Watermelon Ho!
Located in the valley in the heart of Irvine lies 30-acres of pristine farm land known as Tanaka Farms. Founded in Japan in the 1940’s by great-grandfather Teruo, Tanaka Farms is a 3rd generation Japanese-American working farm. Most well known for their educational tours, Tanaka Farms is leading the way with responsible farming in Orange County. We recently had the pleasure of attending a blogger Tanaka Farms watermelon tour, all opinions are our own.
My 4 crazies holding their watermelons!
A 50 Minute Tour of the Juiciest Proportions
Watermelon Tours at Tanaka Farms are held from July – August. The 50 minute watermelon tour is a great way to spend a hot summer day. The tour consists of a wagon ride around the farm as you sample different fruit and vegetables and learn fun facts about Tanaka Farms. Once you’ve done a loop around the farm, you’ll get dropped off in a shaded melon tasting tent. Inside the tent (and out of the hot sun!) you’ll have the opportunity to sample a variety of freshly cut melons (depending on what’s in season). We had the opportunity to sample a variety of vegetables like squash and cucumber in the tasting tent as well. During our watermelon tour we got to sample the Saticoy melon (it was delicious and I don’t even like cantaloupe!), the red watermelon and even the yellow watermelon! After the tastings you’ll be given your own watermelon to take home with you.
Cultivating Memories
I absolutely adore visiting farms, it’s hands-down one of my favorite things to do with my children. If there’s a farm within 50 miles of us we’ve visited it or have plans to visit it soon. We have been visiting Tanaka Farms since 2010. We would drive down from the Inland Empire with our mom friends every strawberry picking season. It’s such a magical, wholesome experience to pick and eat strawberries right off the vine. We even went watermelon picking in 2012 with a few of our friends. We loved it then and we totally loved going as a whole family with some of my favorite blogging friends.
Yum!
My oldest, enjoying the day!
Farm fresh carrots ripe for the tasting!
Watermelon Tour Tips:
Wear a hat – it gets almost unbearably hot
Wear closed toed shoes – it is a farm after all
Bring lots of water! – There is not a public drinking fountain
Bring a grocery bag – bag up the samples you don’t eat!
Strollers are allowed – but not on the wagon ride
Pull wagons are not allowed – unless you sign a waver
Take lots of pictures – and tag #TanakaFarms on social so I can see them!
Bloggers and Our Families!
Don’t forget to stop by the produce stand to pick up Tanaka Farms fresh fruit and vegetables before you go. There is nothing better than farm fresh corn!
I’d like to shout a big thank you to Mary of Let’s Play OC for setting up our amazing blogger Tanaka Farms Watermelon Tour day. Mary, you’re amazing!
Tanaka Farms
5380 University Dr, Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 653-2100
Tanaka Farms Website
