Sweet Girl Farms: Redefining the Modern Farm Stand
Sweet Girl Farms gets a lot of attention for its viral Instagram videos and robust social media following, but there’s much more to this Reedley farm than eye-catching content. We met with owner Liset Garcia to learn more about her family’s farm stand – and in the process, were treated to a master class in how small farms can make a big impact in their communities. Here’s why this Central Valley farm stand is worth the trip.
From family farm to on-site farm stand
Liset Garcia officially joined her family’s farm in 2019, planting flowers between the rows of her father’s fruit trees while helping to launch Sweet Girl Farms’ on-site farm stand. “Originally it was just fruits, because that’s what my parents were growing at the time,” Liset recalls, “but when Covid erupted it was very interesting to see how a lot of our community started to really look for local organic produce – somewhere where they knew the person that was actually growing the goods.” Shaking her head, she admits, “I know it’s weird to say ‘during Covid,’ but it was just kind of the right time when people were looking for that.”
The timing really couldn’t have been better. The open-air fruit stand was an ideal alternative for health-conscious customers looking for locally grown produce.
Creating a farm stand that meets the community’s needs
One of the keys to Sweet Girl Farms’ success has been identifying and meeting the community’s needs. Soon after opening their farm stand, Liset realized that diversifying their offerings to include vegetables and flowers would better meet the needs of their existing consumer base and help attract new customers. Liset leaped into action, quickly convincing her family to pivot. “I included myself in the business plan, and we expanded our products,” Liset says with a mischievous smile.
Today, the farm grows so many different fruits, vegetables and flowers that Liset admits that she’s lost count. The lengthy list includes hard-to-find herbs and vegetables used in Latino cuisine, like limadulce (also known as Mexican sweet lime) and pápaloquelite, a Mexican herb that’s jokingly referred to as “cilantro on steroids”.
Flowers have become an equally important part of the business, filling a gap between supply and demand. What began as a passion project has become one of the farm’s biggest draws.
Liset reflects, “I think the biggest impact for me has been during big flower holidays. A lot of people show up (on holidays), and that is when we have people that are discovering us for the first time. To me, that was impactful. When I saw the crowd of people coming for just marigolds (for Día de los Muertos), flowers from Mother’s Day or centerpieces for Thanksgiving, I was shocked. I never thought that it could be a good chunk of our business. And so that’s what’s really driven me to focus and take it seriously.”
What grows at Sweet Girl Farms
We asked Liset to rattle off a few of Sweet Girl Farms’ most popular offerings. Here’s just a taste of what you’ll find at Reedley’s sweetest farm stand:
Stone fruit: white nectarines, yellow nectarines, white peaches, yellow peaches, pluots.
Armenian cucumbers
Onions
Citrus: limadulce, cara cara oranges
Peppers: bell peppers, jalapeños, chili peppers
Flowers: marigold, peony, dahlia, ranunculus, zinnia, roses, sunflowers
Persimmons: chocolate and Giant Fuya
Tomatoes: Cherry, beefsteak, heirloom
Squash: zucchini, spaghetti and acorn
Grapes
Helping customers understand seasonality
Liset notes that one of the challenges of running a farm stand is helping customers to understand seasonality. While grocery stores often stock produce from around the world, local farms can only harvest what’s naturally in season. “It’s always hard,” she admits, with a furrowed brow. “For example, right now someone might be asking for oranges. We have peaches and pluots and grapes, but just not oranges because that’s during the wintertime. I think that’s what’s hard – not being able to satisfy everyone’s palate at a given time.” She pauses, then states, “I would love for them to have the thing that they’re craving – but what we’re craving doesn’t always coincide with what’s in season.” But you know, we don’t always coincide with what we’re craving in what’s in season.
Connecting Sweet Girl Farms with the community
Liset notes that one of the challenges of operating in a rural community is simply getting the word out – letting people know that you exist. “There have been other farm stands in the area, but it’s always hard to attract customers – to attract them,” she admits. To that end, Liset set out to establish a robust social media presence. She publishes a mix of English and Spanish content, posting farm videos, farm stand updates, tutorials, and more on Instagram and TikTok. This not only lets people know what seasonal produce they’ll find at the farm stand, but also gives customers an inside look at how their food is grown and helps create a connection to the Sweet Girl Farms team.
Liset explains, “The thought process was more to show how I grow things and the work that we put behind what we’re bringing to the farm stand. Of course, the social media world has evolved. So, now it’s a way to communicate with customers to really show them what’s in during a specific week – even day. It’s always been fun to interact with customers there and then just bring them closer to agriculture.”
Embracing regenerative agriculture
While social media may have introduced many people to Sweet Girl Farms, Liset believes the farm’s future lies in regenerative agriculture. Since joining the family business, she’s encouraged her parents to gradually transition away from conventional growing methods and toward practices that prioritize soil health, biodiversity and long-term sustainability. “That’s one of the things I really pushed my family to be more conscious of. It was hard for them to grasp the idea and also the business side of it.” Liset pauses and then proudly says, “We’ve been transferring from conventional to regenerative throughout the seven years that I’ve been here. Right now we’re so close to achieving fully regenerative.”
One of the tenets of regenerative agriculture is that it’s a closed loop. Ideally, no waste leaves the farm, and everything that is used is sourced from the farm itself. Liset cites compost teas as an example. Instead of discarding overripe fruit, the family ferments it into nutrient-rich fertilizers and foliar sprays, turning what would have been waste into valuable inputs for the next crop.
Women in Ag: Liset Garcia
Since joining her family’s farm in 2019, Liset Garcia has become a leader not only on her own farm, but throughout California agriculture. In recognition of her work, she was named Reedley Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021 and was honored as Senate District 14 Woman of the Year in 2022.
Liset states, “I think it’s important to celebrate women’s roles in agriculture. Women are champions. We are meticulous, we’re good at the job, we’re knowledgeable. Sometimes, our power is undermined, and I think it needs to get highlighted that we have the brains and the power to do it.”
Visit Sweet Girl Farms
Liset encourages everyone to support smaller, family-owned farms. By shopping at local farmstands, consumers can develop a better understanding of seasonality, create relationships with the people who grow their food and maybe even broaden their culinary horizons. She elaborates, “It’s important to support small farms to become acquainted with what’s in season and who grows it. Maybe there’s cultural food they’ve never tried…it’s just a good place to explore different foods.
New for 2027! Keep an eye on Sweet Girl Farms’ Instagram and their website for information on community workshops + DIY classes.
Article and photography by Hilary Rance.