meet vendors, and attend seminars on various agricultural topics. Live music, fresh food, mango tasting and great people make our Mango FarmFest an absolute "must see!" This is a rain or shine event so please come prepared.
2025 Mango FarmFest Speakers
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Topic: Lessons in Grafting
Har's presentation on grafting will be in the Pavilion located in our mango grove.
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
We're honored to have
Har Mahdeem, an expert on various topics of tropical fruit, at our Farm Fest this year. You won't want to miss this presentation. Har has an entire lifetime of experience with tropical fruit. He grew up in the Amazon region of South America consuming rare jungle fruits and later worked with the famous Zill nursery on their Annona breeding program and various germplasm collection trips.
He has traveled extensively in Florida and has more recently been working with the local mango growers as a consultant on Pine Island.
Topic: History of Mango Growing on Pine Island
Steve's presentation will be in the Pavilion located in our
mango grove.
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Steve Cucura, together with Jesse Avalos, has created a Tropical Fruit Paradise with Fruitscapes. With their dedication and knowledge of tropical fruit trees as well as their trusted, informed and well managed staff every tree is cared for from sprout to ripeness.
As a customer you can look forward to all the varieties of trees you have grown to love as well some new ones. A member of the Rare Fruit Council, Fruitscapes Nursery embraces diversity, manifested by dozens of varieties of mangoes, avocados and a collection of rare tropical fruits not found anywhere else.
Topic: A New Agriculture Opportunity With Florida Grown Vanilla
Stephanie's presentation will take place in the Pavilion located in the mango grove.
1:45 pm to 2:45 pm
CEO Sunshine State Vanilla LLC
Educator, Botanical Formulator, Clinical Aromatherapist and International Sourcing Agent
Certified Aromatherapy Teacher Training L1
Stephanie is CEO of Sunshine State Vanilla and a trained herbalist and clinical aromatherapist. She has almost single-handedly started a vanilla bean growing industry in Florida. In her talk she will focus on vanilla as a new agricultural crop in Florida. You'll learn how vanilla is so much more than a flavor and how to use it in the health and welness industry. You will leave with a deep knowledge of Florida's history of vanilla and how to incorporate it into your life.
Topic: Selecting Mango Budwood for Grafting
Matt's presentation will begin in the Pavilion and then move to the mango grove for a hands on demonstration.
11:00 am to 12:15 pm
Matthew Reese is the owner of Peace River Organics LLC and has been a permaculture practitioner for more than a decade and has designed and developed many agroforestry sites in the state of Florida. He currently manages his own family farm in Punta Gorda specializing in mangoes, bananas, pineapples, and many other fruit crops. His background as a civil/coastal engineer and surveyor have given him a unique vision and skill set to help others develop working systems for themselves.
Topic: Mangoes in the Landscape
Timothy's presentation will take place in the Grove Tent in our mango grove.
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
Tim's lecture will cover plant needs and requirements, cultivars, companion planting, design considerations, tree care, and pest and disease and overall plant health.
Originally, from Duluth, Minnesota, Tim has always been passionate for the outdoors and marvels at the natural beauty of forests. He developed a strong interest in tropical agriculture and agroforestry as an agricultural intern at ECHO (www.echonet.org) in 2001. From there he spent over a year overseeing an agroforestry project in the Central African Republic (CAR) which actively promoted fruit tree planting among farmers in Western CAR. In 2006, Tim returned to ECHO as the Nursery Manager and later moved into a leadership role overseeing ECHO’s Agriculture Operations Team. Tim has a Bachelor’s of Science in biology from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN and a Master’s of Science in Natural Resources with an emphasis in Agroforestry from the University of Missouri. In 2020, Tim and his wife, Lindsay, launched a new business endeavor that combines their passion for edible plants with agroforestry and regenerative design practices. Together they are engaged full time in running Ecovision (www.ecovisiondesign.com), a landscape design company that specializes in edible and ecological landscape design, install, and maintenance. Tim’s primary areas of interest include agroforestry, tropical fruits, nursery management and plant propagation.
Topic: Soil Amendments
Daniel's presentation will take place in the Grove Tent in our mango grove.
1:45 pm to 2:45 pm
Dan Sivak studied at the University of Southern California and spent three years as a risk & sustainability consultant for a big 4 accounting firm. The call of the land became insurmountable, and he decided to ditch the corporate career and dedicate his energy to protecting and restoring the ecosystem of the soil. Dan also spent almost two years traveling the country working on various organic farms, gathering knowledge from farmers participating in vegetable and tube, small orchard systems and pasture raised hog & chicken production. At the same time, Dan earned a Permaculture Design Certification and studied with the Soil Food Web School to earn the ability to deliver life giving soil amendments and regenerative soil solutions to your growing situation.
It’s no secret that healthy plants require healthy soil, and the best way to achieve ideal growing conditions is to utilize the advanced and proven methods that the systems of nature have proven to us. That’s why we utilize an extremely diverse set of local and native microorganisms to provide you with soil amendments that build a diverse and complete soil food web - ultimately providing you with benefits such as:
- increased yields and productivity
- nutrient cycling (use less or no fertilizers, save $)
- protection from pests & diseases
- reduced weed pressure
- resilient soil structure
- improved water infiltration & retention
- reduced input costs
Topic: Soil Health and Management Practice
Matthew's presentation on soil health will take place in the Grove Tent in our mango grove.
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Matthew Scott currently lives and works at Gladheart Farm in Asheville, NC growing market vegetables in a low till regenerative fashion. Matthew has been practicing organic and regenerative farming for the past 15 years in northern Virginia as well as Asheville, NC. At Gladheart Farm they have a 2 acre market garden with permanant 30 inch beds worked by hand and with a walk behind tractor. Mathew and the crew there provide for their intentional community of about 35 people as well as an "On Farm" farmer's market and offsite farmer's market and some wholesale accounts. Matthew will be discussing how he is implementing soil building practices such as cover cropping, no till / low till methods, and appropriate tools in the market garden. He will also touch on small scale rotational grazing with their goat, cow, laying hens, and broiler chickens.
Andy Firk
Topic: Wild Edible Plant Identification Farm Tour.
Andy's tour will occur twice during the FarmFest. Space is limited for this event. Tour will begin at Pavilion located in our mango grove.
11am to 12pm and
1pm to 2pm
Andy’s pleasure is working with plants. His deepest field of study has been with the wild edible and medicinal plants that grace Florida’s wild places. He is author of “Florida Foraging: Volume One: 150 Common Wild Edible Plants of Florida.
In 1993, Andy began hosting wild edible plant walks across Florida. Over 30,000 people have attended these walks, and he leads as many as ten each month throughout the state of Florida. He is the co-founder of YamFest! – the perennial vegetables celebration that was first hosted at HEART in Lake Wales.
Topic: Growing Tropical Fruit Trees in
Soutwest Florida
Carlie's presentation will take place in the Grove Tent in our mango grove.
11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Meet Carlie, a passionate tropical fruit tree cultivator who has quickly become an invaluable member of the Fruitscapes team. Over the past five years, she has immersed herself in the art of growing and nurturing these vibrant trees, gaining a wealth of knowledge along the way. Now, Carlie is eager to share her insights and tips on how to thrive in our unique Southwest Florida growing environment. Join her on this journey to cultivate delicious tropical fruits that flourish right here on Pine Island!
