What's in Season in April in Australia

April is when the market table changes colour. The reds of summer go, and the oranges and browns arrive: pumpkins, persimmons, pomegranates, the last figs. In Victoria eight crops finish this month, tomatoes among them.

Harvest months, when growers are picking.

What autumn does well

Apples are at their peak in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. Pumpkin is at its peak in Victoria and New South Wales and has just started in Queensland. Pomegranates are at their peak in Victoria and South Australia.

Two fruits start in Victoria that nobody plans around and everybody should. Kiwifruit begins and goes straight to its peak. Persimmons begin too, and start in New South Wales and South Australia the same month. A persimmon season is short in every state, so April and May are most of it.

Grapefruit starts in Victoria and South Australia, the first sign of the citrus that takes over in winter.

The cool-season vegetables come back

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and beetroot all start in Victoria. New South Wales gets leeks and parsnips. Potatoes are at their peak in all six states.

The end of summer, officially

Field tomatoes finish in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia. So do table grapes in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Sweet corn, eggplant and strawberries end in Victoria, and blueberries end in both Victoria and Tasmania.

You might be thinking tomatoes are in the shops all year. Fair, and they are: glasshouses and Queensland's winter crop see to that. But the outdoor tomato from Victoria and New South Wales is finished until December.

Figs have a month left in Victoria and New South Wales and end now in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

Queensland is busiest of all

Queensland has 32 crops in April, more than any other state. Avocados, bananas, pineapples and dragon fruit are at their peak, along with green beans, carrots, cabbage and sweet potato. The north grows through the southern winter, and this is that season starting.

How long it lasts

The two new fruits both ripen on the bench. A persimmon then keeps only two or three days in the fridge, so eat it when it is ready. Kiwifruit is more patient: one to two weeks in the fridge once ripe, in a container or bag. It is also sensitive to ethylene while unripe, so keep it apart from apples and pears unless you want it to hurry up.

Grapefruit lasts up to three weeks in the fridge in a perforated bag. Apples last four.

Among the returning vegetables, beetroot is the keeper at two weeks. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts have about five days each, in a perforated bag in the crisper. A whole pumpkin sits happily in a cool, dark cupboard for a month.

Storage times here are from the City of Darebin's food storage chart, a Victorian council guide.

Next month

Cauliflower and globe artichokes start in Victoria and New South Wales. Queensland starts mandarins, grapefruit and its winter tomatoes.

Your own state has its own page: Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia or Tasmania. The season lookup shows any month, and March is the guide before this one.