U-Pick Farms in Southern California
When the weather warms up, one of our favorite family activities is to head to some U-pick farms in Southern California. To be honest, our kids are city kids and a lot of the food they eat comes from the grocery store. However, we think it’s important for our children to learn about what it takes to get food onto their plates, and not have them respond with “Um…the store?” when asked where their strawberries came from. To that end, Cat’s family has ventured into growing their own fruits and vegetables (see more in our post Spring Gardening with Cat & Lucy) and that has been a very fulfilling and educational experience for their family. But if a garden is not in the cards for you, you can reap a lot of the same benefits by visiting a U-pick farm! Check out a few of our favorites below:
Unlike many other popular U-pick farms, Tanaka Farms is conveniently located in the middle of a city (Irvine). One of the few remaining working farms in the area, it’s a popular spot for school field trips, so they have a lot of kid-friendly activities and educational tours available year-round!
For a little drive, you can have it all at Underwood Family Farms. They offer a wide selection of produce for picking all year long. Their special events are a lot of fun, but they are open almost every day. In addition to picking produce, our kids really enjoy riding the wagon, observing the animals, and shopping at the farmers market.
Does the start of the school year make you think of apples? It was such a common motif and unit of study in elementary schools in the fall, so it’s no surprise that that time of year makes us crave a crisp and juicy apple. If that’s you too, drive your family out to Oak Glen to visit Willowbrook Apple Farm, a small but cute apple orchard that has animals as well. Apple season runs from Labor Day through November, but we recommend going earlier in the season for the best pick of the lot.
A drive further south will bring you to the Carlsbad Strawberry Company, where you’ll find a friendly family-owned strawberry farm. In addition to fresh strawberries, they have a huge sunflower maze (1.5 miles long!) and tractor rides—it’s a fun little outing and a great excuse to make some strawberry shortcakes afterwards!
Not only is picking your food straight from the farm an educational experience, but it is so much more fresh and delicious (you can have a truly farm-to-table dish!). We’ve also found that if your kids happen to be going through a picky eating phase, it really helps if you can get them involved in the food preparation experience, whether it’s picking the food or cooking it. Next time you have a free day on the calendar, just refer back to this list of U-pick farms in Southern California and head out for a fun and yummy family adventure!
