A first glimpse of Mondragon Farm gives an eyeful of overwhelming abundance. On five acres of Arcadia soil, Julio Mondragon has cultivated a serene sanctuary that belies the sweat he and a small team of farmhands pour into the place each day. When you kneel next to the rows, your view is saturated: Frilly cilantro and crisp lettuces stretch out like a little green ocean. The honeyed sunlight turns leaves into waves of glittering emeralds. This is a place of palpable happiness and purpose, anchored by a person who is as full of life as the land he tends.

Born in Mexico, Mondragon came to the U.S. in 2004, bringing with him inherited knowledge from growing up on a farm.

“I love the fields. I have knowledge of how to plant the seeds, how they come up, how they grow,” Mondragon says. “And, you know, I love this country so much. I wanted to do something to be helpful.”

Mondragon knew he needed to learn what Florida’s extremely sandy soil requires of farmers, and he became attuned to the land during his time in a leadership role at Worden Farm.

“One of the things we had done in Mexico was mulch with leaves fallen from the trees. Another thing we used was ash,” Mondragon says. “And my parents, all my family, never became sick—they were good all the time. I think it was because of the nutrition and the minerals in our food.”

When he started Mondragon Farm in 2019, his family’s farming techniques breathed life into the sand.

“My neighbors have many trees, and especially with the hurricanes, they give me a lot of mulch and ash,” he says. “Instead of paying to dump it, I tell them not to spend the money and bring it to me!”

At the start of this growing season, Mondragon’s fields glowed with a glorious, fiery spectacle of marigolds, cultivated for local families’ ofrendas and memorials on Día de los Muertos. In the cool of winter, Mondragon’s best-selling lettuces, arugula, and herbs thrive alongside specialties such as kohlrabi, endive, bok choi, broccoli, and cauliflower. In the spring, it’s time for cucumbers and squash. Even across such a broad palette of crops, Mondragon stays obsessed with flavor.

“When you have more flavor, your body knows it’s good as soon as you start eating,” he says. It’s hard for him to pick a favorite from the bounty of his fields, but after some consideration, he bestows that honor upon the tatsoi: “The taste is so juicy.”

Mondragon rises around 4:30 most mornings and hammers out a rigorous weekly rhythm: On Mondays, maintenance. Tuesdays, planting. Wednesdays, pest control (his chickens’ favorite day). Thursdays and Fridays, harvesting and packing. Friday nights are short, as Mon-dragon’s alarm goes off at midnight and market days swing into gear. He maintains a regular presence at the Farmers’ Market at Lakewood Ranch on Sundays, always keeping his ears open for anyone who comes looking for something specific.

“Sometimes they know it by a different name, but we look it up together, I write it down, and I order the seed,” Mondragon says. “I try to make everyone happy.”

Every ounce of this dedication is for the most precious crop Mon-dragon is growing: his son, Noe. Turning five years old this year, Noe inspires Mondragon’s indefatigable pursuit of an abundant life.

“He’s my love. Whatever I do, I’m thinking of my boy,” Mondragon says.

Though a farmer’s work is never done, Mondragon keeps some sacred time for Noe: “We play all the time. We take one hour in the afternoon, no matter what, to walk without shoes. Play with dirt.”

For himself, Mondragon maintains a strict regimen of healthy eating, quality sleep, and working out to ensure he’s strong enough for the physical, mental, and spiritual demands of both farming and father-hood. The most beautiful harvest from Mondragon Farm is not just the food he grows. It’s in the fulfillment he creates for himself, and in a legacy of grounded devotion he cultivates in the heart of his son, right alongside the emerald green fields.