Rodriguez Brothers Ranch

We have been buying organic strawberries & raspberries, and other produce, from the Rodriguez booth at the Grand Lake Farmers Market in Oakland for several years. They are, as described in other reviews, tremendous.
Most highly recommended!

My family and I are 100% addicted to their Strawberries. Ever since I moved to the East Bay, I’ve been buying a case of the organic berries every week from the Old Oakland Farmers Market. The only problem is that I can’t have strawberries from anywhere else now. Lol Thank you Rodriguez Ranch, keep on doing what you do.

I just polished off a bowl of Strawberries I purchased at the Historic Folsom Farmers Market. They were sweet juicy and large. I suggest stopping at their booth when you are in the Folsom Farmers market.

AMAZING! I visit them Saturdays at the Midtown Farmers Market (20^th Street between J and K), Saturdays at the Sunrise Mall Farmers Market (Sunrise Mall behind the Sears), and Sunday at the Carmichael Park Farmers Market and they have THE BEST strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
Really great value ($ 8 for a flat) and they have both organic and non-​organic options. I personally go with non-​organic and they’re just indescribable. Even when new vendors pop up in the market, I always compare them to Rodriguez but I’ve yet to find anywhere that compares.
Good tip– always buy more than you need (because why not) and freeze them for smoothies or other baking recipes.
Oh they also accept credit! Pretty rare for farmers.

Just bought produce from them at a farmers market in front of kaiser offices. Not only were they super nice, and the prices amazing, the strawberries and raspberries are by far the most luscious fruit I have eaten in years. I buy produce weekly at weekend farmers markets because I juice daily in addition to daily green smoothies, so I covet great produce. I wish I could shop these guys every freakin’ day!

I took a private tour of the Rodriguez’ family ranch on Sunday morning. Farmer Manuel Rodriguez was kind enough to take time out from his busy schedule to allow a small group of visitors to take a walking tour within a small part of his 35 acre ranch nestled in the rich farmlands of Watsonville. The Rodriguez family operates three ranches in California harvesting organic and conventional produce. Most of their produce is sold at farmers markets throughout California.
On this morning Manuel greeted our group in front of his home and opened up the doors to his home to allow our tour group to use his family’s restroom. Mostly known for his strawberries Manuel walked our group over to organic strawberry field # 4 and gave us a brief description of the two types of strawberries that are grown here.
Albions are generally darker in color both to the inside of the fruit as well as the outside. We were told these berries are extremely popular because they are normally sweeter than any of the other strawberry varieties. Seascapes are better known for their rich strawberry flavor and the fact that they grow to be larger than the other varieties. Manuel extended an invitation to everybody in our tour group to walk upon his fields, pick berries to sample and return to him with any questions.
In this photo (
) I’ve picked a Seascape on the left and an Albion on the right for the ultimate taste test. While the Albion was definitely sweeter I found the Seascape more to my liking with a slightly tart flavor and a juicier fruit. I really enjoyed picking and sampling the big, glistening berries warmed by the sun as most members of our group did.
In addition to the strawberries we were allowed to walk freely upon the organic raspberry bushes (
). Most of the raspberries were not ripe enough to pick yet. There are two varieties as well with a red berry and a white berry. I sampled a single red fruit and it was extremely sour. Swarms of bees pollinate in the raspberry bushes, but we were told that the bees keep to themselves. Regardless I walked gingerly along the bushes taking photos among the hundreds (thousands?) of bees buzzing around me.
On this visit we learned about crop varieties, fertilization, market trends and farm life. Two other crops that we were made aware of were the finger potatoes (
) and the artichokes. Both are also organic on this farm. As our group reassembled to depart for our next destination, Manuel Rodriguez expressed his generosity once again by giving everybody in our tour group a half crate of Seascape strawberries (
) and artichokes to take home free of charge.
When asked where we could find his produce locally we were told that he often sells at the farmers markets in Daly City and in South San Francisco. Because often generosity and hospitality can work both ways I’ll certainly start looking for his family’s produce when I shop at these farmers markets.
In addition to those photos posted here, more of my photos can be found at this link:

This review is for the Rodriguez Brothers’ strawberries sold at local farmers’ markets. Their strawberries are undoubtedly superior to any other strawberries. I used to purchase them at the Mountain View farmers’ market after tasting strawberries from the various vendors there. Rodriguez Brothers’ were consistently the best. When I moved to Santa Clara, I was disappointed not to find a Rodriguez stand but settled for second best. Today, much to my delight, I discovered that Rodriguez Farms now sells strawberries at the Santa Clara farmers’ market. My husband actually snickered at how I shrieked, «Rodriguez strawberries!» when I saw their stand. Just as sweet and juicy as I remember.