First Encounter with the Farmers

We headed out to the Redlands/Homestead/Florida City area today at 9 AM. Tomas, Mansi and I were on a quest to meet some farmers and get their feedback on the Farmers Market. Mansi had set up 3 appointments during the week. Our fist stop was with Rick, a farmer for over 15 years. He grows mainly Jackfruit, but he also grows longans and avocados and now he's got a wonderful garden of desert rose. Rick sells directly to the public, and he was very much interested in helping us find vendors to come to the market. He took our application and kept a few extras to distribute to farmer friends. Really nice guy. He gave us some jackfruits and longans to try! They are delicious!

The next stop was with Farmer Bob. Great place! A few acres of mangos, avocados, guavas, and other tropical fruits that all look ripe and ready to eat! Farmer Bob gave us a tour of the place and provided us with a calendar of what is in season when. For us city sleekers, this is a valuable piece of information. He gave us the most delicious fruit to try: Pitaya (dragon fruit). It was one of the most juicy fruits we have ever eaten and very refreshing.

The last farm we visited was Pernas Farms. I counted about 10 different types of mangoes. And, they also grow herbs and avocados.

The final stop was at Robert is Here, where we had a liquid lunch of fresh jackfruit, strawberry and passionfruit shake. Tomas also had a tasty slice of watermelon,bananas and a peach!

Needless to ay that we got eaten alive by mosquitoes! But, it was worth every minute there. The farmers were great, friendly, smart and asked the right questions. We are very excited and considered this trip a success!

Save the date: October 31st is the BIG GRAND Opening! Don't miss it.