Where to Buy the Best Tomatoes Near Ann Arbor

Every Michigan gardener and market regular knows the moment: the day you bite into the first real tomato of summer, still warm from the sun, and remember why you put up with eight months of gray winter for this. If you don’t grow your own, Washtenaw County’s farms have you covered — you just need to know when and where to look.

When to Expect Them

Tomatoes are not a “buy them any week” crop here — timing matters. Hoophouse-grown tomatoes are the first to show up, usually in the back half of July, and they’re worth grabbing even though they’re a little less show-stopping than what comes later. Baseline Farm, Old City Acres, and Blue Spring Farm are consistently among the earliest to bring tomatoes to market.

The real payoff comes in August, when field-grown slicers and heirlooms hit their stride. That’s when you’ll see the lopsided, deeply colored, almost-too-ripe-to-carry-home tomatoes that make caprese salad taste like something else entirely. That window usually runs from early August through mid-September, tapering off with the first cool nights.

Where to Find Them

At the farmers markets: All four Washtenaw County farmers markets — Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Saline, and Ypsilanti — have multiple vendors selling tomatoes by peak season. Heirloom varieties tend to sell out first, so don’t save your shopping for the last hour.

At the vegetable farms and CSAs: Nearly every diversified vegetable grower in the area puts tomatoes in rotation. Keep an eye on Tantre Farm, Community Farm of Ann Arbor, Jacob’s Fresh Farm, Seva Farm, Green Things Farm Collective, Slow Farm Organic, Fusilier Family Farms, Rain Dance Organics, Hand Sown Farm, Arbor Hills Farm, and Robin Hills Farm, along with the early-bird growers mentioned above. If you’re in a CSA, ask your farm when tomatoes typically land in the box — some weeks bring more than you know what to do with, which is a good problem.

At a year-round farm market: Kapnick Orchards in Britton carries seasonal produce alongside their bakery and cider, so it’s worth a stop if tomatoes are on your list and you’re already headed that way.

At Argus Farm Stop: Argus Farm Stop sources from more than 200 Michigan farms and restocks daily, making it one of the most reliable spots to find good tomatoes on a random Tuesday, not just Saturday morning.

Round Out the Meal

Tomato season practically writes the menu for you. Pick up grass-fed beef for burgers from Baseline Farm or pastured meats from Whitney Farmstead, and you’ve got a full backyard cookout covered. If you’re out toward Milan, Wasem Fruit Farm is worth the detour too — their peaches overlap with tomato season, and a peach-and-tomato salad is one of the best-kept secrets of a Michigan August.

How to Pick a Good One

Go by weight and smell, not just color. A ripe tomato should feel heavy for its size and give slightly to gentle pressure. Smell the stem end — a good tomato smells like a tomato plant, slightly green and sweet. Skip anything with soft spots, cracks, or a mushy give-all-over feel.

How to Store Them

Never refrigerate tomatoes — cold kills the flavor and turns the texture mealy. Keep them on the counter, out of direct sun, stem side down, and eat them within a few days. If they get too soft to eat raw, that’s your cue to make sauce.

What to Make

• Tomato basil galette with whipped ricotta — a showstopper for a farmers market haul
• Tomato cucumber gazpacho — cold soup for the hottest days of summer
• Grilled green bean and tomato salad — two market staples, one plate

Tomato season is short, and the good ones don’t travel well — which is exactly why local is the way to go. Browse the farms and markets directories to find your closest source and start planning your next BLT.