Nut trees like almonds, chestnuts, macadamias, hazelnuts and walnuts also offer excellent value and nutrition.
These fruits and nuts are packed with nutritional benefits and can be grown right at home.
Late winter is an ideal time to plant, with the soil moist from rain and the warmth of spring to encourage growth.
Planting now allows young trees to establish strong roots before the dry summer sets in.
With a bit of planning and variety, it’s possible to harvest fresh produce from your garden every month of the year.
Selecting a mix of fruiting trees and plants with staggered ripening times ensures a continuous, homegrown food supply – saving money and boosting self-sufficiency.
Fruits to harvest in winter
Citrus is the standout produce of winter.
The season starts with easy-peel, seedless Satsuma mandarin varieties such as Miyagawa Wase, Okitsu, Miho and Aoshima. These are followed by early orange types.
Clementine mandarins appear later in winter and into spring.
Other citrus fruiting in winter include lemons, limes and grapefruit.
Sweeter grapefruit varieties like Golden Special and Cutlers Red appear first, followed by the more astringent Weeny in late winter and spring.
Early oranges like Bests Seedless and Fukumoto begin in June and produce for months.
Additional winter fruit includes avocados – Bacon, Hashimoto and Fuerte.
Subtropicals like Casimiroa and tamarillos thrive in frost-free areas. The medlar, an uncommon and intriguing fruit, also ripens in winter.
Fruits to harvest in spring
The early spring months are dominated by citrus, with the grapefruit well on stream and many more orange varieties, with tangelo adding some rich flavours to the fruit bowl.
Lemonade, limes and lemons continue in spring, useful for drinks rich in vitamin C and flavourings.
Cherimoya and avocado Fuerte continue too, with avocado Hass starting to fruit.
Loquat also ripen from September to December. The first berry fruits start to ripen as spring progresses, with blueberry varieties Misty, Mirimba, O’Neal and Petite Blue all starting in November. The short day strawberries, including Camerosa and Warrior, start too.
Super early Tangshe cherry trees start fruiting in November as well.
Fruits for summer
Summer brings an abundance of fruit, with citrus continuing to shine. Lemons (Meyer, Yenben, Lisbon), limes, oranges and grapefruit – many of which began fruiting in late winter – remain productive into early summer.
The Encore mandarin extends the citrus season into summer, while Orange Harwood Late produces from November to March.
Avocados (Hass) and blueberries thrive through summer, joined by an array of berries: thornless blackberry, boysenberry, raspberry, loganberry, gooseberry and currants around midsummer.
Stone fruit dominate the season. Plums begin around Christmas with Duffs Early Jewel, Santa Rosa and Scarlet Sunrise.
Plumcot Spring Satin also ripens early. Later varieties like Billington and Hāwera follow.
In January, apricots such as Royal Rosa, Sundrop and Solar Perfection ripen, followed by Trevatt and Fitzroy.
Cherries, including Compact Stella, are ready by late December, with more varieties in January.
Late January and February bring peaches and nectarines, with staggered varieties extending the harvest season.
Nashi pears and Mrs Williams figs start fruiting later in summer. Prune plums (Stanley), early apples, almonds and the first grapes – Niagara and Lakemont Seedless – also become ready.
Planting multiple varieties ensures a longer harvest period for home gardeners across the summer months.
Fruit to harvest in autumn
Autumn is a prime season for harvesting a wide variety of fruits and nuts.
Apples are in full swing early in the season, with many versatile varieties ideal for eating, cooking or storing.
Pears also ripen in autumn – some varieties have been around for over 100 years.
Garden centres often offer double-grafted pear trees, perfect for espalier training along fences.
Nut harvesting also peaks in autumn, with walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, macadamias and almonds ready for collection and long-term storage.
Several late-season fruits also ripen during this time, including late plum greengage, Hass and Reed avocados, blackberries, late blueberries and peach varieties.
Peach cots also come into season in late summer to early autumn.
Other notable autumn fruiters include feijoas, persimmons, quinces, Chilean guavas, figs and grapes – offering a rich and diverse harvest period.
Happy gardening!
Gareth Carter is the general manager of the Springvale Garden Centre in Whanganui.
