When should I pick sloes?

In northern Europe, late September to November, traditionally after the first frost. Freezing them for a day at home achieves the same thing and beats the birds.

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

Spring produce — asparagus, first berries, spring greens, and blossom in the vineyards of Chile, Argentina, southern Brazil and New Zealand.

Is October too late to pick apples?

In the northern temperate band it's the peak. Late varieties hold on the tree into November.

Season guide

What's in season in October, around the world

October is the month the hedgerows pay out in the north and the orchards give up the last of it. In the southern half of the world it's the opposite — blossom, first greens, the year starting rather than closing. Somewhere on the map, this is always happening.

October at a glance

Climate band	Ripe now	Being foraged	Going in the ground
Northern temperate40–60°N	Apples, pears, pumpkins, kale	Sloes, rosehips, chestnuts, ceps	Garlic, broad beans, bare-root trees
Mediterranean & warm temperate30–40°N/S	Olives, figs, late grapes, quince	Chestnuts, porcini, wild fennel	Brassicas, winter salads
Southern temperate30–50°S	Asparagus, first berries, spring greens	Wild garlic, nettles, morels	Tomatoes, beans, squash
Tropical & subtropical0–25°N/S	Mango, papaya, citrus	Wild honey, palm fruits	Rice, root crops

In the north

The apple month. Every orchard from Normandy to Nova Scotia comes in at once, and the pressing starts — cider in Ireland, Britain and Brittany, sidra in Asturias, most of it made by people who'd never call themselves producers.

In the hedgerows it's the last easy foraging of the year. Sloes firm up on the blackthorn and traditionally wait for a frost, though a night in the freezer does the same work. Rosehips go deep red. Chestnuts split on the ground, and it's peak month for ceps, hedgehog fungus and winter chanterelle across northern Europe and the American Northeast.

In the Mediterranean the olive harvest begins, and the chestnut villages of Tuscany and Piedmont hold their sagre.

In the ground: garlic, which needs the cold to split into cloves. Bare-root planting season opens from late in the month and runs to March — cheaper and better than container-grown, if you can wait.

What's in season in Ireland in October

In the south

Spring, and everything the north did in April. Blossom in the vineyards of Rio Grande do Sul and Mendoza. Asparagus in New Zealand and Tasmania. First greens, first berries, the ground warming.

For anyone growing in the southern temperate band this is the sowing month — tomatoes, beans, squash going in as the north lifts the last of theirs.

In the tropics the picture is set by rain rather than temperature. Mango season builds through October in much of Southeast Asia, and the monsoon harvest is coming in across southern India as Diwali approaches.

Marked days

Samhain
Ireland, 31 October
The end of the harvest and the origin of Halloween. Old custom holds that nothing should be picked from the hedgerow after it: the Púca has been through and spoiled what's left. A hard deadline dressed as a superstition, and a sensible one — by November the fruit has gone over anyway.
Sagre del castagno
Italy, through October
Mountain villages from Cuneo to Calabria hold chestnut festivals. Roasted, milled into flour, and turned into castagnaccio, a cake with no sugar in it at all.
Diwali
India, October or November
Lamps, sweets, and the end of the monsoon harvest.
Sukkot
Jewish calendar, September or October
A harvest festival kept by building a shelter roofed with cut branches and eating in it, under enough of a gap to see the stars.

From the community

Marina Duarte
Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Ripe now: Vine blossom, Loquat, First strawberries, Wild araçá
Marked here: Nossa Senhora Aparecida, 12 October — a table laid outdoors between the rows.
They make: Loquat compote with a split vanilla pod, eaten with fresh cheese.
Instagram →
Ellen Moss
Hudson Valley, New York, USA
Ripe now: Northern Spy apples, Concord grapes, Pawpaw, Black walnut
Marked here: Cider pressing weekends — every valley town runs one, and everyone brings windfalls.
They make: Pawpaw custard, and black walnut steeped in bourbon for the winter.
Sanna Lehtinen
North Karelia, Finland
Ripe now: Lingonberry, Rowan, Last chanterelle, Sea buckthorn
Marked here: The end of everyman's-right picking season, marked with a final family forest walk.
They make: Lingonberry keeps raw in water alone — no sugar, no boiling, all winter.
Aoife Ní Chonaill
West Cork, Ireland
Ripe now: Sloes, Rosehips, Late Bramleys, Hazelnuts
Marked here: Samhain — nothing comes off the hedge after the 31st.
They make: Sloe gin, laid down and forgotten until next Christmas.

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 October.

Hudson Hill Apple Farm
Apples · Hudson Valley, New York, USA
Blue Ridge Wild Pawpaw Trail
Pawpaws & ramps · Asheville, North Carolina, 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
Les Figues de Solliès
Violette figs · Solliès-Pont, Provence, France

Open the map

This month in the Harvest Club

October's Gathering is on cider — how it's really made, from windfall to glass.

Join the club →

Questions

When should I pick sloes?: In northern Europe, late September to November, traditionally after the first frost. Freezing them for a day at home achieves the same thing and beats the birds.
What's in season in October in the southern hemisphere?: Spring produce — asparagus, first berries, spring greens, and blossom in the vineyards of Chile, Argentina, southern Brazil and New Zealand.
Is October too late to pick apples?: In the northern temperate band it's the peak. Late varieties hold on the tree into November.