Gilchrist County and citrus farming can now be used in the same sentence.

The previously citrus-free, rural North Florida county has become home to a huge nursery for citrus trees that is expected to double in size within a few years.

"We came up here to get away from citrus canker and citrus greening disease because we knew those diseases have not been here," said James Dilley, nursery manager for Southern Gardens Citrus Nursery LLC, a subsidiary of Clewiston-based U.S. Sugar Corp. "We'll start the young trees here and then take them back down to South Florida where they can be planted as disease-free trees."

Following the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons, Southern Gardens destroyed about a fifth of its 20,000 acres of citrus trees to try to prevent the spread of the diseases that had been swirled around by the hurricane winds. Nursery-grown trees also had to be destroyed and many citrus nurseries closed because canker had become so pervasive.

Replacing the destroyed trees with disease-free trees became a priority for the company that produces 120 million gallons of not-from-concentrate orange juice annually and is the supplier for more than half of the private label, not-from-concentrate juice in the United States. The company projects it takes a new tree three to five years to become productive.

Southern Gardens bought 80 acres south and east of the intersection of State Road 47 and County Road 232 in October. The property was already zoned for agricultural uses and had been pastureland.

Construction began immediately on the first five greenhouses - each 240 feet long and 41 1/2 feet wide and connected to one another. The greenhouses began growing their first 200,000 orange trees in late July. The first nursery crop is scheduled to be planted in Southern Gardens' groves during May and June 2008.

Additional greenhouses are already being planned, which Dilley said will eventually enclose three acres.

Gilchrist County has not had any commercial citrus operations developed previously, likely because of the county's propensity to have several hard freezes each winter, according to the county's agricultural extension agent, Marvin Weaver.

"We're probably still half-covered in timber and then we probably have 20,000 acres of hay and 4,000 acres in peanuts and another 2,000 acres in watermelons," Weaver said. "We've also got five big dairies and some smaller dairies with 30,000 head of cows combined. This citrus is all new for us."

To keep the tender trees comfortable during the coldest winter nights, a series of pipes has been installed beneath the growing trays. The pipes will allow hot water from three 1.5 million BTU boilers to circulate and maintain the temperatures inside the houses at 65 degrees when it dips as low as 15 degrees outside.

A bigger threat than freezing temperatures is the possibility of canker, greening or some other disease entering the greenhouses, according to state and Southern Gardens officials. To minimize the risk, the new nursery has all the state-mandated features and features that company officials could think up - double-door entries, air filtration systems, even anti-bacterial rinses for all vehicles and humans entering the property.

The company has installed two sets of antibacterial sprayers - one for vehicles to drive through and another for people to walk through. The sprayers distribute a fine mist of antibacterial soap, which can quickly be wiped off glasses and windshields. (A demonstration of the antibacterial systems is available in a video at www.GainesvilleSun.com.)

A dozen local residents have already been hired to tend the nursery at wages above the minimum and with a benefits package, Dilley said. The workforce will likely double in size within a year, Dilley said.

While the Gilchrist County greenhouses are intended to replace trees for Southern Gardens, the company has already said that once its own needs are met, it may consider selling to other citrus concerns.