"We're seven miles from 441, at the highway patrol station,” said Earline Rogers about her farm’s location on a brisk afternoon.
"We're in the Boonies,” Earline confirms, holding back a coy grin, of her farm.
In the middle of unincorporated Alachua County, find a field of green and ruby.
"We give them a bucket," Earline explains how her Florida U-Pick farm works.
Mid-March marks the start of her 26th strawberry season.
"They are sweet and they are juicy,” she said of this year’s strawberry crop.
IN PRODUCTION TODAY: Get ‘em while they’re fresh! Cold ❄️ & 🍓’s go hand-in-👋🏼. See where Friday on 📺 @BN9 & @MyNews13. #TankfulGuy pic.twitter.com/Tj0xJ4bGeL
— ScottFaisTV (@ScottFaisTV) March 14, 2017
Earline started working for owner Larry Rogers a quarter century ago.
"Well, I've been working for him since '91. And then I married him in '96,” she revealed, as Larry got in his white pickup truck to avoid a TV interview.
After all these years, Earline can be at a loss for words herself, except when Larry got home when Earline said he could expect getting “bopped on the nose.”
Someone who isn't shy of words, third grader Gavin Walden.
"You already ate 28,” Gavin tells his kid brother Noah.
The Walden family visited the Roger's Farm after school and got busy.
"It's pretty important to move the bushes around,” Gavin offered while hunting for the perfect berries.
"I'm seeing a lot of green and a variety of red,” Gavin said strolling the rows of strawberry crops.
And while Gavin and Noah will pop a few strawberries in their mouths, Earline won't after a long day.
"When I go home, I am sick of strawberries,” She said with a serious tone fighting back her trademark grin.
THAT’S A WRAP: Wired for sound & loaded w/ flavor. See the farm that flourishes in the #Florida cold on @MyNews13 & @BN9 Friday. #TankfulGuy pic.twitter.com/wCQTZvWfZH
— ScottFaisTV (@ScottFaisTV) March 14, 2017
Before you visit:
The Rogers Farm is open Monday-Saturday. Take note, the farm is closed on Sunday.
In 2017, Strawberries are $1.50 a pound. $15 a flat. It’s always a wise idea to call before visiting for the latest grove information, dial 386-462-2406.
Address:
3831 NW 156th Ave
Gainesville, FL 32609
Directions:
Take State Route 121 North from Gainesville to NW 156 Ave.
Tankful on Television:
Catch Florida travel stories like the one above on Television four days a week across Central Florida. The award-winning Florida on a Tankful with Scott Fais airs on News 13 Thursday-Sunday. See new segments in the Bay Area as well on Bay News 9. Stories air beginning at 6 a.m. on both channels as a Spectrum exclusive.