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Our Story
Grown by hand, since 1962.
Three generations of the Soler family, one stretch of red Valencian soil near Carlet, and fruit that still travels from the huerta to tables across Europe the way it always has.
Where it began
It started with Vicenta and a few orange trees
In 1962, Vicenta Soler — la abuela— planted her first rows of oranges in the red soil of the Ribera Alta, a few kilometres outside Carlet. She had a small plot, a good eye for ripe fruit, and stubborn hands. Sixty-odd harvests later, three generations of Solers still work that same ground, and the huerta has grown up around it.
1962
Vicenta plants the first trees
La abuela, Vicenta Soler, sets out her first rows of orange trees in the red soil of the Ribera Alta, just outside Carlet. A small plot, a borrowed mule, and a knack for knowing when fruit is ready.
1985
A second generation, new fields
Her son Andreu takes over the day-to-day. Between the citrus he adds melons that ripen in the July heat and the first pomegranate trees, planted along the irrigation channels.
1994
We go organic
Andreu turns the whole farm over to organic and sustainable methods — compost, cover crops, and beneficial insects in place of sprays. The soil answers back within a few seasons.
2008
Fruit crosses the border
A new packhouse and a cold chain let us pick in the morning and ship the same week. Our first crates of Carlet oranges and pomegranates reach buyers in France, Germany, and the Low Countries.
2021
The third generation takes the reins
Leo Soler becomes head grower. The family now tends around 120 hectares and more than 24 varieties, picking from September through June — and still walking the rows by hand every morning.
How we farm
Working with the seasons, not against them
Andreu turned the farm over to organic methods back in 1994, and we have never looked for a shortcut since. Good fruit keeps its own schedule: the melons want the full weight of the July sun, the late oranges need the cool of a Valencian winter. Our job is mostly patience, a little stubbornness, and showing up every morning to read the rows.
1962
Founded by la abuela
3
Generations on the land
24+
Varieties in the huerta
~120 ha
Of orchard tended by hand
Grown Organically
Organic and certified since 1994. We feed the ground with compost and cover crops and let beneficial insects do the rest. Healthier soil, fruit that actually tastes of something.
Rooted in Carlet
Most of the people who pick and pack with us are neighbours. When the melons come in each summer, it can feel like half the village has a hand in the harvest.
Old Craft, New Tools
Drip irrigation, careful variety trials, and same-day cold packing. We will take a modern tool when it earns its place, but the final pick is still made by eye and by hand.
The grower
Meet Leo
“A Navelina in December tells you everything. Pick it a day early and it bites back; a day late and it has gone soft on the branch. You learn to read the colour, the weight of it in your palm, the give of the skin. My grandmother taught my father that, standing in these same rows, and he taught me.”
Leo Soler
Head Grower · third generation