While a local grocery store may carry Florida fresh fruits and veggies throughout the year, local produce markets can provide foods that are grown closer to home, and a trip to the farm provides the freshest food available, u-pick or pre-picked.

Florida’s Nature Coast has a cornucopia of fresh farm produce available throughout most of the year.

Citrus, Hernando and Pasco Counties are blessed with quite a variety of locally grown crops, as well as u-pick farms to get them from.

NatureCoaster.com wants to connect you with the best our area has to offer, so check our Directory in the Agritourism section for participating farms throughout each season of the year.

May brings in blackberries, mostly thornless, and fresh sweet corn.

Peach farms are in full production from the end of April through June on Florida’s Nature Coast.

April began the blueberry season, with farms throughout the area offering everything from picking out on in the fields to picnic tables, hammocks, and farm animals to interact with. Help create your family’s adventure with picking food together on the farm.

Many veggies are available from local farms, including onions, peppers, kale, lettuce, tomatoes and more.

Try farm-fresh eggs and you will not believe the difference in the taste and the bright yolks full of vitamins over store-bought eggs.

The summer is generally a respite from farm production. It is just too darn hot to grow and to pick.

In late August, olives become available. There are local olive farms offering tours, tastes, and festivities to celebrate the harvest.

Let’s not forget muscadine grapes, which ripen around August, with local wineries that ferment the fruit and craft a variety of flavors for on-site and take home consumption.

Once you taste farm fresh, you are likely to be hooked. The food tastes better and it is fun to pick your own. (My husband jokes that I have migrant farm worker in my blood, but I just like the peace and quiet of fields and the challenge of finding the biggest, sweetest, freshest fruit or vegetable available.)

Some Nature Coast area farms have corn and sunflower mazes that attract people from near and far to enjoy the fresh air, lack of screens and wholesome delights that are available.

May and October are usually the time of year for these festivities. Hayrides, petting farms, climbing structures, and farm-fresh produce are on the docket.

There are tree farms where you can choose and cut your very own Florida Christmas tree. The farmers and helpers will provide assistance and tools, and your family will take home memories that last a lifetime.

And let us not forget strawberry season! From December through March, strawberries are rocking the Nature Coast. There are several u-pick farms and we even have our own Strawberry Festival in Floral City each March.

Farm fresh eggs and meats are available year-round throughout the area. If you are looking for a supplier, check the NatureCoaster Directory Upick Farms.

Hernando and Citrus Counties have county-owned canneries available to the public for preserving your fruits and vegetables. There is assistance at these locations and the cost is minimal.

Take advantage of the many locally grown, farm–fresh opportunities that are available in Florida’s Nature Coast to put delicious, nutritious food in your family’s diet, and lifelong memories in their banks.

Follow our series throughout the year on farm fresh opportunities and send us pictures of your adventures or post them on our Facebook page to share!