Tanaka Farms’ strawberry production includes 6 acres planted in a semi-hydroponic system set up on troughs that use a coconut substrate instead of soil to grow the berries. Although "very costly," farmer Glenn Tanaka says the off-the-ground system allows for easier picking and the berries to be grown organically.
maintains a large staff because of agritourism. Besides the family, the farm is run by 28 full-time employees, plus 20 part-timers that expand to 100 during pumpkin season, when the farm sees 300 to 350 schools come through. During the spring, some 15,000 schoolchildren visit the farm to pick strawberries. “It’s fun seeing the kids come out, getting their hands dirty, picking produce, eating it right out of the ground,” Kenny Tanaka said. “It’s harder in the middle of the city to get that experience.” He said he still gets “a good kick” out of hearing parents tell him how their children won’t eat vegetables unless they’re from the farm or that they picked the vegetables themselves. As a longtime customer who grew up knowing the Tanakas, Remy Carl of Fountain Valley said her children—ages 5, 8 and 10—are fortunate to have been exposed to Tanaka Farms from an early age. Being able to explore the fields and “feeling as though they’re active participants” in harvesting some of the crops “instilled in them a love of fruits and vegetables,” she said. Going to the farm has become a family tradition, Carl said. Not only do they visit during strawberry, watermelon and pumpkin seasons, she said, but it’s where her children ask to go on their birthdays.
Family traditions During the first year of the pandemic, “when so many things in our lives were being flipped upside down,” she said “it was so refreshing” to be able to tell her kids that they could continue that tradition of going to Tanaka Farms. “I didn’t realize how impactful and powerful that was until after we went,” Carl said. “It was just a sense of normalcy for them during a time of such chaos.” Having visited Tanaka Farms as part of a field trip with her daughter’s kindergarten class, Melinda Lawless of Cypress said she and Mila, now in third grade, had been wanting to return. She said they “had a great time” earlier this year participating in the Chicks and Sprouts Workshop, in which her daughter picked onions and learned how chickens and plants grow. “She planted a sunflower that we brought home, and it’s been exciting for her as we watch it sprout,” Lawless said. “My daughter is on the shy and quiet side, and halfway through the event, she whispered to me, ‘I love this so much!’ That’s when I knew we had a winning event.” Lawless said she has been telling friends about the event and is “looking forward to going again for strawberry picking.”
Ching Lee clee@californiabountiful.com
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May/June 2022
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