PLANT CITY, Fla. – The Plant City Strawberry Festival packed up earlier this month, but here in Florida, we celebrate the longest strawberry season of the year. So, the festival isn’t the end of the season - for some farmers, it’s still the beginning.

What You Need To Know

  •  Even though the Strawberry Festival is over, the strawberry season is still going strong

  • Carl Grooms' 125 acres of crops has produced millions of strawberries since Fancy Farms in 1974

  • Inflation is hitting farmers, but events like the Strawberry Festival help offset costs

“How do you get up and do it? You get up and go to work every day,” said Fancy Farms owner Carl Grooms.  “If you decide to sleep a few days and go out to work and didn’t water your plant, they might be dead.”

Carl Grooms said his dad and grandfather before him were both farmers.

“My grandfather was from Arkansas. He was a farmer, my dad too. He started farming right here in Florida,” said Grooms. “I grew up on the farm. That’s all I know how to do is farm.”

Grooms told me that his family’s lifeline is tightly woven into the 125 acres of crops that’s produced millions of strawberries since he started Fancy Farms back in 1974.

“When the price is right, and the product is abundant, you can make a lot of money in it,” said Grooms. “But every year it cost more money. I just paid the largest gas bill I ever have, over $4,000. I’ve never spent that much. That’s just a small part of the expenses.”

Inflation hit farmers just as it did other business owners responsible for supply costs, but Grooms told me events like the Strawberry Festival help.

“Plant City area was always noted as the winter strawberry capital of the world – meaning there’s no other berries produced at that time,” said Grooms. “So, the Strawberry Festival pitched off of that and kept going for years and years.”

Grooms' son, Dustin Grooms told me that the festival has been crucial to the farm’s success over the years.

“It boosts promotion, it helps our sales. We definitely need it during that time,” said Dustin. “We also love working with the staff. The Strawberry Festival is all about showcasing strawberries, and they do a good job of that.”

Dustin, much like his sister Kristi Grooms, both went off to explore life outside of the farm after college, but each of them came home to keep the family legacy alive.

“We decided we wanted to do something a little special on the farm and open a market where we can offer the community wonderful desserts that have all been family recipes,” said Kristi Grooms.  “We start harvesting our strawberries in November, and the season doesn’t end until April. It’s not just the strawberry festival time, you can enjoy all year around.”

Kristi and Dustin’s mom – the head of the house – DeeDee Grooms, told me having her kids close to home means the world to her.

“It’s been great because you get to raise your kids and be together every day,” said DeeDee. “We have lunch together and I cook lunch for all of us. I’s a family affair when your kids are in it and a wonderful feeling.”

After strawberry season is over, the Grooms family will replace their desserts with blueberry and peach flavors.

“Our field that you see beside the market is full of sunflowers after the season, it’s a beautiful view and we invite the public to come out,” said Kristi Grooms.