Every September the farm changes gear. The afternoon storms that ran all summer start skipping days, the mornings drop out of the eighties, and the birds — who slow way down in the worst of the heat — start laying like they mean it. If you have been waiting for eggs, this is when to call.
Eggs
The Bell Farm hens lay the blue-green eggs people ask about, alongside the ducks. Production is picking up week over week now that the heat has broken, and we sell by the dozen on a first-come basis. There is no storefront and no egg fridge by the road: you call or text (561) 779-3213, we tell you what came in that morning, and you pick up at the gate at 16140 Okeechobee Blvd, Loxahatchee. Farm-stay guests get first crack at whatever the birds produced during their stay.
A few honest notes. Duck eggs are richer and bigger than hen eggs and bake beautifully, but they are not everyone's breakfast egg — try a half dozen before you commit to a standing order. Quantities are what the birds decide; if we run out, we run out. And eggs from a working farm are unwashed and unrefrigerated until you get them home, which is how they keep their natural coating, so put them in the fridge when you get there.
The birds
Ducks, hens, one rooster who runs the schedule, and a peacock who has opinions about all of it. This is the season we thin the flock and occasionally have layers or young birds available to good homes — call and ask, because it changes week to week and we would rather have that conversation than post a number that is wrong by Friday. If you are new to keeping birds in Palm Beach County, ask us about that too; the western communities are good chicken country as long as you plan for heat, hawks, and the wet season.
Sugarcane and sweet potatoes
The cane is head-high and sweetening. We start cutting in late fall and press it fresh for the AMERICA food truck's cane juice, and whole stalks are available for anyone who wants to chew one the old way or plant their own row. Sweet potatoes come out of the ground around the same time and show up on the truck's fall menu as empanadas. If you want either in quantity — a restaurant, a school project, a church dinner — call ahead and we will set it aside.
Water lilies and the nursery
The tropical water lilies are still open on the pond through October and are the best photograph on the farm at golden hour. The nursery — Florida natives, pollinator plants, tropicals, herbs, and succulents, FDACS Firm No. 484042494 — is open by appointment, and fall is the right time to put natives in the ground so they root in during the dry season instead of fighting July.
How to get it
- 📞 Call or text (561) 779-3213 the morning you want to come. Randolph answers, seven days a week.
- 📍 Pick up at 16140 Okeechobee Blvd, Loxahatchee, FL 33470 — about twenty minutes from Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, thirty from West Palm Beach.
- 🌿 Nursery visits are by appointment. Bring a plant list or tell us the spot and we will suggest what survives there.
- 🏡 Staying over? The farm stay guide covers the two units, and you get the eggs.
The farm is a state-registered agritourism operation under Florida Statute 570.85, which is the long way of saying: this is a real farm, and fall is the best time of year to see it.