{"id":39605,"date":"2025-11-09T10:17:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T10:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/39605\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T10:17:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T10:17:16","slug":"islanders-flor-da-lee-farm-growing-and-selling-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/39605\/","title":{"rendered":"Islanders\u2019 Flor Da Lee Farm growing and selling local"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Bill and Benet Kazokas of Flor Da Lee Farms on Pine Island. PHOTO PROVIDED<\/p>\n

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A mini kitchen tomato. PHOTO PROVIDED<\/p>\n

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Flor Da Lee products on a trailer converted from a pickup truck bed. PHOTO PROVIDED<\/p>\n

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Some of the artisan lettuce grown on the farm. PHOTO PROVIDED<\/p>\n

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Bill Kazokas and his wife, Benet, are joyful lettuce growers for their local Flor Da Lee Farm on Pine Island. Kazokas said the idea to farm originally came from them both having been in the agricultural business for 40 years. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe retired from our corporate life and moved to Bokeelia about 13 years ago. We bought a small 2 \u00bd-acre piece of land that\u2019s zoned agricultural. We\u2019ve developed it into a small farm,\u201d Kazokas said.<\/p>\n

Their primary crop, he said, is artisan lettuce, which is currently sold to a food service company and then distributed to hotels, country clubs and restaurants in the areas of Naples and Fort Myers. Last year, he explained, Benet became interested in growing ornamentals.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s always been a flower grower and she wanted to start getting more involved on the island, so we\u2019ve been doing the Garden Gala for the last 3 years,\u201d Kazokas said. <\/p>\n

In addition to the Garden Gala events, they have an old Dodge pickup bed he\u2019s converted into a trailer. Benet makes planters out of plastic flamingoes with feet made of cutlery and also jewelry, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of fun with it and that was the idea \u2014 to have fun and to start connecting more with the local market,\u201d Kazokas said. <\/p>\n

They have also made the decision, he said, to attend the monthly island market, where they will be selling flowers, potted herbs and mini-tomato plants, in an effort to be more of a Pine Island feature. The agricultural business brought much travel for them both, heading to such places as Brazil and Argentina and they\u2019ve even lived in various locations, such as Mexico and Australia. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was working on my Ph.D. at the University of Florida, I took a trip to Pine Island \u2014 years and years ago and I was impressed with how it was a slice of the Old Florida,\u201d Kazokas said.<\/p>\n

That trip cemented the idea of coming back to Pine Island, he said, describing the island as a place that always seemed to call to them. Benet, he said, was previously a vegetarian chef at a world class destination health spa. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she had that job, she was really really focused on the quality that went into her meals. When we decided to get into this lettuce business, she said there\u2019s a world of lettuce out there with textures, flavors and colors,\u201d Kazokas said.<\/p>\n

Most people don\u2019t realize that lettuce has very distinctive flavors, he explained, saying they\u2019ve tested hundreds of varieties of lettuce and they now grow a blend of about 60 different varieties for roughly 7 months a year. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a little bit reclusive but we\u2019re going to be at the island market and offer the ornamentals and also some lettuce. I want to sell some fresh product. The whole farm is just Benet and I. We do everything. Everything has to be on our scale, so we really are an artisan farm. What that means is every day we have to be productive. What we\u2019ve discovered is that the richness in life comes from a deep appreciation of the simplest things, \u201d Kazokas said. <\/p>\n

Some Flor Da Lee products are available at Barnhill Seafood Market & More in Matlacha.<\/p>\n


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