Jennifer Bercier/PCT This lemon tree at Father’s Farm in Wolford produced 30 lemons.

After three years of growing a lemon tree, the tree produced lemons, giving everyone at Father’s Farm in Wolford the chance to enjoy the freshly squeezed fruit grown on the farm.

Cleo Yoder, a board member at Father’s Farm in Wolford, along with Chet Yoder and Sherri Yoder planted the little Eureka lemon tree that they ordered from a nursery in California.

A special place was picked out in the greenhouse with an acidic soil additive to keep the lemon tree thriving for the soil to be just right. The hole was dug and the lemon tree was planted in summer 2023.

The special greenhouse, called the “Greenhouse in the Snow,” was made to grow fresh vegetables in the wintertime.

“The greenhouse is kept at a constant temp above 40 degrees in the winter time while the lemon tree has its own enclosure with heaters turned on to tend to its delicate caretaking. The lemon tree is babied; it is sprayed every 2 weeks with a sugar fungicide spray on the leaves,” Cleo Yoder said.

Submitted Photo Cleo Yoder planted a lemon tree sapling in the ground in the “Greenhouse in the Snow” at Father’s Farm in Wolford during the summer of 2023.

“This is the first year the lemon tree started sprouting lemons. We counted 30 lemons on the tree,” he said.

“There are many types of lemon trees and we decided to purchase a lemon tree that promotes medicinal purposes. You can blend up the lemons and drink it as a probiotic,” he added.

He said they grow a variety of vegetables in the greenhouse along with grapes, strawberries, onions, herbs and have a fig tree that has sprouted twice this year.

“We sell to the community and also eat the fruits and vegetables in the Men’s Facility. We have cows – two cows just birth to calves,” Cleo Yoder said.

“We milk the cows and Sherri Yoder makes cheese, cottage cheese and other items from the milk we get from them,” he said.

Father’s Farm is a nonprofit organization that helps men who were incarcerated or someone who would like to change their life. The organization helps the men by incorporating farm life and teaching them skills while instilling the Gospel.

“We would like to start a Women’s Facility like this but that won’t be for a while. We have 22 acres of land and would like to do a lot more but we have a lot of trees on the land,” Cleo Yoder said.