Season guide
What's in season in December, around the world
December. Solstice, dormancy and preserves in the north; high summer and the first grapes in the south.
December at a glance
| Climate band | Ripe now | Being foraged | Going in the ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern temperate40–60°N | Stored apples, sprouts, kale, forced chicory | Winter chanterelle, seaweed, spruce tips in some regions | Bare-root trees, broad beans under cover |
| Mediterranean & warm temperate30–40°N/S | New olive oil, citrus, cardoon | Wild greens, hedgerow herbs | Garlic, peas, salads |
| Southern temperate30–50°S | First grapes, cherries, berries, courgettes | Blackberries in Chile, wild plums | Successional beans and salads |
| Tropical & subtropical0–25°N/S | Mango, pineapple, custard apple | Wild honey, palm fruits | Rice, root crops |
In the north
The solstice, and the store cupboard. Nothing much grows; what you eat now you either stored, preserved or bought. Sprouts, kale, forced chicory and stored apples carry the month.
Foraging is down to winter fungi and seaweed, but this is when everything made earlier in the year finally gets opened — sloe gin, damson cheese, last year's cider.
Bare-root planting continues on any workable day, and the pruning knife comes back out after the shortest night.
In the south
High summer, and the first grapes. Cherries and berries are at their peak across Chile, Argentina and New Zealand — Christmas cherries are a southern institution — and courgettes and salads are ahead of everyone.
The tropics move into their dry-season fruit: mango, pineapple, custard apple.
Marked days
Tōji
Japan, winter solstice
A bath of floating yuzu, and kabocha squash eaten for luck through the darkest part of the year.
Noche de los Rábanos
Oaxaca, Mexico, 23 December
Enormous radishes carved into scenes and judged in the square.
Santa Lucia
Sweden, 13 December
Saffron buns in the darkest week of the year.
Yule and the solstice
Across the north
Everything preserved earlier in the year, finally opened.
From the community
No entries for December yet — yours would be the first.
Tell us what's ripe where you are, and what your place does with it.
Find somewhere near you
3 places on the map are in season in December.
Somerset Levels Cider House
Cider apples · Glastonbury, Somerset, United Kingdom
Yarra Valley Berry & Stone Fruit
Berries & stone fruit · Yarra Glen, Victoria, Australia
Hawke's Bay Stone Fruit Trail
Peaches & nectarines · Hastings, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
This month in the Harvest Club
December's Gathering is The Cellar — fortified wines and a member preserve swap.
Join the club →Questions
- When is sloe gin ready?
- Eight weeks minimum, a year if you can wait. Sloes picked in October are traditionally opened the following Christmas.
- Can I plant trees in December?
- Yes, on any day the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. Bare-root season runs from November to March.
- What's in season in December in the southern hemisphere?
- High summer — cherries, berries, the first grapes, courgettes and salads.
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