Have you ever gone shopping at the grocery store and been disappointed by the looks of the fresh produce? What’s more, have you ever popped a blueberry in your mouth or taken a bite of zucchini, and it didn’t quite taste as good as you had hoped?
Oftentimes we forget that certain fruits and vegetables aren’t always in season - meaning the time when they’re harvested. This leads them to get mushy, smell funky, and taste bitter quicker than they would in the months when they are meant to thrive and grow.
To avoid the bad taste in your mouth and waste of money, here are all the fruits and vegetables in season right now.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, there are several fresh produce options currently in season. The fruit includes apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries, honeydew melon, mangoes, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries, lemons, limes, tomatoes, and watermelon.
In terms of vegetables, the options are avocados, beets, bell peppers, carrots, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, herbs, garlic, okra, summer squash, lima beans, and zucchini.
All these options are being harvested now.
If you’re looking to grow your own produce, remember planting plans change depending on the month for vegetables and fruits. Generally, vegetables are harvested during March and April, so long as the temperature isn’t below 50F. Fruits are usually planted during middle to late April when the ground is no longer frozen.
There are both cold-weather fruits and vegetables, as well as warm-weather options. In summer, certain variations of berries are grown all throughout the summer and into late August. However, the suggested time to start planting seeds for a fruit tree is in spring and early winter when the temperature isn’t too hot.
While gardening can be considered an art form, there’s not a ton of room for experimentation. Think of it more as a a colouring book – so long as you colour inside the lines, you’ll end up with a magnificent, finished product. Other than knowing when to plant your produce, you should be aware of the tips on how to do it as well.
Aside from healthy soil, bed preparation, and fresh seeds, you need to plant the fruits and vegetables in a spot that will allow them to get at least six hours of sunlight a day. Also, the holes you plant the seeds in should be twice the crop’s size to allow the roots to grow, especially for fruit trees.
Climates vary depending on location, but if you can keep the soil moist and refrain from harvesting in the ground when it’s still freezing out, you should be good to go.
