What to Know
- "Pick Your Own Roma Tomatoes" has been a tradition "for more than 40 years!" at Underwood Family Farms
- 40 cents per pound; pre-picked Roma tomatoes are 70 cents per pound; the picking area is just beyond the farm, so no gate admission is required
- Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 2024, 6 a.m. to noon; the Moorpark farm says an early crop will be available Aug. 24 and 25
August, as is tasty tradition, is totally and tantalizingly tomato-fied.
Well, let's be real: July gets plenty of tomato-flavored action, as do the warmer months of spring and early summer.
We can see this when we look at the busy schedule for "Tomatomania!," the on-the-road heirloom tomato festival, a succulent celebration that lands at several Southern California garden centers each year.
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And the Tomato Tasting Happy Hour at Fig Earth Supply in Highland Park? The July gathering sold out faster than it takes to pop the perfect cherry tomato in your mouth (or, well, just about).
Now Underwood Family Farms is rolling into its tomato-iest to-do of the season, an event that involves an oblong icon that works well in countless sauces, salads, and salsas.
Roma tomatoes are the succulent stars of this pick-your-own happening, which always arrives near the end of August.
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The 2024 dates are Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 and there are a couple of options to ponder.
If you'd like to pick-your-own Romas, you can — they're 40 cents per pound — or you can choose to go the pre-ordering route.
Pre-orders just opened, in fact, so get yours in now: The pre-picked tomatoes are 70 cents a pound.
This is all happening at Underwood's Moorpark location, where other good things are growing. "Cases of bell peppers" will be available for purchase, and lots of basil — a kicky candidate for the Roma tomato's bff — too.
There's no farm admission required for the Roma tomato event, but you will want to read up on bring-your-own containers and other good-to-know details.
How many will you pick, though? Summer, and especially August, may be the tomato's time to shine, all of those tomatoes get canned and stowed in jars for colder months.
So while summer may be the newly picked tomato's big moment, winter is the time when we love hearty and homemade tomato sauces, the luscious layers we add to pizzas, pastas, breads, and everything else, just about.
Something else that is red and juicy and fully in pick-your-own season at Underwood Family Farms as summer melts into fall? Oh hello, sweet raspberries.
