The Seasonal Fruit & Vegetable Guide

Although most of us enjoy the convenience of a global food production and delivery network, focusing on specific fruits and vegetables at specific times of year has two main benefits.

First, you’ll enjoy fresher, tastier ingredients that have traveled less distance from source to plate.

Second, you’ll likely pay less for the pleasure! That’s always helpful if you’re managing a tight household food budget.

If supporting local food producers is important to you as well, you’ll also relish the opportunity to build your meals around the freshest, locally sourced ingredients.

To help you plan ahead, we’ve put together a guide highlighting when some of the most popular fruits and vegetables are at their best – wherever you buy them from.

(Take a look at my juicing and blending archive for inspiration on how to use your fresh fruit and veg.)

United Kingdom – Fruit & Veg Seasonality

Here’s what you can expect to enjoy at different stages in the UK farming calendar.

We’ve highlighted those items that are just coming into season. They’ll be at their best in subsequent months, but this will help you plan for new ingredients as the year progresses.

January

Fruit

Apples, Banana, Bramley Apple, Clementine, Date, Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Pear, Pomegranate, Rhubarb

Vegetables

Beetroot, Brussels Sprout, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Chicory, Jerusalem Artichoke, Kale, Leek, Pak Choi, Parsnip, Purple Broccoli, Radicchio, Salsify, Swede, Potato, Turnip

February

Fruit

Apple, Banana, Bramley Apple, Clementine, Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Pomegranate, Rhubarb

Vegetables

Brussels Sprout, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Chicory, Jerusalem Artichoke, Kale, Leek, Pak Choi, Parsnip, Pepper, Purple Broccoli, Radicchio, Swede, Sweet Potato, Turnip

March

Fruit

Banana, Bramley Apple, Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Pomegranate, Rhubarb

Vegetables

Brussels Sprout, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Chicory, Jerusalem Artichoke, Leek, Pak Choi, Parsnip, Pepper, Potato, Purple Broccoli, Radicchio, Spinach, Spring Greens, Sweet Potato, Watercress

April

Fruit

Banana, Grapefruit, Pomegranate, Rhubarb

Vegetables

Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Lettuce, New Potatoes, Pak Choi, Peas, Pepper, Potato, Purple Broccoli, Radicchio, Radish, Spinach, Spring Greens, Watercress

May

Fruit

Apricot, Banana, Blackcurrants, Gooseberry, Grapefruit, Nectarine, Pomegranate, Rhubarb, Strawberry, Tomato

Vegetables

Asparagus, Aubergine, Cabbage, Carrot, Globe Artichoke, Lamb’s Lettuce, Lettuce, New Potatoes, Pak Choi, Peas, Pepper, Potato, Radicchio, Radish, Spinach, Spring Greens, Watercress

June

Fruit

Apricot, Banana, Blackcurrants, Cherry, Gooseberry, Nectarine, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Redcurrant, Rhubarb, Strawberry, Tomato, Watermelon

Vegetables

Asparagus, Aubergine, Basil, Cabbage, Carrot, Courgette, Fennel, Garlic, Globe Artichoke, Lamb’s Lettuce, Lettuce, New Potatoes, Pak Choi, Peas, Pepper, Potato, Radicchio, Radish, Runner Bean, Spinach, Spring Greens, Watercress

July

Fruit

Apricot, Banana, Blackberry, Blackcurrants, Cherry, Fig, Gooseberry, Nectarine, Peach, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Redcurrant, Strawberry, Tomato, Watermelon

Vegetables

Asparagus, Aubergine, Basil, Beetroot, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Courgette, Fennel, Garlic, Globe Artichoke, Lamb’s Lettuce, Lettuce, Marrow, New Potatoes, Pak Choi, Peas, Pepper, Potato, Radicchio, Radish, Runner Bean, Samphire, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Watercress

August

Fruit

Apricot, Banana, Blackberry, Crab Apple, Damson, Elderberries, Fig, Gooseberry, Nectarine, Peach, Plum, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Redcurrant, Strawberry, Tomato, Watermelon

Vegetables

Aubergine, Basil, Beetroot, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Courgette, Fennel, Garlic, Globe Artichoke, Lamb’s Lettuce, Lettuce, Marrow, Pak Choi, Peas, Pepper, Radicchio, Radish, Runner Bean, Samphire, Spinach, Sweetcorn, Swiss Chard, Watercress

September

Fruit

Apple, Apricot, Banana, Blackberry, Damson, Elderberry, Fig, Gooseberry, Nectarine, Peach, Pear, Plum, Pomegranate, Quince, Raspberry, Redcurrant, Strawberry, Tomato

Vegetables

Aubergine, Beetroot, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Celeriac, Celery, Courgette, Fennel, Garlic, Globe Artichoke, Kale, Lamb’s Lettuce, Leek, Lettuce, Marrow, Pak Choi, Parsnip, Peas, Pepper, Pumpkin, Radicchio, Radish, Runner Bean, Salsify, Spinach, Sweetcorn, Swiss Chard, Watercress

October

Fruit

Apple, Banana, Blackberry, Cranberry, Date, Elderberry, Fig, Pear, Plum, Pomegranate, Quince, Tomato

Vegetables

Aubergine, Beetroot, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Celeriac, Celery, Garlic, Globe Artichoke, Jerusalem Artichoke, Kale, Lamb’s Lettuce, Leek, Lettuce, Pak Choi, Parsnip, Peas, Pepper, Pumpkin, Radicchio, Radish, Runnerbean, Salsify, Swede, Sweet Potato, Swiss Chard, Turnip

November

Fruit

Apple, Banana, Bramley Apple, Clementine, Cranberry, Date, Pear, Pomegranate, Quince

Vegetables

Beetroot, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Celeriac, Celery, Globe Artichoke, Jerusalem Artichoke, Kale, Lamb’s Lettuce, Leek, Lettuce, Pak Choi, Parsnip, Peas, Pumpkin, Radicchio, Runnerbean, Salsify, Swede, Sweet Potato, Swiss Chard, Turnip

December

Fruit

Apple, Banana, Bramley Apple, Clementine, Cranberry, Date, Grapefruit, Pear, Pomegranate, Quince

Vegetables

Beetroot, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Jerusalem Artichoke, Kale, Leek, Lettuce, Pak Choi, Parsnip, Pumpkin, Radicchio, Salsify, Swede, Sweet Potato, Turnip

Source: BBC Good Food

United States – Fruit & Veg Seasonality

Things get a little bit more complicated when looking at the seasonality of fruit and vegetables in the United States.

The seasonal growing conditions vary wildly across different regions, and it’s impractical for a guide like this to list them all (and it would be pretty unwieldy to read).

For that reason, we want to highlight an extremely useful resource which breaks everything down in fine detail.

Using the site we’ve to linked above, you’ll be able to sort results by State and season and see what’s best to tuck into at any given time.