5 Florida Farm Markets and Fruit Stands Locals Swear Are Worth the Detour

The best road-trip snack is sometimes waiting at a stand you almost drove past.

Many Floridians have a favorite farm market, and some of the stories behind them go back decades.

Here are the Florida stands worth pulling over for on your next drive.

1. Robert Is Here

Homestead’s Robert Is Here Fruit Stand traces back to 1959, when young Robert stood by the side of the road with a few cucumbers and a handmade sign.

The sign read “Robert is Here,” and the stand still goes by that name.

You’ll find the stand at 19200 Southwest 344th Street, about a half-mile west of U.S. 1.

Robert Is Here stocks hundreds of types of fruit year-round, mostly grown locally.

Fruit to browse includes mangoes, guanabana, black sapote and starfruit.

Keys Weekly reported in 2023 that the stand hand-cuts fresh fruit daily and makes its milkshakes to order.

The milkshakes use two ingredients, fruit and milk or ice.

That’s it.

The grounds have a free petting zoo with goats, tortoises and emus, plus a shaded play area.

You can drop in any day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

2. Bob Roth’s New River Groves

Axios Miami calls Bob Roth’s New River Groves in Davie a farm stand with a large orange float parked on Griffin Road near Florida’s Turnpike.

The grove opened in October 1964.

Citrus canker forced the grove to remove its orange trees.

The store still ships citrus across North America.

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) says the citrus harvest runs from October through June.

A late-October visit puts you near the start of that harvest.

You can find navel oranges, ruby red grapefruit and honeybells.

Terry’s Homemade Key Lime Pie debuted in the early 1970s.

Some specialty pies carry a “Check if in season” note, so call before you drive for a particular flavor.

The store sells stone crabs too.

Stone crab season runs Oct. 15 through May 1, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The store at 5660 Griffin Road is open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

That’s an early start.

3. Parkesdale Farm Market

Parkesdale Farm Market in Plant City has been family owned since 1968, according to its website.

In October, you can visit Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Plan your drive for Wednesday or later because the October schedule has no Monday or Tuesday hours.

Parkesdale calls itself home to the world-famous strawberry shortcake, but the dessert isn’t back until January.

In the fall, the market sells milkshakes, fresh produce and plants instead.

The market also sells jams, preserves, citrus baskets, cookie baskets and strawberry bread.

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association says fresh strawberries are available from November through April.

Plant City goes by the nickname Winter Strawberry Capital of the Nation.

You’ll find the market at 3702 West Baker Street.

4. Hunsader Farms

Hunsader Farms in Bradenton started in 1967, when three brothers left a Wisconsin dairy farm to grow vegetables.

The brothers’ first crop was 80 acres of tomatoes.

The family built the barn-style farm market in 1990.

A petting zoo followed in 1991, and the first Pumpkin Festival came in 1992.

The market is open September through early June, so an October visit lands in the middle of its season.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

You can pick up homegrown produce, jams, jellies, honey, ice cream, boiled peanuts, eggs and milk.

The market also sells local meat from Four Daughters Farms and Blackbeard’s Ranch.

You can pick zinnias and sunflowers in the U-pick fields, which close at 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.

The farm is at 5500 County Road 675.

5. Holland Farms

Holland Farms in Milton gives you a rocking chair and a free cup of boiled peanuts when you visit, according to the farm.

You can stay a while.

It grows and sells directly from the farm to the public.

The farm sells fresh green peanuts, boiled peanuts, seasonal produce and farm-raised beef.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, but they change with the season, so call ahead.

The farm's pumpkin patch is open Sept. 26 through Nov. 1, with a corn maze, hayrides, a zipline and train rides.

Bruce Holland started farming in high school in the early 1970s.

In 1985, he and his wife, Diane, added produce and green peanuts to the farm.

The boiled peanuts come in two flavors, salt and Cajun.