Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tour (Irvine, CA)

Strawberry Fields Forever

My UCLA roommate Agnes and her two beautiful girls, Lucia and Julia joined me at Tanaka Farms in Irvine (Orange County), California for their seasonal Strawberry Tour! JustJenn and her sons went on this tour last year, and it sounded great!

For $13 per person, you ride around the working farm on a tractor pulled wagon. Here are Agnes, Lucia and Julia ready for the trip!

The group ahead of us were there celebrating a girl's 4th birthday! What a fun way to celebrate.

Along the tour, we were given crops to try. We ate cilantro, carrots, celery, lettuce, sweet onions, and bok choy. It was so fresh and perfect. Julia said it was the best carrot she ever had.

Tanaka Farms is a family-run farm on land leased from the Irvine Company. The lease is year-to-year so let's hope the Irvine Company doesn't put up condos on this land. The Japanese American family has been farming for over 100 years, and since 1998 in this location.

Lucia with a fresh picked and delicious carrot. Living in Southern California, we have lots of freeways, but not many chances to visit a farm. This is a great place to bring the kids.

Then it was time for pretty much the best 15 minutes ever. We were given one-pound tubs to pick strawberries...and eat as many as we wanted. Oh my goodness. It was warm today and eating warm, fresh, ripe, sweet strawberries was heaven! I quickly filled my container and then just walked up and down the row stuffing my face with strawberries!!! :)

2nd grader Lucia enjoys the Strawberry tour!

Kindergartener Julia finding and picking a perfect selection of strawberries.

Our tour guide Cindy giving us the scoop on strawberries and strawberry picking.

The strawberries are co-planted with onions for natural pest control. Tanaka Farm grows organic produce.

Agnes enjoying one of many strawberries we ate in the fields! Look how bright red those strawberries are!

Julia filling up her container of strawberries!

Tanaka Farms has tours that follow the season: Strawberry, Watermelon and Pumpkin. The farm is close to UCI and is worth the drive! Also, be sure to visit the Tanaka Farm produce stand and inquire about their CSA (see bottom of their blog for a listing of participating schools and churches...some in the Los Angeles/Long Beach area too!)

After a quick trip to the Tanaka produce stand (I'm going to make a load of kale chips again this weekend), we went to Yogurtland. As you can see by their shirts, the girls were either painting with red paint, or strawberry picking!

Thanks for a great time Ag, Lucia and Julia! I was going to make something with the strawberries I picked, but I think I'm just going to eat them whole, pure and simple!