What’s in Season in Los Angeles in August?

August is when the Los Angeles farmers market reaches full volume.

Tables are crowded with tomatoes in every shape and shade, peppers from sweet to genuinely hot, fragrant melons, heavy bunches of grapes and figs that may not survive the drive home.

Stone fruit is still very much part of the picture, but the market is beginning to shift. Peaches, nectarines, plums and pluots share space with the first apples and pears of late summer.

Here is what you are likely to find at Los Angeles farmers markets this August, along with what is especially worth bringing home.

Market Mama brings that seasonal farmers market experience home with produce boxes, farm boxes and fruit boxes delivered throughout Los Angeles.

august produce at a glance

fruit

• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Plums and pluots
• Figs
• Watermelon
• Cantaloupe and specialty melons
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Blackberries and raspberries
• Avocados
• Valencia oranges
• Lemons and limes
• Early apples
• Asian pears
• European pears
• Late-season blueberries, depending on the farm

vegetables

• Tomatoes
• Sweet corn
• Cucumbers
• Summer squash
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Sweet peppers
• Chile peppers
• Green beans
• Long beans
• Okra
• Tomatillos
• Carrots
• Beets
• Onions
• Garlic
• Potatoes
• Lettuce and leafy greens

fresh herbs

• Basil
• Dill
• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Mint
• Chives
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Sage

Availability changes from week to week. Heat, rainfall, location and the varieties grown by each farmer can move a harvest earlier or later.

That unpredictability is part of shopping from actual farms.

tomatoes have taken over

August is one of the months when tomatoes need almost no explanation.

Cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, Roma-style varieties and heirlooms crowd the market in shades of red, pink, gold, green, purple and nearly black. Some are candy-sweet. Others are bright, acidic and built for olive oil and salt.

A ripe summer tomato should smell green and unmistakably like a tomato near the stem. It should feel heavy for its size and give slightly without collapsing.

Keep good tomatoes on the counter rather than automatically refrigerating them. Then use them quickly.

Make tomato toast. Add them to eggs. Tear them over bread with cucumbers and herbs. Slice the largest ones onto a plate and call it lunch.

During peak tomato season, our Farm Boxes follow what looks best at the market that week, from tiny cherry tomatoes to oversized heirlooms.

melons are at their best

By August, melon season is no longer warming up.

Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew and smaller specialty melons begin taking up serious space at Southern California markets. Depending on the grower, you may find striped skins, pale green flesh, deep orange centers and varieties you will rarely see in a conventional grocery store.

Choose a melon that feels heavy for its size. Cantaloupes and other aromatic melons should smell fragrant near the blossom end. Watermelons should feel dense and substantial rather than light or hollow.

Once cut, keep melon cold and eat it within a few days.

Serve it with lime, mint, basil, cucumber, salty cheese or a pinch of chile. Or stand over the sink and let it drip down your wrist, which is often the better plan.

figs are fully here, but not for long

Fresh figs are one of August’s best reasons to visit a farmers market early.

Depending on the farm and variety, you may find green, amber, brown, striped or dark purple fruit. A ripe fig should feel soft without leaking and should smell lightly sweet.

They bruise easily and do not appreciate ambitious plans.

Eat them with yogurt. Spoon them over toast. Add them to a salad or serve them with cheese and honey. When figs are properly ripe, doing less is usually the correct decision.

Our Local Figs follow whichever variety looks best and tastes best that week. Color and type will vary because that is how fig season works.

dragon fruit is a southern california summer fruit

Dragon fruit may look tropical and far travelled, but it is also grown here in Southern California.

August falls squarely within the local pitahaya harvest, when farmers may bring several varieties in shades of bright pink, red and yellow, with white, pink or deeply colored flesh inside. The flavor can range from mild and refreshing to floral and surprisingly sweet, depending on the variety.

Choose fruit with bright, evenly colored skin and fresh-looking green tips. It should give very slightly when pressed but should not feel soft or shriveled.

Cut it in half and scoop it out with a spoon, chill it before eating or add it to fruit salads with lime. The small black seeds are edible, and the flesh is especially good cold on a hot Los Angeles afternoon.

California-grown dragon fruit can have a relatively short and variety-dependent harvest window, so it is worth bringing home when you see a good one.

grapes begin earning more room

August brings bunches of California grapes in shades ranging from pale green to deep purple.

Some are crisp and bright. Others are soft, floral or intensely sweet. Farmers-market varieties may be smaller, seeded or less visually uniform than standard supermarket grapes, but they often make up for it in flavor.

Look for firm grapes attached securely to flexible green stems. A light dusty coating on the skins is natural and helps protect the fruit.

Keep grapes refrigerated and wash them just before eating rather than before storing.

They are excellent cold from the fridge, frozen for hot afternoons, added to a cheese board or roasted until they begin to collapse.

stone fruit is still showing off

August is still a very good month for California peaches, nectarines, plums and pluots.

The difference is that the market begins to feel less predictable. Some early varieties have already disappeared, while later varieties are just reaching their best.

Choose peaches and nectarines by fragrance and feel rather than perfect coloring. A ripe peach should smell like a peach before you cut it open. Plums and pluots may remain firmer, depending on the variety, but should feel heavy and lively rather than dull or shriveled.

Leave firm stone fruit on the counter until fragrant and slightly yielding. Once ripe, refrigerate it if you need another day or two.

Eat the softest pieces first. Slice firmer fruit into salads, serve it beside cheese or cook it down with lemon.

Anything heading past its prime can be frozen for smoothies, roasted or turned into a quick compote.

Our Fruit Box follows the best fruit available that week, rather than promising the same varieties every delivery.

peppers and eggplant love august

As the weather gets hotter, the market gets louder in color.

Eggplant arrives in glossy purple, lavender, white, green and striped varieties. Peppers range from sweet and crisp to genuinely hot. Tomatillos fill their papery husks and wait for salsa, roasting and braising.

These crops thrive in summer heat, and August is when variety can become especially interesting.

Roast eggplant until it collapses. Char peppers until their skins blister. Blend roasted tomatillos with onion, cilantro, lime and chile.

These are vegetables that become more themselves with a little fire.

corn, cucumbers and summer squash make dinner easy

This is the section of the August market that asks very little of you.

Sweet corn can be boiled, grilled, shaved raw into salads or cut from the cob and folded into eggs, pasta and grain bowls.

Cucumbers bring the necessary crunch to hot Los Angeles days. Eat them cold with salt and lemon, tear them into salads or serve them with yogurt, herbs and olive oil.

Summer squash can be grilled, roasted, sautéed, shaved thin or grated into fritters. You may also find squash blossoms attached to very young squash or sold in bunches of their own.

They are delicate, highly perishable and worth buying when you already know what dinner is.

This entire group works well with fresh basil, dill, mint, parsley, lemon and good olive oil.

the first apples and pears begin appearing

August still feels entirely like summer in Los Angeles, but the fruit tables begin dropping hints about what comes next.

Early apples may begin arriving from California orchards, followed by Asian pears and the first European pear varieties. The selection will usually be smaller than it becomes later in fall, but the early harvest has its own appeal.

Early apples can be crisp, tart and especially fragrant. Asian pears should feel firm and dense, while European pears may need time on the counter before softening near the stem.

Do not expect every farm to have them at the same time.

Apples and pears begin entering California markets in late summer, but individual varieties may appear for only a short window.

what is leaving the market?

Part of eating seasonally is noticing what is on its way out.

Blueberries may begin tapering after their spring and early-summer peak. Some peach, nectarine and plum varieties will finish during August, even while later varieties continue arriving.

Berries can become less predictable in extreme heat. Delicate herbs and leafy greens may also look different than they do during cooler months.

This does not mean everything disappears on August 1 or September 1. Farms operate according to growing conditions, not calendar notifications.

When a grower tells you it is the final week for something you love, believe them.

what is available nearly year-round in los angeles?

Southern California does not follow the same seasonal calendar as colder parts of the country.

Depending on the growing region and current conditions, Los Angeles markets may continue offering strawberries, avocados, citrus, carrots, beets, lettuces, leafy greens, radishes, mushrooms, herbs and other familiar staples through much of the year.

Year-round availability does not mean those foods taste identical every month.

Varieties change. Farms change growing regions. Heat affects greens and herbs. Citrus moves through different types. Strawberries become more or less abundant.

There is still a season within the season.

what we would bring home in august

Were we building an August farmers-market haul purely around what tastes best right now, we would start with:

• Several varieties of tomatoes
• A fragrant melon
• Peaches, nectarines or plums
• A basket of figs
• Crisp cucumbers
• Sweet corn
• Eggplant or peppers
• A generous bunch of basil
• California grapes
• The first good apples or pears we find

That is enough to cover breakfast, salads, quick dinners, snacks and the kind of counter fruit that disappears without anyone remembering who finished it.

let the market decide

A seasonal shopping list is a guide, not a contract.

The best thing at a Los Angeles farmers market in August may be the tomato you planned to buy. It may also be a striped melon you have never heard of, a basket of tiny peppers or a fig a farmer cuts open and hands to you on the spot.

Pay attention to what is abundant. Ask what was picked most recently. Ask what the farmer is eating at home.

That is usually where the good stuff is.

Market Mama sources from Southern California farmers and growers based on what is fresh, beautiful and worth bringing home that week.

Our boxes change because the market does.

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