Why plant bare-root trees in November?

The tree is dormant, the soil is still warm, and roots establish before spring. Bare-root stock is cheaper and generally outgrows container-grown trees within two years.

Does frost really improve vegetables?

Yes. Parsnips, kale and sprouts convert starch to sugar in the cold, which is why they taste better after the first frosts.

What's in season in November in the southern hemisphere?

Strawberries, cherries, the first stone fruit and early summer vegetables.

Season guide

What's in season in November, around the world

November. Frost, roots and bare-root planting in the north; early stone fruit and strawberries in the south.

November at a glance

Climate band	Ripe now	Being foraged	Going in the ground
Northern temperate40–60°N	Stored apples, parsnips, leeks, kale, quince	Rosehips, sloes after frost, winter chanterelle	Bare-root trees, garlic, broad beans
Mediterranean & warm temperate30–40°N/S	Olives, new oil, oranges, chestnuts	Porcini, wild greens	Broad beans, peas, salads
Southern temperate30–50°S	Strawberries, cherries, first stone fruit, peas	Elderflower, nettles	Beans, sweetcorn, squash
Tropical & subtropical0–25°N/S	Mango, citrus, avocado	Wild honey	Rice, vegetables

In the north

Frost changes the food. Parsnips sweeten, kale improves, sloes soften on the blackthorn, and the roots and brassicas that carry the northern winter finally come into their own.

Foraging thins out to rosehips, the last sloes and winter fungi. It is a month for the store cupboard: pressing, bottling, and broaching what was made in August.

It is the best planting month of the year. Bare-root fruit trees go in from now to March, garlic wants the cold, and broad beans sown now crop weeks ahead of a spring sowing.

What's in season in Ireland in November

In the south

Early summer. Strawberries and cherries are in across the southern temperate band, the first stone fruit is colouring, and peas and salads are at their best.

Sowing continues — beans, sweetcorn, squash — and the u-pick fields of Chile, Argentina and New Zealand are opening as the north closes.

Marked days

Día de los Muertos
Mexico, 1–2 November
Marigolds, pan de muerto, and the food the dead liked best set out on the altar.
Martinmas
Across Europe, 11 November
Goose, and the day the new wine is broached.
Beaujolais Nouveau
France, third Thursday
The year's wine, weeks old, drunk anyway.
Thanksgiving
United States, fourth Thursday
The last true harvest festival in the anglophone calendar.

From the community

No entries for November 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

6 places on the map are in season in November.

Hudson Hill Apple Farm
Apples · Hudson Valley, New York, USA
Willamette Hazelnut Commons
Hazelnuts · Corvallis, Oregon, USA
Somerset Levels Cider House
Cider apples · Glastonbury, Somerset, United Kingdom
La Pommeraie de Normandie
Cider apples · Cambremer, Normandy, France
Val di Non Mele Cooperative
Golden Delicious apples · Cles, Trentino, Italy
Llagar de Asturias
Sidra apples · Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain

Open the map

This month in the Harvest Club

November's Gathering is First Frost — hedgerow fruit and slow, warming infusions.

Join the club →

Questions

Why plant bare-root trees in November?: The tree is dormant, the soil is still warm, and roots establish before spring. Bare-root stock is cheaper and generally outgrows container-grown trees within two years.
Does frost really improve vegetables?: Yes. Parsnips, kale and sprouts convert starch to sugar in the cold, which is why they taste better after the first frosts.
What's in season in November in the southern hemisphere?: Strawberries, cherries, the first stone fruit and early summer vegetables.