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American persimmon · Apple · Feijoa · Fig · Globe artichoke · Grape · Kiwifruit · Lemon · Loquat · Mandarin · Mint · Mulberry · Olive · Plum
🗓 Season: October · November · December · August · September · April · May · June · July · January · February · March
🔍 When is it ripe?
American persimmon: Must be fully ripe (very soft, almost jelly-like) before eating. Harvest after first frost or when naturally falling. Dark orange to purple when ready. Rich, caramel-sweet flavour.
Apple: Background colour changes from green to yellow or cream (variety determines final colour). Seeds inside should be brown. Flesh yields slightly to thumb pressure. A ripe apple releases with a gentle upward twist — no pulling. Check the ground for natural drops.
Feijoa: Grey-green skin stays the same colour regardless of ripeness — rely on feel and drop. Ripe when it falls naturally from the tree or gives to gentle squeeze. Interior jelly turns clear from white. Intensely aromatic, pineapple-guava flavour.
Fig: Hangs heavily and droops at the neck; skin softens and may split. A sweet drop of nectar at the base eye and the absence of white sap at the stem confirm ripeness. Pick with a gentle twist.
Grape: Berries fully coloured and slightly soft. Stem where it joins the bunch turns woody and brown. Seeds easily visible inside. Sweet throughout when fully ripe — taste from different parts of the cluster as they ripen unevenly. Grapes do not continue ripening after harvest.
Lemon: Fully yellow with no green remaining; skin slightly glossy and gives a little when squeezed. Heavy for its size indicates juiciness. Unlike most fruit, lemons can hang on the tree for months once ripe without deteriorating.
Loquat: Clusters of orange-yellow fruit; ripe when fully orange with no green, yields to gentle pressure, and comes off the stem with a slight tug. Very sweet and aromatic when right — mealy if overripe. Short shelf life after picking.
Mandarin: Deep orange, slightly loose skin that separates easily from the segments. Heavy for its size. The skin can pucker and look slightly wrinkled when fully ripe — not a sign of spoilage.
Mint: Harvest leaves just before flowering for peak flavour. Cut stems back by a third regularly to encourage bushy growth. Flavour declines after flowering — cut flower spikes off to extend harvest.
Mulberry: Ripe when fully coloured (white, red, or black by species) and falls at a touch. Spread a sheet and shake the branches. Extremely perishable — process or eat immediately.
Olive: Harvest time depends on intended use: green olives (October, firm, very bitter — require curing); turning olives (November, red-purple, half-ripe — for oil or eating); black olives (December, fully ripe, shrivelling — sweeter, for oil). All must be cured before eating — never eat straight from the tree.
Plum: Colour fully develops (purple, red, or yellow by variety) and a waxy bloom appears on the skin. Softens slightly at the tip. Taste-test for sweetness — European plums are better slightly soft; Japanese types can be harvested firmer.
The Edible School Yard is on the King Middle School grounds. It is a nonprofit educational garden. The food growing here is planted by, and maintained by the middle-schoolers. ESY offers monthly tours and an abundance of excellent teaching plans and educational resources. A selection (but probably not nearly all) of the perennial plants present are listed here.
http://edibleschoolyard.org/
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