For most of St. Johns County, the recent freeze has been little more than a fleeting discomfort—maybe a frozen pipe or a canceled outing.
For the Wells family of Wesley Wells Farms in St. Augustine, it turned months of labor and a season’s worth of dreams into frozen ruin.
Saturday night, the family stood in their fields, hearts sinking, staring out at 10 acres of vibrant strawberries. With temperatures dipping, the equipment they had counted on to shield their precious crop failed at the last minute. Water systems meant to protect the fruit wouldn’t run.
In the moonlit hours, the strawberries were destroyed. The calamity came just days before an U-Pick Strawberry Festival at the farm. There was no quick fix, no help at the end of an 800-number.
Sunday morning arrived before church, and the Wellses fanned out into the fields, hoping for a miracle. Leaning on faith, they found only devastation: fruit they had nurtured for months, once rich and red, now marred by gray mold.
At the service, friends asked how the crops had fared, and Amanda Wells broke down in tears. Months of careful watering, battling early fungal disease, and preparing for the festival had vanished overnight.
The farm, which has operated since the 1950s, now faces a potential $100,000 loss—a crippling blow for a small, family-run operation. Grants and relief may help, but if despair takes hold, the farm stops. “That’s when the developers start calling,” Amanda said.
There are no mental health days, no time to pause. Spring planting looms. The entire family—including six kids as young as 12—all unite to keep the farm running.
Amid the devastation, the Wells family leans on faith. Amanda shared that a song in church reminded her to bless God not only in times of plenty, but in barren fields as well.
“I don’t know how you farm if you don’t know the Lord,” she said. “You do everything you can, and then it’s up to Him. You just have to trust that He is working in ways you can’t see.”
Despite the setback, the annual Strawberry Festival at Wesley Wells Farms on County Road 208 will go on as planned, and the Wells are determined to make it a rousing success.
New events and attractions have been added, food trucks arranged, and emergency shipments of strawberries from South Florida will hopefully arrive in time.
“We won’t wallow,” Amanda said. “We have faith, and we trust God to see us through this.”
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