Stephen Albert
April is time to bring in the fall crops in the Southern Hemisphere. A few fruits such as apples, pears, and grapes are still on the trees and vines in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Uruguay. Many apples are harvested in April.
The last of the warm season fruits and vegetables should be coming to the farm market this month. Look for fat tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumber, and corn. Pumpkins that were cut and “cured” in the sun in the past few weeks will start coming to market this month and so will potatoes.
If you are anxious for carrots and beetroots and other root crops, hold on just a bit longer. The cooler weather will slow their growth and they will start to store sugar now. The root harvest can wait a few more weeks.
April is the month to begin the citrus harvest in the Southern Hemisphere. Look for the first oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits.
Apples are ready for harvest now, and the end of the fresh pear crop will be at the farm market this month. Look for a bit of leaf and stem attached to just harvested apples and pears. That will allow them to continue to ripen indoors.
At the farm markets in the Southern Hemisphere this month you will find the following fresh and locally harvested vegetables: beans, capsicum, carrot, celeriac, chilies, Chinese cabbage, corn, cucumber, eggplant, kale, lettuce, melons, okra, peas, pumpkins, purslane, snow peas, spinach, rutabaga or Swedes, summer squash, tomato, turnips, and zucchini.
Fresh local fruits and nuts coming to the farm market in April include: Granny Smith apples, avocadoes, banana, grapes, figs, feijoa, grapefruit, guava, lemons, limes, melons, olives, Valencia oranges, passionfruit, pecans, persimmon, pomegranate, quince, raspberries, strawberries, tamarilloes, and walnuts.
