Seasonal fruit and vegetables in Germany: what is in season when?

A fruit or vegetable is in season when it grows in Germany that month, in the open field or under fleece and foil that only protect it from the cold. Tomatoes and cucumbers from heated greenhouses are around for much of the year, but that does not make them seasonal.

Stored produce is a special case: apples, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and onions are harvested in autumn and keep in cool stores until spring. They are still local, even when nothing grows outside.

Spring is the leanest time of the year. Leeks and kale are still in the fields from winter, along with lamb's lettuce and the first radishes under foil. Rhubarb starts under foil in March, asparagus season begins in April, and spinach and spring onions are back from the open field.

Strawberries start in May, followed in June by cherries, currants, gooseberries and raspberries. By tradition, asparagus season ends on 24 June, St John's Day. High summer has the biggest choice: zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, broccoli and cauliflower, along with plums, peaches and apricots. Tomatoes and peppers in Germany mostly grow under foil or in unheated greenhouses.

Autumn brings the harvest for the store: apples and pears, plums, grapes and nuts, along with pumpkins, beetroot and every kind of cabbage. Brussels sprouts and parsnips arrive in September, quinces and the first kale in October.

In winter, kale, Brussels sprouts and leeks still grow outdoors, and lamb's lettuce thrives under fleece. The rest comes from the store: apples, potatoes, carrots, beetroot, parsnips, celeriac, cabbage and onions keep until spring.

Berries, cherries, asparagus, salad leaves, spinach and most roots such as carrots and beetroot keep longest in the fridge's vegetable drawer.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, green beans and potatoes, on the other hand, are sensitive to cold: below about 7 °C they suffer. Keep them somewhere cool and dark outside the fridge.

Apples, pears, plums, tomatoes and peppers give off ethylene, a ripening gas that makes produce nearby ripen and spoil faster. Cucumbers are especially sensitive to it, so keep them away from tomatoes.